Tyler Stripko from Home Theater Hi Fi reviewed our Minima Amator IIs describing every detail of these tiny but precious high-end bookshelf loudspeakers.
The Minima Amator IIs are a modern-day take on Sonus faber’s original Minima Amator from 1992, an iconic model that marked the past of the company. These loudspeakers show all the Sonus faber values: refined engineering combined with high quality materials with the result of the most natural sound reproduction.
Design
These are the words used by the author on the design: “Let’s talk about the cabinet first, which is really a work of art in its own right. Not content to show the world that they could just use solid wood as a cabinet material, Sonus faber also integrated a line of solid brass all along the bottom. This adds a subtle, but very classy touch to the overall look of the speaker.”
The set up was easy:” Setting up the Minima Amator IIs was relatively painless…it is so nice to be able to get them in place without assistance.”
Listening session
First, he carefully positioned the speakers and then he tested them with different musical genres.
He started with some classical music: “Lento Assai” from Rachmaninoff’s “Symphonic Dances” and that’s the response:” I felt that the woodwinds in particular really shined with this cut. They had such a nice tone and body to them, with exceptional clarity and realism.”
“Your Heart is as Black as Night” from Melody Gardot’s “My One and Only Thrill” is the second track. “Female vocals were equally appealing through the Minima Amator IIs. They sounded superb. Melody’s voice came through with excellent clarity and surprising body for a bookshelf speaker. I was equally impressed with the clarity and sense of musical “rightness” that I heard as well.”
Then with a progressive/epic genre the Minima Amator IIs sounded amazing.
“This line has some very quick transitions between the differing bass notes that can be a bit muddy if a speaker’s bass driver isn’t up to the task. The Minima Amator IIs had no such issues. They retained their clarity as I upped the volume to a high level.”
Conclusions
“Besides the gorgeous solid walnut cabinetry, the Minima Amator IIs also sound fantastic with any type of music. The Minima Amator IIs give you a piece of history combined with excellent modern-day performance. That’s something you don’t see very often in high-end audio.”
“Sonus faber set out to build a speaker that would not only appeal to long-time fans of the brand, but to new customers as well. In that goal, they have succeeded with the Minima Amator II.
