Sicilian oranges and prickly pears are among the ingredients that went into making a new limited edition run of Sonus faber bookshelf loudspeakers.
A production run of just 300 pairs of the new Concertino G4 speakers will be made available under the “Maestro” banner, listed with a US$5,000 price tag.
The Concertino G4s have been produced by the Italian company to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the first Concertino, and each pair features a brass plaque with progressive numbering applied on the walnut side panel of the speaker.
Concertino marks the introduction of new “eco-friendly leather”, produced by the Italian start-up Ohoskin, which is used to cover the front baffle and cork structure.
“It’s sustainably sourced from the derivatives of Sicilian oranges and prickly pears,” says Sonus faber. “This plant-based alternative to leather is one of the first non-fossil variations, ensuring that audiophiles who purchase Concertino receive materials of the highest quality in luxury audio sound reproduction while making a positive environmental impact.”
While the speaker retains a historic trapezoidal shape emblematic of Sonus faber’s visual designs, it incorporates materials such as cork and the aforementioned fruit byproducts “for a modern acoustical soundstage”.
The Concertino’s central chassis is crafted out of cork. The company explains that “the structure of cork allows it to cleanly mold into each design, limiting internal resonances and reducing damping material inside the cabinet”. Concertino marks the first time cork has been used while paired with a midwoofer.
The side walls of the cabinet are made of solid walnut and, unlike its predecessor, the reflex duct is now placed at the back of the cabinet to avoid front turbulence.
It features a one-inch silk dome tweeter and Sonus faber’s signature five-inch long-throw paper pulp midwoofer with an organic basket.
