The Lumina collection was first introduced in September 2020, during a difficult and unprecedented year. Despite the challenge, Sonus Faber was able to embody its history, spirit, and brand values with the new collection that presented an exciting change, new to the typical Sonus Faber product design portfolio. The collection is able to house both a stereo system and a multi-channel home theater system for multi-directional audio perspective.
The Lumina CI is the matching center channel in the Lumina series. It uses two of the special 120mm drivers with the D.A.D. tweeter. It looks super cool sitting on top of the “Stealth Reflex” port. What is really neat about this one though is how they voiced it. We’ve done several articles on how center channel speakers react with cabinets and how to tweak the crossover settings to reduce the resonance that sitting in a cabinet usually creates. Sonus Faber voiced the Lumina CI for being either on top of a cabinet or inside one, rather than sitting on a free-standing center channel stand. This means that the resonance we usually hear in this type of position is gone, which makes it incredibly flexible in placement. It is a perfect match for the Lumina models and it is so good that we have seen some people use it with the more expensive Sonus Faber models because they needed to position the center inside a cabinet - and this one sounded better due to its voicing.
The simple and squared design of the Lumina models was chosen to emphasize the quality of materials used. This principle of minimalism directly captures the essence of this thoughtfully designed product. The Lumina collection boasts the core values of Sonus Faber and the use of its iconic materials, including leather, natural composition of drivers, and real multilayer wood available in Walnut and Wenge wood with Maple inlay matte and Piano Black glossy finishes.
Damped Apex Dome Tweeter
All of the models share the same tweeter. This is actually identical to the tweeter in their more expensive Sonetto series. If you look closely at the soft silk diaphragm you will see a small vertical assembly that barely touches the very apex of the tweeter. At the point of contact, it is cone-shaped. Fabric dome tweeters have phase anomalies that occur right at the apex of the dome. Silk dome tweeters have always had a great sound but this cancellation caused some high-frequency roll-off. Many speaker companies have moved to metal dome tweeters to get more extension, but there is something magical about the sound of a silk dome. By ever so slightly pressing in on the dome at the very apex, these cancellations do not happen and you get far more extension. This is a very creative idea the engineers at Sonus Faber came up with that you will see in all of the speakers. Their innovative technology allows for a more extended yet very smooth and natural high-frequency presentation, which has become part of the legendary Voice of Sonus Faber.
Stealth Reflex Port
Another part of all of the Lumina also comes from their more expensive models. Having a port on the rear of a speaker is very simple from a design standpoint. You see this on a lot of speakers. However, a rear-firing port limits your placement options as it will interact with the wall behind it. Sonus Faber came up with a very unique type of port called their Stealth Reflex Port. The bookshelf and center models sit on top of this special port which as an added bonus gives them a pretty cool look compared to a typical bookshelf speaker. The port for those is front-firing — meaning you can put them in a bookcase or close to a rear wall and still get great sound. The floorstanding speakers have the same type of port but it fires down which also frees up far more placement options.
Custom Made Crossover Components
The crossover is the invisible but very important part of every speaker. It essentially directs what sounds go where and if corners are cut in its design, even the best speaker drivers will never produce the sound they are capable of. Crossovers are made up of many components but the capacitors that do the filtering are by far the most important. The Lumina speakers, like all Sonus Faber models, have custom made capacitors designed specifically for Sonus Faber. That is pretty rare in the world of speakers and to see it at this price point shows incredible dedication to producing the best sound possible.
