I have a uniti Atom and I’m considering the Sonus Faber i. Spec is:
CROSSOVER
2.500Hz
FREQUENCY RESPONSE
45 Hz – 25.000 Hz
SENSITIVITY
87 dB SPL (2.83 V/1m)
NOMINAL IMPEDANCE
4 ohm
SUGGESTED AMPLIFIER POWER OUTPUT
30W – 150W, without clipping
So that’s gonna be 72watt at 4 ohms from the atom, right?
By my reckoning there should be no issues, but hoping for someone more capable (won’t take much)! than me when it comes to technicalities to put my mind at rest… will use the Naim speaker cable.
On the face of it they should be fine. I’d be a little concerned as to how the modest Atom will work with a 4 Ohm speaker in practice, especially if you want to play loud, so you’d be well advised to get a home demo to check. That goes for any speaker of course. The Sonetto i is a very pretty speaker and looks great on the matching stands. Let’s hope they work for you.
Hi, @anon4489532, thanks for your quick reply. They are pretty and that’s one reason for thinking about auditioning them - but don’t want to waste my time if the Atom won’t have enough power to get the best from them.
I’ve been trying to decide on speakers for a while now and I’m finding I’m going round in circles, there’s almost too much choice.
Thanks, Mo.
pick three makes that you like - demo at home - buy the one you prefer
I know thats obvious to you and all of us , its just that I find its the easiest way to stop going round in circles
Oh and trust your ears and dont sweat the specs
I had choose new speakers last year, at around the same price range. I was rather keen on the idea of the ProAc Tablette 10 Signature: it was small, designed to be placed near the wall, which is essential in our room, and sealed, as I always have problems with ported speakers. I wanted to try out another for comparison, so restricted myself to something available locally. I dismissed the PMC 21 because I don’t like the sloping look, so took home the ATC 11. These were very good, but I didn’t like any of the colours. Luckily I had the ProAcs at home at the same time, and they worked really well. Yes I bought the ones I wanted in the first place, so perhaps I was predisposed to them. Yes, I dismissed the PMCs and ATCs on looks, but if I hadn’t liked the ProAcs I would not have bought them.
So a very short shortlist, and there may be better options out there. But it really doesn’t matter. Just pick a few that you can get to try at home, and which you can imagine looking at every day and which won’t dominate your living space, and chose your favourite.
One problem with small speakers is that can be a bit harder to drive and to be made to sound not small, and I have a Supernait 3 with mine. Obviously you need something that matches well with the Atom. By all accounts the smaller Focals work well, and they are very efficient so will work well with the Atom, so may be worth a try.
I have been driving my Dynaudio Contour S 3.4 LE speakers with the Atom without any issues. So I think this will work well. I cannot comment on the matching of the two and how it will sound though. From what I have heard from Sonus Faber I see not issues with that.
I once auditioned the Sonetto V with the Star. Great with instrumental music, appalling with all but the lowest male voices. Something in them made voices sound really dull.
These are of course different components, but from the same ranges, so sound signature and synergy would likely be similar. So I would strongly recommend to audition and think of the music you’ll be using.
I doubt you’ll have problems with the Sonettos unless you’re after party volumes or have a large room. I run Neat Iotas with my Atom and they’re 6 ohm impedance and 84db sensitivity, so potentially harder to drive. They work fine in my, admittedly small, office but can produce enough volume to fill our upstairs with music. So I’d keep them on your shortlist if the aesthetics appeal.