We're just back from Venice, where Italian speaker company Sonus faber held a lavish event to launch its Fenice flagship speakers.
The name means ‘Phoenix', and the massive speakers, standing over 1.7m tall, packing seven drivers and weighing 305kg apiece, are being made in a limited edition of just 30 pairs, selling for ‘more than €140,000' a pop.
Bristling with technology, including tuned mass damping on a grand scale, a new double-curvature ‘Lyra' cabinet profile, and a novel system allowing control of soundstaging without impacting on stereo focus, the new speakers are not just a statement product.
They clearly have technologies the company is planning on ‘trickling down' to more affordable models, as part of a substantial expansion plan under its new management team, which is investing heavily in the company to further increase its already recession-beating sales.
For the full story on the launch event, and the new speakers, read Andrew Everard's on-the-spot blog,