The Sonus Faber Minima was the company's first loudspeaker and it has been reintroduced to the market in its original form.

Aficionados will be familiar with this model, but others are in for a treat. Although traditional in terms of technology, the voicing and attention to detail mark it out from others in its class.

Luxurious speaker

Technically it is a straightforward two-way vented design intended for use on tall pedestal stands. The enclosure has a capacity of just six litres and is constructed from solid Italian walnut staves, which are grain-oriented and glued together.

The baffle and rear are covered in leather, which is designed to help with dispersion of midrange energy (in the case of the front covering) and the enclosures have smoothly rounded edges to help control diffraction. The enclosure is heavy and solid, with almost no resonant signature when rapped thanks to the solid construction.

The use of the word Vintage in the model name is particularly appropriate for the enclosure, which has what appears to be an oiled finish over a highly figured grain. In fact, Sonus faber use what is claimed to be a medium-gloss ecologically sensitive varnish.

The appearance is very classy and luxurious, especially when offset by the leather coverings. The adjustable stands feel as solid as a rock and are designed to be adjusted according to your seating. In addition, the speakers can be tilted on their adjustable spiked feet.

Familiar design

The moving parts consist of a 120mm cellulose acryate cone driver with a vented basket and a 28mm ferrofluid-cooled, doped soft-fabric-dome tweeter, which are crossed over by a first order (6dB/octave) network centred on 2kHz.

Sensitivity is low at 84dB, which begs comparison with the BBC's LS3/5a. Impedance is 8ohms and power handling (slightly optimistically) is rated at up to 100 watts, but the speaker does exhibit some signs of strain if pushed too hard.

One curiosity of the Minima Vintage is that the design is virtually identical in both its original and current incarnations. The new model has the same drivers and enclosure as the original Minima, which dates back to the early '90s.

The only differences are that the basket for the mid/woofer has been changed for unspecified reasons and the back is now dressed in leather, which probably has little effect, other than to provide some additional damping for the rear panel.

Warm performance

Although it bears the name of one of Sonus faber's most well-respected early models, we've actually had little experience of its namesake, allowing us to approach the Minima Vintage as a completely new model, without unrealistic expectations. Despite which, it comes across as a typical high-class thoroughbred compact of the old-school, with a slightly shy lower bass and a matching roll off in the extreme treble.

Then the Minima Vintage is clearly at its most comfortable in the mid and upper midband – where a lot of musical fundamentals are placed – and also the main part of the voice region, 300Hz - 2kHz or so. Here it sounds expressive, subtle and unboxy, with a typical Sonus faber warmth and grace.

The lowest couple of octaves are on the lightweight side, but not without a hint of muscularity. It does, however, require a subwoofer (see below) to develop further here.