Sonus Faber Omnia Review: HiFi sound without the hassle!

Is the new Sonus Faber Omnia really prepared for all things?

It’s been heralded by some as the best wireless speaker of 2022 already but can the Sonus Faber Omnia really rival the stiff competition?

Seeing as Sonus Faber speakers have been used in Riva yachts, Maserati and Pagani supercars around the world, this level of luxury and heritage in a premium wireless speaker is something we were really excited to test out.

What is Sonus Faber Omnia? 

The Omnia is Sonus Faber’s first step into a wireless product aiming to attract customers who love the convenience of wireless control but appreciate top-tier Hi-Fi sound quality.

It’s supplied as a closed box system for £1599 available in a graphite or walnut finish.

For those of you who have the budget available but want a smaller HiFi package or second system but still want a high quality, natural sound performance from a relatively compact solution, then the Omnia is definitely worth a look.

SHOP SONUS FABER OMNIA

Design

Upon unboxing, you’ll notice the striking inverted dome design - one of the most enticing features of the Omnia. Coming in at 650mm wide, it’s pretty clear this is best used as a centrepiece speaker proudly presented on a suitable console table or side piece. On first impressions, it’s faintly reminiscent of the hugely popular Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin cut through the middle.

The elegant wooden top panel houses the touch-sensitive interface with illuminated lines on the top of the unit that dim, pulse and change colour depending on how you’re controlling the speaker, such as when a different input is selected or the volume is adjusted.

The front button also doubles up as a way of changing sources so you don’t need to rely on the remote control that is supplied in the box. While the remote control is perfectly functional and ergonomic in your hand, it’s not the most appealing feature of the Omnia package.

At SHS, we all agree Sonus Faber has done a wonderful job with the craftsmanship of the Omnia and goes one step further than most other brands, something we very much appreciate when the speaker is priced at £1599.

Sonus Faber Omnia Key Specifications

After you have set Omnia up using Apple Home or Google Home, Omnia has a complete range of wireless connectivity including:

• ✓ Bluetooth aptx Qualcomm
• ✓ Apple Airplay 2
• ✓ Spotify Connect, Tidal Connect
• ✓ Roon Ready integration
• ✓ Google Chromecast
• ✓ Siri and Google Assistant voice support. 

There’s no native app and that’s deliberate because, in Sonus Faber’s research, they found that with systems that did use an app, users tended to prefer streaming via the services above.

On the back of the Omnia, you’ll find an HDMI-eARC so this can actually double up as a soundbar for your TV.  You also have a line-in with a mini-din switchable Phono input supplied with a dongle so that you can choose to either use the built-in phono stage for a turntable or bypass it, ideal for a CD player.

Driver Design

Inside the Omnia, you get a total of 7 drivers consisting of ¾” silk dome tweeters with neodymium, a 6.5” downward-firing aluminium cone woofer, 3” paper pulp mid-range drivers and 2 more 1.75-inch drivers pointing sideways which improves the width of the soundstage, and the immersion from your music and TV content.

All of this amounts to a total of 490 watts amplification with a claimed frequency response of 30hz to 25khz. Omnia will also support Hi-Res files (24 bit 192 kHz) so this will really complement those of you with premium music subscriptions that support a higher resolution than the standard CD quality.

Sound Quality

One of the most impressive things about the Omnia is the sense of presence you get from the music. We listened to all sorts of genres on the Omnia ranging from rock to electronic to classical to jazz to soul and it performed remarkably well with no distortion across all of those genres.

Close your eyes, and honestly, you’ll truly believe you’re listening to the artist themselves conveying every emotional element of the recording.

In addition, the vocals are some of the best vocals we’ve heard on a wireless speaker and really something we’d expect only from a high-end HiFi set-up.

Check out our sound quality demo using our binaural microphone below. Best enjoyed with headphones!

Although the Omnia only supports Stereo in terms of TV codecs as it has sideways firing drivers, the advanced signal processing Crescendo Setting resulted in a much greater sense of dimensionality and immersion. 

The Crescendo Setting can be toggled on and off in the Sonus Faber settings, accessed by entering the serial number into your web browser. Here, you’ll also find things like power sleep timers, volume limits, and telling Omnia whether the speaker is near or far away from a wall. 

You won’t find EQ adjustments unfortunately as it’s already been optimised for the cabinet. While it’s a great balance for us, some customers will miss that.

Our Final Thoughts

There are likely two main types of customer for the Sonus Faber Omnia. The first being those who already have wireless gear like Sonos, Bose etc but want to continue their journey into the world of HiFi sound while still remaining wireless. 

Secondly, those who are perhaps downsizing from HiFi in exchange for wireless convenience but still want HiFi quality sound would love the Omnia. The Sonus Faber Omnia is a meeting ground for where HiFi listeners meet WiFi listeners.

Omnia is for people who don’t want that hassle of HiFi but miss HiFi quality sound. While we’d have loved to have seen an EQ, Omnia has really nailed it with making as few compromises as possible from having a stereo pair of speakers. When you consider the infinite and confusing world of HiFi separates, £1599 quickly starts to become a fair price to pay.

We're happy to help out with any questions you have about the Sonus Faber Omnia, or any other products that we sell, so please reach out on the following channels if we can be of service:

	info@smarthomesounds.co.uk
	Live Chat on our Website
	0800 677 1100