This is an inspired marketing idea because beautiful speakers cry out for beautiful names. In this case, the new speaker to exit the Sonus faber manufacturing plant in Italy is the Il Cremonese ex3me, a nomenclature that attracts attention.
 
The Il Cremonese ex3me (pronounced Crem-On-Es-r with the “S” having a long inflection and the “e” a shorter one), was brought into the Sonus faber range with one object in mind: to complete the brand’s unrivalled Homage Collection.

More specifically, the instrument the Il Cremonese ex3me pays homage to deserves every accolade considering it is no less than the traditional Italian violin called, the Il Cremonese. Its maker, should you need to ask was Antonio Stradivari. And, should you ask who he was, you have my condolences.
 
The Il Cremonese ex3me was only possible because of the original Il Cremonese introduced in 2015. During extended listening sessions, Il Cremonese was audibly a standout, and so sonically exquisite it became part of Sonus faber’s Reference Collection.

Tellingly, insiders whisper that the Il Cremonese became a favourite of the Sonus faber Research and Development team. So good was this model’s sound, it was quickly pressed into service as the bench-test reference model more than good enough to provide the answers to several technical solutions the R&D people were seeking.

Asked what it was about the Il Cremonese that suited it for this role, Sonus faber says it came back to the innate versatility of this model’s electroacoustic configuration.
 
Thanks to the Il Cremonese and the new technical features it inspired, we now have the Special Edition Cremonese ex3me, a model that combines all the technology, features, build quality and sound of the original and adds more of its own.

 
Whilst this new speaker employs the mid-range and woofer drivers of the original, it adds technical features derived from the brand’s 30th Anniversary Celebration concept speaker called the Ex3ma.

The new model will be available in Red Violin finish, but only 50 limited edition pairs of these will be built.

 
As for the styling the Il Cremonese ex3me has a five-sided cabinet inspired by Sonus faber’s Lilium collection rather than the traditional lute or lyre shape favoured by Sonus faber in the past.

 
The first of the Il Cremonese ex3me will arrive later this year priced at $58,000 in North America.

For more information visit Sonus faber