The Vinyl Revivers, along with The Audio Hunters, exhibited in five different rooms at the 2019 Capital Audiofest. While most of these rooms featured excellent sound, one room really stood out for me–the one featuring a small black two-way monitor from a company I don’t know very well named Sonner Audio. It’s no secret that I love premium two-way monitors. Show me a small two-way with an above-average price, and I’ll take a listen because more often than not there’s something really special going on. Remember…bigger is NOT better in high-end audio. In this case, that’s almost an understatement.
What loudspeakers captured my heart in the Vinyl Revivers room? It was the amazing little Sonner Audio Allegro Unums ($9990/pair, plus $1990 for the custom stands and Audio Point spikes). I sat down, transfixed by the full, lively and dynamic sounds coming from this simple yet elegant bookshelf speaker which was matched to quite an impressive system: Mytek Manhattan II DAC ($5995), Dr. Feickert Volare turntable with Ortofon 2M Black cartridge ($4300) and amplification from Rogers High Fidelity ($7300 PA-2 phono stage and $13,999 KWM 88 Corona integrated amp). All cabling was from Straightwire.
Once I sat down and started what turned out to be a lengthy listening session in the Vinyl Revivers room, Sonner Audio’s Gunawan “Gunny” Surya spotted me in the crowd and immediately rushed over to sit with me. It turns out that Gunny’s a fan of Part-Time Audiophile, and Eric Franklin Shook is currently reviewing his $5300/pair Legato Unums, which were also sitting in the room. While the Legatos are roughly the same dimensions as the Allegros, the primary difference is in the drivers. The Legato uses a Ring radiator tweeter and a 5.5″ paper cone while the Allegro uses a Ring dome diaphragm tweeter with a custom 5.5 magnesium woofer. Eric is extremely impressed with the Legatos, so there’s no shame in choosing the more affordable model. I’m looking forward to reading Eric’s review.
Yes, I blabbered on and on in the Vinyl Revivers room about the Allegro Unums, so much so that I noticed Rogers High Fidelity’s Robert Pleyer sitting in the corner and looking a bit neglected. “Sorry, Robert” I told him, “I love your stuff, too!” And I do! (An unfortunate phenomenon at high-end audio shows is that in any given room, the speakers usually get all the glory.) But one of the things I love the most about the last year with Part-Time Audiophile is discovering all these new brands. Did I ask Gunny if I could review the Sonner Audio Allegro Unums? You bet I did.
