We’ve talked about Gunny of Sonner Audio before. Aside from making wonderful loudspeakers, Gunny Surya is also a music lover above all else. Whenever I see him, I’m treated to an in-depth program of music, mostly classical, that follows precise themes and threads and logic. He is an ebullient ambassador for the high-end audio industry, and we need more people like him.
I’ve been waiting since before Covid for a pair of big boxes from Gunny of Sonner Audio to arrive at my doorstep, but that’s the effects of disrupted global logistics. When I first met Gunny at RMAF 2019, I instantly feel in love with his premium two-way monitor, the Allegro Unum. That’s the one I wanted, a diminutive but well-made little bookshelf speaker that really sounded big for its size. It goes beyond that–the Allegro had such a firm grip on the lowest bass in a fairly deep room that I wondered about the magic involved.
Since then, Eric has reviewed the Legato Unum from Gunny of Sonner Audio. That was more affordable two-way monitor, but Eric was mightily impressed with it. At AXPONA 2022, I finally spoke with Mr. Surya about the Legato Duo ($11K/pair USD), which is the 2.5-way floorstander that’s based on the Legato Unum. Gunny explained to me that he always starts off with one of his two-way monitor designs and then starts designing the rest of the speaker. He prefers 2.5 ways to 3-ways because he has to make less changes to that core two-way design. Plus, it always sounds better to his ears.
This was a simple system for Gunny of Sonner Audio–just a Hegel integrated and a Dave DAC from Chord and a Sonore music server and one heck of a knowledgeable DJ. This system was utterly mesmerizing with human voices, and that low bass is even more visceral than before, which is still surprising since the Legato Duo is still slim and svelte despite its floor-standing classification. It’s an engaging, musical loudspeaker and I can’t wait until it finally arrives.
If you would like to hear even more coverage from AXPONA 2022, check out our recap report and highlights from our audiophile-oriented show The Occasional Podcast. You can stream the episode direct from the embed below, or from your favorite podcast platform including iTunes, Android, Google, Deezer, Spotify, iHeartRadio and more.
