Spins in this post Sonus Faber isn't a company I was ever all that interested in. Their designs are beautiful, but they also clearly trend toward the luxury side of audio. I tend to prefer (and therefore, more often review) speakers that give you the most audio quality bang for your buck.But there's nothing wrong with luxury. I always say speakers are furniture and should look the part. If you have the money, go for it - as long as audio quality isn't compromised.On that note, the Sonetto family is the company's most affordable line of speakers The Sonetto II is a 2-way bookshelf with a 6.5-inch woofer, and it comes in at about $2,300 a pair (there's a 5-inch model at $1,800). That puts it in a very competitive price bracket, albeit a bit more expensive than the popular trio of the KEF R3, Buchardt S400, and Ascend Sierra 2EX.For that premium though, you're getting a beautiful build, including the option for a real-wood veneer that looks quite stunning. It also has a leather top that looks cool and feels nice although it makes the quasi-vegan in me cringe a little. It's definitely one of the more unique speakers in the price range.So, how does it sound? First, here's the horizontal response along with the Listening Window and Early Reflections curve.There are several interesting this to note. Starting with the on-axis curve in white, we see a fairly linear response with impressively controlled dispersion, with two quirks. Most obvious is a serious rise in the treble starting at ~7KHz. The response drops off-axis rapidly, the treble remains elevated out to 30 degrees or so. You can see the elevated treble remains in the listening window curve as well.Sonus Faber's manual recommends toeing in the speakers all the way, but I cannot second this recommendation. As usual, I measured after listening, and I thought the speakers were too bright pointed at the LP. I preferred having them facing straight forward, or about 22 degrees off-axis in my setup, and indeed, the 20-degree curve(not shown) was the flattest in my measurements. Alternatively, you can EQ down the top octave.On the other hand, if you suffer from hearing loss, you might appreciate all that extra energy in the top octave. I can hear 19KHz without a problem so on axis was not for me.The other quirk is the shallow but broad scoop from about 900Hz to 3KHz. The scoop is consistent out to 90 degrees and in the early reflections curve, so it's definitely audible - I thought there was a slightly hollow quality to voices, this is probably why. This isn't to say they voices sounded bad, but there was some coloration keeping them shy of neutral. On the other hand, because the scoop is consistent - and therefore not a directivity problem - you might be able to remedy it with some EQ.Dispersion is impressive, with an even change in response out all the way out to 75 degrees. In fact, the swooping cabinet design actually keeps a fairly smooth response out to 180 degrees (not shown). These speakers have excellent imaging and an impressively wide soundstage. The speakers keep a surprising amount of treble energy out to far angles, though of course, that's because the on-axis response is tuned up.Note how flat the early reflections curve is. A little too flat, in fact. You'd normally see a bit more of a tilt downward here. Consider that the early reflections curve usually approximates the in-room curve pretty well, and we want the in-room curve to drop about 10db from 20hz to 20khz. Just another piece of evidence suggesting these are on the brighter side of neutral.Turning to the vertical response, I'm trying a slightly different approach to presenting data. As usual I include the response at 0/±5/±/10/±15 degrees above and below the reference axis (the tweeter, in this case) to find the ideal seating position. But this time I also include a ceiling reflections curve (Average of 40,50,60 degrees above axis) and floor reflections (20,30,40).Note the dip at 600 now is an artefact from turning the speaker on its side for vertical measurements:The Sonetto II is well controlled enough. You shouldn't be too concerned about listening height, though I'd still recommend being at the tweeter axis or just a bit below. Lobing shows up at steeper angles, which you see in the ceiling and floor reflections curves, but they do not dramatically influence the early reflections curve and horizontal is more important anyway.Lastly, bass extension is good for a bookshelf speaker, though it must be noted the Sonetto II are quite massive and wide. Probably needed to accommodate that swooping design while maintaining extension.In all, it's a good showing. They are a bit brighter than I'd like - and mind you, I tend to prefer speakers with a bit of treble 'crispness.' If you have some hearing loss, or have a large, damped room, you might appreciate it.That combined with the midrange dip gives them a slight 'cold' sound, which others might call 'refined,' 'detailed,' or 'transparent.' Ultimately dynamics and soundstage were what left their mark with me.I enjoyed my time with them. They aren't quite for me, but I can see them working for certain people in certain spaces. Will follow up with more listening impressions later.P.S. Note that although I've kept 15-degree data for the horizontal response, I now capture 10-degree data as well to get closer to proper spinorama/CTA-2034a results.