Sonus Lumina I vs Sonus Lumina III Comparison

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Sonus Lumina I

Passive Bookshelf | 65-24k Hz

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Sonus Lumina III

Passive Floor-standing | 40-24k Hz

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Sonus Lumina I

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Sonus Lumina III

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Sonus Lumina I

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Sonus Lumina III

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Sonus Lumina I vs Sonus Lumina III Speaker Comparison

In this review, we will be comparing two different types of speakers by Sonus faber. Sonus faber Lumina I is a Bookshelf speaker whereas the Lumina III is a Floor-standing speaker.

Let's have a brief look at the main features of Sonus Lumina I and Sonus Lumina III first before getting into our more detailed comparison.

Key Specs	Sonus Lumina I	Sonus Lumina III
Brand	Sonus faber Italy · founded 1983	Sonus faber Italy · founded 1983
Design	2-way	3-way
Tweeter	1.15" high definition DAD	1.15" high definition DAD
Midrange	—	6"
Woofer	4.75" paper cone	2 x 6" paper cone
Frequency response	65-24k Hz	40-24k Hz
Sensitivity	88 dB	89 dB
Impedance	4 ohms	4 ohms
Power range	30-100 watts	50-250 watts
Weight	4.40kg / 9.7lbs	15.90kg / 35lbs
Dimensions (H x W x D)	11" x 5.8" x 8.4" 280.0 x 148.0 x 213.0mm	38.9" x 9" x 10.9" 989.0 x 228.0 x 278.0mm

Lumina I and Lumina III are members of Sonus faber's Lumina series of speakers. Below you can find the loudspeakers from this series.

Sonus faber Lumina Series History

Model	Body	Frequency	Sensitivity	Impedance	Woofer
Sonus Lumina II	Bookshelf	55-24k Hz	86 dB	4Ω	1 x 6"
Sonus Lumina V	Floor-standing	38-24k Hz	90 dB	4Ω	2 x 6.5"
Sonus Lumina III	Floor-standing	40-24k Hz	89 dB	4Ω	2 x 6"
Sonus Lumina I	Bookshelf	65-24k Hz	88 dB	4Ω	1 x 4.75"
Sonus Lumina Center I	Center Channel	65-24k Hz	87 dB	4Ω	2 x 4.75"
Sonus faber Lumina V Amator	Floor-standing	38-24k Hz	90 dB	4Ω	2 x 6.5"
Sonus faber Lumina II Amator	Bookshelf	55-24k Hz	86 dB	4Ω	1 x 6"

What size room are the Sonus Lumina I and Sonus Lumina III speakers good for?

The size of the room in which you are planning to use these loudspeakers is an important decision factor. Here we have compared their suitability to various sizes of environments considering their size and max power parameters:

Listening Environment*	Sonus Lumina I	Sonus Lumina III
Near-field	Average	Bad
Small Room	Good	Poor
Mid-size Room	Average	Average
Large Room	Poor	Good
Very Large Room	Bad	Average

(* Approximate Room sizes: Small < 100sq. ft / 9 m², Mid-size: 100-220 sq. ft / 9-20 m², Large 220-400 sq. ft / 20-36 m², Very Large: > 400 sq. ft / 36 m². Average Floor Height: 9" / 2.7m. Typical room sizes differ from country to country, and the actual listening experience changes depending on floor height, room shape, surface materials, listening position, speaker locations, etc.)

The sections below take each area in turn: drivers, frequency response, physical size and what you get in the box.

Drivers

One of the fundamental differences between these two speakers is that Lumina I is a 2-way design whereas the Lumina III is a 3-way speaker. 3-way designs utilize a midrange driver in addition to the tweeter and woofer on 2-way designs. Designing a crossover for a 3-way speaker is a complicated process and generally increases the overall cost of the speaker.

Sonus Lumina I

Sonus Lumina III

TweeterMidrangeWoofer

Front view, drawn to scale - cabinets and drivers share one scale, so sizes are directly comparable. Hover a driver for its size.

Driver	Sonus Lumina I	Sonus Lumina III
Driver Setup	2-way	3-way
Tweeter	1.15-inch	1.15-inch
Midrange	-	1 x 6-inch
Woofer	1 x 4.75-inch	2 x 6-inch

Lumina I features a 1.15" high definition DAD Tweeter and 1 x 4.75" paper cone Woofer with a Crossover frequency at 2000Hz. On the other hand, the Lumina III features a 1.15" high definition DAD Tweeter, a 6" Midrange and 2 x 6" paper cone Woofer with a Crossover frequency at 350 and 3500 Hz.

Frequency Response

Lumina I has a frequency range of 65-24k Hz whereas Lumina III has a frequency range of 40-24k Hz. With a minimum frequency of 40Hz, the Lumina III can go significantly deeper on the low side and provide stronger bass compared to the Lumina I's min frequency of 65Hz.

The graph below depicts how these two speakers compare with the max, min and average Low Frequency values of other speakers in the Bookshelf class in our database.

Low Frequency

Bookshelf Speakers

Lumina I

Lumina III

Min

Average

Median

Neither pair reaches down to 20Hz, the usual definition of full-range, which is normal for speakers of this size. If you want the bottom octave for movies or bass-heavy music, add a subwoofer to whichever you choose. Visit our Powered Subwoofers section to find out more about the available options.

Impedance and Sensitivity

Lumina I and Lumina III have the same Impedance of 4 ohms but where they differ is the sensitivity levels. Lumina I sensitivity is rated at 88 dB and the Lumina III's is at 89 dB. This 5 dB difference makes the Sonus Lumina III a more sensitive speaker compared to Sonus Lumina I, hence will play louder with the same amount of watts.

One thing to keep in mind that the lower impedance speakers, especially the ones that are rated at 4 ohms may put more pressure on the amplifier unit comared to higher impedance speakers especially at high volume levels, so make sure the amp you pair with the Lumina I and the Lumina I can provide this impedance level.

Sensitivity

Bookshelf Speakers

Lumina I

Lumina III

Min

Average

Median

Power Range

Power range is the range of input power in watts RMS that a loudspeaker is designed to handle. Staying within that range gives nominal performance; driving the speaker beyond its maximum wattage can damage it.

Lumina III can handle a max power of 250 watts RMS, whereas Lumina I has a max power handling value of 100 watts RMS, 150 watts less than the Lumina III.

Note that higher power handling does not make a speaker louder: that depends mainly on sensitivity and impedance. The calculator below shows how loud each of these actually plays on a real amplifier.

Which plays louder on your amplifier?

Starting with a popular amplifier - change it to the one you own, or any you are considering, and watch both numbers move.

Amplifier - change this

Distance

Playing as

Sonus Lumina I

Sonus Lumina III

Input Type and Bi-Amping / Bi-Wiring

Both Lumina I and Lumina III features dual binding post speaker terminals for bi-amping or bi-wiring.

Sonus Lumina I's Binding post terminals allows Bi-amping or bi-wiring

Cabinet Type and Port Position

Lumina I has a front firing port whereas Lumina III has a bottom firing ports. Sonus Lumina I's front-firing port gives more flexibility in placement in regards to proximity to walls compared to Sonus Lumina III with its rear-firing port.

Physical Specs

The size of a speaker can sometimes be an important decision factor due to space constraints or in some cases purely for esthetic reasons. In this section, we are going to compare Sonus Lumina I's and Sonus Lumina III's external dimensions. Sonus Lumina I has external dimensions of 280.0 x 148.0 x 213.0mm (11 x 5.8 x 8.4inch) whereas Sonus Lumina III has external dimensions of 989.0 x 228.0 x 278.0mm (38.9 x 9 x 10.9inch).

Sonus Lumina III is clearly the larger of the two speakers. Its body is 80mm wider, 709mm taller and 65mm deeper than Sonus Lumina I.

Below you can see the front view size comparison of Sonus Lumina I and Sonus Lumina III in scale.

Comparison image of Sonus Lumina I and Sonus Lumina III Size and External Dimensions

Base Surface Area Comparison
Base surface area of a loudspeaker may become a determining factor when the space in your room or desk is limited. The base surface area of the Sonus Lumina I is approximately 315.2cm² / 48.9inch² and base area of the Sonus Lumina III is approximately 633.8cm² / 98.2inch². The Lumina I requires 50% less surface area than the Lumina III which gives it a small advantage on placement in tight spaces.

What's in the Box of Sonus Lumina I?

Here are the items that are included inside the box of Lumina I:

2 Bookshelf loudspeakers
1 Manual
2 Jumpers
2 Grilles
2 Fabric dust guards

What's in the Box of Sonus Lumina III?

Here are the items that come with the Lumina III:

Floorstanding loudspeaker
1 Manual
2 Jumpers
2 Grilles
2 Fabric dust guards
4 Spikes
4 Under spikes
4 Spikes locks

Reasons to choose Sonus faber Lumina I over Sonus faber Lumina III

Height	280mm vs 989mm	Easier to fit in smaller spaces
Base Surface Area	315cm² vs 633cm²	Takes less floor space
Price per pair*	899USD vs 2199USD	costs less (*prices may change depending on the seller, location and time)

Reasons to choose Sonus faber Lumina III over Sonus faber Lumina I

Max Input Power	250 watts vs 100 watts	Handle more power from your amplifier
Driver Setup	3-way vs 2-way	Have a dedicated mid-range driver
Sensitivity	89 dB vs 84 dB	Play louder with same amount of amplification power
Woofer Size	6 inches vs 4.75 inches	Larger woofer
Number of Woofers	2 vs 1	More woofers
Low Frequency Response	40 Hz vs 65 Hz	Generates deeper bass

Sonus Lumina I vs Sonus Lumina III Specs Table

Detailed comparison of specifications

General	Sonus faber Lumina I	Sonus faber Lumina III
Brand	Sonus faber	Sonus faber
Speaker Type	Bookshelf speakers	Floor-standing speaker
Power Range	30-100 watts	50-250 watts
Sensitivity	88 dB	89 dB
Impedance	4 ohms	4 ohms
Frequency Response	65-24k Hz	40-24k Hz
Drivers
Woofer Quantity	1	2
Woofer Size	4.75"	6"
Woofer Composition	paper cone	paper cone
Tweeter Size	1.15"	1.15"
Tweeter Type	high definition DAD	high definition DAD
Aimable Tweeter	No	No
Midrange Driver	No	6"
Crossover Frequency	2000Hz	350 and 3500 Hz
Firing Direction	front	bottom
Physical Specs
Height	280.0mm (11")	989.0mm (38.9")
Width	148.0mm (5.8")	228.0mm (9")
Depth	213.0mm (8.4")	278.0mm (10.9")
Weight	4.40kg (9.7lbs)	15.90kg (35lbs)
Enclosure	Bass Reflex	Bass Reflex
Finish	real multilayer wood	real multilayer wood
Available Colors	Black, Wenge, Walnut	Black, Wenge, Walnut
Mounting Bracket
Grille	Yes	Yes
Moisture Resistancy	No	No
Connections
Biamp Inputs	Yes	Yes
Other
Parts Warranty
Labor Warranty

Verdict

Siblings in Sonus faber's Lumina series, so they share a family sound. It comes down to size, output and price.

Area	Better	Why
Bass	B	Sonus Lumina III digs deeper - 40Hz against 65Hz.
Amplifier needs	B	Sonus Lumina III is more sensitive (89dB vs 84dB), so it goes louder on the same amplifier.
Headroom	B	Sonus Lumina III takes more power (250W vs 100W) - more in hand in a big room.
Size	depends	Sonus Lumina I is easier to place; Sonus Lumina III is bigger, which usually goes with fuller bass. Your room decides.
Type	depends	A Passive Bookshelf against a Passive Floor-standing - a different job rather than a better one.
Expandability	depends	Sonus Lumina I: bi-amping; Sonus Lumina III: bi-amping.
Price	A	Sonus Lumina I is cheaper - $899 against $2,199, about 59% less; arguably a different class.

A Sonus Lumina I B Sonus Lumina III
depends neither is better in the abstract - it turns on your room, your system or how you will use them. Only specs published for both speakers are judged; anything missing on either side is left out rather than guessed.

Which should you choose?

The usual trade-off: Sonus Lumina III measures better, Sonus Lumina I costs about about 145% more% less. Whether that gap is worth the money is the call only you can make - and in a normal room it is often smaller than the numbers suggest. If a subwoofer is in your plans, the bass gap largely stops mattering - you would be crossing over above 65Hz anyway, which makes the cheaper Sonus Lumina I much easier to justify. Match it to your room: we rate Sonus Lumina I the better fit for near-field listening and a small room, and Sonus Lumina III for a large room and a very large room.

And remember what a spec sheet cannot show: how each looks in your room and whether the finish suits it, what dealer support and warranty are like where you live, and how they actually sound to you. If you can hear them first - ideally with your own music - that will tell you more than any number above.