MORE FROM THIS BRAND RESUME The Sonoro Prestige has the functionality of a Swiss Army knife but is at the same time a minimalist thing. Build quality and handling are exemplary. More than one power cord is not needed to listen to music. The sound has a splash of warmth and is balanced with a surprisingly good reproduction of low tones. The stereo image is wider than the Prestige’s appearance would suggest.

PLUS POINTS Solid and minimalist design Very good build quality Too many functions to list Balanced light warm sound Exceptional bass response Stutter Free Display Pleasant operation MINUSES Woofer lacks protection grille Only supports USB sticks with FAT 16 and FAT 32 file system, not support large storage media The German audio company Sonoro builds table radios and has a portfolio that consists of mono and stereo models, with or without a CD drive and all kinds of modern streaming functions. Sonoro proposes to combine old-fashioned German engineering skills with modern engineering. Some Sonoro models rise above the level of a table radio / clock radio. In our test room is one such model, the Sonoro Prestige, an all-in-one stereo device that only needs a power outlet to make music. How does the Sonoro Prestige work and sound and how far do the Prestige’s hi-fi ambitions reach? We investigate.

Sonoro: German audio and design

Sonoro has been around since 2006 and is located in Neuss, Germany. Founder and CEO Marcell Faller: “Music is life, the great energy surrounding music has not left me personally and the Sonoro team for years. We are music-inspired audio developers and we design music systems to make the wonderful world of sound even more fascinating. ”

Sonoro says it embraces the quality promise “German Audio & Design” and thus indicates how the company develops its passion for sound and design: with a methodical working method and with a lot of dedication and attention to detail. Sonoro considers itself part of the German engineering tradition. Presumably the company thereby refers to the expression “Deutsche Gründlichkeit” which more or less stands for something like perfection and solidity.

The company declares that one of the key ingredients for the unique sound of Sonoro’s products are the carefully hand-crafted wooden enclosures. This is not only important for the appearance, but also benefits an authentic, detailed and voluminous sound image. The smart placement of the high-quality speakers, precisely tuned crossover frequencies and subtly tuned sound processors contribute to this, as do the careful assembly and checks carried out at various stages, according to the manufacturer.

Sonoro: portfolio of table radios Sonoro’s portfolio is divided into two product lines:

The Classic product line has three members. The Qubo and Easy are mono systems. The Lounge is a stereo system. All three feature built-in speakers, radio functions (FM, DAB +) and bluetooth connectivity. The Lounge and the Qubo have a CD drive on board. The Easy, the smallest model, has a leather carrying strap and batteries, so it can be used outdoors.

The Smart product line has six members. The difference with the members of the Classic line is the addition of internet radio and support for the common streaming services. The Maestro, Meisterstück and Prestige models (our test model) are stereo models. The Elite, Stream and Relax are mono models. The smallest models Stream and Relax are not equipped with a CD drive. The other four are. The Maestro, the most expensive model (1. 299 euro), is the only Sonoro model that does not have speakers on board. All other models do. Incidentally, Sonoro has now also added a passive two-way loudspeaker called Orchestra to the portfolio. The Orchestra is intended to be the perfect companion for the Maestro.

In front of us it is 799 Euro costing Prestige model available comes in a high-gloss white, black or silver finish. There is also a walnut wood version and this is 108 euros more expensive. We will walk through the technique and functions of the Prestige, after which we will discuss operation and sound.

Sonoro Prestige: amount of functions like a Swiss army knife

The Prestige’s cabinet is rectangular with a central 2.8 inch dimmable TFT screen at the front. The screen shows the date and time when the Prestige is not being used for listening to music. On either side of the screen is a speaker grille behind which is a 0, 75 – inch tweeter and a 3-inch midrange located. At the bottom is a four inch downward firing single woofer. There is also a bass reflex port at the bottom.

The woofer is placed quite close to the edge. Anyone who lifts the Prestige can accidentally touch, press and possibly damage the cone of the woofer. Of course, the Prestige will not be moved very often because it has no battery and is not suitable for mobile use. Nevertheless, in our opinion it would be obvious to protect the woofer with a grille so that the cone is well protected against accidental pressing. Perhaps something for the next version? For the rest, we do not criticize the construction and housing. The Sonoro Prestige radiates Deutsche Gründlichkeit.

The Prestige is therefore a complete three-way stereo system. In total, the Prestige has five amplifiers on board. The tweeters and the midrange each have their own amplifier of 24 Watts (RMS). The single woofer is driven with a maximum of 40 Watts (RMS). The power is specified at 1% distortion. In anticipation of operation and sound, we can already reveal that this rectangular box, which weighs 7.2 kilograms, can build up a considerable sound pressure. The Prestige features the latest generation of digital sound processor (DSP).

The radio enthusiast can choose from three types of radio. First of all, the classic analog FM radio (96, 5 MHz – 108 MHz). An extendable antenna is of course included. Then there is digital radio in the form of DAB / DAB + (Band III, 174. 928 MHz – 299. 200 MHz) and Internet radio with thousands of channels can be listened to worldwide. The user can search automatically or manually. Ten stations per type of radio can be stored for quick access.

Access to the internet is via RJ – 45 LAN connection or via Wi-Fi (with support for WEP, WPA, WPA2 (PSK) and WPS). A setup wizard links the Prestige to wireless LAN.

The Prestige supports streaming services Spotify, Tidal, Napster, Deezer, Qobuz and Amazon Music but the user can also send music to the Prestige using DLNA, UPnP or bluetooth (supporting aptX, A2DP and AVRCP). Incidentally, Bluetooth works bi-directional. This means that music signal can be sent from a smartphone to the Prestige and at the same time music signal from the Prestige to wireless headphones can be sent. Preferences can also be saved with regard to streaming services.

Of course, the Prestige is also equipped with extensive alarm and snooze functions. The automatic sleep timer can be set between 5 and 120 minutes. The user can choose to be woken by a buzzer or a radio station.

An equalizer for bass and treble adjustment is also built in. The 3D option makes the stereo image wider, according to Sonoro. There is also a loudness function for those who want it.

Below the screen is a slot-in CD drive that reads common pressed CDs, CD-Rs and CD-RWs . According to Sonoro, the legibility of the latter two depends on the quality, but that is normal for home-burned CDs. The drive is not suitable for loading and playing mini-CDs (which are a rarity, by the way).

Sonoro Prestige: connections

The following connections can be found on the back of the Prestige:

A cinch line input with a sensitivity of 500 mVolt A 3.5 millimeter jack plug input with a sensitivity of 300 mVolt An optical input (Toslink) that accepts PCM signal up to a resolution of 24-bit/96 kHz A USB input that supports FAT 20 and FAT 32 storage media can play. According to the manual, the Prestige can only read USB sticks, not USB HDDs. Many modern streamers can read the folder structure of large USB storage media such as 1 TB HDDs. The Prestige cannot do that. One cinch line out On the front is a 3.5 millimeter jack plug connection for headphones.

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