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  #431  
Old 07-24-2018, 11:47 PM
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McDaddy McDaddy is offline
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Originally Posted by Antonmb View Post
Beautiful speakers.
Thanks Tony. The pictures don’t do these beautiful speakers justice either!
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Sources: Linn Klimax DS, Kaleidescape Strato S Amps: MC452 & MC301 Speakers/Subs: Sonus Faber Olympica III’s & Nova CII in Wenge, 2 x JL Fathom 112's w/ Sound Anchor stands Pre/Pro: C1100, MX122 Power: PS Audio P10 Cables: Center speaker-Wireworld Silver Eclipse 8, L/R Speakers-Wireworld Gold Eclipse 7, Kimber Palladian Power Cables, Kimber KS1126 Interconnects Misc: Furutech Flux 50 NSF, Furutech GTX-D NSF outlets, Furutech Boosters
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  #432  
Old 07-29-2018, 11:39 PM
nalthien nalthien is offline
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Originally Posted by McDaddy View Post
The pictures don’t do these beautiful speakers justice either!
I happened to be browsing around and I saw that you had a pair of Revel F208s ; I was wondering if you replaced the Revels with the Sonus Faber and, if so, what led you to that choice? I'm trying to secure a demo of the Olympus III and the F228Be so I'm curious to hear from someone who has used both!
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  #433  
Old 07-30-2018, 03:44 PM
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Originally Posted by nalthien View Post
I happened to be browsing around and I saw that you had a pair of Revel F208s ; I was wondering if you replaced the Revels with the Sonus Faber and, if so, what led you to that choice? I'm trying to secure a demo of the Olympus III and the F228Be so I'm curious to hear from someone who has used both!
Happy to provide some insight. I originally purchased my F208’s with the intention of using them as a bridge to the Olympica’s I have now. Having said that, everything you read about the F208’s is spot on and they are the best $5k pair of speakers you can buy in my opinion. I ended up having them for longer than I originally planned which is a testament to how happy I was with their performance.

I can’t specifically comment on the Be version but I had considered them in addition to the Olympica’s. For me, it came down to a few key points understanding that both brands provide reference quality sound:

Revels:
1) The drivers! I couldn’t get past the white color on the drivers
2) Made in China on a mass production basis
3) I was never really satisfied with the base and plinths which are an odd design and are a pain to level
4) Larger overall than the Olympica’s

Sonus Faber:
1) Hand made Italian style and craftsmanship
2) Color of finish
3) That Sonus Faber sound that is absolutely intoxicating. There is something about the overall timbre that is irrisistsble and those silk dome tweeters are as smooth as, well, you know...
4) My local dealer that sells Mac and Sonus Faber allowed trade in credit
5) Big sound from a smaller package

In the end, I just couldn’t justify spending $10k on made in China speakers when I could get the the Olympica’s for basically the same price net of trade in credit. I personally feel that that the Olympica’s are more of a timeless design than the F228Be’s as well.

Good luck on your decision and please let me know what you decide on.

Karl
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Sources: Linn Klimax DS, Kaleidescape Strato S Amps: MC452 & MC301 Speakers/Subs: Sonus Faber Olympica III’s & Nova CII in Wenge, 2 x JL Fathom 112's w/ Sound Anchor stands Pre/Pro: C1100, MX122 Power: PS Audio P10 Cables: Center speaker-Wireworld Silver Eclipse 8, L/R Speakers-Wireworld Gold Eclipse 7, Kimber Palladian Power Cables, Kimber KS1126 Interconnects Misc: Furutech Flux 50 NSF, Furutech GTX-D NSF outlets, Furutech Boosters

Last edited by McDaddy; 07-31-2018 at 03:02 AM.
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  #434  
Old 07-30-2018, 04:21 PM
nalthien nalthien is offline
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Thank you for the detailed thoughts, Karl! I appreciate hearing from someone with real experience with both speakers.

I'll have to go back and look at the dimensions; in my mind, the Olympicas are larger than the F228Be; but, I must be just assuming based on the way the photos look. The Italian style of the Sonus Faber offerings is second to none; I've had some great suggestions on speakers that I won't even consider because I don't want them in my room. Yes, sound quality is the most important factor; but, these things are in your room even when they aren't playing!

Sonus Faber sound is something special; I remember the first time I heard anything from Sonus Faber and turning my head to the side and asking, "what is this sound I'm hearing?!" I was in a room demo'ing subwoofers and one I wanted to hear was paired with the Sonus Faber Venere 2.0. I've heard the Olympica, like the Aida and the Amati, is more neutral than the traditional Sonus Faber quality--and that's almost certainly a good thing!
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  #435  
Old 07-30-2018, 06:03 PM
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Originally Posted by nalthien View Post
Thank you for the detailed thoughts, Karl! I appreciate hearing from someone with real experience with both speakers.

I'll have to go back and look at the dimensions; in my mind, the Olympicas are larger than the F228Be; but, I must be just assuming based on the way the photos look. The Italian style of the Sonus Faber offerings is second to none; I've had some great suggestions on speakers that I won't even consider because I don't want them in my room. Yes, sound quality is the most important factor; but, these things are in your room even when they aren't playing!

Sonus Faber sound is something special; I remember the first time I heard anything from Sonus Faber and turning my head to the side and asking, "what is this sound I'm hearing?!" I was in a room demo'ing subwoofers and one I wanted to hear was paired with the Sonus Faber Venere 2.0. I've heard the Olympica, like the Aida and the Amati, is more neutral than the traditional Sonus Faber quality--and that's almost certainly a good thing!
Amen. The thing that makes comparing dimensions difficult is the Sonus Faber dimensions include the width of the plinths which stick out further. I would say having both that the Olympica III’s appear to be about 3/4 of the size of the F208/228Be’s while providing the same “large soundstage”. My wife absolutely loves them as well which helps immensely!!
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Sources: Linn Klimax DS, Kaleidescape Strato S Amps: MC452 & MC301 Speakers/Subs: Sonus Faber Olympica III’s & Nova CII in Wenge, 2 x JL Fathom 112's w/ Sound Anchor stands Pre/Pro: C1100, MX122 Power: PS Audio P10 Cables: Center speaker-Wireworld Silver Eclipse 8, L/R Speakers-Wireworld Gold Eclipse 7, Kimber Palladian Power Cables, Kimber KS1126 Interconnects Misc: Furutech Flux 50 NSF, Furutech GTX-D NSF outlets, Furutech Boosters

Last edited by McDaddy; 07-31-2018 at 03:04 AM.
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  #436  
Old 07-30-2018, 06:13 PM
nalthien nalthien is offline
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Originally Posted by McDaddy View Post
My wife absolutely loves them as well which helps immensely!!


That's awesome! I have my own room and my wife isn't too specific about what goes in there; but, there are *definite* limits!
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  #437  
Old 07-30-2018, 06:29 PM
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That’s even better!

One thing I wanted to add is that the biggest difference I have noticed (aside from overall timbre) is in bass notes. I feel they are more accurate and well defined but go just as low, if not lower on the Olympica’s. I think that is largely due to the bass reflex port on the Revel’s.
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Sources: Linn Klimax DS, Kaleidescape Strato S Amps: MC452 & MC301 Speakers/Subs: Sonus Faber Olympica III’s & Nova CII in Wenge, 2 x JL Fathom 112's w/ Sound Anchor stands Pre/Pro: C1100, MX122 Power: PS Audio P10 Cables: Center speaker-Wireworld Silver Eclipse 8, L/R Speakers-Wireworld Gold Eclipse 7, Kimber Palladian Power Cables, Kimber KS1126 Interconnects Misc: Furutech Flux 50 NSF, Furutech GTX-D NSF outlets, Furutech Boosters

Last edited by McDaddy; 07-31-2018 at 05:13 PM.
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  #438  
Old 08-07-2018, 07:51 PM
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how's the bass on the Olympica III? Can you hear the kick drum on classic rock tracks?
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  #439  
Old 08-07-2018, 09:54 PM
nalthien nalthien is offline
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Originally Posted by Bahg View Post
how's the bass on the Olympica III? Can you hear the kick drum on classic rock tracks?
Yes, absolutely! When I finally demoed the Sonus Faber Olympica III vs. the Revel F208 (a $5,000 pair vs. a $13,000 pair wasn't a fair fight--yet in my 9 track test, the Revel came out ahead 8-1) the SF Olympica performed so well in the low end I initially suspected that the dealer had inadvertently left a subwoofer connected for our demo.
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  #440  
Old 08-08-2018, 01:34 PM
Bahg Bahg is offline
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So did you buy the Olympica III?
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