Listened to the Olympica I today...

[bachrocks]

Originally Posted by Bavarian05

As nerdy as it sounds, my name comes from one of my previous cars, a 2005 BMW 330Ci ZHP - I really miss her!
I'm from Minnesota, though German and Irish descent. :-)

Thanks for satisfying my curiosity. Now I see why the "05" after your name. I've seen the BMW building in Munich a long time ago. They also have a museum I believe. Why don't you try to make one of the Munich audio shows, or perhaps, just a vacation to discover the science, beauty, and magic that went into your beloved 330Ci ZHP? Just a thought
ron

[Bavarian05]

Originally Posted by bachrocks

Thanks for satisfying my curiosity. Now I see why the "05" after your name. I've seen the BMW building in Munich a long time ago. They also have a museum I believe. Why don't you try to make one of the Munich audio shows, or perhaps, just a vacation to discover the science, beauty, and magic that went into your beloved 330Ci ZHP? Just a thought
ron

Hey Ron,

BMW actually has a European delivery program that discounts the car by around $3500 and allows one to pick up the new car from the factory in Munich, drive it around and vacation a few days and enjoy your new car while there and then they ship it back to the states for you. If we ever decide to go with another BImmer, we would definitely go this route. Unfortunately I have not fallen in love with anything Bimmer related since the E46 variants were phased out... :-(

[bachrocks]

Originally Posted by demans

Bachrocks - Did you recently buy the Liuto towers and you picked them over the Olympica?

Demans, I bought a pair of the discontinued Guarneri Mementos to replace the Liutos, which I still like very much and have kept, at least, for the time being.
ron

[bachrocks]

Originally Posted by Bavarian05

Hey Ron,

BMW actually has a European delivery program that discounts the car by around $3500 and allows one to pick up the new car from the factory in Munich, drive it around and vacation a few days and enjoy your new car while there and then they ship it back to the states for you. If we ever decide to go with another BImmer, we would definitely go this route. Unfortunately I have not fallen in love with anything Bimmer related since the E46 variants were phased out... :-(

That is a really cool deal. If the import tax on cars in Thailand were not 100%, that might be something for us to try. Seems like a very fun way to buy a car though.

I wonder what has replaced the BMW-again, my insatiable curiosity.
ron

[TOGA]

It's >300% Ron ..

[bachrocks]

Originally Posted by TOGA

It's >300% Ron ..

Toga, yes, it is more than 100%, but in the case of a Mercedes S-Class Sedan, not quite 300%.

Thailand - S-Class Sedan - 7,000,000 Baht (166,000 Euros, approximately).

Germany- S-Class Sedan - 80,000 Euros (3,380,000 Baht, approximately).

Without the 19% VAT of 15,000 Euros, the S-Class comes to 65,000 Euros (2,746,000 Baht, approximately) in Germany.

The price difference between the German car and the Thai car is 4,254,000 Baht (86,000 Euro, approximately). Assuming this all goes to our beloved government, the tax rate on a German car imported to Thailand is around 255%.

The boat tax used to be equally ridiculous, but amazingly, a few years ago it was lowered to 5% to promote yachting in Thailand (I believe).

Anyhow, this is insanity. This is why we bought a Camry, not a Mercedes, BMW, or Lexus. Made in Thailand, the Camry is taxed very favorably.

I like math but I am prone to errors. Please verify my figures if you like.

thanks,
ron

[Bavarian05]

Originally Posted by Bavarian05

My dealer here in the Twin Cities just received a pair in Graphite. They only have around 20 hours of play thus far, so likely need to go back in a week or so to hear them at their best. I was thoroughly impressed by this speaker. Aesthetically speaking, it is second to none in my experience. The level of finishing, hardware, veneers, leather, binding posts, etc. are enthralling to Admire. The matching stands are really nice looking and have what appear to be really high quality stainless spikes. They had it running through a full Electrocompianet system (not one of my favorites historically) using their CD player, pre and 200 watt amp. I was blown away by how large they sounded. Imaging was stunning. The top end was considerably edgier than I anticipated, though I have to believe that some of that will subside with another 70 or 80 hours of use. I am really anxious to see them in Walnut finish as well. Beautiful speaker! May have to look at selling my B&Ws... Very tempting indeed.

I had a good day! Also found pristine vinyl copies of Houses of the Holy, Waltz for Debbie (Japenese) and Classic Records two slab reissue of Kind of Blue.

Just an update. In spent a good portion of the afternoon yesterday at my dealers enjoying the Olympica I. They now have about 250 hours on them and were VERY impressive indeed. The top end edginess I had experienced earlier was completely gone (all the same sources, amp, etc.). The main thing we kept saying was coherence.
It is very resolving, but not overtly so. The low end was also really impressive. I thought they had a sub running initially. We listened to Marcus Miller and I was very impressed with the control and overall warmth and feel. Inviting sound - in the best sense. Impressive. Can't wait to see them in Walnut finish!

[Apexorca]

I listened to Olympica I, II and III yesterday and the day before.

I also liked them a lot. Especially Olympica III witch is a full range speaker with great depths and soundstage. The look is also great of course. It's a Sonus Faber.


Sonus Faber Olympica III

[Apexorca]

The treble is interesting. It's a soft dome witch is fixed in the center of the dome with this small peak. At first I thought it was some kind of protection.




The midrange also has a peak but its not connected to the membrane.

[Apexorca]

This is serious. The importance of clean power can't be ignored.