Cremona Auditor M vs Olympics I

[lordemsworth]

Just wondering if anyone has been able to compare the two?

I've scoured the threads, and some have preferred One, andothers , the other.

I know the right answer is to hear for yourself, but no one has both. They have cleared out the Auditors and just have the Olympicas. My current dealer only has the Olympica II.

What I find curious ishwo few reviews I have seen. There is one on 6 Moons - but it is hard to determine the underlying message sometimes. There is a minor criticism that the Olympics are tipped at the top and to pair carefully.

All others (in translation from German and Polish) are positive, but a little garbled due to Google Translate.

I'm leaning towards the Auditor Ms because of some great prices, but would save up if the Olympics were unequivocally better.

I will drive them with an ARC VSI60.

Thoughts welcome.

[Ch1mera1989]

I want to know too I have the Auditor M's and find the Olympica's stunning. Haven't heard them yet

[inga]

I have compared , but not with my records. Maybe its positioning(speakers was out in the room too much IMHO) But I prefered Auditors over Olympica. The second one had more neutral midrnage fro the two, but Auditor M soundstage, and transparency (without being edgy) and overal presentation was more interesting to listen for.

[Bavarian05]

Originally Posted by inga

I have compared , but not with my records. Maybe its positioning(speakers was out in the room too much IMHO) But I prefered Auditors over Olympica. The second one had more neutral midrnage fro the two, but Auditor M soundstage, and transparency (without being edgy) and overal presentation was more interesting to listen for.

I agree with this. I have listened to both fairly extensively. I went with the Auditor M. My comments that follow are meant to be very relative and that the differences are minor overall. I auditioned the Olympica I a few times and was very close to pulling the trigger on them. The main differences that made the decision for me was based on aesthetic preference, treble character and overall smoothness. I had the B&W 805Ds in Rosenut prior to the Auditor M in Maple. I was ready for a visual change in my room. The Olympica is a beautiful speaker, though I personally like the unique look of the Auditor M and this may sound frivolous, but I think the new Olympica stand is fairly wobbly compared to the Auditor stand. Just didn't feel as stable. If you touch or bump the speaker it wobbles a bit from side to side. This could be on purpose, but it didn't make me want to spend $1200 on them. In my opinion the Olympica range overall has a slight character change in the way it presents the higher frequencies. Bright would be grossly overstating it, but by comparison, that is the simplest way to describe the difference. Money did not make the decision for me, however if budget is a concern, I would grab a pair of new close out Auditor M's and run.

[metaphacts]

I'm just trying to figure out how to make an Olympica bright.

Olympica mid to high frequency transition should be magic and anything but bright or hard. That same range is the weakness of all the Cremona M series by comparison.

[lordemsworth]

Does that mean they are more similar than dissimilar?

[Bavarian05]

Originally Posted by metaphacts

I'm just trying to figure out how to make an Olympica bright. Olympica mid to high frequency transition should be magic and anything but bright or hard. That same range is the weakness of all the Cremona M series by comparison.

Interesting. My dealer was doing demo with Electrocompaniet separates (CD, Pre and Amp) which I usually find to be on the warmer side of neutral. Odd. Maybe not enough time on them? Said they had over 100 hours by the time I listened for the second time. ??? Dunno.

[metaphacts]

Originally Posted by Bavarian05

Interesting. My dealer was doing demo with Electrocompaniet separates (CD, Pre and Amp) which I usually find to be on the warmer side of neutral. Odd. Maybe not enough time on them? Said they had over 100 hours by the time I listened for the second time. ??? Dunno.

My first experience with Olympica I last August was with ARC SP20, ARC REF75, CD8/DAC8, SME20/SMEV/Sumiko Palo Santos, and Transparent Cable throughout. The speakers had about 72 hours on them when I set them up. Purity is the one word that comes to mind. There's just a complete lack of grain/noise in the mid to high transition. Substitute a REF5SE/REF2SE or a REF10/REFPHONO10 and it's downright spooky.

Since that time, I have used the speaker in a multitude of configurations. The quieter and purer the gear in front the more it is evident. I will say the REF75 remains my favorite followed by my old faithful Pass Aleph 3. Needless to say, any gear that tends toward brightness can certainly affect perceptions.

Set up is important. Too far out in the room is not the issue but correct positioning is. Any number of mispositionings can cause a perception of a thinning out at the bottom of the tweeter range - too far apart, incorrect toe in, incorrect/misaligned rake. But the biggest mistake is positioning the speaker for imaging before aligning it to work with the room in the bass. Done improperly, you can cause a perception of brightness.

All that said, Olympicas are pretty easy to set up compared to previous Sonus models. And as always in speaker set up, an inch is as close as a mile.

YMMV

[lordemsworth]

Bill - do you have an opinion on a comparison between the Cremona M and Olympica?

[Venere]

Originally Posted by lordemsworth

Bill - do you have an opinion on a comparison between the Cremona M and Olympica?

See Post #5 in this thread.