Sonus Faber Olympica III speakers first views

[aurimasna]

Originally Posted by Apexorca

Yes I have! A lot...

will you share some details?

[Apexorca]

Originally Posted by aurimasna

will you share some details?

Certainly!
The Amati Futura has been my speaker for tree years. I'v tried it with a lot of equipment and quit sure about how it works.
I also experienced the whole Olympica line and Olympica III a lot. My good friend ordered a pair after the first demo here in Sweden and he has used them for some months now. I'v been there listening a lot.
I'v also heard Futura and Olympica III at the same store at the same occasion.

The new big change in the SF sound started with Futura. SF has moved to the more detailed and neutral sound but still with a fantastic presence with voices and a overall warm sound.
At first I thought Olympica III had even more neutral sound than Futura, but after Olympica III had been playing for several hundred hours I would say the have pretty much the same tonality, a healthy bit to the warm side.
If you should place the two speaker near each other and look at them you could see the difference in sound. Both with a very good sound, good looking, but Futura one size bigger all over. Futura has more attack, deeper, bigger scene, higher resolution and control, fills the room better and for sure it is the big brother.
But the step behind is smaller than I thought, especially in the bas region. It sounds better and deeper than it looks like. Voices always sounds good in SF. In both, the treble is more clear, clean, open and airy then it was in former SF models.
I really like the new SF sound and Olympica is very good.
Fore those wanting a smaller Futura, Olympica III is perfect.

[gaboudreaux]

Originally Posted by Apexorca

Certainly!
The Amati Futura has been my speaker for tree years. I'v tried it with a lot of equipment and quit sure about how it works.
I also experienced the whole Olympica line and Olympica III a lot. My good friend ordered a pair after the first demo here in Sweden and he has used them for some months now. I'v been there listening a lot.
I'v also heard Futura and Olympica III at the same store at the same occasion.

The new big change in the SF sound started with Futura. SF has moved to the more detailed and neutral sound but still with a fantastic presence with voices and a overall warm sound.
At first I thought Olympica III had even more neutral sound than Futura, but after Olympica III had been playing for several hundred hours I would say the have pretty much the same tonality, a healthy bit to the warm side.
If you should place the two speaker near each other and look at them you could see the difference in sound. Both with a very good sound, good looking, but Futura one size bigger all over. Futura has more attack, deeper, bigger scene, higher resolution and control, fills the room better and for sure it is the big brother.
But the step behind is smaller than I thought, especially in the bas region. It sounds better and deeper than it looks like. Voices always sounds good in SF. In both, the treble is more clear, clean, open and airy then it was in former SF models.
I really like the new SF sound and Olympica is very good.
Fore those wanting a smaller Futura, Olympica III is perfect.

Enjoyed reading your thoughts on O3 vs Futura. I actually ordered the O3's prior to my Futura's, but had a 2 month wait. Meanwhile, my dealer let me use his personal Futura's (which were for sale) while I waited for the O3's and I decided to keep the Futura's. I really wanted to a/b both speakers in my room, but didn't for a couple of reasons I won't bore anyone with. Anyway, I have often thought that the O3's would match my pre/amp better than Futura's and I have a smallish room, but couldn't pass up the good deal.

[Vico26]

^ hehe, we told you it was dangerous to borrow the futuras while waiting for O3...

My 0.02 after approx. 100. Hours. The sound has changed a lot. It has become "softer", which in combination with my gear and really really bad speaker cables started to upset me. The bass has become boomier and the localiztion of the interprets isnt so perfect neither. I realized I liked the tighter, more crispy sound with more accurate localization, albeit there is some more "musicality" feeling now.

Therefore I m going to try Nordost Tyr and Devialet gear today. I hope the speaker cable change will do it for me...

[I-Guardian-I]

My experience couldn't be more different. I actually listened to both speakers in the same room with the same electronics and cables(Devialet D-premier and Audioquest Oak, MIT PC) and noticed a far greater difference between the OIII and the Futura... I'll explain. The OIII does nothing wrong, in fact it's a very great speaker. Everything is there, wonderful sound. The instruments got the right timbre, sound is very open and neutral. If you don't listen to the Futura, it will most likely be your new "reference", yeah it's that good! I think for it's performance and aesthetics you can't get better at that price level. But, yeah there is always a but, like Vico26 said, it's really dangerous to listen to the Futura! When you do, you're immediately awestruck by it's performance, the term "jaw dropping" seems to be in place here. There is so much more of everything! Shrill songs are music again. Voices are so full, instruments sound a lot bigger, you'd nearly call it "missing" weight on an OIII when you go back to it. Everything just falls into place and of course the looks get better too, I know it's personal but I like it very much! And the most important thing: You get all of this, in a speaker cabinet which has almost the same dimensions as the OIII, only the Amati has a more deeper extended "back". Oh I'd love to own the Futura someday....

@Vico26, I can highly recommend Devialet gear, I think the 240 will be a great match if you like to rock, at normal listening levels I think a 170 would be great too. About Nordost, I have no experience with their cables. Make sure to get as much components used by the brand, it's said when more are used the better it gets. Please come back to us and tell us about your findings and what gear you used.

[aurimasna]

Originally Posted by Apexorca

Certainly! The Amati Futura has been my speaker for tree years. I'v tried it with a lot of equipment and quit sure about how it works. I also experienced the whole Olympica line and Olympica III a lot. My good friend ordered a pair after the first demo here in Sweden and he has used them for some months now. I'v been there listening a lot. I'v also heard Futura and Olympica III at the same store at the same occasion. The new big change in the SF sound started with Futura. SF has moved to the more detailed and neutral sound but still with a fantastic presence with voices and a overall warm sound. At first I thought Olympica III had even more neutral sound than Futura, but after Olympica III had been playing for several hundred hours I would say the have pretty much the same tonality, a healthy bit to the warm side. If you should place the two speaker near each other and look at them you could see the difference in sound. Both with a very good sound, good looking, but Futura one size bigger all over. Futura has more attack, deeper, bigger scene, higher resolution and control, fills the room better and for sure it is the big brother. But the step behind is smaller than I thought, especially in the bas region. It sounds better and deeper than it looks like. Voices always sounds good in SF. In both, the treble is more clear, clean, open and airy then it was in former SF models. I really like the new SF sound and Olympica is very good. Fore those wanting a smaller Futura, Olympica III is perfect.

Thanks for interesting thoughts! You said that you have tried futura with lots of different equipment. Maybe you tried to pair futura or olympica with Audio Research or McIntosh gear? I live in a country where market of hi fi and hi end equipment is very small, you can order almost everything but to make audition test usually is not possible, but AR and McIntosh is present at the market. I have tested futura with relatively new MC 601 monoblocks, c2500 pre amp, MIT cables, the sound was simply magical. Olympica was paired with AR ref 75 and LS 17 SE, atlas cables, hard to evaluate sound, they are still breaking in. I have read in some reviews that suggested to pair futura with high power, big solid state amps. Have you tried your futura with this particular gear and any thoughts on amplification ( solid state vs tubes etc.) cables?

[aurimasna]

Originally Posted by Vico26

^ hehe, we told you it was dangerous to borrow the futuras while waiting for O3... My 0.02 after approx. 100. Hours. The sound has changed a lot. It has become "softer", which in combination with my gear and really really bad speaker cables started to upset me. The bass has become boomier and the localiztion of the interprets isnt so perfect neither. I realized I liked the tighter, more crispy sound with more accurate localization, albeit there is some more "musicality" feeling now. Therefore I m going to try Nordost Tyr and Devialet gear today. I hope the speaker cable change will do it for me...

please let us know how your Olympica 3 sounds with Devialet and Nordost cables.

[Apexorca]

Originally Posted by Vico26

^ hehe, we told you it was dangerous to borrow the futuras while waiting for O3...

My 0.02 after approx. 100. Hours. The sound has changed a lot. It has become "softer", which in combination with my gear and really really bad speaker cables started to upset me. The bass has become boomier and the localiztion of the interprets isnt so perfect neither. I realized I liked the tighter, more crispy sound with more accurate localization, albeit there is some more "musicality" feeling now.

Therefore I m going to try Nordost Tyr and Devialet gear today. I hope the speaker cable change will do it for me...

That's not the way it should go.
If the bas sounds more and more boomier it's not the speaker. Probably the speaker starts the room more and more then it loosens up. Or reveals shortcomings of your other gear better and better.

[Apexorca]

Originally Posted by aurimasna

Thanks for interesting thoughts! You said that you have tried futura with lots of different equipment. Maybe you tried to pair futura or olympica with Audio Research or McIntosh gear? I live in a country where market of hi fi and hi end equipment is very small, you can order almost everything but to make audition test usually is not possible, but AR and McIntosh is present at the market. I have tested futura with relatively new MC 601 monoblocks, c2500 pre amp, MIT cables, the sound was simply magical. Olympica was paired with AR ref 75 and LS 17 SE, atlas cables, hard to evaluate sound, they are still breaking in. I have read in some reviews that suggested to pair futura with high power, big solid state amps. Have you tried your futura with this particular gear and any thoughts on amplification ( solid state vs tubes etc.) cables?

This is a matter of taste. I know SF works well with a lot of equipment. Power is good. ARC, if you like tubes is great. I finely choose Krell amp and pre amp.
Burmester and Esoteric was good. Probably VTL, Mark Levinson, would be great. There are more brands. For me McIntosch would't do it.
You need something with resolution and control to let the best out of the Futuras I think.

[Apexorca]

Originally Posted by I-Guardian-I

My experience couldn't be more different. I actually listened to both speakers in the same room with the same electronics and cables(Devialet D-premier and Audioquest Oak, MIT PC) and noticed a far greater difference between the OIII and the Futura... I'll explain. The OIII does nothing wrong, in fact it's a very great speaker. Everything is there, wonderful sound. The instruments got the right timbre, sound is very open and neutral. If you don't listen to the Futura, it will most likely be your new "reference", yeah it's that good! I think for it's performance and aesthetics you can't get better at that price level. But, yeah there is always a but, like Vico26 said, it's really dangerous to listen to the Futura! When you do, you're immediately awestruck by it's performance, the term "jaw dropping" seems to be in place here. There is so much more of everything! Shrill songs are music again. Voices are so full, instruments sound a lot bigger, you'd nearly call it "missing" weight on an OIII when you go back to it. Everything just falls into place and of course the looks get better too, I know it's personal but I like it very much! And the most important thing: You get all of this, in a speaker cabinet which has almost the same dimensions as the OIII, only the Amati has a more deeper extended "back". Oh I'd love to own the Futura someday....

@Vico26, I can highly recommend Devialet gear, I think the 240 will be a great match if you like to rock, at normal listening levels I think a 170 would be great too. About Nordost, I have no experience with their cables. Make sure to get as much components used by the brand, it's said when more are used the better it gets. Please come back to us and tell us about your findings and what gear you used.

I agree that having them at home is dangerous.
O3 price is less than the half compared to the Futura. Both is among the best in their price range. But you can't fool anyone.
Futura is jaw droppning. Thats why I bought them.
They are way ahead, as the price, as it should be.
But it's the same family and they got the same qualities. Both very good speakers.