Sonus Faber Olympica III or Vienna Acoustics Lists

"06-04-15: Goose... The Olympica's were more closed in and boxy sounding."

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I don't know what Olympica 3's you were listening to but they are one of the best soundstaging speakers (not to be confused with image placement,which the BW does well) that I have ever heard. Could have been a associated component problem. The B&W"s are a fine speaker for sure but I would have to believe that people after the Sonus faber sound would pass on the B&W. It boils down to priority and taste.

I also think the B&W sound better than the Olympica 3's. Their upper bass region seemed to creep up into the lower mids, giving vocals a chesty, heavy type of sound. The B&W's also have a somewhat ripe upper bass range, but doesn't creep up into the lower mids. IMO.

I will say that with all the press / reviews that the Sonus Faber Olympica III's received .....we have not heard from anybody on that speaker. Somebody had to of purchased them ....and compared them to others. Just commenting ....

All the SF Olympica III owners are busy enjoying music on their Olypicas while reading a good book, or making sweet love to their wives, or enjoying some fava beans and a nice Chianti. They don't have time to come here and hang out with us.

I don't own any Olympicas, but I will some day...I may not even connect them to an amp...I just want to sit and stare at those beautiful wood cabinets.

Garebear,I do own the Olympica III's and they are a very fine speaker. I posted this on another thread. Hope this helps...

I own a pair of Sonus Fabers Olympica III's which I bought after owning the Joseph Audio Pulsars. As much as I loved the sound of the Pulsars[make no mistake,they are a great 2-way] the SF's are just in another leaque.The Olympica's are way more refined,but at almost twice the price,they better be.

The Pulsars are image champs, but for my tastes, they were not a speaker that could go loud and keep up on some material. I guess I prefer a bit larger speaker. In the past I have owned Advent, ADS,Legacy,Merlin,Talon,JA,as mentioned,and now the SF Olympica III's. I am not saying the SF's will be my retirement speaker,but,they are the finest sounding speaker I have personally owned.

Once set up properly the music just flows from these.They are sound stage champs and a pure pleasure to listen to. Voice and instrument are pure heaven... which have an organic... natural sound, that to my ears, just plain sound right...giving most material spot on tonality and gestalt. Be aware though,they are power hungry.Feed them some high quality watts and you will be rewarded for the effort in doing so. They are rated at 4 ohm impedance but I believe they drop into the 3 ohm range,so high current will be needed to open up the virtues of these speakers to the level that will make them worth the price of admission. I'm not saying less watts are a deal killer on these but control of the drivers are key here.By the way, they sound just as good at low volumes as they do at high levels,no break-up and they love to go loud. But as usual, room size plays a key role in this.

I can give a hearty recommendation if you love Italian craftsmanship and beauty from a company that most other speaker builders aspire to be.By the way,they build everything in house,to their specs. Not to many speaker companys doing that anymore.