I hate when this happens ......

Garebear, I had a couple of similar things happen to me recently which made me re-examine my system and the sound I was looking for in terms of the overall sound. These experiences made me realize that while the bass in my system was good it did not have enough bass impact.

The first thing I thought of doing was changing my speakers, because auditions of speakers from Rockport and Wilson Benesch were what led to my re-examination of the sound from my system. My current speakers are to one of the speakers Proac D 40r.

What I ended up doing was changing amplifiers. I am now completely happy with the bass in my system, as well as the overall system balance.

It took some time, advice from an audio dealer I know, and the thoughtful help of my local audio dealer to determine the best course of action.

Best of luck in your search for the sound you want.

Best Regards,

Jim Perry

If you are not seeing/hearing "deep" into the music as you say, I would not lay the blame on the Sonus faber Olympica III’s. They give a huge emotional/physical connection to my heart/ears and musicality is their forte.....I would look elsewhere in your setup/system.

garebear, my post was presumptuous, and I apologize for that.  But at financial web sites a common woe is the realization on the verge of retirement that sufficient funds have not been accumulated.  Saving simply wasn't a priority in the early years when compounding could have been most effective.  Being 80 and retired for 25 years has given me perhaps a peculiar perspective about the use of debt.

As others have alluded to above, you listened to the Martens on their home turf hooked up to a system designed specifically for them.  That said, it does seem that the system may have uncovered that you may desire a little more detail than you're currently getting from your system.  You have great speakers and you obviously chose them for a reason, and I agree with others that it's well worth experimenting with cables and upstream gear to see if you can coax some more detail out of your SFs.  Heightened detail can often sound attractive on first listen in a strange environment, but over the longer term it can often become fatiguing.  My guess is part of the reason you chose the SFs in the first place was that they avoided this, and it is quite possible that if you plugged the Martens into your system you may quickly tire of them.  Perhaps a good idea would be for you to share what electronics, cables, etc. you're currently using and that might elicit some good suggestions here for some things you could try.  My guess is you'll be able to capture most if not all you feel you might be missing now, so chin up and have fun experimenting.  The good news is you know what you're looking for and may be very close to achieving it, which is more than many audiophiles can say. 

I solved the problem; I don't go to audio stores anymore. I DO go to audio shows ... but most of the rooms affect the sound negatively to the point that my home system sounds better than 90% of what I hear at the shows. The other 10% is so far out of my league financially that it doesn't matter anyway. Case closed.