Which Amplifier for Sonus Faber Olympica 3 Speaker

I have to agree with George’s take on that issue.
A friend if mine has no satisfaction, what ever he tried, driving Olympica III with a 450 watt McIntosh MC452, specifically regarding the bass performance.
This by trying all the different taps available, NOTHING would solve that issue.
For me it confirms what’s being discussed.
He was hankering for the Pass X350.5 power of mine, yet struggled to let his MAC go.
He tried Everything, with all sorts of cable and front-end changes, nothing would improve the lack in bass performance. Drove him quite bat’s.

I’m sure by now he finally did change to a more suitable amp, as George mentioned, i.e. doubling current delivery down to 2watts.
If not that SF delivers just a fine ’book shelf’ performance, a total waste.
My 2 cents :)
M. 🇿🇦

Thanks @georgehifi, I appreciate your experience and POV. Would you be able to give me a list of best options to consider? Not looking to spent tons but could go up to ~$5k or a little more if it really justifies it. 

fortitudefive

Hi, $5k for an integrated, look at used Gryphon Diablo 120 or 300 or new Parasound Halo Integrated Hint 6 or even the older Halo Integrated which both have dacs in them. Both of these makes have bi-polar output stages and can come "close" to doing the doubling act down to 2ohms.

Cheers George

@justmetoo if your friend couldn't get enough bass out of the MC452 there is something seriously wrong. I'm using a MC452 with great results on my Olympica 3s.  The O3 will actually play lower than 34hz.