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Sonus Faber Olympica II Speakers vs. something else?

I visited my retailer recently and asked some questions about my Aurender N10 I purchased from them. During the conversation, they recommended I listen to the Wilson Audio Sabrina speaker as a replacement for the Sonus Faber Olympica II speakers.  I have listened to various Wilson Audio speakers before and did not like the way they sounded.  I have not heard the Sabrina and probably should (maybe).

My friend suggests the PMC twenty .26 speaker (he owns them) is an excellent replacement for my Sonus Faber speakers.  He claims the "PMC speaker does what it supposed to do by faithfully reproducing the input signal regardless of genre of music.   He feels the PMC .26 is very musical and sounds natural".  

While I am not unhappy with my Sonus Faber Olympica II Speakers, it might be interesting to hear the speakers mentioned above, or maybe some other speaker options.  My speakers are in my living room and any new speaker needs to be approximately the same size as my Sonus Faber Olympica II Speakers (41.5” high, 14.5” wide and 17” deep.  Since my wife needs to approve the size, I am trying to keep the same speaker size I already have (approximately).

My system includes the Aurender N10 Music Server, the Bricasti M1 SE DAC and Hypex NCore NC400 Bridged Mono Block class D Power Amplifiers.  I am not using a preamplifier since the Bricasti DAC is going direct to my Hypex NCore power amplifiers.   All connections are using James Romeyn Pure Balanced POWer Fully Balanced Interconnect cables with Cardas Rhodium XLR Connectors.   

Do you have any comments regarding the speakers mentioned above or any suggestions of speakers I should listen to?  Thanks.

hgeifman
8 responses Add your response
audioman58's avatar
audioman58
4,134 posts
 
I have found the Olympica-3. Gives a little more of everything vs the Model -2
and gets Bass down to around 30hz  a lot of trickle down  technologies from their flagship line 
of course the $20 k and up Sonus Faber are a little more resolved and may play a little  deeper .that being said  I have a few things in my system that allow me to 
better many speakers even in the $30k range for example  the upper Silnote 
cables Poseidon my-2 and upper mk2 speaker cables - outstanding.
one stand out not even seen the whole system Core  Power Technologies
 1800 by balancing your power cables noise all to ground it takes up to 500 hours 
to fully run in but even 48hours later s a Dramatic improvement  in the 
 music being played. Over the next month you will see several excellent reviews
also their power cords even without the transformers are excellent.
for all your contacts the Worlds best  Stabilant -22 sonicy enhances and last for several a Years not months
david12
1,454 posts
 

I have heard The Olympica II's and the Sabrina in adjacent rooms at a small dealer's show and there was no comparison. Both are lovely speakers and at the price the Sonus Faber are great sounding, but the Sabrinas on the end of ARC amps, which they seem to suit, were quite exceptional, room filling, detailed, very dynamic.

 However and there is always a "however", the price is way outside my pay grade. I would certainly like a pair, but I will wait till they start appearing second hand, perhaps when the Sabrina II, comes out and there is always a II, even 3, with Wilson.

4425
861 posts
 
You owe it to yourself to audition Revel especially the new model using the beryllium tweeter. Kevin Voecks is a genius with tons of money behind him. The cabinets are gorgeous as well. 
marqmike
839 posts
 
Those are awesome speakers. Did you try several amps with them. I wonder if a different amp would improve those speakers quite a bit.  
jmcgrogan2's avatar
jmcgrogan2
6,346 posts
 
You might want to see if you can get your ears on a pair of DeVore Fidelity gibbon X's.
About the same price as the Sabrina's, but easier on the eyes and ears, IMHO.
44”H x 9”W x 17.5”D (not including feet).
mtrot
804 posts
 
Lots of nice options suggested here.  In the $7K size and price range, I'd certainly try out a set of Legacy Audio Signature SE.  You get the Air Motion ribbon tweeter and mid tweeter, as well as true 22Hz bass response.  I was able to do some extensive listening to the Signature SE in Black Onyx(which is absolutely gorgeous) and the sound is fantastic from top to bottom frequencies.  The only reason I did not buy a set is that I'm looking to pick up a set of the Focus SE.

If you're going up to the price and size range of the Dynaudio Contour 60, you may as well go all out and get the Legacy Audio Focus SE, which brings an additional mid-woofer and two 12" bass woofers, which brings bass response down to 18Hz.  I recently heard the Focus SE playing the Sheffield Lab direct to disc LP of Harry James & His Big Band -- the king james version.  Man, that is one dynamic recording and I could swear Harry was in the room with us!  The whole band just sounded fantastic.
nycjlee
286 posts
 
Nice system. But if you did want to checkout other options, have you listen to any of the Vandersteens...maybe a Treo CT or Quatro CT.  You may also like the new Dynaudio Contour 60 (haven't heard the new model but they look nice) or the PMC Fact 8.  I have a pair of Vandy Treo CT, they are excellent speakers, mostly neutral with a touch of warmth.  Lastly, they have the wife's seal of approval.  
bubba12's avatar
bubba12
436 posts
 
I have heard the Sabrina and liked it a lot but it sounds like you're happy. You have a nice system. i have mine in the living room also. I think we want it to sound like the dedicated, treated rooms at the audio stores but it may not be realistic. I don't think my wife is going for acoustic treatments in the living room.

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