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Sonus Faber Olympica III, Olympica III Nova

Greetings;
Was curious about the latest model "Nova" compared to its predecessor. Warmer, brighter, cooler, softer, bass dynamics, etc;
I usually listen at medium levels, (about 85 dB average) and prefer a relaxed kind of sound with dense tonal colors, layers of detail, and a lively but not in your face amount of high frequency energy. I really like a pure midrange and one that is not recessed in the mix but decently projected out in the room; It’s definitely nice to be able to hear what great electronics are capable of- not muted too much, but also not super bright like the whiteness and brightness levels are cranked to the max on flat screens;

I know, I know, I need to go out and hear these myself but:
A: Covid
B: Room acoustics and electronics usually very different at dealers and are nearly impossible to gauge

So, this forum seems to be a good option to get some basic thoughts and feelings.
Synergy with a Luxman 509X and D08-u would be an extra bonus :)
I’ve heard some descriptions of this newer line (the non nova and nova) of Sonus Faber ranging from "dull", "boring", to "spectacular", "beautiful"; etc... very hard to get a basic read;
I have no issue with doing some work to get a set of speakers to sound their best in a new environment, but some speakers just can’t be helped and fall into the "danger" category - meaning expect significant churn from sources to amps and cables to get them to sound good;
Personally, I’ve never warmed up to horns and something about metal tweeters bothers me; I suppose I prefer a more relaxed style of presentation. I definitely don’t like (for more than a few songs) high-energy-in-the-presence-region speakers, such as Focal Sopra No2, Dynaudio Confidence 30, Klipsch Forte III; These are all very fine and excellent speakers in their own ways with plenty of pros (and some cons), but on average this style of sound becomes fatiguing to me if I play music other than acoustic jazz, bluegrass, Diana, Barber, perfect recordings, you know the standard fare audiophile type music;
Thanks for your time and thought.
audiopacer
9 responses Add your response
arafiq's avatar
arafiq
1,681 posts
 
Back in October of last year, I heard Olympica 2 and 3, as well as their Nova counterparts. To be very honest, I struggled to tell the old lineup from the new Novas ... that sounds redundant :)

If anything, I think the Nova has maybe a slight edge in higher frequency extension which makes it more modern sounding. I actually preferred the warm’ish nature of the old ones, and ended up buying Olympica 2 (non-Nova), and spent the savings on room acoustics and cabling. I run these with Luxman 590AXII which I preferred over 509.

More recently, I purchased a pair of Harbeth M30.1s and compared it with the Olympica II -- same room, same equipment, same cabling. To make a long story short, the Harbeths are more musical and do not give up anything (okay, maybe the Olys have slightly better dynamics) to the Olympicas. Based on your preferred genres, I strongly urge you to try out Harbeth 30.x or HL5+.
james633
1,036 posts
 
I have heard both the Olympica III and Olympica Nova III in the same room but many months apart and on different gear. 
I heard the Olympica III and thought they were nice. Balanced but not sure they were an all out upgrade from my Thiel 2.4s. Then I had a breath in counter with the Olympica Nova 3 on the new Classe amp and pre. I thought they fell into the outstanding category. I would say they have a little bloom the in the bass, are very flat until about 8k-ish then I felt they had a little rise in the treble. This was with pretty heavy toe in so more straight would have made the highs flatter. I felt like the mids were pretty flat, not dipped down like older Sonus sabers. 
For me this speaker is on pare with the Wilson Sabrina. I feel like the Sonus faber is a little softer in the leading edge of the bass and the wilson hits a hair harder with the leading edge impact but this was different dealers so take that comment for what it is...

here is a good video comparing the two. I would check out their other videos too. One of the better audio channels. I really like the looks of the nova but would take a used Olympica in a heartbeat. If I did not think my kids would destroy them (no grills!?!) I would own them. 
https://youtu.be/Xv8dvVIdguk
brubin
121 posts
 
I have the Nova 5 and I can tell you that the improvements over the Olympica older model makes the price difference worth it. The used market for Olympica is still substantial. If you can purchase the Nova 3 or 5 do it. I would also recommend getting the Isoacoustics Gaia II supports as well. Let me know if you have other questions.
audiopacer OP
17 posts
 
awesome feedback; Thanks 🙏 so much!
The Nova and pre-Nova are gorgeous speakers;  for a spell I had Harbeth 40.2 coupled with a Plinius Sa103 and Hegel H590; I tried for some time to get the balance right but they sounded a bit dry and flat to me; I probably should have tried a tube amp or class A of decent pedigree but I kinda gave up on them and moved on; Last year was a crazy year of super high system churn trying and re- trying stuff; it was fun but exhausting at times;
At a friend's house I did hear Super HL5+ on Luxman 509x and PS Audio DSD dac and it was a great match; I do think i'd need more sheer driver area to integrate a bit better in my space though; I've tried subs including twin Rel s812/se , JL as well; always been a mixed bag for me- too much tweaking and fiddling;
One reason why i love Luxman is that they make practical high quality gear for the music lover to help adjust less than ideal recordings - they get it; I've spent way too much time suffering through flat playback- it's amazing what a bit of extremely transparent tone control can do sometimes; With this kind of flexibility I found subs not worth the hassle; Nothing is absolutely perfect but the strengths far outweigh any weaknesses with the Luxman stuff; I would love to hear the 590 axii; Had a Pass XA30.5 and loved that amp/ midrange magic was incredible- super engaging and dimensional;
I think the Nova III might be worth a serious shot; 

james633
1,036 posts
 
Nova III is a real nice speaker, looks as nice as it sounds too.
When you used subs did you use an active crossover (high pass)? Makes a big difference.
audiopacer OP
17 posts
 
@james633 I did not use any high pass filtering just ran them full range; set the subs for around 65 hz or so; sometime ago I setup a modest 5.1 with a Marantz 7012, Focal Aria 906 mains, matching center and the JL sub using LFE; 80hz seems to be the best crossover in that system- i did try to merge both my dedicated 2 ch and the home theater stuff but never could seem to make the 2 ch shine as it does on its own;
In the two channel setup I did try running the JL with a Jensen transformer to totally isolate the grounds; this was a nice solution- but ultimately got tired of always adjusting the sub level; Honestly i'm just looking to make the two channel setup as sweet sounding and simple as I can; I sold the luxman 900 level gear, found joy with the 509 and D08u and just trying to nail the stereo speakers for a good long while;
 The home theater setup is a different story- ended up getting Goldenear Triton One.R and those are incredible at soundstage and phenomenal bass- massive sense of scale for movies and such but i find there is a whiff of harshness to the lower treble or something i can't quite place- as well as vocals that present as a bit too recessed; for movies though they are atomic bombs and just stunning; Can't think of any other speaker that has that much technology and performance for the price; If the mids and treble were just a tad more pure- more organic like excellent passive two or three ways i would 🛑 stop but alas i'm not there yet ;)



audiopacer OP
17 posts
 
@arafiq As it turned out, I got a pair of Harbeth SHL5+ XD and so far I like them immensely; I am having a wonderful time listening to music!! The system, with these speakers, presents a compelling and complete natural sound; I remarked to a fellow audio nut, that I was brought to goosebumps & tears whilst listening to Beethoven's 9th Symphony (Telarc label)-- something that has not happened in ages with my many recent systems;  These are gorgeous sounding speakers and I keep going back to - the sound is "right". 
arafiq's avatar
arafiq
1,681 posts
 
@audiopacer -- congratulations! And welcome to the Harbeth family. I was so impressed by the M30.1 that I replaced my Olympica IIs with the SHL5+ as well, although mine are the regular (non-XD, non-anniversary) version. IMO, for your taste in music (which is very similar to mine), there are very few speakers that can give you what the Harbeths can. 

Also, the synergy with Luxman is outstanding as it compliments the Harbeth sound so well. What stands are you using with the speakers?
audiopacer OP
17 posts
 
@arafiq 😊 🙏 
I am using the TonTrager stands basically made for these; Have not tried them any other way this far; I added more details to your Harbeth post;
Cheers 
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