By no means is the Olympica Nova III midrange thin. It is just not colored to be thick. I pointed it out because Sonus Faber’s sound has changed (for the better imo) and they are know for being a relaxed speaker and this one is not. It seemed “natural” not thin not thick.
It is hard to compare the Olympica III to the nova III. I did hear them in the same room (local deal 10 minutes away) and both on classe but it was 6 months or so apart. I feel like I will be making stuff up if I try to split hairs so take these comments with a gain of salt. I demoed the Nova 3 just a few weeks ago so it is very fresh as I might buy them (but the kids and those open tweeters...)
I can start by telling you how I felt but we all know mood greatly effects listening impressions. When I heard the III it was good. I brought my own music (CDs) I kind of had to look for what was good about them. Kind of an inner subtle good sound. Ok everywhere but not amazing anywhere. They seemed pretty flat with a little bass bloom from the room.
I just happened to be in the shop looking at projectors and I asked how the Nova was. From the first note I thought they were great. I was pulled in from note one. The sound stage was much better than what I remembered. The highs seemed more detailed (relatively brighter than the III?) and the bass seemed to have better leading edge impact. Again a long time between them.
after hearing it I looked up what was changed on line. Did not seem like much other than the cabinet construction. Maybe I was hearing the result of a better cabinet. Maybe they fine turned the crossover, I don’t know. But in the game of finding subtle changes the nova was clearly the better speaker. I would take the Nova III over the B&W 803d3 they also have on the floor. Much more natural.
The III vs the Nova III went from I would buy those to I want those... the looks of the nova are much better too. I like the wood inlay front better than the leather. Now used prices of the Olympica are pretty good which could change everything because I could easily argue they sound the same too. It is a little hard to demo speaks as I would add my subs into any system I buy and they totally change the sound. They turn the Thiels into a different animal.
Here is a good video comparing the two. Sound caparison starts at 13:48
https://youtu.be/Xv8dvVIdgukI would still add the Sabrina. they are more alike than different (a lot of used ones these days). I did not hear them long enough to have a strong opinion as I went straight to the Sasha 2 that day. At a high level I feel the wilsons have better leading edge impact in the bass but I can’t comment on the rest of the sound in detail other then they had good balance with a bit of warmth in the bass (flat mids and highs). Maybe I will start a thread asking about the two.
