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Amongst the new crop the Olympica line retains the highest dose of the old Sonus faber whilst using technologies developed during the brand's new era. It even looks like vintage Sonus, really amazing! The sound reflects that. There is much grace from the older designs such as the Minima including the Vintage version. At the same time there’s a move towards higher precision and selectivity mainly thanks to a new tweeter. Interestingly this mirrors changes Mr. Serblin proposed in his final Accordo monitor – a more precise somewhat light but brilliantly coherent sound. Similarly to the Accordo, the Olympica I needs to be driven by a powerful amplifier to show its true mettle. The 40 watts minimum suggested by the maker should be taken very serious. Some high-end 300B designs will undeniably be able to handle it but they'd need a stiff high-current power supply.
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The new Sonus faber’s tonal balance is shifted higher than that of the Minima Vintage and Guarneri Evolution. It’s therefore important not to pair the Olympica with an amplifier more analytical than organic. The upper midrange may then get slightly too forward. The sound is very clean, very resolved and free of distortion including compression. Some things can’t be overcome though. But the speakers are simply lovely. As I said elsewhere, I would love to keep in my collection some of the boxes I review. Unfortunately lack of space forbids it. Next to the P3ESR and M30.1 from Harbeth and the Castle Richmond Anniversary which I own signed by the chief engineer, this would be another keeper. The Olympica I from Sonus faber would be the pride of my collection, on an equal level as the Guarneri Homage.
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For years industrial design and finish have been Sonus faber hallmarks and distinguishing features. This is an Italian job from beginning to end, by people who know what to do and how to do it. That’s important since there are so few examples of good industrial design in the hifi world. Any attempt to make our world look better commands respect. On the technical side the Olympica I is a two-way in a side-vented enclosure. Instead of a classic bass reflex or transmission line we have here a variant of the former in a resistive aperiodic slot implementation. Here the only other ancillary information in the literature is that this idea is based on prior Onken and Jensen concepts. The cabinet is made of natural Walnut staves with narrow stringers in light maple. Sonus faber calls their new cabinet an 'enhanced Lyre shape' design. The sides are asymmetrical and the rear panel sits slightly off-axis as it did with Serblin's own Accordo. The literature invokes a hyperbolic shape and 'duck-tail geometry' concepts.
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The front baffle, top and rear are covered in black-stained leather. Bottom and top panels extend slightly beyond the sides. A vertical gap conceals the mid/woofer vent behind a perforated metal cover. Metal can also be seen around the tweeter dome and in the top panel frame. Fortunately there is not much of it to retain the overall classic design. Although narrow the rear accommodates two pairs of speaker terminals. They are user friendly and seem to be rhodium plated. They are joined by jumper plates which should be discarded immediately and replaced by proper cable jumpers. The front baffle can be covered with a rubber-string grill stretched over a metal wire frame.
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The front baffle is not a simple flat surface and shaped a bit like diamond-cut Avalon. Two drive units designed entirely by Sonus faber mount to the flat part of the front baffle with concealed screws. Treble is handled by the 'arrow point' DAD 29XTR2 where DAD is short for damped apex dome, a combination of classic dome and ring radiator. It has a large 29mm Ø and features a neodymium magnet plus the central arrow point to linearize phase response.
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The 150mm MW15XTR mid/woofer's cone combines a proprietary mix of cellulose pulp, kapok, kenaf and other air-dried organic materials. Whilst invisible, the cone surface is coated with a transparent layer of viscous material designed to suppress cone resonance. The copper-clad aluminum voice coil lowers moving mass whilst providing good conductivity. A very large dynamically linear motor incorporates triple Kellog/Goeller rings to reduce distortion. The basket is a cast affair. The crossover was reportedly optimized for amplitude and phase response and resonance suppression. Called 'para-cross topology' it hinges at 2.500Hz and was first seen in the Aida and Guarneri Evolution models.
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The stands too command attention. Although not as massive as the Guarneri posts, they are well made and attractive. The material is solid aluminum except for the steel spikes. Those are higher in front to tilt the speaker back and up. The stand’s upper plate is very small and as usually with Sonus the speaker bolts to it.
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opinia @ highfidelity.pl
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Specifications according to the maker:
Frequency response: 50Hz – 30.000Hz
Sensitivity: 87dB (2.83V/1m)
Nominal impedance: 4Ω
Suggested amplifier power: 40W - 150W
Power handling (IEC-268-5): 20V rms
Dimensions: 354 x 222 x 368mm
Stand dimensions: 708 x 287 x 376mm
Dimensions of speaker with stand: 1068 x 287 x 435mm
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