30-Dec-2015, 14:28
Hi guys,
I also own the Olympica II so I should be able to help on this one. Sorry if it seems long.
These are my second SF speakers. I went for the Olympica's having auditioned them along with my girlfriend, who, as I've told before, is a cellist and musicologist herself.
Funny that Robert's first note is about "tonal balance". My prime focus when searching for the next speaker was on natural, unforced sound with no emphasis on any specific frequency range. And the Olympica II, in my view, regardless of price, excels at that. If anything it leans, at least in my experience, just very slightly on the warm side. I would still say they easily achieve 95% neutrality if not more though.
Secondly, I was looking for "presence" and "attack". I mean, when hearing an instrument or a voice, a string or even a shout, it should be rendered as fleshy and palpable as possible, as if you could touch it. A cello should sound deep, powerful and sometimes cavernous. A violin should sound agile and gracious. But in both cases their body (and therefore distinct character) should be immediately recognizable and real. The Olympica's deliver here amply too.
Regarding soundstage, as Ken Kessler put it, you really get a vista like view of the album played (when properly placed that is, I'll come back to this next). The Olympica delivers a particularly wide and deep view. Regarding depth, it is here where you notice the excellent low level detail retrieval, especially when paired with Devialet. Overall on this, you get to hear the smallest details, echoes, reverberances, character... of the venue the album was recorded at.
And yes, on live recordings, they are truly impressive.
Last, regarding placement, I can't really say whether they are too fuzzy or not. What I can say is that I haven't hear them anywhere as good as in my place. I guess learning to go for patient experimenting and changing only one parameter at a time has really paid off. For reference, in my room they sit 115 cm from the back wall and still deliver more than enough quality bass (SAM means they can go as low as 23 Hhz, so almost full range, at moderate listening levels). Whether one can acommodate such a long wave in a small/medium size room remains to be seen though
Needless to say, a home demo of an already well run in pair is a must if you have the chance.
ML
I also own the Olympica II so I should be able to help on this one. Sorry if it seems long.
These are my second SF speakers. I went for the Olympica's having auditioned them along with my girlfriend, who, as I've told before, is a cellist and musicologist herself.
Funny that Robert's first note is about "tonal balance". My prime focus when searching for the next speaker was on natural, unforced sound with no emphasis on any specific frequency range. And the Olympica II, in my view, regardless of price, excels at that. If anything it leans, at least in my experience, just very slightly on the warm side. I would still say they easily achieve 95% neutrality if not more though.
Secondly, I was looking for "presence" and "attack". I mean, when hearing an instrument or a voice, a string or even a shout, it should be rendered as fleshy and palpable as possible, as if you could touch it. A cello should sound deep, powerful and sometimes cavernous. A violin should sound agile and gracious. But in both cases their body (and therefore distinct character) should be immediately recognizable and real. The Olympica's deliver here amply too.
Regarding soundstage, as Ken Kessler put it, you really get a vista like view of the album played (when properly placed that is, I'll come back to this next). The Olympica delivers a particularly wide and deep view. Regarding depth, it is here where you notice the excellent low level detail retrieval, especially when paired with Devialet. Overall on this, you get to hear the smallest details, echoes, reverberances, character... of the venue the album was recorded at.
And yes, on live recordings, they are truly impressive.
Last, regarding placement, I can't really say whether they are too fuzzy or not. What I can say is that I haven't hear them anywhere as good as in my place. I guess learning to go for patient experimenting and changing only one parameter at a time has really paid off. For reference, in my room they sit 115 cm from the back wall and still deliver more than enough quality bass (SAM means they can go as low as 23 Hhz, so almost full range, at moderate listening levels). Whether one can acommodate such a long wave in a small/medium size room remains to be seen though
Needless to say, a home demo of an already well run in pair is a must if you have the chance.
ML
Aurender X100 >> Totaldac USB cable >> D200 >> SF Olympica II
Italy
Italy
