Comparison between Wilson Benesch Vector / Sonus Faber Olympica II / Kef Reference 3

[Bartype]

Tonight i'll go to my dealer with the Dev under the arm, listen to the above mentioned speakers for a few hours. Just for orientation and to hear how they compare to my Spendor D7's...

[SteveO...]

Sounds like fun. I have experience of two of those and both are great in the right room.

[brit]

Tonight i'll go to my dealer with the Dev under the arm, listen to the above mentioned speakers for a few hours. Just for orientation and to hear how they compare to my Spendor D7's...

Look forward to hearing your views. I have listened to the Vectors, with my D400, in comparison to my Wilson-Benesch ACT1s and was quite impressed by their openness, transparency and ability to portray a wide (and deep) soundstage from a relatively small floorstander. The highs are also very detailed and smooth (the new tweeter is an excellent development in comparison to the scanspeak tweeters in my ACT1). I have not heard the Sonus Faber OlympicaII so will be interested in your thoughts about these, and the KEF Reference 3.

David

[Bartype]

Yeah i think it will be very interesting. My room isn't that big though, so i think the Vectors are the most interesting party here. But hen again, the mind and ears need to be open to all possiblities :-)

[brit]

Yeah i think it will be very interesting. My room isn't that big though, so i think the Vectors are the most interesting party here. But hen again, the mind and ears need to be open to all possiblities :-)

You are absolutely right about keeping an open mind (and ears) about what you are going to hear. Also very important to follow up with a demo in your own listening environment  - surprising the effect that the acoustics, and furnishings, in your own room can have on the sound. A further note about the Wilson-Benesch speakers - well my ACT1s anyway - is that they do not leap out at you in any one particular way. They are certainly far from "hi-fi", but present a very relaxed, transparent, open sound that you (or at least I) can sit and listen to for hours. Some speakers I have heard sound fantastic to begin with but after a while sound fatigue sets in, so some prolonged listening certainly recommended - you can not always get this at a Dealers. Sorry, not intending to teach Granny to suck eggs. Anyway enjoy your listening session .

David

[Bartype]

Back from the listening session and it was interesting for sure! I was listening together with a friend there because 2 ears and minds is two times open :-)

It wasn't a very long session, 3 hours, more or less one hour per speaker.

To my ears (and mostly also of my friends) the Kef reference 3 plays the various pieces of all kinds of music (very) well, exept for one dance track from Agoria (Souless Dreamer). The Kef somehow couldn't handle it, and left it with one low bass tone, not very pleasant to listen to. The Kef sounded best of all three with Cantate Domino from Oscars Motettkor. The big organ, played in a real cathedral just profits from the relatively big body of the Kef compared to the other two contenders. The Choir in the track however sounds almost equaly very good on all three.

The second session was with the Wilson Benesch Vector. It was a litle more spacious even then the Kef, but didn't excel on every level over the Kef. Jazz, such as Inch Worm from Patricia Barbers really stunning recorded album Cafe Blue sounds delightfull. Also Tundra from Amber Rubarth sounded best of all on the WB. But other tracks, mostly electronic and dance not so, and with a track like Anthrazit from Aes Dana it was even an absolute no go. It just couldn't do the trick with this otherwise great intelligent ambient... So despite the fact the WB firslty seemed a very interesting contender, it looks like it won't be the one to go for because electronic for me is a big portion of musical fun...

Then as third we listen the Sonus Faber Olympica II. I wasn't sure what to expect really, up until this day i didn't hear them that often. But it seems that will change now. The SF really did everything very very nice and pleasant to listen to. Also 'Do you love me' from Nick Cave, an not that well recorded track which sounds thin and harsh on my Spendors was very pleasant to listen to. And this wasn't coming at the cost of detail: good recorded tracks sounds awfully good!

After this evening i think i understand why so much Devialet owners choose Sonus Faber. It sounds like a match made in heaven :-) I have to say, i didn't use SAM with any of the three contenders, so i am unsure if that posibly would have change something.

Next step is planning a coming over to my home party for the SF's. If possible i would like to combine this with another visitor, the B&W 804D3.

[Axel]

Back from the listening session and it was interesting for sure! I was listening together with a friend there because 2 ears and minds is two times open :-)

It wasn't a very long session, 3 hours, more or less one hour per speaker.

To my ears (and mostly also of my friends) the Kef reference 3 plays the various pieces of all kinds of music (very) well, exept for one dance track from Agoria (Souless Dreamer). The Kef somehow couldn't handle it, and left it with one low bass tone, not very pleasant to listen to. The Kef sounded best of all three with Cantate Domino from Oscars Motettkor. The big organ, played in a real cathedral just profits from the relatively big body of the Kef compared to the other two contenders. The Choir in the track however sounds almost equaly very good on all three.

The second session was with the Wilson Benesch Vector. It was a litle more spacious even then the Kef, but didn't excel on every level over the Kef. Jazz, such as Inch Worm from Patricia Barbers really stunning recorded album Cafe Blue sounds delightfull. Also Tundra from Amber Rubarth sounded best of all on the WB. But other tracks, mostly electronic and dance not so, and with a track like Anthrazit from Aes Dana it was even an absolute no go. It just couldn't do the tyrick with this otherwise great intelligent ambient... So despite the fact the WB firslty seemed a very interesting contender, it looks like it won't be the one to go for because electronic for me is a big portion of musical fun...

Then as third we listen the Sonus Faber Olympica II. I wasn't sure what to expect really, up until this day i didn't hear them that often. But it seems that will change now. The SF really did everything very very nice and pleasant to listen to. Also 'Do you love me' from Nick Cave, an not that well recorded track which sounds thin and harsh on my Spendors was very pleasant to listen to. And this wasn't coming at the cost of detail: good recorded tracks sounds awfully good!

After this evening i think i understand why so much Devialet owners choose Sonus Faber. It sounds like a match made in heaven :-) I have to say, i didn't use SAM with any of the three contenders, so i am unsure if that posibly would have change something.

Next step is planning a coming over to my home party for the SF's. If possible i would like to combine this with another visitor, the B&W 804D3.

I have the SF Olympica ll and the B&W 804 D3 at the top of my list of replacements for my ProAc D20R. I'm very interested in your comparison views.
May I ask the dimensions your listening room, please?

[Bartype]

Back from the listening session and it was interesting for sure! I was listening together with a friend there because 2 ears and minds is two times open :-)

It wasn't a very long session, 3 hours, more or less one hour per speaker.

To my ears (and mostly also of my friends) the Kef reference 3 plays the various pieces of all kinds of music (very) well, exept for one dance track from Agoria (Souless Dreamer). The Kef somehow couldn't handle it, and left it with one low bass tone, not very pleasant to listen to. The Kef sounded best of all three with Cantate Domino from Oscars Motettkor. The big organ, played in a real cathedral just profits from the relatively big body of the Kef compared to the other two contenders. The Choir in the track however sounds almost equaly very good on all three.

The second session was with the Wilson Benesch Vector. It was a litle more spacious even then the Kef, but didn't excel on every level over the Kef. Jazz, such as Inch Worm from Patricia Barbers really stunning recorded album Cafe Blue sounds delightfull. Also Tundra from Amber Rubarth sounded best of all on the WB. But other tracks, mostly electronic and dance not so, and with a track like Anthrazit from Aes Dana it was even an absolute no go. It just couldn't do the tyrick with this otherwise great intelligent ambient... So despite the fact the WB firslty seemed a very interesting contender, it looks like it won't be the one to go for because electronic for me is a big portion of musical fun...

Then as third we listen the Sonus Faber Olympica II. I wasn't sure what to expect really, up until this day i didn't hear them that often. But it seems that will change now. The SF really did everything very very nice and pleasant to listen to. Also 'Do you love me' from Nick Cave, an not that well recorded track which sounds thin and harsh on my Spendors was very pleasant to listen to. And this wasn't coming at the cost of detail: good recorded tracks sounds awfully good!

After this evening i think i understand why so much Devialet owners choose Sonus Faber. It sounds like a match made in heaven :-) I have to say, i didn't use SAM with any of the three contenders, so i am unsure if that posibly would have change something.

Next step is planning a coming over to my home party for the SF's. If possible i would like to combine this with another visitor, the B&W 804D3.

I have the SF Olympica ll and the B&W 804 D3 at the top of my list of replacements for my ProAc D20R. I'm very interested in your comparison views.
May I ask the dimensions your listening room, please?

My room has an "L" shape, or even an "U" when i consider the kitchen, which has a smaller entrance to the rest of the room. The audio is set up in the short 'leg' of the "L", on the short side, which is 3,5 m (about 11,5 feet). The long side, which is open at one side to the rest of the 'L' is 5 m (about 16,5 feet). To my experience, because the speakers are in the leg, this 11,5 x 16,5 feet is sort of the space they have to fit in...

This is going to be interesting because the Spendors i have now, which are smaller then the SF, sometimes fill this space with too much bass. The Spendors do have a back firing bass solution, so that's not helping in a smallish room. The SF has the bass port sideways and you can switch the speakers to let it fire in or outwards. But as always, listen at home to be sure...!

I will try to get both the SF and the B&W 804 D3 to come and play at my place at the same time, in a few weeks. This way i can compare them side by side, also with enough friends around the corner for the extra ears :-)

[Axel]

Back from the listening session and it was interesting for sure! I was listening together with a friend there because 2 ears and minds is two times open :-)

It wasn't a very long session, 3 hours, more or less one hour per speaker.

To my ears (and mostly also of my friends) the Kef reference 3 plays the various pieces of all kinds of music (very) well, exept for one dance track from Agoria (Souless Dreamer). The Kef somehow couldn't handle it, and left it with one low bass tone, not very pleasant to listen to. The Kef sounded best of all three with Cantate Domino from Oscars Motettkor. The big organ, played in a real cathedral just profits from the relatively big body of the Kef compared to the other two contenders. The Choir in the track however sounds almost equaly very good on all three.

The second session was with the Wilson Benesch Vector. It was a litle more spacious even then the Kef, but didn't excel on every level over the Kef. Jazz, such as Inch Worm from Patricia Barbers really stunning recorded album Cafe Blue sounds delightfull. Also Tundra from Amber Rubarth sounded best of all on the WB. But other tracks, mostly electronic and dance not so, and with a track like Anthrazit from Aes Dana it was even an absolute no go. It just couldn't do the tyrick with this otherwise great intelligent ambient... So despite the fact the WB firslty seemed a very interesting contender, it looks like it won't be the one to go for because electronic for me is a big portion of musical fun...

Then as third we listen the Sonus Faber Olympica II. I wasn't sure what to expect really, up until this day i didn't hear them that often. But it seems that will change now. The SF really did everything very very nice and pleasant to listen to. Also 'Do you love me' from Nick Cave, an not that well recorded track which sounds thin and harsh on my Spendors was very pleasant to listen to. And this wasn't coming at the cost of detail: good recorded tracks sounds awfully good!

After this evening i think i understand why so much Devialet owners choose Sonus Faber. It sounds like a match made in heaven :-) I have to say, i didn't use SAM with any of the three contenders, so i am unsure if that posibly would have change something.

Next step is planning a coming over to my home party for the SF's. If possible i would like to combine this with another visitor, the B&W 804D3.

I have the SF Olympica ll and the B&W 804 D3 at the top of my list of replacements for my ProAc D20R. I'm very interested in your comparison views.
May I ask the dimensions your listening room, please?

My room has an "L" shape, or even an "U" when i consider the kitchen, which has a smaller entrance to the rest of the room. The audio is set up in the short 'leg' of the "L", on the short side, which is 3,5 m (about 11,5 feet). The long side, which is open at one side to the rest of the 'L' is 5 m (about 16,5 feet). To my experience, because the speakers are in the leg, this 11,5 x 16,5 feet is sort of the space they have to fit in...

This is going to be interesting because the Spendors i have now, which are smaller then the SF, sometimes fill this space with too much bass. The Spendors do have a back firing bass solution, so that's not helping in a smallish room. The SF has the bass port sideways and you can switch the speakers to let it fire in or outwards. But as always, listen at home to be sure...!

I will try to get both the SF and the B&W 804 D3 to come and play at my place at the same time, in a few weeks. This way i can compare them side by side, also with enough friends around the corner for the extra ears :-)

Not far off the dimensions of my own listening space. My nearest SF dealer is in Wembley and unless they're willing to deliver a pair of Olympica ll to audition (which I doubt) I won't be able to hear them as they're too big to get in my motor. I'd never spend eight grand on a pair of speakers that I hadn't listened to in my own space. B&W 804 D3s are no problem; there are two dealers just down the road; in fact the B&W factory is here in sunny Worthing! I'll be following your thread with interest and look forward to seeing some photo's if possible.

[Bartype]

Allright yesterday i did an audition of both the B&W 804 D3 and the SF Olympica II at a dealer in Amsterdam who has also Devialet. This way it wasn't necessary to bring my own Devialet to the party.

In short, the B&W sounds very good, controlled, detailed, bass needed where needed, but never too much (which is a very interesting thing considering my smallish room). But, and yes, there is a but, compared to the SF there was still something missing which the SF has: Music!

I don't know how to describe it exactly, it's something of a feeling. It become most clear when you play a piece of good recorded piano. On all other speakers i listen to the past few weeks piano sounds, well, like a keyboard, a recording, something, but not really like a piano as you know it when you hear it live.
When you start the piano piece, in my case part 2 of the 'Rachmaninov - Piano Concerto no 2' on the SF you hear it immediately: this is different. This sounds like a piano, this feels like a piano, this IS a piano...

As always there are also other buts: i make it myself very difficult to be a music lover who doesn't only like classic and jazz, but finds something cool in almost every genre out there. So electronica for example in all it's variants is something i listen to for about 35% of the time, and well, electronica isn't the thing where the SF's excels. There are others, like the Kef and B&W which sounds better there. Not by much however, but it's there.

But that being said, the SF are coming for a play party at my house next week, so this is going to be very interesting!

I'll keep you guys (are there any girls here, or anywhere in the audio high end for that matter?) informed!