(11-Jun-2016, 09:23)Bartype Wrote: [ -> ]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!
Have you decided not to audition the B&Ws at home?
(11-Jun-2016, 10:57)Axel Wrote: [ -> ] (11-Jun-2016, 09:23)Bartype Wrote: [ -> ]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!
Have you decided not to audition the B&Ws at home?
I am not sure yet. My preference is for the SF's now and besides that, i have to make arrangements with another dealer to get them at home. Not that this is a problem, and when the SF's don't work in my room i will try the B&W's for sure and probably even so.
I had the SF Cremona M paired with D400 and it was certainly a very good combination, and very musical. But the bass was somehow slow. If the Olympica is improved on that aspect I may also consider back to SF, but currently I'm looking at AP Virgo 25 which I heard good things from other Dev users.
(12-Jun-2016, 21:18)Supra Wrote: [ -> ]I had the SF Cremona M paired with D400 and it was certainly a very good combination, and very musical. But the bass was somehow slow. If the Olympica is improved on that aspect I may also consider back to SF, but currently I'm looking at AP Virgo 25 which I heard good things from other Dev users.
Yes i have heard a lot of those AP Virgo's too. There is also a 'plus' version which seems even better (and more costly). I would be interested if there was a dealer somewhere not too far, but that's doesn't seem the case...
Well, i have the SF Olympica II's at home and... After a short period of time to getting used to them and moving them a little bit around i got to a long listening evening (and night) with a good friend of mine and in short: WAW!
These things swallow everything, and sings to you back what it swallows! It makes music so to say, far more then the others i have listen to. It pulls you to the music so to say. Where others sound probably very detailed and fine, but you find yourself back reading the news on your phone... Not so with these SF Olympica's! You have to listen for more and more!
And in my not that big a room it was boomy with some tracks at first (Aes Dana for that matter) but after a little moving around it really sounds a whole lot better. This gets even more so when you swap them so the bass port is faced to the outside: less bass, so less change of boomy bass, and a more wide sound picture. Up until now i didn't even put the grannite tiles under them.
Right now with the SF's i have even less issues with too boomy bass then with the Spendor's. And where the Spendor's fall short in playing dirty rock, less well recorded music and classical, the SF's play everything with verve and musicality!
There are whole new areas of music to explore or to listen to again so to say. For me it seems like a done deal. I don't think i am going to audition the B&W's at home because they already felt short when compared to the SF's in the shop. The only reason to audition them at home was when the SF's didn't do it in my room. But now this isn't the case and the SF was so much fun to listen to, i don't see the reason and also the considerably amount of time it takes to audition the B&W's probably...
Oh, and did i already mentioned they also look gorgeous, even in black ash?
Apart from this, considering i like the sound of these SF's, do you people know of other speakers which can be compared sound-wise with the SF's?
(20-Jun-2016, 10:28)Bartype Wrote: [ -> ]Well, i have the SF Olympica II's at home and... After a short period of time to getting used to them and moving them a little bit around i got to a long listening evening (and night) with a good friend of mine and in short: WAW!
These things swallow everything, and sings to you back what it swallows! It makes music so to say, far more then the others i have listen to. It pulls you to the music so to say. Where others sound probably very detailed and fine, but you find yourself back reading the news on your phone... Not so with these SF Olympica's! You have to listen for more and more!
And in my not that big a room it was boomy with some tracks at first (Aes Dana for that matter) but after a little moving around it really sounds a whole lot better. This gets even more so when you swap them so the bass port is faced to the outside: less bass, so less change of boomy bass, and a more wide sound picture. Up until now i didn't even put the grannite tiles under them.
Right now with the SF's i have even less issues with too boomy bass then with the Spendor's. And where the Spendor's fall short in playing dirty rock, less well recorded music and classical, the SF's play everything with verve and musicality!
There are whole new areas of music to explore or to listen to again so to say. For me it seems like a done deal. I don't think i am going to audition the B&W's at home because they already felt short when compared to the SF's in the shop. The only reason to audition them at home was when the SF's didn't do it in my room. But now this isn't the case and the SF was so much fun to listen to, i don't see the reason and also the considerably amount of time it takes to audition the B&W's probably...
Oh, and did i already mentioned they also look gorgeous, even in black ash?
Apart from this, considering i like the sound of these SF's, do you people know of other speakers which can be compared sound-wise with the SF's?
Thanks for that! It makes me think that I've got to pull out all the stops to get a pair of Olympicas to my gaff for a proper listen. I just love the look of these speakers, with the layering of woods and the leather baffle cover. Very stylish, as the Italians are so good at. Can't wait. Yum yum!
(20-Jun-2016, 15:16)Axel Wrote: [ -> ] (20-Jun-2016, 10:28)Bartype Wrote: [ -> ]Well, i have the SF Olympica II's at home and... After a short period of time to getting used to them and moving them a little bit around i got to a long listening evening (and night) with a good friend of mine and in short: WAW!
These things swallow everything, and sings to you back what it swallows! It makes music so to say, far more then the others i have listen to. It pulls you to the music so to say. Where others sound probably very detailed and fine, but you find yourself back reading the news on your phone... Not so with these SF Olympica's! You have to listen for more and more!
And in my not that big a room it was boomy with some tracks at first (Aes Dana for that matter) but after a little moving around it really sounds a whole lot better. This gets even more so when you swap them so the bass port is faced to the outside: less bass, so less change of boomy bass, and a more wide sound picture. Up until now i didn't even put the grannite tiles under them.
Right now with the SF's i have even less issues with too boomy bass then with the Spendor's. And where the Spendor's fall short in playing dirty rock, less well recorded music and classical, the SF's play everything with verve and musicality!
There are whole new areas of music to explore or to listen to again so to say. For me it seems like a done deal. I don't think i am going to audition the B&W's at home because they already felt short when compared to the SF's in the shop. The only reason to audition them at home was when the SF's didn't do it in my room. But now this isn't the case and the SF was so much fun to listen to, i don't see the reason and also the considerably amount of time it takes to audition the B&W's probably...
Oh, and did i already mentioned they also look gorgeous, even in black ash?
Apart from this, considering i like the sound of these SF's, do you people know of other speakers which can be compared sound-wise with the SF's?
Thanks for that! It makes me think that I've got to pull out all the stops to get a pair of Olympicas to my gaff for a proper listen. I just love the look of these speakers, with the layering of woods and the leather baffle cover. Very stylish, as the Italians are so good at. Can't wait. Yum yum!
You are going to enjoy yourselves!
(21-Jun-2016, 09:37)ŶBartype Wrote: [ -> ] (20-Jun-2016, 15:16)Axel Wrote: [ -> ] (20-Jun-2016, 10:28)Bartype Wrote: [ -> ]Well, i have the SF Olympica II's at home and... After a short period of time to getting used to them and moving them a little bit around i got to a long listening evening (and night) with a good friend of mine and in short: WAW!
These things swallow everything, and sings to you back what it swallows! It makes music so to say, far more then the others i have listen to. It pulls you to the music so to say. Where others sound probably very detailed and fine, but you find yourself back reading the news on your phone... Not so with these SF Olympica's! You have to listen for more and more!
And in my not that big a room it was boomy with some tracks at first (Aes Dana for that matter) but after a little moving around it really sounds a whole lot better. This gets even more so when you swap them so the bass port is faced to the outside: less bass, so less change of boomy bass, and a more wide sound picture. Up until now i didn't even put the grannite tiles under them.
Right now with the SF's i have even less issues with too boomy bass then with the Spendor's. And where the Spendor's fall short in playing dirty rock, less well recorded music and classical, the SF's play everything with verve and musicality!
There are whole new areas of music to explore or to listen to again so to say. For me it seems like a done deal. I don't think i am going to audition the B&W's at home because they already felt short when compared to the SF's in the shop. The only reason to audition them at home was when the SF's didn't do it in my room. But now this isn't the case and the SF was so much fun to listen to, i don't see the reason and also the considerably amount of time it takes to audition the B&W's probably...
Oh, and did i already mentioned they also look gorgeous, even in black ash?
Apart from this, considering i like the sound of these SF's, do you people know of other speakers which can be compared sound-wise with the SF's?
Thanks for that! It makes me think that I've got to pull out all the stops to get a pair of Olympicas to my gaff for a proper listen. I just love the look of these speakers, with the layering of woods and the leather baffle cover. Very stylish, as the Italians are so good at. Can't wait. Yum yum!
You are going to enjoy yourselves!
So, have you placed your order yet or are you undecided?
(21-Jun-2016, 13:39)Axel Wrote: [ -> ] (21-Jun-2016, 09:37)ŶBartype Wrote: [ -> ] (20-Jun-2016, 15:16)Axel Wrote: [ -> ]Thanks for that! It makes me think that I've got to pull out all the stops to get a pair of Olympicas to my gaff for a proper listen. I just love the look of these speakers, with the layering of woods and the leather baffle cover. Very stylish, as the Italians are so good at. Can't wait. Yum yum!
You are going to enjoy yourselves!
So, have you placed your order yet or are you undecided?
Well, if everything goes well probably tonight
(22-Jun-2016, 07:17)Bartype Wrote: [ -> ] (21-Jun-2016, 13:39)Axel Wrote: [ -> ] (21-Jun-2016, 09:37)ŶBartype Wrote: [ -> ]You are going to enjoy yourselves!
So, have you placed your order yet or are you undecided?
Well, if everything goes well probably tonight
So, can we say welcome to the club?
