I've been on the hunt for some speakers to replace my ProAc D20R. I love the ProAcs, but I wanted something with a dedicated midrange driver. I auditioned the B&W 804 D3, but wasn't impressed. I preferred the ribbon tweeter on the ProAcs to the diamond tweeter on the 804's, which I found to be too toppy in my room although the bass and mids seemed OK. Also I didn't think that the 804s looked like a seven grand speaker , and on balance, I thought they'd be a sideways move.
Next I tried the PMC twenty five.26 and thought that the treble was a bit "rough" sounding and the bass was too much for my room. Then came the Focal Sopra 2 and again found that the treble and midrange seemed to overpower the bass and the styling didn't suit SWMBO.
Next came the Sonus faber Olympica ll, which from the outset really clicked with me and my room/system. I'd read that they were no good with heavy rock, but they sounded fine, with plenty of slam and great timing. What I liked about them was the lovely mid range, which is slightly warm and really suits the female voice and instruments like saxophone, trumpet etc. The treble reminded me of the ring radiator tweeter that I had on a pair if AE 1 Mk3 SE which I really liked because of its range up to 40 kHz, and although I obviously can't hear the treble above about 15kHz, I feel that it has a bearing on, and interaction with the lower frequencies. I gave them a thorough audition with varied music genres and was very happy with the performance. They are the most beautiful speaker I've ever clapped eyes on, apart from other Sf speakers higher up the range.
I decided to go for them!
I've had the Olympicas for four days now and have about 15 hours on them. I'm running them in gently. SAM is turned on, but only at 0%. Really looking forward to getting them properly bedded in and sounding sweet.
I must point out that these results are in my room with my gear and with my ears, so other people will have a different experience, and I'm sure that all of the speakers that I turned down will perform well in other environments.
I'd like to give a recommendation to Guildford Audio and it's owner, Trevor Martin. I have no affiliation with the company, but I received brilliant service from them and a very generous trade in on my ProAcs. If you're thinking of upgrading or buying new gear, I strongly recommend paying Trevor a visit. His showroom is in his house which makes a nice change from the usual listening rooms. He is a gentleman and really knows his stuff. He also travels all over the country demonstrating and installing systems, so distance is no problem.
Happy listening,
Alex
Next I tried the PMC twenty five.26 and thought that the treble was a bit "rough" sounding and the bass was too much for my room. Then came the Focal Sopra 2 and again found that the treble and midrange seemed to overpower the bass and the styling didn't suit SWMBO.
Next came the Sonus faber Olympica ll, which from the outset really clicked with me and my room/system. I'd read that they were no good with heavy rock, but they sounded fine, with plenty of slam and great timing. What I liked about them was the lovely mid range, which is slightly warm and really suits the female voice and instruments like saxophone, trumpet etc. The treble reminded me of the ring radiator tweeter that I had on a pair if AE 1 Mk3 SE which I really liked because of its range up to 40 kHz, and although I obviously can't hear the treble above about 15kHz, I feel that it has a bearing on, and interaction with the lower frequencies. I gave them a thorough audition with varied music genres and was very happy with the performance. They are the most beautiful speaker I've ever clapped eyes on, apart from other Sf speakers higher up the range.
I decided to go for them!
I've had the Olympicas for four days now and have about 15 hours on them. I'm running them in gently. SAM is turned on, but only at 0%. Really looking forward to getting them properly bedded in and sounding sweet.
I must point out that these results are in my room with my gear and with my ears, so other people will have a different experience, and I'm sure that all of the speakers that I turned down will perform well in other environments.
I'd like to give a recommendation to Guildford Audio and it's owner, Trevor Martin. I have no affiliation with the company, but I received brilliant service from them and a very generous trade in on my ProAcs. If you're thinking of upgrading or buying new gear, I strongly recommend paying Trevor a visit. His showroom is in his house which makes a nice change from the usual listening rooms. He is a gentleman and really knows his stuff. He also travels all over the country demonstrating and installing systems, so distance is no problem.
Happy listening,
Alex
Project Eperience X Pack with Ortofon Rondo Red MC, Oppo BDP 105D, 2 x Sonos Connect, QNAP HS251+ NAS with 2 X 6TB Western Digital Red, Mac 5K 32GB running Lifetime Roon, iPad Pro 12.9" for remote control. Etalon Ethernet Isolator, Devialet 440 Pro CI, Sonus faber Olympica ll with Isoacoustics Gaia ll feet, Auralic Taurus Mkll headphone amp., Denon AH-D5000, Sennheiser HD600 and HD800 with Cardas cable, Van Den Hul The First Ultimate and Crystal interconnects, Furutech power cables, GSP Audio Spatia speaker cable.
South Coast England
