High End 2 Channel in a Box Store featuring the Sonus Faber Olympica I
I took a little outing today to one of the local Magnolia/Best Buy stores, one that I hadn't been to before. I was pleased to find that high end 2 channel is indeed alive and well in a box store no less. The other local Magnolia/Best Buy stores do not carry what this one does. Along with two dedicated HT rooms, which were extremely nice were two dedicated 2 channel music only rooms with one having the better stuff. I spied some Sonus Faber speakers I had not seen before, the Sonus Faber Olympica I and II's. These speakers are drop dead sexy with walnut sides, a leather top embossed with the Sonus Faber logo and trimmed out in aluminum with string rubber grills. They have a very unique port towards the rear, but it is on one side only. This allows one to place them close to the back wall and aimed in or out for optimum placement, very clever. The Olympica I's have integral stands to which the speaker is bolted. The stands have slightly longer stainless steel spikes in the front for just the right amount of tilt. The post is also covered in the same string rubber used for the grills, nice. As I was inspecting the impeccable craftsmanship I noticed that the right speaker had a buzz coming from the tweeter....hmmmm, something wrong with one of the McIntosh pieces driving them. Regardless, I had to get a listen.
Up to this point my favorite monitor/stand mount/bookshelf has been the Joseph Audio Pulsars at $7000.00, truly amazing sound and they look damn nice as well, but these Sonus Faber's at $7700.00 had them beat for looks. Ok, after pointing out the buzz issue, which the salesman couldn't resolve I had him put in one of his demo CD's. Right away I could hear the right side was weaker than the left, so I knew this was going to be a short demo. I also noted the bass was a bit loose......disappointing. Not sure if it had to do with the buzz issue, if it was the speakers or the Mac gear. From past experience I suspected it had more to do with the Mac gear than anything else. Oh well, enough. The salesman, a very nice and respectful young man, said he would have the buzz issue looked into and give me a call when resolved. So, at this point the Pulsar's are still the king.
I decided to purchase something else while I was there, which was not on sale, but to my surprise he knocked off 25%, a nice birthday gift indeed.
A link to the Sonus Faber site,
http://www.sonusfaber.com/en-us/product/olympica-i
and a review,
http://www.audiodrom.cz/en-version/443.html
Up to this point my favorite monitor/stand mount/bookshelf has been the Joseph Audio Pulsars at $7000.00, truly amazing sound and they look damn nice as well, but these Sonus Faber's at $7700.00 had them beat for looks. Ok, after pointing out the buzz issue, which the salesman couldn't resolve I had him put in one of his demo CD's. Right away I could hear the right side was weaker than the left, so I knew this was going to be a short demo. I also noted the bass was a bit loose......disappointing. Not sure if it had to do with the buzz issue, if it was the speakers or the Mac gear. From past experience I suspected it had more to do with the Mac gear than anything else. Oh well, enough. The salesman, a very nice and respectful young man, said he would have the buzz issue looked into and give me a call when resolved. So, at this point the Pulsar's are still the king.
I decided to purchase something else while I was there, which was not on sale, but to my surprise he knocked off 25%, a nice birthday gift indeed.
A link to the Sonus Faber site,
http://www.sonusfaber.com/en-us/product/olympica-i
and a review,
http://www.audiodrom.cz/en-version/443.html
Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk
Comments
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S e x y is censored? Are you effing kidding me......ridiculous!!!Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
That's the pre-teen forum this is turning out to be.
Anyway, surprised you walked into a BB, if not just for curiosity sake. Been along time since I had an ear on any SF speaker, can't say I was impressed with anything other than classical coming out of them. That was then, who knows about now. Craftsmanship....always top notch though.HT SYSTEM-
Sony 850c 4k
Pioneer elite vhx 21
Sony 4k BRP
SVS SB-2000
Polk Sig. 20's
Polk FX500 surrounds
Cables-
Acoustic zen Satori speaker cables
Acoustic zen Matrix 2 IC's
Wireworld eclipse 7 ic's
Audio metallurgy ga-o digital cable
Kitchen
Sonos zp90
Grant Fidelity tube dac
B&k 1420
lsi 9's -
I've removed "sexy" from the censored list.
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Thank you, Ken.Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
Best buy always carried that high end stuff but it was through what they call Design Centers. There used to be only a few in the country. Now they are bringing that "super high end" equipment to one or two big best buys per city. .
I am looking forward to it because I am a GS installer, so the more available the high end stuff is the more of a chance I get to hook it up for customers
HT Rig Samsung 64F8500 |Pioneer Elite BDP-52FD|Pioneer Elite VSX-32| Two Carver TFM-15cb Bridged for mains|Polk Audio RTiA5 Cherry|Polk Audio CsiA6 Cherry|Polk Audio T-15 Heights|Polk Audio FXia6 Surround|DIY 8cuft Dayton Ultimax 15" powered with a Crown XLS1000
2Channel Rig Polk Audio LSi9 Cherry| Carver C-1BillD Mod|Carver M1.0t MkII Opt2|Pro-ject RM 1.3|SpeedBox S|AQ King Cobras|AQ Rocket88|
ISF Level 2 Certified Calibrator -
Kenneth Swauger wrote: »I've removed "sexy" from the censored list.
Can you remove k n o b? Several other uses besides the end of said junk....
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I had a listen to the SF Olimpicas with a plinus gear and they were very good. I agree with the walnut finish, its very classy looking and pics just dont do the same justice as walking up to one and taking a good look rubbing at that finish.
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Kenneth Swauger wrote: »I've removed "sexy" from the censored list.
Good thing.You can't have F1 without sexy.Main Rig-Realistic AM/FM Record player 8 track boasting 4 WPC
Backup Rig-2 CH-Rogue Audio Zeus w/Factory Special Dark Mods,Joule-Electra 300ME Platinum Preamp,OPPO-105 w/Modwright Tube Mod, Auralic Aries G2.1,Polk 2.3TL,3.1TL's,Dreadnought,RTA-15TL's,1C's All Fully Modded,2xRTA-12c's ,Benchmark DAC3 HGC,Synology NAS,VPI Scout w/Dynavector DV-20XH and Rogue Audio Ares Phono Preamp,Sony PCM-R500 DAT,HHB-850 Pro CDR,Tascam CC-222SLMKII Cassette/CDR,MIT S3.3 Shotgun Cables,Shunyata Hyra-8,Shunyata and Triode Labs Power Cords
I’M OFFENDED!!!! -
Done..."knob" and "knobs" are good.
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What'd you end up buying Jesse?"....not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted." William Bruce Cameron, Informal Sociology: A Casual Introduction to Sociological Thinking (1963)
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EndersShadow wrote: »What'd you end up buying Jesse?
An AVR for my shop, but get this. Had a nasty T-storm roll thru here earlier and had a very close strike, which blew the cover of the cable splitter box some 20 feet across the shop. The TV in the shop and the kitchen are cooked. Now, I have to buy 2 new TV's. Thank God, it didn't take out the Panny.
Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
EndersShadow wrote: »What'd you end up buying Jesse?
An AVR for my shop, but get this. Had a nasty T-storm roll thru here earlier and had a very close strike, which blew the cover of the cable splitter box some 20 feet across the shop. The TV in the shop and the kitchen are cooked. Now, I have to buy 2 new TV's. Thank God, it didn't take out the Panny.
Bummer!
Yeah they were rockin storms.Luckily I unplugged all my stuff when they started.Power was cutting in and out for about 2 hours.
Main Rig-Realistic AM/FM Record player 8 track boasting 4 WPC
Backup Rig-2 CH-Rogue Audio Zeus w/Factory Special Dark Mods,Joule-Electra 300ME Platinum Preamp,OPPO-105 w/Modwright Tube Mod, Auralic Aries G2.1,Polk 2.3TL,3.1TL's,Dreadnought,RTA-15TL's,1C's All Fully Modded,2xRTA-12c's ,Benchmark DAC3 HGC,Synology NAS,VPI Scout w/Dynavector DV-20XH and Rogue Audio Ares Phono Preamp,Sony PCM-R500 DAT,HHB-850 Pro CDR,Tascam CC-222SLMKII Cassette/CDR,MIT S3.3 Shotgun Cables,Shunyata Hyra-8,Shunyata and Triode Labs Power Cords
I’M OFFENDED!!!! -
Kenneth Swauger wrote: »Done..."knob" and "knobs" are good.
Is p i r a t e still censored? Who came up with this list? Mothers Against Drunk Posting?
Lumin X1 file player, Westminster Labs interconnect cable
Sony XA-5400ES SACD; Pass XP-22 pre; X600.5 amps
Magico S5 MKII Mcast Rose speakers; SPOD spikes
Shunyata Triton v3/Typhon QR on source, Denali 2000 (2) on amps
Shunyata Sigma XLR analog ICs, Sigma speaker cables
Shunyata Sigma HC (2), Sigma Analog, Sigma Digital, Z Anaconda (3) power cables
Mapleshade Samson V.3 four shelf solid maple rack, Micropoint brass footers
Three 20 amp circuits. -
Yeah, they were nasty. It wasn't a case of being plugged in, it came thru the cable!Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
I have a place close to me called Holm Audio that has the Joseph Audio Pulsars. I think it was 2 years ago I listend to a nice long demo of them. They are amazing! I keep looking for a used set under 3k but so far no luck.Klipsch The Nines, Audioquest Thunderbird Interconnect, Innuos Zen MK3 W4S recovery, Revolution Audio Labs USB & Ethernet, Border Patrol SE-I, Audioquest Niagara 5000 & Thunder, Cullen Crossover II PC's.
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They sure are sweet looking...You are going to back and listen to them when they get their gear squared away?
My New Year's resolution is 3840 × 2160
Family Room| Marantz AV7704| Usher Dancer Mini - 2 DMD Mains |Usher Dancer Mini-x DMD's Surrounds | Usher BE-616 DMD Center | SVS Ultra Rear Surrounds | Parasound Halo A21 | Parsound Halo A52+ | MIT Shotgun S3's | Dual SVS SB 4000 Ultras | Oppo UDP 203 | Directv Genie HD DVR | Samsung 75" Q8 QLED | PSAudio Stellar GCD | Mytek Brooklyn DAC+ | Lumin U1 Mini | HP Elite Slice PC | ROON'd for life |
ManCave: HT:Polk LSiM 706VR3 LSiM 703's LSiM 702's|| Marantz AV7002 AV PrePro Sunfire TGA-7401| Sony PS4 Pro| Sony PS4 Pro|SVS PB13 Ultra| Oppo UDP 203 | Music Hall MMF 5.3se TT w/ Soundsmith Carmen | Samsung 55" SUHD TV | Sony PS4
Patio | Polk Atrium 8's | Yamaha R-N303BL |
Office BlueSound Node| KEF LS50 | Peactree Nova 125SE |
Bedroom | Focal 905's | Chromecast Audio |
Garage | Polk Monitor 5B's
Closet Yamaha M80 | 2 Polk MP3K subs| Yaqin MC100B with Shuguang Treasures KT 88's & CV181Z's | Tesla E83CC's | Marantz 2252B | Marantz 2385 |Polk SDA SRS 2.3 | LSiM 705's | -
Mikey081057, yes that's the game plan.
Skip, I don't ever want to hear another B&W speaker.Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
+1 on the pm 1. I got to demo them, Dynaudio focus and focal 807 on some 40 w tube gear. All very nice presentations, but i liked the pm 1 best.
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That's the pre-teen forum this is turning out to be.
Anyway, surprised you walked into a BB, if not just for curiosity sake. Been along time since I had an ear on any SF speaker, can't say I was impressed with anything other than classical coming out of them. That was then, who knows about now. Craftsmanship....always top notch though.
Are you into acoustic jazz or rock? Because that's what sold me on the brand. Coltrane never sounded finer.2-channelBelles 22A Pre, Emotiva XPA-2 Gen 2, Marantz SA8005, Pro-Ject RPM-10 Turntable, Pro-Ject Phono Box DS3B, Polk Audio Legend L800's, AudioQuest Cable throughout. -
Skip, the Magnolia in Grapevine had the PM1 on display when I was in there a few months ago. Not like the other B&W I listened to that day, as in more laid back. They were running them off an Arcam integrated but I don't remember the model. I listened to other B&W up to the 801D, I think, all on Mac gear and it was like an ice pick in my brain. I could live with the PM1 in a small room and they look nice too.AVR: Elite VSX-21TXH
Amplifier: B&K 7250 Series ii
Misc: Velodyne SMS-1
Mains: RTi-10
Center: CSi-5
Rear: Boston DSi460
Sub: SVS PC-Ultra
TV: Panasonic TC-P58V10
DVD: Panasonic DMP-BD60K -
That's the pre-teen forum this is turning out to be.
Anyway, surprised you walked into a BB, if not just for curiosity sake. Been along time since I had an ear on any SF speaker, can't say I was impressed with anything other than classical coming out of them. That was then, who knows about now. Craftsmanship....always top notch though.
Are you into acoustic jazz or rock? Because that's what sold me on the brand. Coltrane never sounded finer.
I listen to everything, mood depending. That's why I wanted a speaker that can do any flavor, not just excel at a couple. The SF seem to do well on classical, jazz, but fall short on Rock for my ears. That's just me though.
HT SYSTEM-
Sony 850c 4k
Pioneer elite vhx 21
Sony 4k BRP
SVS SB-2000
Polk Sig. 20's
Polk FX500 surrounds
Cables-
Acoustic zen Satori speaker cables
Acoustic zen Matrix 2 IC's
Wireworld eclipse 7 ic's
Audio metallurgy ga-o digital cable
Kitchen
Sonos zp90
Grant Fidelity tube dac
B&k 1420
lsi 9's -
The cabinet on the Olympica III is no joke.B&W CM9Classé Sigma
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