Sonus Faber Olympica 3 or Olympica Nova 2 ?


Hi music lovers and audiofiles, I am trying to upgrade my speakers from Sonus Faber Grand Piano to Olympica 3 or Olympica Nova 2. Because of the situation with Covit-19 I can’t audition them in stores right now. The dealer in Massachusetts who used to sell them just dropped Sonus Faber. It is very hard for me to find a place where I can go and listen to both at the same time. Olympica 3 is discontinued and some dealers don’t have them any more. The other reason I try to compare those two speakers is the price. You can get each for $7500 if you are lucky. Please help me to solve the dilemma I have right now. I don’t want to make a mistake and buy wrong ones. My new towers are going to be my last ones, I am getting older and sooner than later I will start to lose hearing.
Thanks, janosik

janosik

Showing 2 responses by mgrif104

Janosik,

I’m pretty familiar with the Olympica 3 - they were on my short list.  Though they’re wonderful speakers, I didn’t get them because they weren’t a good fit for my room.  I haven’t heard the Nova 2, but it seems reasonable to assume they are voiced similarly to the previous model line though perhaps a bit less warm.  

I don’t think you can make a mistake in general as they’ll both be good speakers.  But, you can make a better decision by considering the following:
1) size of your room
2) where you’ll place the speakers in the room and the space you’re able to give them with that placing
3) what you listen to and how you listen

The OIIIs are very good speakers, but voiced to be warm overall.  Placing them too close to a wall or particularly in corners will exacerbate this characteristic due to the output from the rear ports.  This can be somewhat addressed by having the ports face toward each other or away from each other depending on which speaker you put left and right. If you’re near sidewalls, you probably wouldn’t want the ports facing outside unless you really like a lot of bass. I’ve heard them set up at dealers this way and thought they were doing a disservice to the brand and model. Regardless of port direction, I am guessing that the OIIIs will have a more lower range power than your Grand Pianos.  If you have space to bring them out from the wall and sidewalls, then this isn’t really a concern.

Lastly, if your room is smallish, then I’d worry about overloading it and would favor the Nova IIs.

Good luck and let us know what you decide to do.
Best,
Everyone brings their own biases to these discussions- me included. The OP didn’t ask for recommendations on other brands. Nevertheless, I’m sure they’d be well received if offered genuinely.  
On the other hand, recommendations are frequently offered by forum participants looking for validation of their own decisions and biases. Fine. But, it’s rude when they’re volunteered while also being so dismissive to what the OP is already strongly considering- and is a brand she/he already owns. It also does nothing to further the sense of community of the forum, or our collective knowledge. 
Lastly, in this case, it would be an opinion that seems to fly in the face of SF’s very large and loyal customer base. 
Mgrif