Blog

Meet the New Sonus faber Olympica G3 Collection

If you love great sound, but you aren’t thrilled with the aesthetic look of most speakers, you might take a look at Sonus faber. Their artisanal approach to both sound AND appearance has won them lots of fans. Their Olympica Series is very popular, and is now updated to Olympica G3.  

Sonus faber started hand-crafting speakers in the early 1980’s, in Vincenza, Italy. Many of the craftsmen / women came from families who worked making violins and other elegant musical instruments. Sonus faber is a design-forward brand. They see speakers as fine musical instruments. Our YouTube video on their majestic Aida speakers is one of our most-watched videos. 

Sonus faber’s $850,000 Suprema speaker package, including twin powered subwoofers, is on display at the House of Sound in NYC. It is hands-down one of the most impressive speaker systems we have ever heard. 

Where does the Olympica Series sit in the Sonus faber universe?  It is upscale; higher end than their fine Lumina Series and Sonetto Series, yet more affordable than their Homage, Heritage, and other premium high-end speakers.  

Let’s take a look at the changes in Olympica G3. Some of these upgrades flow directly from technologies first implemented in Suprema. All involve lower distortion, higher resolution and a broader, deeper, more lifelike soundstage.

The 5 models are: 

1. Olympica G3 V three-way floorstanding speaker  
2. Olympica G3 III, a smaller three-way floorstander
3. Olympica G3 I compact two-way bookshelf
4. Olympica G3 Center Channel for articulate dialog on movies
5. Olympica G3 On-wall, which is great for surround sound applications 

● The cabinets have the 45-degree wood veneer and aluminum trim from Sonus faber’s higher end offerings. They refer to the wood arrangement as the signature full-surface herringbone wood pattern, inherited from Stradivari

● They also have a new top plate with the Sonus faber logo, a cool aesthetic. Corners and edges have grey matte sand-blasted metal parts, and 45-degree chamfered aluminum trim. There are no sharp edges, for a smooth finish.

● All midrange, mid-woofer and woofer drivers are brand new in the G3 Series, inspired by Suprema. The 5-sided cone Camelia midrange, mimicking the camelia flower shape, covers the most important part of the music. Most midrange drivers are circular, but this unusual camelia flower shape is less prone to resonances than a typical round or circlular cone would be. 

● Olympica G3 V and III feature a camelia paper pulp midrange as in Suprema and Amati Supreme. Olympica 1 and the on-wall have a 6.5 inch Camelia mid-woofer handling both midrange and bass 

● All the new G3 drivers have a new, die cast aluminum basket with a patented, asymmetrical shape, which translates into strong mechanical support for the driver. There are no recurring patterns, so resonant peaks are minimized. These new woofers are designed for tighter bass, the ability to play louder without distortion, and better dynamics 

● There is a new solid aluminum phase plug, which reduces turbulence and offers more consistent sound wave patterns.  The result is smoother, more even frequency response, both on axis AND off to the side of the speaker. This phase plug is not found in the G3 I compact bookshelf speaker. 

● Another great new feature taken directly from the Suprema research is an internal, wavy cork back box. Tweeters and mid drivers radiate sound forward and backward. In box speakers, that means reflections off the back wall bounce forward, through the driver, which is now already playing the next note. We want to hear that next note, not reflections from the last one! This wavy cork back box has just the right amount of absorption and reflection to dissipate any back-wave interference. Your music sounds clearer, less muddy.

● Last, the crossover network, which resembles the conductor of an orchestra, sending the right notes to each speaker. Sonus faber’s Phase Coherent Crossover with IFF design works to align and synchronize the tweeter, drivers and woofers. The music arrives at our ears in sync, in phase, at same time, significantly improving clarity.  

We’d love to demo the new Sonus faber Olympica Series G3 speakers for you – or play whatever else may be right for you. For more information, check out the Sonus faber collection on SKY by Gramophone. Or visit us at our stores in Timonium, Columbia and Gaithersburg, Maryland.  To make an appointment contact us.