Sonus Faber Olympica Nova III

Here is an extract from the attached review by the "The Absolute Sound" on the Olympica Nova III loudspeakers:

"For two socially distanced months, the Olympica Nova III was my only loudspeaker and not once did I find myself counting down the days until I could return to my usual Magico S3 Mk2s—a larger, heavier, and significantly more expensive transducer. This surprised me because of what I know—or thought I knew—about the relative capabilities of these two products with recordings characterized by extremes of dynamics, low-frequency content, and tonal density. The objective superiority of the Magicos when playing loud and low was incontrovertible. Yet the more I listened to big band jazz, pedal-to-the-metal rock, exuberant synth-pop, and orchestral “power music” though the Nova IIIs, the more I admired these Italian beauties. Bass was punchy and tuneful with the B-52s’ Party Mix, fully communicating the loopy ebullience of those songs, and when I put on Olivier Latry’s Midnight at Notre Dame, it was impossible not to listen all the way through this program of occasionally over-the-top pipe organ arrangements of pieces by Bach, Wagner, Berlioz, and others. Experiencing this kind of challenging recording through the Nova IIIs didn’t feel like a compromise, despite the absence of some of the more visceral aspects of low-bass reproduction—the rattles accompanying the deepest organ pedal stops as the listening room is energized or the wavefront of air produced by a closely miked kickdrum hitting you in the chest, as it would if you were standing near the band in a bar. To be sure, substituting a beefier power amplifier like the Classé Delta resulted in more snare drum “sock” and fuller bass, but even with the 60Wpc Passes driving the Sf speakers, there was no sense of anything fundamentally lacking with large-scale music.
The Olympica Nova IIIs can bring off this sleight-of-hand, I believe, because other key aspects of their performance are exceptional. First of all, these speakers are fast—nearly electrostatic-fast. Pianist Marc-André Hamelin’s technique is legendary and it’s on full display with Kaleidoscope, a collection of 20 miniatures, including the soloist’s own Etude No. 6: Essercizio per pianoforte (Omaggio a Domenico Scarlatti), a not entirely serious tribute to the Baroque composer. The notes fly by with astounding velocity, yet there’s no blurring, smearing, or overhang—each is distinct from the one behind and the one that follows. Related is the Nova III’s capacity to reveal meaningful musical detail. Lucinda Williams’ 1998 masterpiece Car Wheels on a Gravel Road features multiple acoustic and electric guitars on most tracks; the nuances with which the parts interlock and complement each other is presented with a natural ease. The same can be said for jazz guitarist Timothy Young’s comping behind leader Wayne Horvitz’s solos on “LTMBBQ” from Sweeter Than the Day. The spotlight may be on the pianist but Young isn’t slumming and each of his supportive licks registers as thoughtfully considered.
Soundstaging and image stability are excellent on symphonic recordings and specific to the venue, as with the Haitink/Concertgebouw version of Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 15. The most cataclysmic orchestral eruptions— for example, the opening bars of the last movement of Mahler’s “Resurrection” Symphony—maintain coherency to a surprising degree when played back at levels approaching those in a concert hall. But the one sonic attribute that makes the Nova III more than the sum of its parts is the neutrality of its reproduction of instrumental/vocal color and texture."

ORGANIC SHAPE ...

The lack of flat and parallel walls improves enclosure performance and maintains the typical asymmetrical Lute shape of first generation Olympica. The asymmetrical shape of the cabinet is an original design concept that allows versatile positioning of the speakers to tune the bass response in any room. Inspired by nature, the lines follow the flow of a circular spiral motion, achieving a more organic cabinet structure. No longer just a functional element added to handle airflow, the reflex duct is now fully integrated into the cabinet, further improving the speed and transparency of sound.

WOOD

Just like the cabinet sides, the front baffle and the top are made in the walnut or wengè hand-finished natural wood, set in a solid die-cast aluminum plate. Our designers wished to pay homage to the most representative material of Sonus faber, making it even more of a standard-bearer.

CROSSOVER

The crossover network implements Paracross Topology™, making the crossover less sensitive to radio-frequency interference, improving transient response and lowering noise floor. The filtering topology features new exclusive Clarity Cap capacitors, customized for Sonus faber.

SUPPORTS

We have completely redesigned the supports, crafting them from solid aluminum bottom plates with steel spikes, taking inspiration from the Homage Tradition and Reference Collections, to guarantee greater strength and solidity.

NATURAL LEATHER ...

The natural leather embellishes the Voice of Sonus faber, the brand’s iconic configuration of tweeter and midrange and enriches the aesthetic rings around the woofers. Genuine Italian leather that, as per our brand’s tradition, is applied by hand in the production department in Vicenza.

TWEETER :

The 28 mm silk soft dome tweeter features the DAD™ technology (Damped Apex Dome™) that enhances the smoothness and extension in the high frequency by applying local dampening to the apex typically responsible for anti-phase behavior of soft dome diaphragms. The DAD™ structure has been totally redesigned; a solid piece of aluminum die-cast includes both arch and ring on the dome to increase the strength and accuracy of the system.

MIDRANGE :

The midrange has been designed and built completely in Sonus faber laboratories. The cone is comprised of an air-dried, non-pressed blend of cellulose pulp, Kapok, Kenaf, and other natural fibers. This natural treatment gives the cone a slightly rough surface of varying density, which reduces cone resonance, guaranteeing a natural sound with increased transparency and greater detail.

MADE IN ITALY WOOFER :

The woofer cone is made in Italy and benefits from an exclusive sandwich construction technique: two sheets of cellulose pulp are combined with a hi-tech syntactic foam in between them. This low-mass, high-rigidity structure provides fast and powerful sound reproduction while allowing total coherence with the mid-high units.

STRUCTURAL RIGIDITY

Similar to the Homage Tradition and Reference Collections, the walls are made with eight layers of bended wood, providing the cabinet with extreme rigidity. Inside the cabinet, carefully placed structural ribs are used as reinforcement to reduce vibration and to handle the overall power of the transducers movement.