SONUS FABER Olympica I

It is obligatory to use factory supplied stands with the Olympica I. The monitors are bolted to the stands via a steel plate with two bolts. Visually the stands are designed in the very same look as the speakers, with nylon strings that hide the construction. Thus the whole assembly appears to be light and non intrusive. The nylon grille of the speakers is removable, but because it represents no barrier to sound and because when removed it leaves not nice looking openings in the speaker's front panel, I would keep it on.

The footprint of the Olympica I is "lyra shaped" like with most Sonus Faber's speakers from Venere to prohibitively expensive Aida. The unparallel sides of the lyra help combat standing waves inside cabinets and diffractions outside them. Actually, there are only two parallel surfaces on the Olympica I: the bottom and top plates. The bass reflex 'port' is one of the prominent design features. It is designed as a long vertical slot on the cabinet's side. Sonus Faber leaves on the listener to which side the slot will be oriented - thus you can have two slots firing to the listening axis or to the walls, depending on your listening environment. The slots are covered by 'binary perforated' aluminum piece that makes a very nice contrast to the impeccable walnut veneer of the speakers that is finished in satin gloss.

The top panel of the speakers is covered in black leather with visible seams and a pressed Sonus Faber logo, which gives the Olympica I a Ferrari feel. The bottom panel is covered in felt to eliminate floor interferences. Proprietary Sonus Faber's binding posts are delight to work with and they make bi-wiring possible.

The drivers are made to SF's specifications in Denmark. The silk domed 29mm 29XTR2 tweeter has a neodymium magnet assembly and combines classical dome and ring radiator design. In Sonus Faber's language it is called DAD (Damped Apex Dome). The 15cm midrange driver has a paper/kapok/cenaph cone.