Who doesn't like a bit of Italian luxury? Especially when it comes to hi-fi. These Sonus Faber Olympica Nova speakers are making their global debut at the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest in Denver this week (not all the action is at IFA in Berlin).
Over the last 12 months the Italian speaker company has been updating its entire product range. The Nova Olympica models are the latest to get the refresh treatment.
The original Olympica's leather-wrapped top panel has been replaced by a walnut or wenge wood panel set in a solid, die-cast aluminium plate. Each cabinet is made with eight layers of blended wood for maximum rigidity.
Support is provided by redesigned bottom plates and stands, which are crafted from solid aluminium billets and paired with steel spikes.
The tweeters use Damped Apex Dome (DAD) technology with a 28mm silk dome diaphragm and magnetic motor system that incorporates a "Neodymium Cap Design". The midrange drivers are derived from those used on Sonus faber's Homage Tradition collection, using a cellulose pulp and natural fibre cone housed in a die-cast aluminium basket.
The moving coil is made with a special copper clad aluminium winding.
Bass frequencies are handled by woofers combining two sheets of cellulose pulp with a high-tech syntactic foam, to create a highly rigid, low-mass structure.
As for the crossover, Sonus Faber says that uses Paracross Topology to make it "less sensitive to radio frequency interference, improving transient response and lowering the noise floor".
Of course none of this comes cheap: prices start at $4000/£3500 for the Olympica Nova Wall and go all the way up to $16,500/£14,900 a pair for the top-of-the-range Olympica Nova V. For home cinema set-ups there are two centre speakers, the Nova Center 1 ($5000/£4500) and Nova Center II ($7000/£6500).
The Olympica Nova I, II, III and V will be available worldwide this month, with the Center and Wall models following in October. All are available in either a walnut or wenge matt finish.
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