Italian loudspeaker brand, Sonus faber, are well known in the USA, with their parent company being the McIntosh Group, so it’s no surprise that they chose the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest 2019 to launch their new line of speakers, Olympica Nova.

Sonus faber have been making loudspeakers in Italy since the 1980’s. Their original Olympica speakers, from 2013, have been their best selling line for some years, and Jeff Poggi, who was introducing their new version to us, explained that they were ‘the heart of Sonus faber’.

Updating such a successful line of products was always going to be tricky and Sonus faber aimed to get the most they possibly could out of the new version, but on a tight budget.

Sonus faber People

CEO of the McIntosh Group, Jeff, was joined by Marketing Manager Marta Vecellio and Paolo Tezzon, Sonus faber’s Chief of Acoustic R&D. They explained that ‘natural sound’ was the main pillar of the Sonus faber ethos and that when designing the new Sonus faber Olympica Nova, they focused on the range being organic, natural and simplified. Sonus faber’s USA brand manager, William Kline then gave us a demonstration of what the Olympica Nova 5 floorstanders could do, rigged up to a rather nice selection of Audio Research gear. The speakers looked very much part of the Sonus faber family, with their classic Italian styling and details.

Jeff Poggi CEO of the McIntosh Group

Marketing Manager Marta Vecellio

Paolo Tezzon, Sonus faber’s Chief of Acoustic R&D

Sonus faber’s USA brand manager, William Kline

Listening

Whilst the room was not the most sympathetic environment for a detailed listening session (American press launches seem to involve a lot of background chatting during the presentation), it was possible to get the feel of the speakers, which had the undeniable top and mid detail that one would expect from Sonus faber. Bass was a little skittish, but I put that down more to the untreated room being set up for a large group of press, rather than the loudspeakers themselves, a proper listening environment would bring much more control. Even so, it was possible to hear the potential of the Olympica Nova 5 which particularly sang with classical and ‘epic film score music’. The City Of Prague Philharmonic’s ‘Aggressive Expansion’ from the Dark Knight film was engaging and memorable.

More info on the Sonus faber Olympica Nova range with UK prices here and USA prices here.

More of our coverage from RMAF 2019 can be found here:

Part One

Part Two

Bird’s Eye View

Headfi And Static Stands