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Sonus Faber launches a new family of loudspeakers named “Olympica”

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Sonus Faber will launch a new family of speakers named Olympica at the High End Society in Munich, Germany, May 9th, 2013.

The first three models of the series are the Olympica I (2-way bookshelf), Olympica II (3-way floorstanding), and the Olympica III (3-way floorstanding with two woofers).

Sonus Faber aimes to create a family of speakers inspired by the beauty and example of of the Master architect Andrea Palladio. The new speakers follow in the footsteps of Sonus Fabers other, magnificent looking, speakers. Even though the new Olympica family is not based in any way on a previous model design, previous technology, or elements of the past. New drivers, designed by Sonus Faber, are used in the Olympica family of speakers. Including new die-cast baskets that offer a new level of rigidity. The Olympica family of speakers are houses in bass reflex cabinets which are made of stunning walnut.

Read below for more detailed information on each model.

One of the greatest works of Master architect Andrea Palladio, and created before his death as a perennial gift to Vicenza, Teatro Olimpico further enriches the city with another precious gem and a universal example of beauty and ingenuity.

The theater represents the pinnacles of harmonious design, proportions, and sensitivity; a search for beauty, wonder, exquisite materials and emotions. It is a temple of geometric perfection in the voice of music, a vessel in which sound seamlessly expands as an exemplary reference model of acoustic enhancement.
Sonus faber is also borne of this same fertile ground. From its very beginnings, the teachings and history of the region have been in fused with the fundamental principles applied to the musical instruments created by Sonus faber; products which resonate with the harmony of the city and art that inspired them.

In recognition of the monumental legacy of Andrea Palladio, Sonus faber has created the Sonus faber Olympica, a sincere homage to Andrea Palladio and the Teatro Olimpico. 

The Project

Sonus faber wanted to create a family of speakers rich in design, evocative of those visual and tactile emotions characterized by its production. Wood and leather blend with time less craftsmanship, the final result communicating a love and passion for music.

The Sonus faber Olympica project is made up of a new family of passive acoustic speakers that will add to the existing catalogue from the Vicenza factory, characterized by the use of two iconic Sonus faber materials: walnut wood and leather.

The launch of the new family will occur in two phases. The first three models, Olympica I (2-way bookshelf), Olympica II (3-way floor-standing) and Olympica III (3-way floorstanding), will be presented to the world at the prestigious trade show Munich High End 2013 from 9 – 12 May. The remaining models will make their premier at the end of the summer.

With this new project, Sonus faber has been able to balance quintessential style and significant elements of technological innovation, combining modernity with the classic stylistic canons of Sonus faber. This has been possible thanks to the enormous teamwork by the R&D department, headed by Paolo Tezzon and Livio Cucuzza, as well as a significant growth in terms of manpower and resources. The new Sonus faber Olympica line also represents the desire to offer a range of models that everyone can find the right solution in terms of use (two channel or home theatre) and space (bookshelf or floor-standing in various dimensions).
The Sonus faber Olympica range continues the tradition of exquisite materials and design in combination with excellent performance and craftsmanship. The entire Sonus faber Olympica line is produced in Italy.
 

The Product

The models of the Sonus faber Olympica line are entirely new. For their creation, the Sonus faber design studios began from a clean slate. No component, element or design has been borrowed from previous models. Rather, cumulative experience and technology have been used to build innovative new cabinet structures and driver components.

CABINET DESIGN:
Characterized by the use of natural walnut wood, the top and bottom plates are solid walnut. All joints are clear maple wood in the walnut finish, and the more traditional black maple in the graphite finish. The form is a synthesis of the experience gained from the flagship Aida and the classic lyre form. The important difference lies in the asymmetry of the cabinet, introduced here for the first time by Sonus faber. This asymmetry has true purpose: first, it further reduces internal resonances by removing all parallel surfaces. Second, it accommodates the new bass reflex system.

The top is covered in natural leather (with feature stitching and a hot-branded Sonus faber logo) and a beveled aluminum ring. The front baffle is covered in natural leather with no visible screws, and the back is also covered in leather with sunken serial number tags and connection terminals below. Lastly, the new side reflex port lies vertically at the back of the speaker. It is covered with a perforated metal grille.

For the bookshelf model, a special anodized aluminum stand (derived from the Guarneri model) allows the speaker to be positioned at the correct inclination and, just like the floor models, is equipped with adjustable stainless steel feet to ensure stability and durability.

Driver, Crossover and Bass Reflex

All Sonus faber Olympica models employ new drivers that have been designed entirely by Sonus faber engineering, including new die-cast baskets that combine rigidity with an ability to remain acoustically transparent.

For the diaphragms, as is usual, the use of natural materials such as silk dome for the tweeter and cellulose mixtures for the midrange and woofer prevail. In detail: 29mm dome Tweeter containing DAD technology and neodymium magnet, derived from the development of Aida; 150 mm Midrange with a cone made of a proprietary mixture of cellulose, kapok and kenaf; 180mm Woofer with a cone constructed from a sandwich of cellulose pulp membrane and rigid syntactic foam. The Crossover is the result of detailed computer research and careful tuning by ear. It is comprised of components selected from the finest international producers.

The Bass Reflex system is the innovative soul of this project, and is designed in particular to ensure speed in the articulation and extension
of low frequencies. It is a sophisticated approach to Bass Reflex design starting from concepts in aerodynamic management of laminar flow as expressed by Onken and Jensen during the golden age of High Fidelity. These concepts, further evolved by Sonus faber, introduce elements that are profoundly innovative, such as the Stealth Reflex system.

Invented by Sonus faber and currently implemented in the models The Sonus faber and Aida, the hyperbolic shape of the duct has led to the ‘duck tail geometry’ of the speaker. Lateral flow ports and the aerodynamic anti-turbulence control of airflow in the exit duct through a stainless steel foil are managed by precise holes defined from research in the aeronautic field. Overall, this reflex system with its vertical and lateral laminar output, provides the advantage of allowing you to decide whether to place the speakers with the reflex output pointing in or out, depending on room acoustics or personal taste.



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