Sonus faber launched the third generation of its Olympica series at the end of June. This week What Hi-Fi reviewed the Olympica III and gave it four stars out of five. It is the smaller of the two towers, and it costs $24,000 a pair in the US.
There are five models in the range. Two towers, a standmount, a centre and an on-wall speaker. All five are on this site, with the specs from Sonus faber’s own pages, so here is the whole range in one place.
Sonus faber Olympica G3 III in walnut, front and side: 24,000 dollars a pair
Quick facts: Olympica III
- $24,000 a pair. In walnut or wenge.
- Three-way tower. A 28 mm silk dome tweeter, a 165 mm Camelia paper midrange in its own sealed cork enclosure, and two 165 mm paper woofers. Crossovers at 365 Hz and 2.46 kHz.
- 42 Hz to 40 kHz. Ported. Two pairs of binding posts, so it can be bi-wired.
- 90 dB, 4 ohms. Sonus faber recommends 50 to 300 watts.
- 1,104 mm tall, 376 mm wide, 459 mm deep, 35 kg each.
Sonus faber Olympica III Passive Floor-standing Speaker Key Specs
- 3-way Bass Reflex Design
- 1.1" Soft-Dome Tweeter
- 6.5" Midrange
- 2 x 6.5" Paper Woofer
- 42-40k Hz Frequency Response
- Crossover Frequency at 365 - 2460 Hz
- 90 dB Sensitivity
- 4ohms Nominal Impedance
- Power Range: 50-300watts RMS
- Weight:77.16 lbs / 35.00 kg
- Dimensions (H x W x D): 43-7/16" x 14-13/16" x 18-1/16" / 1104.0 x 376.0 x 459.0mm
- Read the Review
The five Olympica G3 models, lined up
Prices are the US list prices from the launch. Specs are from Sonus faber’s product pages.
- Olympica I, $13,000 a pair. A two-way standmount with a 165 mm mid/bass. 87 dB, 4 ohms, 57 Hz. 370 mm tall and 11 kg. The matching stands are extra.
- Olympica III, $24,000 a pair. The three-way tower above, with two woofers. 90 dB, 4 ohms, 42 Hz.
- Olympica V, $30,000 a pair. The same layout with three woofers. 90 dB, 4 ohms, 37 Hz. 1,174 mm tall and 44 kg each. Sonus faber recommends up to 400 watts.
- Olympica Center, $10,500 each. A three-way centre with a 101 mm midrange and two 165 mm woofers. 90 dB, 4 ohms, 21 kg.
- Olympica Wall, $8,000 each. A sealed two-way for the wall. 89 dB, 4 ohms, 78 Hz, 9 kg.
All five are rated at 4 ohms. That matters for the amplifier, and I come back to it below.
The centre and the wall speaker are sold one at a time, so a surround system adds up fast. A pair of Olympica III, the centre and two Wall speakers as surrounds comes to $50,500. With the Olympica V at the front it is $56,500.
| FEATURE and SPECS COMPARISON | |  |  |  |
| Model | Sonus faber Olympica III | Sonus faber Olympica V | Sonus faber Olympica I |
| Speaker Type | Passive Floor-standing | Passive Floor-standing | Passive Bookshelf |
| Enclosure Type | Ported | Ported | Ported |
| Driver Setup | 3-way | 3-way | 2-way |
| Tweeter | 1.1" Soft-Dome Tweeter | 1.1" Soft-Dome Tweeter | 1.1" Soft-Dome Tweeter |
| Mid-Range | 6.5" Midrange | 6.5" Midrange | - |
| Woofer | 2 x 6.5" Paper Woofer | 3 x 6.5" Paper Woofer | 1 x 6.5" Paper Woofer |
| Frequency Range / Low | 42Hz | 37Hz | 57Hz |
| Frequency Range / High | 40kHz | 40kHz | 40kHz |
| Impedance Nominal | 4Ω | 4Ω | 4Ω |
| Sensitivity | 90dB | 90dB | 87dB |
| Max Power (RMS) | 300w | 400w | 250w |
| Crossover Frequency | 365 - 2460 Hz | 370, 2390 Hz | 2300 Hz |
| Grille | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Height | 1104.0mm | 1174.0mm | 370.0mm |
| Width | 376.0mm | 424.0mm | 210.0mm |
| Depth | 459.0mm | 529.0mm | 370.0mm |
| Weight | 35.00kg | 44.00kg | 11.00kg |
| MSRP(pair) | 24000USD | 30000USD | 13000USD |
| Check Current Price | Amazon | Amazon | Amazon |
The top of the Sonus faber Olympica III, with the silk dome tweeter and the white Camelia paper midrange in one teardrop-shaped panel
The step from the III to the V is small on paper. One extra woofer, 70 mm more height, 9 kg more weight, and 5 Hz more bass on Sonus faber’s own figures. For $6,000 more a pair. In a normal living room the III is the one most buyers will look at.
The Sonus faber Olympica V in walnut, front and side: three 6.5-inch woofers and 30,000 dollars a pair
What amplifier does the Olympica III need?
Less than you might think from the price, but it must be happy into 4 ohms.
Sonus faber rates the III at 90 dB at 2.83 volts. Into 4 ohms, 2.83 volts is 2 watts, not 1. So per watt it is about 87 dB. That is an ordinary figure. Here is what it means for a pair in a living room, on paper:
- Loud listening, peaks of 95 dB at 2.5 metres: about 20 watts per channel.
- Very loud, peaks of 100 dB at 3 metres: about 90 watts per channel.
A real room helps by a few dB, so treat those as upper figures. Sonus faber’s 50 to 300 watt range fits that.
The 4 ohm rating is the real requirement. A speaker rated at 4 ohms will dip lower than that somewhere in the range. So pick an amplifier that states its power into 4 ohms, and ideally one where that figure is close to double the 8 ohm figure. A small amplifier that only quotes 8 ohms is the wrong match, however good it sounds on easier speakers.
If you already own an amplifier, the amp-speaker matcher checks it against the Olympica III’s sensitivity and impedance and your room size.
What else $24,000 buys
Three towers we hold sit right next to it on price. All figures are their makers’ own.
- Bowers & Wilkins 804 D5, $25,000 a pair. 89 dB at 8 ohms, so about 2 dB more per watt than the Olympica III. On paper it needs about 57 watts for the same very loud 100 dB at 3 metres, against about 90.
- Magico A3 2027, $25,000 a pair. 87 dB at 4 ohms, so about 3 dB less per watt than the Olympica III. It needs roughly twice the power, about 180 watts for the same test.
- KEF Reference 5 Meta, $22,000 a pair. 88 dB at 4 ohms, so about 2 dB less per watt. About 140 watts for the same test.
| FEATURE and SPECS COMPARISON | | |  |  |
| Model | Sonus faber Olympica III | Bowers & Wilkins 804 D5 | Magico A3 2027 |
| Speaker Type | Passive Floor-standing | Passive Floor-standing | Passive Floor-standing |
| Enclosure Type | Ported | Ported | Sealed |
| Driver Setup | 3-way | 3-way | 3-way |
| Tweeter | 1.1" Soft-Dome Tweeter | 1" Diamond dome Tweeter | 1.1" Dome Tweeter |
| Mid-Range | 6.5" Midrange | 5" Continuum cone FST Midrange | 5" Nano-Tec, aluminium-honeycomb core with carbon-fibre skins Midrange |
| Woofer | 2 x 6.5" Paper Woofer | 2 x 6.5" Aerofoil Woofer | 2 x 7" Nano-Tec, aluminium-honeycomb core with carbon-fibre skins Woofer |
| Frequency Range / Low | 42Hz | 19Hz | 25Hz |
| Frequency Range / High | 40kHz | 24kHz | 50kHz |
| Impedance Nominal | 4Ω | 8Ω | 4Ω |
| Sensitivity | 90dB | 89dB | 87dB |
| Max Power (RMS) | 300w | 1000w | 300w |
| Height | 1104.0mm | 1101.0mm | 1095.0mm |
| Width | 376.0mm | 308.0mm | 235.0mm |
| Depth | 459.0mm | 392.0mm | 280.0mm |
| Weight | 35.00kg | 40.30kg | 59.40kg |
| MSRP(pair) | 24000USD | 25000USD | 25000USD |
| Check Current Price | Amazon | Amazon | Amazon |
So of these four, the Olympica III is the second easiest to drive. Only the B&W asks for less. Bass figures are harder to compare. Each maker measures bass in its own way, so I have left them out of this comparison.
The catch: Sonus faber’s own cheaper tower
The Olympica III is a mid-size tower. It is 1,104 mm tall, with two 6.5-inch woofers. At $24,000 a pair, that is a lot of money for the size.
Sonus faber’s own Sonetto VIII G2 is $9,000 a pair at US dealers. It is a taller three-way tower, also rated at 90 dB and 4 ohms, and Sonus faber rates its bass at 33 Hz against the Olympica III’s 42 Hz. So the cheaper Sonus faber tower is the bigger one, by $15,000 a pair. The Olympica buys you the better cabinet, the lute shape and the newer drivers, not more speaker.
| FEATURE and SPECS COMPARISON | | |  |
| Model | Sonus faber Olympica III | Sonus faber Sonetto VIII G2 |
| Speaker Type | Passive Floor-standing | Passive Floor-standing |
| Enclosure Type | Ported | Ported |
| Driver Setup | 3-way | 3-way |
| Tweeter | 1.1" Soft-Dome Tweeter | 1.1" Soft-dome Tweeter |
| Mid-Range | 6.5" Midrange | 6.5" Midrange |
| Woofer | 2 x 6.5" Paper Woofer | 2 x 8" Paper Pulp Woofer |
| Frequency Range / Low | 42Hz | 33Hz |
| Frequency Range / High | 40kHz | 40kHz |
| Impedance Nominal | 4Ω | 4Ω |
| Sensitivity | 90dB | 90dB |
| Max Power (RMS) | 300w | 400w |
| Height | 1104.0mm | 1190.0mm |
| Width | 376.0mm | 335.0mm |
| Depth | 459.0mm | 494.0mm |
| Weight | 35.00kg | 45.10kg |
| MSRP(pair) | 24000USD | 9000USD |
| Check Current Price | Amazon | Amazon |
What Hi-Fi found the Olympica III refined and easy to live with. It also said the sound puts ease of listening ahead of the last bit of detail and insight, and that the price puts it up against tough rivals. That matches the numbers. This is a speaker you buy for the finish and the relaxed sound, not for the most bass or the most detail per dollar.
The Sonus faber Olympica I standmount on its matching stand
Two things I could not pin down
The bass figure. Sonus faber’s own Olympica III page gives 42 Hz in its spec table. The description on the same page says 35 Hz. I used the spec table, which is also what eCoustics and What Hi-Fi print.
What it replaces. This is the third Olympica range, after the original Olympica and the Olympica Nova. Sonus faber does not list the Nova models any more, and it does not say which G3 model replaces which Nova. We do not hold the Nova range, so I have not compared them.
Who the Olympica III is not for
Anyone with a modest amplifier. 90 dB is easy enough, but 4 ohms is not. If your amplifier does not state a 4 ohm rating, check it in the matcher first.
Anyone buying on bass. For deep bass per dollar, the Sonetto VIII G2 at $9,000 or the Olympica V at $30,000 both go deeper on Sonus faber’s own figures.
Anyone who wants the most detail. By What Hi-Fi’s account, the Olympica III is the comfortable choice at this price, not the most revealing one.
The Olympica G3 range runs from $8,000 for one Wall speaker to $30,000 a pair for the Olympica V. The Olympica III, at $24,000 a pair, is rated at 90 dB and 4 ohms: about 20 watts per channel covers loud listening in a living room, but the amplifier must be happy into 4 ohms. The weak point is value. Sonus faber's own $9,000 Sonetto VIII G2 is a bigger tower with deeper rated bass.
Questions answered
How much does the Sonus faber Olympica III cost?
$24,000 a pair in the US, in walnut or wenge. The Olympica V is $30,000 a pair and the Olympica I is $13,000 a pair.
What amplifier does the Olympica III need?
One that is comfortable into 4 ohms. Sonus faber rates it at 90 dB and 4 ohms and recommends 50 to 300 watts. On paper, loud 95 dB peaks at 2.5 metres need about 20 watts per channel, and 100 dB peaks at 3 metres about 90.
What is the difference between the Olympica III and Olympica V?
The V adds a third 6.5-inch woofer. It is 70 mm taller, 9 kg heavier and rated to 37 Hz against 42 Hz. It costs $6,000 more a pair.
When did the Olympica G3 come out?
It went on sale at the end of June 2026. It is the third generation of the Olympica range.
How big is the Olympica III?
1,104 mm tall, 376 mm wide and 459 mm deep, and 35 kg each, according to Sonus faber.
Would you pay $24,000 for the Olympica III, or put the money into the Sonetto VIII G2 and a better amplifier?
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