Sonus faber’s Olympica V G3 Drops Jaws at Audio Advice Live 2026

Todd Anderson · 2026-08-21T13:26:04-0500

(August 21, 2026) Sonus faber’s Olympica G3 series made its North American debut at Audio Advice Live, giving attendees a first chance to hear the third generation of one of the company’s most recognizable loudspeaker families. First unveiled globally earlier this summer, Olympica G3 reimagines the line more than a decade after the original Olympica arrived. Not surprisingly, the new collection brings together contemporary luxury, Italian craftsmanship, and, most importantly, acoustic engineering derived from Sonus faber’s flagship Suprema loudspeaker. And based on what we heard during a press event, this is far from a simple visual refresh wrapped around familiar hardware.

The event was led by Roberto Gamba, Business Development Manager at Sonus faber, who made it clear that Olympica G3 isn’t a copy-and-paste update dressed in a nicer cabinet. Sonus faber is positioning this generation as a top-to-bottom rethink, with new drivers, new mechanical details, and trickle-down tech from Suprema feeding into a more approachable price point. The collection itself includes five models: Olympica V ($30,000/pair), Olympica III ($24,000/pair), Olympica I ($13,000/pair), Olympica Center ($8,000), and Olympica Wall ($8,000/pair). Olympica V sits at the top as a 3-way floorstanding loudspeaker designed for scale, dynamics, and full-range performance, while Olympica III offers a slightly more room-friendly 3-way arrangement. Olympica I brings the family’s sound to a compact 2-way bookshelf design, Olympica Center is built for dialogue and front stage integration in theater systems, and Olympica Wall adds a slim 2-way on-wall option for surround, immersive, or design-sensitive applications.

A major part of the redesign is the company's new Camelia midrange driver, which draws from work developed for Suprema. Inspired by the geometry of the camellia flower, the driver is crafted to minimize unwanted resonance while improving clarity, transparency, and vocal realism. Sonus faber says its fiber material construction and fabric surround help improve speed, control, and linearity, allowing the midrange to sound more natural and expressive. In a speaker like this, that midband performance is critical because it’s where voices, instruments, and much of the emotional center of music live.

As part of his talk, Gamba discussed the line's new basket structure, another intriguing area of the engineering story. Olympica G3 uses what Sonus faber calls a new "Organic Basket" inspired by honeycomb patterns, designed to maximize airflow while preserving mechanical stability. That works alongside a new aluminum phase plug with damping ring technology, which, the company says, reduces compression and air turbulence for improved dynamics and clarity.

Cabinet design carries a similar intent. Sonus faber has preserved Olympica’s asymmetrical lute-shaped silhouette, but the shape isn’t only there to look beautiful. Gamba pointed out that resonant modes are part of loudspeaker design. You can’t make them disappear entirely, but you can influence and control them through cabinet geometry, materials, and construction. That gives Olympica G3’s sculpted form a real acoustic purpose, helping to manage internal behavior while maintaining the kind of visual identity that has long set Sonus faber apart from more conventional box speaker designs.

Visually, Olympica G3 leans hard into the brand’s Italian design language. A 45-degree herringbone pattern crafted from authentic wood veneer, inspired by Sonus faber’s Stradivari loudspeaker, paired with precision-machined aluminum details for a cleaner, more contemporary look. The result is unmistakably Sonus faber: warm, sculptural, and furniture-grade without feeling old-fashioned. The Olympica III and Olympica V models also incorporate cork as damping material inside the mid-high acoustic chamber, which Sonus faber says helps reduce unwanted resonances and reflections for greater resolution, tonal purity, and realism.

Of course, the technical story only matters if the speaker can make good on it. During the demo, Sonus faber used its stately Olympica V G3 to play Shawn Colvin’s “Baker Street” followed by A.R. Rahman’s “Dacoit Duel,” two tracks that gave the speakers room to show tonal texture, low-end control, and transient behavior. My first impression led me toward descriptive words like smooth, controlled, and effortless. Low-end presence was wonderful, not overwhelming, but clearly adding weight and authority to the overall performance. Female vocals were silky, while the upper end capped the presentation beautifully without tripping into brightness.

What stood out most was the speaker’s sense of cohesion. The transition from midrange to the lower registers was exceptionally smooth, giving the sound a composed, unforced quality. That was especially impressive because the speaker was being played in what was, by any fair measure, a difficult room. Even so, the Olympica V threw a massive soundstage, sounded open and airy, and placed fine details into the upper end without making them feel etched in a hard or artificial way. It had the kind of transparency that lets you listen into the recording rather than feel like the speaker is constantly announcing itself.

The second track gave the system a chance to show speed and impact. Transient drum hits during “Dacoit Duel” sounded spectacular, landing with snap, texture, and control. Bass had real presence, enough to be felt as part of the performance, but it never stepped over the line into bloat or excess. The speaker doesn’t seem designed to win people over with brute force. Its appeal is more about refinement, scale, and composure, the sense that everything is being held together without strain.

That may be the biggest takeaway from this first listen. Olympica G3 looks amazing, sounds amazing, and carries itself with the kind of polish that makes Sonus faber such a distinct player in the loudspeaker world. The Sonus faber Olympica G3 collection is available globally through authorized Sonus faber dealers, like Audio Advice. All five models are available for purchase now.

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Sonus faber’s Olympica V G3 Drops Jaws at Audio Advice Live 2026

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