iamsilvermember wrote:

I am going to purchase the Sonus Faber Olympica I. It seems like it's not the easiest speaker to drive.

I am wondering would the Marantz PM8005 be able to drive it properly?

How much power do I need? What amp in the $1000 - $2000 USD price range can do the job?

Thank you in advance for your help!!

The sensitivity of that speaker is on the low side, and it is definitely a 4 ohm speaker.

The owners manual lists the recommended power as 40-150 watts.

My first choice for your speakers would be the Musical Fidelity M3si integrated amplifier, which retails for $1500.

It has been tested by an independent laboratory and puts out around 90 watts at either 4 ohms or 8 ohms, so that should be more than adequate.

I used one for a couple of years to drive a pair of Vandersteen 3A speakers, which require more power than yours, and it had way more power than required. It also is one of the finest-sounding amplifers that can be had in your price range.

commsysman wrote:

iamsilvermember wrote:

I am going to purchase the Sonus Faber Olympica I. It seems like it's not the easiest speaker to drive.

I am wondering would the Marantz PM8005 be able to drive it properly?

How much power do I need? What amp in the $1000 - $2000 USD price range can do the job?

Thank you in advance for your help!!

The sensitivity of that speaker is on the low side, and it is definitely a 4 ohm speaker.

The owners manual lists the recommended power as 40-150 watts.

My first choice for your speakers would be the Musical Fidelity M3si integrated amplifier, which retails for $1500.

It has been tested by an independent laboratory and puts out around 90 watts at either 4 ohms or 8 ohms, so that should be more than adequate.

I used one for a couple of years to drive a pair of Vandersteen 3A speakers, which require more power than yours, and it had way more power than required. It also is one of the finest-sounding amplifers that can be had in your price range.

It also incorporates a USB DAC and a high-quality phono stage.

iamsilvermember wrote:

Thanks for the suggestion commsysman. But I have one question:

The Marantz PM8005 claim to output 100W at 4ohm, so should it be better?

Sorry I am a newbie to all these speaker, amp spec numbers.

The Musical Fidelity M3 also puts out about 100 watts at 4 ohms. There is no significant difference in power, but the Musical Fidelity amplifier with give you significantly more enjoyment; it is simply a superior amplifier. It sounds better.

commsysman wrote:

iamsilvermember wrote:

Thanks for the suggestion commsysman. But I have one question:

The Marantz PM8005 claim to output 100W at 4ohm, so should it be better?

Sorry I am a newbie to all these speaker, amp spec numbers.

The Musical Fidelity M3 also puts out about 100 watts at 4 ohms. There is no significant difference in power, but the Musical Fidelity amplifier will give you significantly more enjoyment; it is simply a superior amplifier. It sounds better.

iamsilvermember wrote:

I am going to purchase the Sonus Faber Olympica I. It seems like it's not the easiest speaker to drive.

I am wondering would the Marantz PM8005 be able to drive it properly?

How much power do I need? What amp in the $1000 - $2000 USD price range can do the job?

Thank you in advance for your help!!

Hey there,
Just curious, what did you finally end up getting for your Sonus Faber Olympica 1 speakers? If you haven't bought the amp yet I would highly recommend the new Classe Sigma 2200i stereo integrated amp. This model just came out over a month ago or something. It retails for $5500. I know it's way over your budget but it is totally worth getting one to pair with your speakers. You have great speakers and you will have to be willing to spend quite a bit for electronics in order to be able to optimize the performance of your system.
The Marantz PM8005 integrated is more suitable for more economical and efficient speakers. I would not het this Marantz to drive your speakers.
This Classe Sigma 2200i integrated has full arrays of digital inputs eg USBs, spdif (coax digital audio), optical digital and hdmi. So you can connect your computer or NAS drive directly to this Classe.
The amp uses a class D design found in Classe Sigma Amp2 power amp and the preamp section is identical to a stereo section of the Classe Sigma SSP. But Classe eliminated DAC and ADC so the digital signal is kept in digital domain all the way through the amplifier output buffer, which will then be converted to analog for the speakers to use. It is rated at 200 wpc @ 8 ohms and 400 wpc @ 4 ohms. It is a phenomenal sounding amp.
I've listened to a new pair of B&W 804 D3 speakers through this Classe and it was fantastic. Sonically it is a big step up from the Musical Fidelity M3 integrated that was suggested earlier. It's diffetent leagues actually. I guessed it isn't a fair comparison cause the Classe Sigma 2200i retails for $5500 and the MF M3 costs only $1500.
The MF M3 is good for the price. But considering what your speakers are capable of and the level of your speaker performance I think your speakers deserve to be driven by high quality electronics. I would spend more than your initial budget of $2000 for an integrated amp. I think something like the Classe Sigma 2200i integrated would be a great caliber match for your speakers or the level of your speakers performance.