New vs. "Almost New" Ayre and Olympicas

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Posted by kingist (A) on May 20, 2015 at 22:14:53

I have been auditioning speakers for the last couple of weeks and finally have settled on the Sonus Faber Olympica 2s. The entire Olympica series absolutely blew me away vs. even far more expensive speakers.

Two very respected audiophile friends have recommended pairing these with Ayre AX-7 plus a good DAC (e.g. Ayre QB-9). I have been feeling reasonably set on this and am auditioning the entire setup in the coming days. Total price about $16,000. Then came this issue:

Someone I know bought Olympica 3s with Ayre AX-520 and has decided to part with them. The Olympica 3s seem like a reasonable upgrade - they list at about 30% more so maybe I could get them for the same price as Olympica 2s. But I am curious as to whether it is worth upgrading so much on the Ayre product - it's almost $9K more new. The entire system has very little use, so I'm not sure what kind of discount I might demand...it seems like I'll be into it for even more money, which I'm reluctant to part with unless I get a ton of value for it (seeing as how I lose the connection with the store).

I'm just not even sure how to make a decision like this. Obviously when I audition the setup in two different places it will be pretty hard to compare perfectly. Any thoughts or advice appreciated.

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Topic - New vs. "Almost New" Ayre and Olympicas - kingist 22:14:53 05/20/15 (16)

RE: New vs. "Almost New" Ayre and Olympicas - SgreenP@MSN.com 10:26:01 05/24/15 (0)

Almost new = no brainer - Beetlemania 08:42:30 05/22/15 (0)

My advice, FWIW & YMMV, is get the Olimpica IIIs first... - John Marks 06:47:17 05/22/15 (6)

Another, perhaps better, amp option for the m920 - Paul Tobin 23:11:44 09/21/15 (0)

RE: My advice, FWIW & YMMV, is get the Olimpica IIIs first... - kingist 20:35:06 05/22/15 (0)

RE: My advice, FWIW & YMMV, is get the Olimpica IIIs first... - kingist 06:54:37 05/22/15 (3)

They are NOT overkill in 12 x 16 room. - John Marks 07:35:57 05/22/15 (2)

RE: They are NOT overkill in 12 x 16 room. - A.Wayne 07:44:28 05/22/15 (1)

Left to right. - John Marks 15:14:00 05/22/15 (0)

RE: New vs. "Almost New" Ayre and Olympicas - fantja 05:36:18 05/22/15 (0)

RE: New vs. "Almost New" Ayre and Olympicas - Dave_K 16:32:24 05/21/15 (5)

RE: New vs. "Almost New" Ayre and Olympicas - Beetlemania 07:59:03 05/22/15 (4)

RE: New vs. "Almost New" Ayre and Olympicas - Dave_K 06:31:46 05/24/15 (3)

RE: New vs. "Almost New" Ayre and Olympicas - Beetlemania 08:50:30 05/24/15 (2)

RE: New vs. "Almost New" Ayre and Olympicas - audioaddictNY 09:15:59 05/25/15 (1)

A platform under the *speakers*? - Beetlemania 10:14:08 05/25/15 (0)

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