A New Fault Line in High-End Home Audio
Sonus faber Olympica G3 and the Dynaudio Opus One soundbar mark a clear divide in high-end home audio, with one path rooted in modular, handcrafted Italian loudspeakers and the other in a single, ultra-powerful all-in-one chassis that treats the soundbar as a true luxury audio system rather than a TV accessory. Sonus faber’s Olympica G3 is the third generation of its iconic collection, now a five-model family blending Vicenza-inspired cabinet art with technology filtered down from the flagship Suprema platform. Dynaudio’s Opus One, once a concept at CES 2025, has become a 24-driver, 1,500-watt statement soundbar aimed at the same rarefied buyers who might otherwise look to Canvas HiFi, Bang & Olufsen, or Steinway & Sons Lyngdorf. Together, they signal that premium speaker launches are no longer about one formula for “serious” listening.
Olympica G3: Italian Heritage, Modular Luxury
Olympica G3 makes an unapologetic argument: luxury audio should be a system you build, not a bar you bolt under a screen. The collection spans five speakers, from the compact Olympica I standmount at USD 13,000 (approx. RM60,000) per pair through the Olympica III at USD 24,000 (approx. RM110,000) per pair to the flagship Olympica V at USD 30,000 (approx. RM137,000) per pair, plus the Olympica Center at USD 10,500 (approx. RM48,000) and Olympica Wall at USD 8,000 (approx. RM36,000) each. This is not entry-level high-end audio; it is where Sonus faber’s design language and cabinetmaking become attainable without entering its most rarefied strata. The brand has imported Suprema-derived technology, including the Camelia midrange driver and Organic Basket chassis, while Olympica III and V add cork-lined mid-high chambers and revised crossovers for more disciplined control of resonance. In other words, the Olympica G3 is a serious engineering update disguised as sculpture.
Opus One: The Integrated Powerhouse Soundbar
If Olympica G3 celebrates the art of separates, Dynaudio Symphony Opus One argues that the future of luxury audio lives in a single, monument-sized soundbar. First seen as a concept at CES 2025, where it was singled out as a “Best Concept Soundbar,” the unit has now stepped into production territory. At HIGH END Vienna 2026, Opus One made its European debut, followed days later by a formal launch at Dynaudio’s Copenhagen concept showroom during 3daysofdesign, converting it from showpiece to actual product. The confirmed hardware is aggressive: 24 drivers—six soft-dome tweeters, fourteen mid/bass units, and four dual-diaphragm force-cancelling subwoofers—driven by 1,500 watts of digital amplification and controlled by proprietary spatial-audio processing. The chassis spans 1864 x 236 x 207 mm, or 73.4 x 9.3 x 8.1 inches, and weighs 45 kg / 99 pounds. At about 73 inches wide, the Dynaudio Opus One matches an 83-inch or 85-inch flat panel TV both sonically and visually. This is not something you casually slide under the TV after dinner; it is a statement that the soundbar can be the centerpiece of high-end home audio.
How These Premium Speaker Launches Change Real Living Rooms
For ordinary—but well-heeled—listeners, the practical impact of these luxury audio systems is not abstract. Olympica G3’s modular line lets buyers treat sound quality as a tailored fit: the Olympica V’s three-woofer, cork-lined midrange chamber and vented bass enclosure are designed to give genuine full-range performance, with claimed 37 Hz extension, making it the obvious choice for larger rooms and for people who want deep bass without automatically adding a subwoofer. Opus One, by contrast, says “do it all at once.” The base soundbar is priced at €13,000 RRP, with stands and mounting accessories between €500 and €5,000, and is clearly not chasing mass-market names like Sonos, Samsung, or Bose. According to the launch details, Opus One will first be available in Denmark and China before reaching other markets, with US pricing and shipping still unconfirmed but early talk suggesting around USD 20,000 (approx. RM91,000).
Conclusion: Two Philosophies, One High-End Future
The Sonus faber Olympica G3 and Dynaudio Opus One soundbar are not competing products so much as competing philosophies in high-end home audio. Olympica G3 insists that heritage, cabinet artistry, and modular choice remain the soul of premium speaker launches, with a five-piece family that can anchor both music and cinema systems in a traditional separates ecosystem. Opus One counters with an integrated powerhouse that treats the soundbar as a legitimate luxury audio system, targeting the same rarefied clientele who might once have dismissed any bar on principle. Dynaudio plans to extend Opus One with wireless subwoofers and rear surround speakers in the future, integrated into the same platform, which only strengthens its case that “all-in-one” no longer means compromise. The market is clearly splitting between handcrafted separates and statement all-in-one systems, and that split is healthy: listeners now choose not just how good their systems sound, but what kind of relationship they want with their equipment.
