B & W N802's Vs Revel Studios Vs. Mezzo Utopias


I currently own B & W Nautilus 802's and wanting a change. I am considering the Revel Studios and The JM Labs Mezzo Utopias. I know the Mezzo Utopias are being replaced by new version and you can buy them at a great price. Am I making a mistake by selling the 802's and what do you guys think of the Revels and the Mezzo Utopias? Your input would be appreicated.
lbsilver

Showing 3 responses by ksales

I am wondering why you want to make a change. The 802's are great speakers. I have heard them and while I personally chose the Revel studios, it seemed that these had somewhat similar characteristics. I am not sure if the studios are more competitive with the 801's. It would help to know why the change and what amps, cables, interconnects,and application.
I think Jazzdude's analysis was very helpful. I don't fully agree with his assessment of the Studio's, but not because he is wrong, but because there are other factors, which are so important to what one hears. He pointed out that equipment matching is very important. I agree as are acoustics and cable ect. My studios sound fantastic both detailed and great imaging. I found the midrange to be rather robust and the tweeters allow for adjustment which is really helpful for different settings. They sound better in my application than they did in many of the stores I demod them in. It was important to me to listen to them with different amps and cables. Also many retail outlets don't have adequate acoustics even though you would expect it with this level of product. I heard these paired with spectral amps and mit cable and while I found the sound detailed and quick felt it was two bright and that the midrange tended to do what Jazzdude pointed out.
In one setting I listened to them with Levinson 436's, which seem somewhat muddy. I was surprised and asked the salesperson whether something was wrong with the system and was told the cable and the speakers were just set up in the past day. There has been a lot of threads about the pros and cons of burn/breakin. When I went back a week later after telling the guy to break them in the sound was a world of difference. Where the spectrals were bright the 436s were more involving. Some have called them clinical, but I actually found them quite robust but a bit slower than some other amps. Loved them,but got something else. What's the point? Different equipment and environment are going to impact your speakers. These reviewers are giving you their impression with different equipment than yours and a different environment. Before dumping the speakers you have consider what is going to be the result of the replacement in your environment.
I haven't heard them with tubes, but I have unique amps from Harmonic Precision which are designed to be very tube like. They are over 97% efficient with very little heat. I must admit that despite tremendous skepticism on my part they imparted a warmth to the studios I had not heard previously with many other high amps including ML,Spectral, and others.