B&W vs JM Lab

I had B&W 805s, I sold them and bought mini utopias. The minis blew away the 805s as they should have for the price. But even so, the mini utopias in my opinion are far superior to the n802 and n801. That's only my opinion, but JM Labs are more musical and coherent than any B&Ws except for maybe the nautilus.

I too had the Nautilus 805's as well as an HTM-1. While I always loved listening to them and I never had a problem with them, the first time I heard the JMlab speakers I knew I had to make the change. I sold all my B&W stuff and got a pair of JMlab Electra 906's and an Electra 901CC. My new JMlab stuff, to me sounds better in everyway as compared to my old 805's. I just wish I could have afforded to go with the Mini-Utopia, cause that was even better, of course like you said it should be for the extra cost. The 906's run at 2k a pair while the Mini-Utopia's run at 7k a pair. Interesting note, the magazine Absolute Sound is going to be putting up the Electra 906's as there speaker of the year in one of their upcoming magazines.

brandonblair@telocity.com

i listen too many times gr.utopia,utopia and b&w 800 with many differents amps.
b&w 800 is a monitor speakers and needs very good powerfull amps.once you find the right amps,i think its one of the best speakers(for 15.000$).
i never liked utopias(except small ones)as a state of art speakers,with every kind of amps,it sounds good but not enough to be the best for thier price range.
i personelly have kharma speakers.

I hate to say it, but, the nautilus 800 is definately not a monitor speaker....

I also prefer the JM Labs to B&Ws in all cases. The mini utopias are to die for - simply outstanding. JM Labs however can sound thin with a lean amp so go for one with gusto and soul (especially true for the cobalt series - Electras and utopias are not as picky).

just saw a jm lab utopia for sale. however, my room may be too small for it. would one advise buying a bigger speaker and then treating the room, or settle for a smaller speaker, such as the Mezzo. I love big orchestra pieces like the works of Mahler, and big sound is very impt. to me. thanks.

I don't understand why any audiophile needs to defend their choice of speaker. It's their money, their ears, their preferences.

However, given your musical tastes, I can certainly see where you might prefer the JMLab utopia line. They are very special when reproducing acoustic instruments.