Focal -JM Lab Nova Utopia Be VS. B&W 801D

Reply to Kmccarty. I know exactly what you mean. How many times do we hear great audio gear sound terrible at dealers, audio shows, ect... I have a pair of JM Lab Electra 920.1 speakers in my two channel setup and JM Lab Chorus in my home theatre which both sound great. I've also heard them at dealers where they sounded horrible. If that was my impression of JM Lab speakers I would of thought they sucked! I think some audiophiles tend to make judgement too quickly based on experiences of poor sound at dealers. IMO most dealers would be rich if they could make money on demonstrating poor sound. Some audiophiles go on about what is wrong with the design of a particular product and therefore claim its no good. Most of us are really not qualified or have done proper experiments to come to these conclusions. A great example is how some claim that the woofer has to be a certain size in relation to the midrange in a 3 way design. Both the Nova Utopia and the 801d have large woofers compared to their midrange (13" and 15" 3 way systems). Both can sound utterly superb in the right setup. That being said its my own policy to hear potential upgrades in my own room because you simply can't trust what we hear at a dealer or what people say. By the way I've never had the pleasure of hearing the Grande Utopia Be but can only imagine how amazing they can sound!

My 2 cents: I listened to Andy Singer's Nova Utopia show at the NY show (2004 I think) and thought the bass was really abusive, for what it's worth. OTOH, his Grande Utopia Be demo in the next room (about the same size as the Nova room I think) was far better, with well integrated and natural bass and great vocals. (It was some Rolling Stones DVD). The Novas sounded like they were strained and pushed, but the Grandes sounded really effortless and not at all overwhelming for their size.

Hey Raquel,

Can you explain further how the source impedence issue makes tweeters sound hot? Are you talking about the impedence matching between pre and poweramp?

Thanks.
/Lee

Leemincy:

An amplifier's output impedence "reacts" with a speaker's impedence, and vice-versa. Many tube amps have a generally high output impedence that features large peaks and dips (solid-state amps tend to be more linear in this respect). The impedence of speakers can also vary widely and feature peaks and dips (with cone speakers, usually in the bass, but not always). The uneven nature of a tube amp's output impedence can cause a speaker to have uneven output, especially where the speaker itself has a roller coaster impedence, which is to say, the lows, mids or highs do not all put out the same volume in response to the same signal volume. For example (and this is purely a hypothetical), in response to warble tones that should result in 90 db. of sound coming from all frequencies, the bass and mids would put out 90 db. each, but the treble would put out 95 db. Thus, on music, the treble will be too strong relative to the other octaves and will be perceived as sounding hot or screeching. If it is the bass that is exaggerated, the speaker will sound boomy. When John Atkinson measured the Nova Utopia Be for Stereophile, he wrote:

"[D]espite its having a nominal value of 8 ohms, the Nova's impedance varied considerably, remaining below 6 ohms for much of the midrange and above 9 ohms for much of the treble (fig.1, solid trace). If the Nova Utopia is used with an amplifier having a highish source impedance—a classic tube design, for example—the treble region will shelve up by a couple of dB, changing the perceived balance considerably. However, it is probably not a good idea to use a tube amplifier with this speaker, as it is a demanding load in the bass region. Not only does the impedance drop almost to 3 ohms in the midbass and the middle of the midrange, there is a punishing combination of 4.1 ohms magnitude and -50 degrees electrical phase angle at 62Hz. A good 4-ohm-capable solid-state amplifier will work best with this speaker."

I hope this responds to your question.

There has been much discussion about room size and amplification for the Nova's... is there a recommended room size for them?

My room is about 19' wide x 21' deep with all acoustic treaments by Richard Rives. I plan to move into a bigger place in the next few years, but would the Nova's be overkill here.

As for amplification I was leaning toward the Mcintosh MC501 mono amps. Has anyone heard these on mac equipment and what did you think?