2. speakers
  3. 1416889889

Janszen za2.1 vs nola metro grand ref series2

I am contemplating a speaker purchase. I was going to look into either a used vandy 5a or eggleston andra ii. But, I think they would both be too big for my small 12x14 room. I am also married to my 50 w triode monoblocks and I fear they would not provide sufficient power for either choice.

This leads me to the less well known janszen and a pair of demo nola metros. I have always liked the enormous magnepan 3.7 soundstage. I however found them always lacking in image specificity. So as the advice comes, please keep in mind my soundstage reference and goal is along the lines of the big Maggie's. I have read that the raven tweeter and open baffle in the nola result in a giant presentation. I am not as sure about the janszens.

Has anyone heard both of the speakers I am considering? My desire is to improve upon the sound of the Gallo ref 3.5 that I currently have. I would like a larger, taller deeper soundstage with Improved pinpoint proved imaging.

I recognize this may be an odd request, but I am hoping for real world experience as I have no way to hear either prior to purchasing the speakers. The janszens have a trial period going in their favor.

Fwiw David janszen was a pleasure to talk with about his speakers. If congeniality were a sound quality i would tip my hat to janszen.

Regards,
Brad
2out2sea

Showing 1 response by electroslacker

electroslacker
375 posts
 
We like similar speakers. I thought the Nola Metro Gold powered by a VAC 160i was the best sound at the Brooklyn show, but the Nola's got a decidedly lukewarm review in Stereophile in both listening and measurements. They retail at $33,000, which is beyond what I would spend, and I'm not quite sure if they were impressive or "right."

That really makes a home or dealer test of the JansZen Za2.1 my path. Although I like my tube amp, I'm intrigued to try the combination of the Benchmark DAC2 HGC going into the new powered version of the Za2.1a. There's a trickle of good feedback appearing on the powered version.

If the combo is not great, they can be returned, but I have high hopes from spending a lot of time reading about the products, and being impressed with everything I've heard David Janszen say. Plus, I still remember how good Simon and Garfunkel sounded on his father's version of the speaker, (although that one had a dip in lower midrange.)
More to discover