jm lab grand utopia be--- any thoughts ?

Gotta love these people who make sweeping generalizations of a brand based on a couple crappy hotel room demos! That speaks volumes doesn't it? too funny.

stevecham---

the 2 speakers that you had mentioned as "surpassing", the jm lab ,are ,with all due respect ,not even in the neighborhood of the jm lab , and i am refering to the utopia be line.
you are really making very general statements ,that can frankly ,be said just about any component out there.
every speaker ,or any gear ,for that matter ,has drawbacks. but i find ,the jm labs ,in my room ,and with my familiar settings ,to be very musical , with the right sonical timbre and presentation.
but let's not turn this into a "mine is better" kind of thing- i really wanted to hear what fellow a/goners ,with the grand utopias bes have to comments on these SPECIFIC speakers, before i decide to upgrade my nova bes to the grands.

Go Ahead and try to auditon the New "Grande Utopia EM" !!

http://www.grande-utopia-em.com/

Hurry up !

Ozy,

I am not familiar with the Nova but I have listened extensively to a well setup Alto - let me say these are indeed awesome speakers. However, if I am nit picky then I share your concerns about the bass - that was pretty obvious from the get go - dynamics were also not as strong as I was expecting in such a large speaker. However, I was also puzzled by the imaging. I did not get precise definition in the soundstage. On Roger Waters Amused to Death Track 3 there were some great effects (very wide soundstage - extremely impressive sound from the left and in your left ear) - however, contrary or in the opposite vein - the female vocalist was not precisely or soldily centered nor was Roger Waters (centered but vaguely so - such as you would not be completely convinced they were there standing in front of you).

Anyway - those were my findings - it may simply have been colored by something else in the chain (the DAC for example - it was all high end SS gear). FWIW: They are absolutely stunning looking speakers, which is why I had to listen to them - but I did come away ever so slightly disappointed given their price.

Very Interesting. I have owned two pairs of nova be . Original utopias Grande be Sound lab u1s Aura + with the new px mylar. I sing In my church choir . I go to live events. Unamplified Is my favorite. I recently was fortunate enough to see beethoven symphony no 9 live , no amplification. I find that most audiophiles simply need to listen to more live unamplified concerts. Most people do not know what real live music sounds like. Venture out of your sound room go to a show. If U2 pink flyd etc. Wear earplugs. I dare you to try and listen to your system for a few days after that experience. Now try and reproduce that 200 foot wide stage 150 feet deep. with 6 full size basses. cellos , violens kettle drums and a huge choir. Fire up the audio system after that. I do not care how much you spend It will not be better than live. I have heard many audiophiles claim that the sound they have Is better than live. Wake up. Anyway I hope I did not offend anyone just shooting straight. Anyway the nova be vs the grand be. Is It better ? The grands beat the novas yes but not worth the extra because the novas are awsome. If you have the money to throw around buy the big boys. I have the factory novas with matched drivers. I love them. I also have the aura + as well. Sound labs with the newer mylar are pure music. Bring power they need It. The nova also over the alto Is simply huge.