JM Lab Mezzo Utopia ?

I use to have a pair of Thiel 5i's (same price range) and they were nice, but the key word is use to. Once I heard the Revel Ultima Salons- WOW ! You are right Evansdad about the Talon speakers. I did some serious listening to there Flagship model Khorus and was not taken. The Tannoy Churchill is a decent speaker too in the same price range. Very efficient for a big speaker and big bass.

Please, the Talon speakers are not remotely comparable to the other speakers mentioned in this thread--and yes, I have heard them, broken-in. JMLab, B&W Nautilus, Avalon--all superb speakers, each with a different presentation style that's for sure. I would add a few others too: Kharma, Revel, Wilson, and Verity. There's four more superb speaker brands with yet three more different sonic presentations....

You might want to consider the Avalon Opus.

As much as I hate this (as I own B&W 802s) you might want to see if you can listen to a pair of Revel Salons. They are in your price range and you might be able to get the same discount. - Cheers, Dan

Don't waste your time with the B&Ws. The JM Labs line of speakers are terrific. If you can get 40% off on Mezzos, jump on it. Not only do they sound great, but the are works of art.

the mezzos are 90-92 db (sorry i forgot which) efficient. i have a pair and absoultely love them. i bought them new a bit over a year ago for under $10k. i first powered them with a 45 wpc tube amp and shortly thereafter upgraded to 140 wpc tube mono's. they sounded good with the little amp but they absolutely sing with the mono's. i auditioned a number of speakers, including the eggy rosas and andreas. as between the andreas and the mezzos the decision was tough. i like the styling of both and the fact that the eggy's are made in the u.s. they were both quite analytical, but i would probably give the analytical edge to the eggys (the imaging and with of the soundstage was awesome). but, i was a bit concerned about the power required to run the eggy's (i knew that i was going to upgrade my power source, but was not sure when). more importantly (to me), the mezzo's mids are really fluid and incredibly realistic. the highs are crisp without sounding harsh or etchy and the bottom end, when powered well, is really tight. in short, i found them an overall more musical speaker--natural sounding, highly detailed, good imaging and soundstage and really, really fun to listen to. if you can find a deal they're well worth it. good luck.

Dolphin is right, and the Talons are about 90.5 db efficient.
Regards,
Mike

Just re-read your second post, about needing something efficient, and the Andras certainly are not. But neither are the 801's, and when I heard the Mezzo Utopias, they were hooked up to giant Krell monoblocks, so I'm not sure they're too much better in that regard.

Bigboss, if you love bass extension, speed, and accurate pitch along with SOTA performance everywhere else, then you should listen to the Talon Audio Khorus's before making a purchasing decision.

Mezzo Utopias are great speakers, and you can't go wrong with them, that's for sure--but here's another suggestion, the Egglestonworks Andras, Stereophile Class A until last fall. They're small (about 40 inches high) but incredibly solidly made (205 lb. each), made to work best within a foot of the rear wall and 2 feet of the side walls, have astonishing deep and detailed bass (2 woofers, one mounted behind the other), a wonderful Dynaudio tweeter, and two transmission line-loaded midrange units. I had several tube traps in the room when I got them, and wound up removing them as not needed. Somehow they don't seem to excite room resonances the way my B& W's did. A warning however--they need a lot of power--250-400 watts a side--and sound their best with cable on the warm, full side--e.g. NBS Monitor or Cardas Golden Reference. They're about $15,000, but used run in the $ neighborhood you're exploring. Not only is the soundfront so wide it's startling at times, but they don't take up the whole room, a significant WAF factor. Oh, yes, they're also very attractive in a modern way--black acrylic and Italian granite. As to the Nautilus 801, I've never heard a pair which sounded comfortable in the room they were set up in, whether at a dealer or in a home (I found the upper midrange too aggressive each time,although they still did amazing things), and I understand that B & W is just about to introduce a new speaker, the 800, which everyone has gone nuts over. If you're thinking B& W, you might want to wait a few months to see what happens--a lot of discounted 801's, for example?

Decisions,... Decisons. Need Speakers!
I have a local JM Lab dealer who has a Band New Pair of Mezzo Utopias in the Box,
for $ 8400 plus tax (that's about 40% discount). Should I go for it, or try for a B&W N-801 in that price range. I need something fairly effecient in the 88db and higher. Plus I love bottom end with extension and but no boom bass please. Or is there something else out there I don't know about. Help !
Thanks again.

Thank you very much CD.

I've heard them many times and have owned a pair of Mini Utopias so I am familar with the JMLab sound. When you are talking about 10-15k there are a lot of really good speakers and there is NO clear winner. When you get to this level, you are in world class stuff and it becomes a matter of listening preferences and room sizes. Even if you have the money if you have a small room a speaker like the Mezzo (and most in its price range) won't serve you well. You end up overloading the rooom. The Mezzo needs a good sized room. When these are set up with the right equipment (a must with everything)you get some spectacular results. They have probably the widest soundstage I have heard.
Now they don't go down to the nether regions with bass but they are between 35-38 which will handle about 98% of all the music you will listen to. However, that is just not enough for some people and when you spend that much you figure you ought to get a lower response - but that is a matter of opinion.
JMLab in general make great musically sounding speakers and the Mezzo represents the Lab sound well. I have come to enjoy Labs over almost everything I have heard.
Your best bet is to do some serious listening with several things you are interested in within this range.
I am sure you would respect the Mezzo and you may find it scratch your itch.

cd