Nova Utopia Be $38K - Are they good?

Slaufer,WOW!!Thanks for the info.

Heard the Alto's,and they WERE a real pleasure to audition.

They played really loud,with outstanding dynamics,and timbres.Also,they filled up a large room very satisfyingly.A very well priced product,compared to some competition.

For the most part,I sort of,agree with the above comments,but with a few caveats.Firstly let me say that for the money,you mention,they are Well worth it.

Now my two cents worth,AND I would love any feedback regarding my comments,as I've been enthralled with these speakers,in the first and second version,for quite some time.

I auditioned the orig Utopia some time ago,and fell in love with them.Suffice to say I've heard them with top flight stuff,and they sounded everywhere from simply EHH,to fabulous.I AB'd them against the Avalon Eidolon's some time ago,and they simply blew the Eidolon's away.I own Avalon Ascents(which I love),but when I went to hear the Eidolon,and subsequently heard the Utopia,in the same room,that was it.I was hooked!!And BAD!!

Always pondering my potential future upgrades(which sometimes take quite a bit of time,but allow me to be well versed,in what I'm trying to accomplish)I set out to hear these speakers,in a variety of set-ups.I LOVE the fact that these speakers are kind of a "Drop in" for the amp I'm using(a ROWLAND)and are easy to drive,as well as requiring only one quality set of cables(as a sidebar,I am enthralled with the Dali megalines,but they need two identical stereo amps).

I heard Jonathan Scull's set-up,once.At his home,just before he left the Mag,he wrote for.A friend got me the invitation.Scull was a really fine guy,and wanted to please us.He had SOTA stuff,and a huge listening space.He,also,previously owned,and still loves, my current Avalons,so I wanted to see what the deal was.I was NOT disappointed.He ran a 100 wpc tube amp for the occassion,which was very powerful,but had a midbass hump.This was to be expected,and the sound was actually quite good.Vey open,dynamic,with stunning timbres.Imaging not in the league of my Ascents,but few speakers are,and that is only one parameter.

I heard these speakers(Utopias) on two occassions,running YBA stereo 200 wpc amps,with a tube line/phono,and HERE it WAS MAGIC.One location was a dealer who pushes(big time)Kharma stuff.The Kharma's sounded fine,but,especially for the money,actually even not taking price into account,the Utopias FLOORED me.Smoked any Kharma I've ever heard,and I like Kharmas,though they are laughably overpriced.In ALL areas,Timbres(which many audiophiles are clueless about)were stunning,and there was a huge sense of dynamic scale,with NO mid bass bloat.I was HOOKED.My beloved pondering took on a whole new meaning,for my future listening considerations,and my tennis game began to suck.Who cared!!I was in the Audio sweetspot,as opposed to hitting my serve,in the sweetspot!

Enter the Nova Utopia Berrylium.I have heard these two times.Both under show conditions,but with quality gear.To me,there has been a shift in timbral presentation,for the worse.However,not wanting to give up on such a STUNNING product,I would give the benefit of the doubt to the fact that the speakers were probably, NOT broken in, store speakers,and were uncrated"new" for the show.I assume(hope)this was the case,as I still love these speakers,and it seems that JM Labs is keeping the price somewhat reasonable,what with the dollar's drag.I hope they still list at 37.5.

Now the surprise,to ME!--At HE 2005,the Nova's were set up down the hall from the TAD Model one speakers.I heard the Tad's in 4 and 2 channel.I kept going back to compare BOTH demos.My comments are in the 2 channel mode,which is what I prefer.NO CONTEST!!Did I say NOT CLOSE!!The Tad's list for 7 grand more,but to me(and I hope the "break in" issue was a factor,here)the TAD's SMOKED the Nova's,in virtually all areas.Anthony Cordesman reviewed these some months ago,where he stated that these speakers were the greatest audio product he has ever experienced.I must say,in terms of transparency,accurate dynamics,image accuracy,point source realism,overall presentation,and a real sense of NO mechanical iterations of any kind,the TAD's were IT,and did I say IN SPADES!!Amazing!!!

Now my dilemma---I still love the Nova's.They would be such an easy load for my amp,where I think the Tad may require me to consider another unit(I don't want to,unless forced).Also,they are still a few thousand dollars cheaper,and I find it hard to believe that Focal would market a newer version of the Utopia,which I know of one person who traded in a Genisis 1.1 for.He wanted more space,and felt the Utopia was close enough.Not the Grand Utopia.So,for me,the jury is still out.For YOU,at 18-20 k for a pair,the verdict is in.IN SPADES!!Viva L'difference!!

Best of luck!!

IMO--These speakers NEED extreme care in room placement to mesh bass with mids/highs.Also,as per the excellent Stereophile review,they really need solid state amps to control the woof.At the HE-2005 show they were set-up w/tube amps,so bass was affected.Also,the room was not too good.I have these on a short list of future speakers(2-3 yrs),Dali Megalines,Tad-1(or new one to come soon),and maybe one or two others.Hope it gets it's act together,to the more discriminating listener.Best regards!

It's really funny,as to room/component architecture affecting our "opinions" as to what is good.
I SO want to like the Watt/Puppy,but have never heard them to my satisfaction.I've really tried!I must have resolution,coupled with a real involvement in the recorded content(the little jewel-like Kharma 3.2 shines here,but does not blow down walls,and who cares,except the Wilson/MTV crowd),and few speakers do this.BTW,I own neither.
At the VTV Show I heard the "tiny" Rogers LS35a,driven by a measley 10 wpc Dyna tube amp.Driven by the AMAZING Stelavox rel to reel.Really Spartan stuff,yet it was SO compelling(though not nearly "wall popping" as a Wilson,and there is certainly a contingent liking that sound,which is fine with me BTW)that I truly had to re-think how I wanted to "experience" a system in my own room.
Yes,everyone has their own taste,but one cannot really compare a BIG speaker,like the Nova,to the Watt/Puppy as the Nova surely needs a larger room to do it's thing.It's bass enclosure is far larger than the Wilson,and this matters.
The "it factor"(to me)concernes alot more than loudness/dynamic capabilities of any given loudspeaker.But tell that to the guy next to me,at the traffic light,who is BLASTING his latest mega car stereo/boom box.I have NO doubts what speakers he would prefer,at home!

Best!

Amperidian,I must say that you make a very compelling argument regarding the new Utopia tweets.I have to admit to liking these speakers,yet DO feel the new tweets are much more obvious than some other less heavily marketed types.I have heard the new Novas and have been left with the feeling that they are bettered by a good deal of the competition,yet the Altos were fabulous.Go figure!Same tweeter,different presentation.I would love to hear the STRADS,as they seem to reflect a type of sound I'm slowly morphing into liking,more and more.In all truthfullness,and solely in my opinion(not to be taken too seriously)the little Kharma 3.2's driven with a smallish SET amp have a "presentation",as opposed to speaker "sound",that I find beguiling.Pretty decent bass too,yet it is the presentation projected from so simple a design,that really connects with me.This is destroyed,IMO,with ANY subwoofer addition,but it's only my take,here.

I liked the older Utopias a bit more,and truthfully love the timbral textures of my current modded Avalon Ascents,which is why I'm SO reluctant to make any speaker changes.A change in most speakers,in one's system,usually means the total revoicing of the room/system,and I'm growing weary of the non stop upgrade mentality,in the hobby.Maybe I'm just happy,yet,we are not supposed to be really all that satisfied.Are we?

One design,that seems really interesting,and is very accessible from a wide variety of amps,that can be used with it,is the Venture Audio line of speakers.Seemingly easy load on an amp,stunning cabinetry,and SOTA design(apparently),yet NOT cheap.Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Best regards.