Nova Utopia Be $38K - Are they good?

I heard the Grande Utopia Be's at the montreal 2005 show running off a YBA passion 1000 stereo amp. Source was the esoteric UX-1 player with the YBA passion 1000 preamp (with the large external powersupply). I'm not sure what interconnects and speaker cables were used, but powercords and powerconditioning was by YBA.

The sound was good, even very good. The soundstage was impecable, vocals were rendered with great control and at the same time with ease, transparency was first class, bass was visceral yet very well rendered. Classical music impressed on it. No constriction whatseoever. The room was huge. I walked away from that room regreting the fact that I did not bring more cd's to the show.

but...

there was definitely present, in the highs, a particular metalic glare present in many metal tweeters (even in high end speakers) ... and it has nothing to do with sibilance, sibilance was not an issue in montreal ... despite the advantages of this sound in brass instrument rendering, I have to say that to my ear it is not the most pleasant and my own choice of speakers has revolved around the better silk tweeters out there. I think it's a matter of personal preference, no right or wrong here ... or anywhere else in this hobby.

At the Monsteal 2005 show, I found the Ayre/Sonus Faber room to be absolutely magical ... a world away from the YBA/JM Lab room. There was emotion there, music felt surreal there ... total involvement, no walls (room size similar to the YBA room) ... therefore I would like to caution people considering the Nova Be's to also keep an open ear for Sonus Faber Amati's/Stradivary's ; Dynaudio Evidence Temptation's as well as Acapella Violon's as an ion tweeter alternative. They are all world-class speakers worthy of an audition. The Dali Megalines, MBL 101E's are other fascinating alternatives.

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.

I am constantly struck by how remarkably personal this hobby and individual listening preferences can be. No doubt, our unique impressions and listening styles drive this hobby. At the same time, many impressions voiced here are merely that, "impressions" based upoon limited listening in less than enviable locations. I note above that when I first heard the Novas they were unpleasant. In fact the tweeter was very noticeable, etched, metallic, "in your face." This was in my experience an issue with burn in. I have lived with the Nova Utopias for over 1 1/2 years using, initially using Halcro amplification and now a Dartzeel amp, and after the intial few weeks of living with them, there was no trace of any tweeter or driver for that matter, just music. The midrange and tweeter of the Nova Utopias are their strong suit and in my experience not bettered by any other speaker I have heard. They are to my ear, utterly natural sounding and have all the air and vibrancy of sounds you hear in nature. I would venture to say that if you have heard a metallic sound in listening to the Novas that they were either not fully burned in or the amplification or supporting gear was the cause.

Happy listening!

I can understand Slaufer's argument, and have to agree that component matching is key to getting the most out of such a speaker. If you're happy then it's all that matters. The Dart gear is considered by many to be the best out there right now and perhaps one day I will be fortunate enough to have it in my system. As regards the tweeter sound I heard in Montreal, it may have been a break-in issue ... but I also heard a similar rendering coming out of a pair of Revel Salons that were well broken in ... maybe just not my personal taste ... just my personal opinion.

Well I heard the Nova Utopia BE two times next to the Wilson Puppy 7. As for bass performance the Novas sounded like you would expect, big and powerful speaker.

In the beginning I was blewn away by the Novas. I thought they were a lot better than the puppy. However after extensive listening it was clearly noticeable that the Novas colored more and that the Novas were not as dynamic as the Puppy. Also the Novas needed a really big room otherwise they sounded boomy.

So in the end I got irritated by the color of the Novas and found out that I prefer the Wilson WP7 more. Both the shop owner as my girlfriend agreed also on this part.

So I guess it is a matter of system matching, size of the room and personal taste. In Europe the WP7 and the Nova sell around the same price new (26000 euro). So no price difference. It just is a matter of personal taste. Both are very good.

Peter