Nova Utopia Be $38K - Are they good?

I have an old mid-fi system but have listened to many speakers in the last ten years. I have been tempted to cash my EE bonds only once - for the Novas. They were in a $50,000 electronics set-up so I don't know if they would sound that fabulous with lower priced electronics but I was floored with the sound.

I would buy immediately if I could hear speakers with close to that quality in the $10,000 range but I know from years of experience in life that you usually get what you pay for.

I have a pair of the Nova Utopia Bes and they are the finest speakers I have ever had and very hard to beat in terms of the sonics/size/looks equation. If you could pick them up for the price mentioned, I would jump on them, though I doubt you'll find them for less than 18K used. They are the only speakers I ever auditioned that honestly blew me away, at the time with all of the reference Burmester gear. I am using the Dartzeel amp with them along with FIM/CRL Gold cables, a wonderful combination. I also have the new Tact Boz amps which are also quite lovely in this combo. There are perhaps better speakers in one way or another - Wilson Maxx II, Von Schweikert VR9s, Dali Megalines, etc. but in my opinion, all of the speakers that up the ante from the Nova Utopias involve significant tradeoffs in price, size or looks. This is an all around fabulous speaker - as it should be for the price, but one that satisfies on virtually every level. Happy listening!

heard them at the nyc 2005 show with balanced audio and shunyata electronics, they were breathtaking, very lively with incredible bass.