Nova Utopia Be $38K - Are they good?

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.

Thanks for the info sirspeedy; I have seen very little anywhere on the Altos (or the Divas) & I was worried that the lack of discourse on these were a negative sign.
I did hear the Novas at the NY show & thought the bass pounded too much, & I was hoping the smaller ones were more controlled. (It's just my personal preference, but I hate loose or chest-thumping bass, especially when it extends to the upper bass or lower midrange.)
I also assume that the good timbres mean that the vocals were natural without any buzziness or tizz. Thanks again.

I HEARD THE NOVA UTOPIAS WITH BOULDER MONO BLOCKS AND SIMAUDIO MOON UNIVERSAL PLAYER, I DO NOT KNOW WHAT THE PRE AMP WAS. I ALSO HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO HEAR THEM BOTH ON AND OFF A GRAND PRIX RACK AND THERE WAS A DIFFERENCE. I DO NOT KNOW HOW BUT THERE WAS, EVEN MORE SO THAN THE CHANGES IN SPEAKER CABLES THAT WE DID FROM SOME IN THE $60 RANGE TO SOME IN THE $1600 RANGE. i WAS TOLD IT WAS ABOUT THE VIBRATION, BUT i DON'T KNOW THAT OT BE A FACT. I THOUGHT THEY WERE SOMETHING SPECIAL. I WAS A LITTLE DISAPPOINTED IN THE BASE, BUT I CAME AWAY FEELING THAT THEY WERE LIKE THE GUY WHO KNEW HE WAS SO TUFF HE DID NOT FEEL THE NEED TO PROVE IT. I HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO GET A PAIR OF DIVAS AT A GREAT PRICE AND THINK THEY ARE A DROP DEAD LOOKING SPEAKER, BUT I HAVE NOT TALKED WITH ANYONE WHO HAS HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO LISTEN TO A PERIOD OF TIME LONG ENOUGH TO DRAW A CONCLUSION.

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!

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.