JM Labs, Focal Diablo Utopia VS. Micro Utopia BE


Im curious to see if the Diablo Utopia Is really that much better than the Micro Utopia BE (8K vs 14K) or if it is mostly because of the declining value of the dollar and the higher cost to ship items these days?
128x128systembuilder
I have not heard them but I had an older Mini Utopia that was an excellent speaker and they are often available at a very good price. I only sold mine due to a preference for soft domes over metal ones.
I used the Mini Utopia with cj amps for many years and and found it very musical. FWIW, the Jm Lab distributor in the US told me that the Diablo offers a more benign impedance for tube amps than the Be.
There are two pairs of JM Labs Mezzo Utopia speakers listed, one at $4000 and the other at $4700. The tweeter they use is the one Wilson uses in the Sasha and other models. If they are not too big for your room or too difficult a load for your chosen amp I would give them a close look, considering the inflation of the past decade I estimate that they would retail for around $30000 today and they are new enough to concede little or nothing to todays models.
There are a couple of reviews (Tone Audio being one and the other HiFi+ I think) comparing the two. Personally, I think the Diablo which I own (selling to upgrade to Scala) is much better than the Micro Be. Before I purchased the Dynaudio C1 a few years ago, I also auditioned that Micro BE and the high frequency hurt my ears. Hope this help.
Lucky_boy, have you ever heard the Diablo with a tube amp? If so, what did you think.