Nova Utopia Be $38K - Are they good?

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!

Sirspeedy, by way of background, regarding your experience with the timbral balance issue with the new Utopias. I initially heard the Utopias with all top of the line BAT gear and I walked out of the room, happy that I didn't have the Utopias. There was a discontinuity between the berrylium tweeter and the other drivers which was very disconcerting. I heard the speakers again 4 months later with Burmester gear and the room was magical. I doubt the BAT was the issue in retrospect as I have heard the BAT gear to very good effect with the Utopias. Conclusion: the speakers were more than likely not burned in.

By the way, as an aside and in further response to Sirspeedy, and I apologize in advance for being off topic, I spoke with someone at TAD today, who indicated that the Model one are no longer being produced despite what was an order backlog. They will introduce a new speaker in the same price range, though they would not say it was a replacement, at CES 2006. Hmmm?

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!