UNDECIDED UTOPIA.


I have put forth a few post lately regarding floor standing speakers in the crowded 10k range. Living in a rural area of the US precludes my listening to speakers before buying, so input from Audiogoners is critical. I have my choices narrowed down to two or three speakers that are WAF certified. As I have JM Lab Micro Utopia Be's, I think it would be a safe bet to move up the line to the Diva or the Alto. On paper, both of these speakers have specifications very close to each other.The Alto's would be a stretch both for my pocket book, think used here, and for my space, think limited placement options here. The other speaker is the Audio Physics Avanti 3. In talking to two dealers that carry both lines, both have stated that they preferred the Diva to the Avanti 3 by a wide margin. However, I would love to hear from Audiogoners who have owned or extensively listened to these speakers. Room= 14x14x8 in a square with a small open passage leading to vanitys for a total of around 210 ft( Master bedroom). It is important for the speaker to sound good or full at lower volume levels, and for the speaker to have really good bass extension. I will not have room for a sub woofer.The Diva's and the Avanti's are similar in specifications, with the Avanti's having a slightly lower specified bass range. However, several dealers have stated that they felt the Diva's to have better bass. Listening tastes=instrumental Classical and Jazz( From orchestral, chamber, to solo). Gear= Bryston 4B-SST amp and BP-26 pre-amp, with an Ayre CX 7E cd player. Sorry for the length of the post, but at this price range, I can not afford to get this wrong.
jhwalker

Showing 1 response by aball

I know the Divas well and would be very worried about setting them up in a 14x14 room. I think your room is simply too small to properly handle the side-firing woofers. You should look more towards the Altos to avoid this problem. Other option would be to get one of the limited-edition Electra 937 Be which has great specs and is a steal compared to the Alto but it can be hard to find.

I feel that a vertically integrated company like JM Lab can inherently do better than one that outsources its vital parts like AP does. Optimization is WAY easier if you are making all the parts yourself. Anyway, these are my thoughts. Good luck! Arthur