JM Labs Mezzo Utopia's vs. Utopia's vs B&W Nautilus 802's
Fred Jacobs
Utopia's, or B&W Nautilus 802's speakers in a 19'7" X 15' 4" X 9'
listening room? Listen to jazz, clasical, & vocal. would drive them
with a Krell KST-100.
Stewart Pinkerton
wrote:
I've heard all three, although the Utopia (my all-time favourite
speaker!) may have somewhat overpowering bass in a room this size, and
will also need to be at least three feet from any walls for its superb
imaging to reach full performance. This will make it have a strong
physical presence in the room, which may not be acceptable. The much
smaller Mezzo and N802 have quite different sound balances, the Mezzo
being similar to its big brother (i.e. generally warm, but with
extended treble). The N802 is quite a bit brighter in balance, and
hence likely not best suited to the KST-100, which I have to say is
probably the worst amp that Krell ever made. This doesn't make it a
*bad* amp in the general scheme of things, but it has a harder sound
than most of the 'pure class A' Krells which preceded it. I guess I'm
recommending the Mezzo for your particular circumstances.
If your budgeting for the much more expensive Utopia, you might
consider alternative power amps for the N802, such as the Chord 1200C
which B&W use in their own demonstrations.
--
Stewart Pinkerton | Music is Art - Audio is Engineering
Fred Jacobs
Thanks for the response. I am new to news groups. But since asking my
original questions I've spent time reviewing some of the answers you've
given people the past 4-5 years. I appreciate the time you spent giving
what I view as very good/unbiased answers in a very opinionated field. Keep
them coming.
I have a very tolerant spouse so we are discussing the 3 foot from the wall
spacing for Utopia's. But I will probably go with the Mezzo's and put the
additional $ into upgrading pre/power amps. I am considering a used Krell
KRC-HR or a KRC-S do you have an opinion or other suggestions? If I go with
the Mezzo's any suggestion on power amps? I'm partial to Krell as you can
tell, but am open to others. Music tastes in our family cover all genre,
but I find myself being most critical of poor presentation of female vocals
and string arrangements.
Thanks again, and I definitely agree with you "Music is Art - Audio is
Engineering"
Fred
"Stewart Pinkerton" <pat...@dircon.co.uk> wrote in message
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Keith Hughes
<snip>
> I have a very tolerant spouse so we are discussing the 3 foot from the wall
> spacing for Utopia's. ...
Sorry to rain on your parade, Fred, but I think you'll find that
most any floor stander (or stand mounted minimonitor for that
matter) will sound much better when place 3 feet from the back
wall. Not just the Utopia! And when you spend that kind of $$$ on
speakers, it's hard not to optimize the placement (of course,
there's always Klipschorns).
So...keep fanning that tolerance, 'cause that 3 feet *typically*
doesn't fullfil the SAF (spouse approval factor :-)
<snip>
Keith Hughes
Stewart Pinkerton
Alternatively, there are a few speakers (typically from Naim) which
are designed to work close to a wall. Additionally, you can achieve
good results from certain designs such as Maggies by using an unusual
arrangement which places the speakers against the wall at 45 degrees,
with the tweeter ribbons on the outer edges.
Further, if you absolutely *have* to use speakers against the wall,
you can stuff the ports to control bass boom, and hang heavy wool rugs
on the wall either side of the speakers (or just on the inner sides),
spaced out a couple of inches on battens. This will kill most of the
early reflection muddle, and may achieve a high WAF, if she gets to
choose the pattern! :-)
This is pretty much the 'live end dead end' scheme popular in many
recording studios. Me, I'd go for Utopias against the wall with lots
of TLC, over well-placed N802s any day, but that's just my opinion.
Guido Vogel
You might consider a Tact RCS (2.0/2.2X) in your system. I corrects
for room related problems. It does magic in my room (and my Nautilus
804's are 6 inches from the wall).
Fred Jacobs
1. First the mushy stuff. I always knew MY spousal choice was a good
one (or maybe its HER degree in physics), but she agrees good sound
takes precedence vs. looks.
2. I continue to be lucky sometimes instead of good. Coincidently as
I sent my first e-mail back on 5/24 we ended up with our speakers at
about the 36" spacing. As my wife and I were rearranging our listen
room, we placed our current B&W Matrix's Left channel 30" from its
back corner and the Right channel 34" from its corner for "best
sound". The room has some issues that cause it to be not as
acoustically symmetrical as the dimension state.
Now to show I don't live in a complete dream world. I do have a pair
of older speakers that try as they might could absorb all the excess
water from the plant placed on them while I was on a business trip.
And we find that lots of silk plants work as very effective "room
acoustic modifiers" and also have a high acceptance factor.
Thanks for everyone's help. Additional comments on JM Labs Mezzo
Utopia's vs. Utopia's vs. B&W Nautilus 802's will be sincerely
appreciated. We are currently planning a long weekend to drive 800
mi each way to audition the Mezzo's vs. the Utopia's. I can't
imagine how many silk plants I'll need to buy if we choose the
Utopia's
Fred
"Stewart Pinkerton" <pat...@dircon.co.uk> wrote in message
news:ad1uge$g4j$1...@bourbaki.localdomain...
cerrot
Kevlar driver sets the midrange and a bit of the high a little
forward. That problem is pretty much solved with the 800, though not
sure of the 801.
(Save your flames, all. I am fully aware of the Kevlar in the other
speakers. The problem does not exist with the 800 and I did say I
didn't know about the 801. If you are all going to flame, please
limit it to only those who actually auditioned the 800's and 802's in
their homes).
Stewart Pinkerton
>Sounds like a fun day of listening but why go with the 802's? The
>Kevlar driver sets the midrange and a bit of the high a little
>forward. That problem is pretty much solved with the 800, though not
>sure of the 801.
>(Save your flames, all. I am fully aware of the Kevlar in the other
>speakers. The problem does not exist with the 800 and I did say I
>didn't know about the 801. If you are all going to flame, please
>limit it to only those who actually auditioned the 800's and 802's in
>their homes).
Cerrot, you have no knowledge whatever of the reasons why these
speakers *might* sound different. The *fact* of the matter is that the
801 and 802 are *identical* above the bass/mid crossover, and the 800
uses *exactly* the same mid and treble drive units and enclosures as
the other two. Hence, if the 800 does indeed sound different in the
midrange, than that is due to the crossover. That would be a $50
difference, at most...................................
The bass performance is an entirely different matter, but I note that
you do not even mention this. As ever, your 'opinion' is based purely
on the price tag.
RR46HSE
news:adld...@enews3.newsguy.com...
> Sounds like a fun day of listening but why go with the 802's? The
> Kevlar driver sets the midrange and a bit of the high a little
> forward. That problem is pretty much solved with the 800, though not
> sure of the 801.
> (Save your flames, all. I am fully aware of the Kevlar in the other
> speakers. The problem does not exist with the 800 and I did say I
> didn't know about the 801. If you are all going to flame, please
> limit it to only those who actually auditioned the 800's and 802's in
> their homes).
>
I own the 801's and I rather disagree with you. The B&W's can sound a bit
uneven with inadequate amplification. But when driven with an amp that is up
to the task, they are supremely neutral. However, it doesn't mean that they
are pleasing to all ears. I believe that the majority of today's high-end
speakers are voiced to sound "pleasant",
rather than accurate, with today's commercially available recordings.
Not that there is anything wrong with it.
But my point is that if the B&W's are properly driven and set up, any
"forwardness" you are hearing is probably the recording.
Range
MarkZimmerman
>uneven with inadequate amplification. But when driven with an amp that is up
>to the task, they are supremely neutral. However, it doesn't mean that they
>are pleasing to all ears. I believe that the majority of today's high-end
>speakers are voiced to sound "pleasant",
>rather than accurate, with today's commercially available recordings.
>Not that there is anything wrong with it.
>
>But my point is that if the B&W's are properly driven and set up, any
>"forwardness" you are hearing is probably the recording.
>
>Range
From reading B&W's literature it seems that you must have 2 amps for
each speaker: 1 for the bass and 1 for the midrang/treble. Is this
correct?
Best,
Mark Allen Zimmerman * Chicago
Fred Jacobs
their performance. They are working well in my room, with my amp, etc.
Thanks for everyone's help.
"Stewart Pinkerton" <pat...@dircon.co.uk> wrote in message
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