Quote:
Originally Posted by chesebert /img/forum/go_quote.gif
what your thoughts on Electra (top of the 1k seris ofcourse). How does that compare? I was suprised Electra and Utopia both are class A speaker by monophile
|
I've only heard the Electra 1027Be (top of Electra Be). Actually my auditioning session was originally for the Diva Utopia Be, but because I had bought a copy of Stereophile and the back cover was the advertisement for it. It said something on the lines of "You MUST audition it!" So silly me went to the JMLab dealer and asked for an audition. Slightly overated by some of the reviews! OK, I'll give them some credit. It did sound pretty good, but it's price tag was so unrealistically low considering its incredible build quality that I began to doubt how much of the money actually went into the R&D of the sound. I gave them about 10 minutes of my time, then proceeded to listen to the Diva Utopia Be.
I distinctly remember the underwhelming feeling I got. Perhaps I was expecting too much.
FYI, the 1027Be costs around $6k and the build quality was on par with the Utopia Be range. You are paying heavily for the aesthetics. The sound certainly isn't worth $6k. To put the price into perspective. The ProAc D38 cost $7k and looks like a wooden box + some drivers. All of the money went into the designing and tweaking of the sound. As a result, the D38 sound incredible. You get a $7k sound. I auditioned the ProAc D38 ($7k) and the D80 ($12k) before the 1027Be, so I had a very good idea of what speakers around $6-7k should sound like. When I asked about the price tag of the 1027Be (before even listening), I knew immediately that it simply was too good a deal to be true. The subsequent listening session confirmed my suspicions. I don't understand what the hype is all about. They're good speakers, period. I'd gladly pick up a pair of MG 3.6 for $4.6k and pocket the difference.
IMHO, the Utopia Be range is a massive step up from the Electra Be range. There's absolutely no competition. Even the L&R Utopia Be 'bookshelfs' sounded better than the 1027Be. This is not only technical superiority, but also a massive step up in listening enjoyment (OK, maybe due to technical superiority). I listened through the same gear: X-01 Limited + Chord CPM3300 Integrated - in the exact same room. I later switched to separate pre/power amps and it really did open up the sound of the Divas and allowed them to sing (albeit at 2x the price
). Having said all that, the Utopia Be is massively more expensive than the Electra Be range and the increase in performance is really expected. Again, you pay quite a lot for aesthetics, but at this sort of price range, most speaker makers put a lot of the cash in the looks. The 1027 Electra Be are seriously overdone. You should have a look at it. $6k speakers have no right to look so darn sexy
If you want to know exactly how they sound, I can only give you very rough impressions. They have the typical JMLab sound, which is quite a pleasant, balanced overall sound signature with mids that are on the slightly warm-sounding side. The highs are very crystal clear and they are very quick. The 1027Be are by no means bad speakers, it's just that you can spend $6k on some better sounding speakers. I wonder how the mid-range Sonus Faber speakers sound? I have had no experience with them.
Also, I think the Ariel Acoustics Model 7B is around the same price as the 1027Be. I listened to them through a Meridian G08 powered by two different integrated amps, the Mark Levinson No.383 and the Mimetism 15.2. Wow! I have to say I liked the rig I heard a lot! The difference between the two integrated amps is pretty prominent. The 383 is much harder sounding and more analytical whereas the 15.2 is much more laid back and has a softer more dreamy presentation. It would be very difficult to choose between the two! On the topic of Ariel Acoustics, I'd also recommend the Model 5B. These cost $2k iirc and they are pretty darn amazing for such small bookshelves. Again, I listened through the same gear and it was quite a breathtaking experience! Of course, it isn't going to beat any floorstanding speakers, but the Model 5B is real bang for the buck! I recommend an audition!
There is one speaker maker that I auditioned that gave you pure audio performance and not much too look at, and that is the aforementioned ProAc. Their D80 has the most incredibly deep soundstage. It extends so far back it's just amazing. I think this was due to its large enclosure. The bass is also very immersive and able to sustain low frequencies without distortions. The reason I didn't choose the D80 in the end was purely because of poor synergy between the particular components in the Naim/ProAc system. Very odd... That's another immensely long story though, so I won't go into it.
