Reading the review of the new Nola Concert Grand Reference Gold speakers by HP, it would seem that he thinks these are the best speakers he has heard! http://www.hpsoundings.com/2013/12/nola-concert-grand-reference-gold-loudspeakers/
Looking at his room picture, I would love to hear how they sound in his room.
BTW, the price is $197,000- ...a price range ( $180K+) that seems to be catching on with many manufacturer's.
This review is just one more step in HP great carrier on audio writing - I have to say that the review aspect is not so important for me as most probably unfortunately I will never care about NOLA - they are not wisely distributed.
I found the following sentence particularly interesting : The Scaenas were king when it came to three-dimensionality, but the NOLAs are seamless in a way that I have yet to experience. IMHO it highlights what is separating the latest great speakers from previous generations. Seamless is a very subjective and difficult to describe concept in sound reproduction, but once you experience it you will always be looking for it. Unfortunately, I have found that most of the time it is also recording dependent, and this can make the search a never ending game.
Come on JT, perhaps give HP a little credit. Without his superior (IMHO) reporting/reviewing over the years, I doubt that the high-end would be what it is today.
Davey, you asked are these the best speakers ?
Well according to the maker probably yes off course , but you are not him and he is not you, thats why there are a lot of ways " to get to rome" , if there was only one best speaker for everybody it would be quite boring dont you think
Excuse my ignorance, but where is the $200k price tag coming from? I find that hard to swallow given that they simply look like a bigger brother to the $10k NOLA KO. I'm assuming this is utilizing top shelf components? We know the enclosure isn't doing anything to inflate the price.
Excuse my ignorance, but where is the $200k price tag coming from? I find that hard to swallow given that they simply look like a bigger brother to the $10k NOLA KO. I'm assuming this is utilizing top shelf components? We know the enclosure isn't doing anything to inflate the price.
Something seems amiss. HP is a great writer and was never known for half-page reviews. Ever since TAS showed him the door (after keeping him locked up in the attic) and HP Soundings started, half-page reviews seem to be the norm.
This review is just one more step in HP great carrier on audio writing - I have to say that the review aspect is not so important for me as most probably unfortunately I will never care about NOLA - they are not wisely distributed.
I found the following sentence particularly interesting : The Scaenas were king when it came to three-dimensionality, but the NOLAs are seamless in a way that I have yet to experience. IMHO it highlights what is separating the latest great speakers from previous generations. Seamless is a very subjective and difficult to describe concept in sound reproduction, but once you experience it you will always be looking for it. Unfortunately, I have found that most of the time it is also recording dependent, and this can make the search a never ending game.
I think that seamless quality is a function of Carl's latest thoughts on xover design that's also available as an update to older models.
I heard them at CES with the Ref. 75s, albeit with digital, and they were both very impressive both dynamically and at the low end. Effortless and powerful. My complaint is their looks at that price
