The NOLA Studio Grand Reference Gold Loudspeaker ($19,800.00 USD / pair)
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| NOLA Studio Grand Reference Gold. ($19,800.00 USD / pair). |
The only thing looking good about this NOLA pair are the brass pole-pieces. They're gold-looking, at least.
The Studio Grand Reference Gold Loudspeaker ($19,800.00 USD/pair) is equivalent to you mistakenly ordering six bottles of Screaming Eagle ($3700.00 USD / each) at Bobby Flay Steak (in Borgata), negotiating a $750 discount per bottle, still paying the $1250 tax on the $18K, but throwing in a $550 tip.
http://www.inquisitr.com/1585003/3750-bottle-expensive-wine-gives-diner-sticker-shock-due-to-misinterpretation/
http://www.aol.ca/article/2014/11/04/man-charged-3-750-for-wine-he-thought-cost-37-50/20988551/
Anyway you look it (assuming you're getting a cash discount - for the NOLA), you're still looking at a $19,800.00 USD bill - no tax.
In our eyes, that's $3000 / driver, + $1800 for the faux-pas (cabinet).
Should you already have a few bottles of Screaming Eagle, or perhaps the Nola loudspeaker, the uniquely angled top of the bass cabinet, and lip, should allow you to at least store a few $300 bottles.
The Metro Grand Reference Gold, a product we made fun of earlier, is a healthy 13½"
deep. Taking off 1" for the front, you'll be getting a bit of protrusion at back for this solution, though your saving for a Solution will be affected, depending on how many "cabinets" you purchase from NOLA.
Going with a larger model, such as the Baby Grand Reference Gold, might be more optimal. The Concert Grand Reference Gold seems most attuned to Stereophile readers.
At the top of the NOLA lineup, is the Grand Reference VI Gold (54 drivers / pair), which is why we brought up the six (6) bottles of wine, in reference to the pricing of the Studio Reference.
On handy feature of the NOLA, no joking, is the flat-top of the speaker. It would be handy for storing a headphone amplifier, such as the
In our little studio, we keep a single PSB Stratus Gold beside our desk, for this purpose. On it's top, we keep a large solar calculator, for important matters, and a desk-lamp, for reading.
It's amplified, the PSB, with a Rotel RB-980BX and DAC-ified, with a Calynx Coffee DAC 24x7.
[Paul Barton designed it specially, with a removable footer, to be used as a center channel.]
Now, There's nothing to stop you from going NOLA, other than the arrangement of the drivers, if you are thinking about home theater.
Perhaps the Micro Grand Reference II for all channels ($14,000.00 USD / pair) - $49,000.00 USD (7.1) - plus a pair of REL Gibralter G1 ($4500.00 USD / each) subwoofers to give them some (don't opt for the stands) bass.http://www.enjoythemusic.com/superioraudio/equipment/0314/nola_gicro_grand_reference_gold%20_loudspeaker.htmThe Gibralter G1's have 600 watts each on tap, just be sure to set the upper- frequency cut-off of their cross-over to 38 Hz, to correspond to the low-frequency cut-off of the Nola Micro Grand Reference II's (38 Hz).The Nola are not very high quality speakers, so we recommend you go with Carver amplification.
With a low 86 dB sensitivity, the Micro Grand Reference II's would best suit a model such as the Raven 305, or today, the Raven 350 monoblock amplifier ($8995 / pair).
We imagine you already have your home theatre processor, though the TaCT TCS would be preferable.
We noted when writing this article that the cost of the Micro Grand Reference II loudspeakers has increased from $14,000.00 USD / pair to $21,000.00 USD / pair.
Speakers: $10,500.00 USD * 7 = $73,500.00 USD
Subwoofers: $4,500.00 USD * 2 = $ 9,000.00 USD
Amplifiers: $4,497.50 * 7 = $31,482.50 USD
Total System: $113,982.50 USD (plus Transparent Opus XL)
We can see no other reason for this absolutely hideous design. More shelves would be appropriate, but we understand that Carl Marchisotto, the designer, pictured here, does appreciate a sealed bass cabinet, as opposed to the open-air concept of his uppers.
Keep a stiff upper lip, Carl, keep a stiff upper. With $20,000.00 coming in soon for each $1000 USD speaker, you should be able to afford something nice.
Maybe a pair of Hush Puppies.
We'd like to put the Nola Concert Grand Reference Gold Loudspeaker up against the T+A Acoustics SOLITAIRE CWT 1000-8 SE and SOLITAIRE CWT 2000 SE, to be more evenly matched, and fair to T+A.
Dimensions H x W x D
161 x 35 x 50 cm
Weight
119 kg / 263 lbs
Transmission range
23 - 40000 Hz
Sensitivity (1 Watt/1 m)
88 dB
Impedance |
4 Ohms
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Dimensions: 71" H x 15" W x 22" D (overall including bases)
Weight: 275 lbs. net per side
Frequency Range: 18 Hz to 100 kHz
Sensitivity: 91 dB @ 2.82 volts
Impedance: 8 ohm / 4 ohm minimum
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