Opera Speakers

[Non-Smoking Man]

Anyone had experience of the Opera brand of speakers?
They are Italian, like Sonus Faber, and, arguably, share that firm's aesthetic and build quality.
Opera are the speaker branch of Unison amplifiers.

Just curious, as my direction is high efficiency - a different kettle of 'pesce'.

Jack.

 

[Devil]

I’ve had a couple of pairs, really good, quite efficient and work well with valve amps!

 

[Lawrence001]

Are they made of solid wood,? Seem to be good prices second hand nothing fancy just well made but sometimes (usually) simple can be better.

 

[Devil]

Are they made of solid wood,? Seem to be good prices second hand nothing fancy just well made but sometimes (usually) simple can be better.

There’s a test you can make as to whether a speaker is made from solid wood.. Simply rap your nuckles on the top of the speaker and you’ll get an echoey sound with chipboard/laminate, but a more solid think with good quality solid wood. Afaik Opera speakers are made from good quality solid wood (or were when I knew them!).

 

[fredbatch]

Whilst I'm sure Opera loudspeakers are very capable, solid wood might look and “sound” appealing but is actually not generally considered a brilliant choice of material for building loudspeaker cabinets, for various reasons:

1. It will contract and expand with changes in temperature and humidity, potentially leading to cracks and warps.
2. Its properties are non-homogeneous. Structural variation will give rise to varying density and inconsistent resonant properties. It will “ring” more than amorphous resin damped MDF or HDF, for example.

So, whilst solid wood might be a good choice of material for musical instruments, for precisely the same reasons, something more inert is a better choice for loudspeaker cabinets, especially larger cabinets more prone to bending mode resonances.

 

[TIU]

The Opera Callas look impressive.

 

[DUVET]

I have always been impressed with them . They are well made and not a massive product range to make life confusing

 

[TIU]

Whilst I'm sure Opera loudspeakers are very capable, solid wood might look and “sound” appealing but is actually not generally considered a brilliant choice of material for building loudspeaker cabinets, for various reasons:

1. It will contract and expand with changes in temperature and humidity, potentially leading to cracks and warps.
2. Its properties are non-homogeneous. Structural variation will give rise to varying density and inconsistent resonant properties. It will “ring” more than amorphous resin damped MDF or HDF, for example.

So, whilst solid wood might be a good choice of material for musical instruments, for precisely the same reasons, something more inert is a better choice for loudspeaker cabinets, especially larger cabinets more prone to bending mode resonances.

The Callas standmount is mdf and plywood with bracing and filling.

 

[Brown Bottle]

I heard a pair of floorstanders at someone’s house, a good few years ago now, they were very nice. They also looked lovely.

Cheers BB

 

[toms wait]

Anyone had experience of the Opera brand of speakers?
They are Italian, like Sonus Faber, and, arguably, share that firm's aesthetic and build quality.
Opera are the speaker branch of Unison amplifiers.

Just curious, as my direction is high efficiency - a different kettle of 'pesce'.

Jack.

I heard a pair of standmounts years ago and they were my first choice until I heard the Impulse.
So have always had a soft spot for them but never bought any. The standmounts just sang their little hearts out, but didn't do bass like the H6.

There are a pair of floor standers that are tempting me but having just been trying your Jantzens I think I had better resist another trial at home!

 

[chrisph]

Jack,

Hornucopia(Chris) used to own some Opera speakers.

Sale thread here.

https://www.hifiwigwam.com/threads/...anniversary-horn-speakers.99753/#post-2041503

Might be worth getting in touch with him.

 

[toms wait]

Jack,

Hornucopia(Chris) used to own some Opera speakers.

Sale thread here.

https://www.hifiwigwam.com/threads/...anniversary-horn-speakers.99753/#post-2041503

Might be worth getting in touch with him.

Different Opera, they are the Chinese ones, Opera Consonance.

 

[Lowand]

I ran Super Pavarottis with a Sugden A21a for about 10 years. Cracking combo. Then I went bonkers, sold everything and have been arsing around in an alarmingly expensive way ever since.

 

[toms wait]

Looking at Grand Mezza to run with 300B, any thoughts

 

[chrisph]

Different Opera, they are the Chinese ones, Opera Consonance.

OK. Every day is a learning day.

 

[Hornucopia]

Yes,especially as my Opera speakers WERE the Chinese one, the 20th Anniversary ones from Opera Consonance.
They’re now in Liverpool.

 

[lindsayt]

Whilst I'm sure Opera loudspeakers are very capable, solid wood might look and “sound” appealing but is actually not generally considered a brilliant choice of material for building loudspeaker cabinets, for various reasons:

1. It will contract and expand with changes in temperature and humidity, potentially leading to cracks and warps.
2. Its properties are non-homogeneous. Structural variation will give rise to varying density and inconsistent resonant properties. It will “ring” more than amorphous resin damped MDF or HDF, for example.

So, whilst solid wood might be a good choice of material for musical instruments, for precisely the same reasons, something more inert is a better choice for loudspeaker cabinets, especially larger cabinets more prone to bending mode resonances.

I agree.

One advantage of solid wood is that it's easier to machine than plywood. For example, easier to get clean cuts. Easier to put inserts into without lifting the top plys.

And I guess one could engineer the bejeezus out of solid wood speaker cabinets to resist warping and cracking.

 

[SiB]

Hi Jack,

I've got a pair of Opera Callas Gold...lovely speakers. Circa 2002 I believe, definitely solid wood & bloody heavy. As a cabinet maker I was drawn to the beautiful hardwood...fabulously constructed & finished. I think the tweeter is scanspeak & the woofer Focal.

Sound wise they offer lovely detailed mids & silky highs. Bass is accurate down to about 50hz. They do need a bit of space around them for best results.

I bought them used after auditioning with a 5w valve amp. I'd told the dealer I was worried whether they would suit my 50w Heed, as they were only rated at 86db...lets say that demo dismissed those doubts.

Shouldn't have worked ... but somehow it did.

I paid £500 for a mint pair about 4 years ago, they were £2200 back in the day, so used prices seem pretty decent.

A firm thumbs up from me !

 

[Lawrence001]

The reserve speakers in my second system are little Opera floorstanders from the bottom range but they are still nice if you accept the limited bass.

 

[martinpix]

Had some Opera Callas Gold they did not work well with my then maratz pm17 ki signature amp, it drove them fine but they were simply awful with some music although were ok at classical jazz no good for rock pop or acoustic stuff, i loved the look of them very solidly made but i would not recommend them to anyone try some Kudos by far the best speakers for the money very good all rounders easy to drive. Sonus faber are better than opera if you want that kind of look and looks are more important than sound.