RMAF Day 2: Saying Yes To Nola

Posted by: Neil Gader at 10:10 am, October 5th, 2009

In the large speaker ranks the name Nola needs little introduction.  Open baffle designs like its Baby Grand always attract a great deal of interest. Music is reproduced on such a transparent and impactful scale that even the most jaded can’t help but be impressed. However, Nola Designer and president Carl Marchisotto certainly hasn’t lost his touch with small speakers either. The Nola Boxer had its premiere at Rocky Mountain and what a musical two-way compact it is.  Even being driven by a modest if tuneful 12Wpc Jolida tube integrated, the sound was unerringly musical and spacious with the same characteristic air  and openness that is part and parcel with the larger statement Nola designs. Not much more than fifteen-inches tall this stand-mounted monitor appears built to Nola’s rigorous standards throughout. It incorporates a low-mass 6 ½ inch bass/midrange driver with laminated pulp cone–the high frequency driver is a high-resolution silk dome tweeter, the bass driver is loaded by a rear firing twin-flared port for low distortion and noise. The 90dB sensitivity combined with an 8 ohm impedance which makes the Boxer an easy to drive. The crossover is a shallow slope design that  incorporates a shock-isolation system to minimize the effects of vibration The construction employs only point-to-point hand wiring of a proprietary low loss oxygen free copper. Bass response is a reported 44 Hz which I couldn’t confirm during this first low-powered listen. However, with higher powered amplification, who knows? But I have a feeling the little Boxer packs even more of a punch. Price: $1500