Kevin Deal, owner of Upscale Audio, comments on the Nola Contender  "The same old song and dance, just a different box?  We...with Nola..it's the un-box.  But what else would you expect from the mind of Carl Marchisotto, distinguished designer of speakers by Dahlquist and Acarian.  Carl is iconic in the world of loudspeaker deisgn.  In 1979, I owned one of Carl's other designs.  A pair on Dahlquist DQ-9's.  I was working at a hi-fi store back then, and it was a lot of money to me.   They withstood the test of time, and so will the Contenders"   

The Nola Contender is an incredible floor-standing tower loudspeaker that is set firmly in place between the "Absolute Sound Loudspeaker of the Year" Nola Boxer bookshelf and the $25,000 Metro Grand Reference.  

They use premium parts

The low frequency response has been extended to a conservative 35 Hz with usable response to 25 Hz. The bass quality of the Contender, however, maintains the quick and nimble characteristic of the $25,000 Metro Grand Reference. 

The driver complement consists of two low mass 6½ inch bass drivers and one high resolution silk soft dome tweeter in a vertical array. Each bass driver is housed in a separate chamber and is individually ported. This technique, while costly, eliminates driver interference and provides increased clarity. The upper driver is ported to the rear, while the lower driver is loaded by a downward firing port. The chambers are tuned to different frequencies to provide the smoothest and most extended in-room bass response.  Even with a modest amp you will be looking around the room for the subwoofer. 

The Contender is a true 3-way system with the benefit of increased mid-range clarity, yet it maintains the coherency of a good 2-way. We feel this approach, while more costly, is superior to a 2½-way design where both the bass and bass/midrange drivers have to cope with deep bass reproduction.

The Contender maintains a smooth 8-ohm impedance characteristic and high 90dB sensitivity so that use with amplifiers of 30 watts or more is feasible.  Tubes lovers unite under this banner.  Because the impedance curve is so begnin

Specifications

Dimensions: 44" H x 8" W x 12" D (including spikes), 50 lbs. net
Response: 35 Hz to 28 kHz
Sensitivity: 90 dB
Impedance: 8 ohms
Crossover: 3-way, built on two boards that are point to point hand-wired, with Premium 630-volt 3%polypropylene capacitors
Finish: True Piano Cherry high gloss or True Piano Black high gloss. Includes a set of premium spikes.

Specifications subject to change without notice.