Has Bill Smith gone active?

Posted by: Thomas K on 20 November 2000

Bill, wanted to email you directly, but alas – access denied.

Read an old (and rather interesting) thread in which contemplate going active with your 180 and another amp. I’d be interested to know what you decided for.

My current system: CDX/72/Hi/IXO/2*140/Credos, the 72 will probably be replaced by an 82 soon. After I got my first serious hifi, I felt I had to go active fast (which I did even before I got the CDX). In retrospect I don’t think it was a very sensible step since, with the CDX and the upcoming 82, the system seems a bit unbalanced to me, like a 4WD with a 50-HP engine. I recently improved my room acoustics and fine-tuned speaker placement etc., so for the first time, I’m hearing the full potential of the system, but also its flaws. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but despite all the detail and control, something seems odd, even offensive at times. Would it make sense and better music to trade in the IXO and the 140s for a 250, for instance (and put the extra speaker cables in the attic until I win the lottery)?

Would appreciate any thoughts/experiences.

Cheers

Thomas

Posted on: 23 November 2000 by Darren Miller
Bill,

Your system is screaming for a 250......

P.S. Don't listen without the money.

Regards

Darren Miller

Posted on: 23 November 2000 by matthewr
Thomas,

In the old forum there was a thread entitled "Credos: Passive 250 or Active 140s?"

The thread was started by Kevin Lewis who went on to do the dem and concluded:

"I didn't think that the difference between a passive 250 and active 140s would be as great as it turned out to be. In the end, it was a simple choice.

I picked up the IXO, 140 and 250 from my dealer yesterday evening. First I played some music on my current passive 140 just to acclimatise myself.

I decided to try the passive 250 first. Bass extension and control was stunning. In particular, there was so much more drive to the music; in fact, more of everything, in the classic Naim mould. It has that indefinable boogie factor in abundance.

The IXO/140s needed to be *very* good to beat this. They were good - certainly better than a passive 140. There was a certain refinement to the sound, but the bass depth and control was not up to 250 standards.

I quite like the slightly more analytical/sterile sound of the active 140s, but the rhythm and bass control of the 250 won me over. As to which is *better*, I don't know. I *do* know, however, that the 250 works for me in my system in my room - no contest.

As some of you may note, this was not the result I expected. I will be calling my dealer tomorrow to order a 250 - they are closed on Wednesdays :-( bummer... "

To which the late JV replied:

"I could have said things along the lines of what you discovered for yourself (ie I disagree with Dave @nana), but it is a choice, and there is one case where the active (without 250s) system might please more, and that is if you are troubled by difficult acoustics and the simple adjustment on the IXO can help"

From his posts on the old conference JV -- even post IXO -- was firmly of the view that although there was room for difference of opinion in most cases going active is only the best option when you are talking about at least 250s.

Hope this helps,

Matthew

Posted on: 23 November 2000 by Thomas K
Bill, Matthew,

Thanks very much for the replies. Kevin Lewis’ comments on active 140s vs. passive 250 is more or less what I would have expected, a bit of a head-to-head race, so I guess you really have to try it out for yourself (BTW Matthew, did you download the entire old forum or is there a link hidden somewhere in the depths of the Infopop interface?).

In the meantime I have installed the 82 and it’s actually resolved most of my dissatisfaction – it’s so good it makes the 72 sound a bit unrefined in comparison. It even makes the 140s sound a bit ‘bigger’ (everyone’s going “yeah, right Thomas …”). I hope the improvement is enough to tide me over till I can afford a rear end upgrade.

Cheers

Thomas

Posted on: 23 November 2000 by matthewr
>> did you download the entire old forum or is there a link hidden somewhere in the depths of the Infopop interface?) <<

No unfortunately there's no link to the old forum here or anywhere else. I have a very small number of threads archived on my PC.

Matthew