The new Alleas at last!!

The equipment used is what have at home, apart from the speakers. System is CDX 82 with hicap & 180.

My initial thoughts are:

From previous dems I find both the intros & credos too bright, although the high frequency detail of the credo is very good there is a thin mid & the lows are overshadowed by this.

The Allea was much warmer than the credos the bass bigger & the whole sound appeared less edgy than the credo. Further more imaging was improved & treble detail was excellent.

I would go on but & heres the but... the big but!

I'm currently unhappy with the sound I get from my system TOO BRIGHT. So during the dem I changed the 180 for a 250.
This had a dramatic effect on the sound mmmmmmm so much smoother almost rich & warm when compared with the lean 180! The Alleas were driven with much more control.

It seems positive for me that the way forward is to swap my 180 for a 250. I'm going to take one for a home dem this weekend. I'll let you know how it sounds with my modified ES11/12's.

As for the Alleas they prove to be perhaps the best option for me if a choose to go the naim speaker route. I will be listening to them again tommorow with some select cd's I will choose this evening!

Bye for know Mad Boy Mat

Bruce

Oh I almost forgot I have demed the SBL but it must have really made an impression on me to forget it when I mentioned the naim speakers I have heard!! Sorry really didn't think much of these yes they sounded as tight as homophobics sphincter who has just found out his five new flat mates are queer! but these speakers are bright shouty & like where is the bass??

Like I said I'm going to do a home dem with the 250, I'll let you know how it went!

Bye,

Mad Boy

I think you weenies need to get them set up right then have a listen, I rekon the old dem rooms forgot to put the sealent in

regards
redeye

quote:

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Originally posted by Matt worlock:
but these speakers are bright shouty & like where is the bass??

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quote:

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Originally posted by redeye:

Matt if the 250 doesn't work out for you can I suggest you try different speakers

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I'm not sure this is good advice.

The SBLs may be more revealing of these problems, but I suspect that this basic character coming from the system will warp any choice of replacement speakers.

You can end up going from a bright/harsh sound to a dull/harsh sound.

I've heard an SBL system evolve away from this sound, mainly by setup rather than gobs of money (except that a CDI/CD2/CDX (no XPS) is not going to cut the mustard if the room acoustics are difficult.

cheers, Martin

Have you tried the Mirage om7 agains't the jm lab speakers, do this comparison before you make a decision. I have demoed these & they sound great, I did this after listening to the SBL, Credo & intro's as well as the elac jet & PMC ( i think pm1s not sure ,there slim floor standers)oh & also the celestion A3s. IMHO I thought the mirage om7's were the kiddies!!

So for me when I go for some new speakers (don't no when yet) It will most probably be between the Alleas & the mirage unless I hear something better at that price range, you never no.

cheers Mad boy

I have heard from a number of credible sources that the 180 isn't the best choice of partnering amp for the IBLs. I have been told that it is more a tonality issue rather than anything lacking in the driving ability or sound quality of the amp. The 160 and 250 are supposedly better bets as they don't expose the speakers light bottom quite as much.

Craig

Criticising SBLs on this forum is like throwing a lighted rag into a petrol tank, so I'll just say that other options I've considered recently are:

Spendor S8/9 (not convinced)
Kef new Reference 203 (look like traffic lights)
Dynaudio Contour 1.8/II (look fab, sound great, less than £2K - slightly squeaky treble maybe, but probably not yet run in - what's wrong with them?)

Audio Excellence, park street, Bristol.....go check it out.....but a word of warning I'm not that keen on their dem room....sonically speaking!

Cheers Mad Boy

Is that what you get with the LP12 relative to the CDS2?

i have to agree. as i mentioned in an earlier thread -- as my system settles down, i am beginning to be aware of some very good and tight bass coming from the sbl's. the sbl could turn out to be one of naim's most legendary product, along with NAP250.

but i have to accept that other people dont like this speaker -- i am not sure i fully understand why, perhaps room acoustics, etc etc...

enjoy

ken

No I'm not getting an EKos and a Linngo

Does this mean the graemlins have gone (: (:

quote:

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Originally posted by JosephR:
Saw and heard the Allaes at the recent Singapore hifi show ... too small for my room, unfortunately ... no comment though, obviously not burned in yet ...

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Joseph, we are burning in the speakers even as we speak (ACDC's last album).

In the near future, I will be posting my observations here.

This will include the Allae in active mode as well, in a system already optimised for SBL playback.

Why I'm even bothering to do this is is because what I heard later of that speaker in closed room sessions was nothing I had expected. I promise you, something very special is afoot.

Give me a few more days.

Vi

quote:

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Originally posted by Vik:

Joseph, we are burning in the speakers even as we speak (ACDC's last album).

In the near future, I will be posting my observations here.

This will include the Allae in active mode as well, in a system already optimised for SBL playback.

Why I'm even bothering to do this is is because what I heard later of that speaker in closed room sessions was nothing I had expected. I promise you, something very special is afoot.

Give me a few more days.

Vi

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Hi, Vik, nice to see you here ! Let me know when it's finally broken in and set up ... Not with 3 NAP500s, I hope, haha ...

See you at the other show tomorrow or the weekend ... I need to place an order, will let you know the details ...

The first is that they do need properly set up. You have to make sure the aluminium pads are tight on and not punctured, and the sealant gasket air tight. They do not like to be moved at all. Best to figure your exact location in trials then dismantle the speaker and set the stand as level then build the speaker up and never touch it afterwards. A slight air leak damages power handling and introduces flapping cones that heavily distort as soon as the wick is turned up to say the least.

Make sure these bolts that hold the spikes in place at the base of the stand are tight.

I long struggled with the mana sound bases but in the end realised they introduced a form of distorton which highlighted some intsruments particularly electric guitar but at the same time pinched vocals making them uncomfortable and unnatural to listen to.

I find them best with the spikes going into a wooden floor.

I have the originals with the old Mordant short mid bass driver and find there is plenty of bass. I hear the new ones have more and don't really want any more so have never upgraded.

The speaker is not all things to all men though. It is important to recognise what it can do because it has a subtle quality that can be missed if just listen to it. That's right if you listen to it you miss it. What it can do is to convey the signal in such away that the structure of the music is conveyed as an organised whole. This results in the spirit and communication of the song being conveyed in its simplicity. With some other speakers they seem to do lots of nice things but miss this out and it results in a confusion and disorder you cant quite put your finger on.

For example I ran a big speaker system for a while in a big room. 15" drivers very efficient,very fast, made you feel that you were there at the gig. When I went back to the SBLs I felt I was back to listening to a hi fi system, stage collapsed sound went back being around the boxes and it slowed down - but I went on listening and actually played the system much more.

Music is an art form and the word art embodies the concept of quality of communication and the SBL seemd to be able to this pass through it. I found that when I listend to the speaker I didn't listen to the music and so had missed this earlier.

Because the SBL can do this I find I repetedly play the same cd over and over rather than have to find something else and generally get addicted top laying the system a lot even if I'm elsewhere in the house.

quote:

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I long struggled with the mana sound bases but in the end realised they introduced a form of distorton which highlighted some intsruments particularly electric guitar but at the same time pinched vocals making them uncomfortable and unnatural to listen to.

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Hi Ian, welcome to the forum. I see you're another addition to the 'Edinburgh Contingent'!

Anyway, I have to take issue with your comments on the Mana bases - and I'm certainly no longer the Manaphile I used to be! The bases you mention do exhibit some of the distortions you speak of ONLY if you set them up wrongly. In other words, if you don't...

* level the boards/glass*
* tune the boards/glass*
* nip up the spikes finger tight plus a tiny amount (and I mean a tiny amount)
* ensure that the speaker spikes themselves are in tune with the board - see below.

The last point is something I chanced across myself, having played around with the different configurations available to me at the time. What I found was that the process of sticking Mana under speakers is less fruitful if you don't take the time to ensure that you also tune the spikes of the floorstander or speaker stand relative to the board or glass.

What this means in practical terms is to:

(a) invert the speaker,
(b) loosen speaker spikes (if using 'Dumpy' Mana spikes with nuts) **
(c) place the board or glass on top of the loosened speaker spikes so that the top of the board is in contact with the spikes (i.e. it's upside down relative to how it will be in situ)
(d) tune the board/glass as you would with any level of Mana -** if you have some spare 'Dumpy' Mana spikes, then these can be used instead of the speaker spikes if they fit
(e) tighten up (if using nuts) and double check everything is still in tune. Ensure that tightness of nuts is just a little past finger tight.
(f) remove board/glass and replace on base (correct way up), check still level and in tune
(g) carefully right the speaker and place onto board/glass.

With some luck, it will all be in tune and all of a sudden you will get the most fantastic improvement in your speakers, especially in the bass region. This is the biggest bang-for-yer-buck in Mana, and I've owned a lot (was at Phase 8 before moving to QS Reference - another significant upgrade IMO).

Hope this helps. You shouldn't really find any problems with distortion, I'd argue, if everything is setup just so.

TC '..'
"Girl, you thought he was a man, but he was a Muffin..."

PS. The other possibility is that you just don't get on with the Mana sound. I didn't, in the end, but still think it is great under speakers.