Downsizing - the saga continues.

Today I have so far spent 3 hours listening to different combinations of equipment. Before I talk about specifics let me first explain my hi-fi philosophy. I asked myself a few questions: why did I buy Naim equipment in the first place? Answer: the usual clichés: pace, rythm, timing, dynamics, handling of transients and so on. I was less worried about absolute detail although imaging and soundstaging are hi-fi tricks which I have always appreciated as secondary pleasures. The most important thing is can I follow the tune? Does it have that smile-on-face-foot-tap-ability? If I'd wanted detail as an end rather than as a means I wouldn't have bought Naim equipment in the first place. To hear a violinist farting is an amusing aside but should not be the reason for buying an expensive hi-fi.

So, thanks to Tony's refreshing and intelligent approach, I thought I would try combinations of the equipment I have. The sources remained the same: CDS2/CDPS and LP12/Ittok/DV-20X/AW modded Lingo. The power amps also did not change: a single 250 for each pair of speakers. What I changed was the pre-amp and the speakers. I used an 82/S-Cap and a 32.5/Hi-Cap and B&W N805s and original (non bi-wirable) AE1s.

The music I used was as follows: CDs: Moloko, The Time is Now; Ozric Tentacles, Pyramidion; Vinyl: Supertramp, A Soapbox Opera: Shostakovich Piano Conc No.1 (final movement)

So here are the results:

I will start with the speakers since the results are less contentious. The AE1s are fast, tuneful, dynamic and have more bass than a box their size has any right to have. The metal drivers take one hell of a lot of driving. (For decent volume a 32.5 needs to be at 12 o'clock for CD and 4 o'clock for vinyl - but the 250 did not seem to be over over-heating at these levels.). What they don't have is tremendous detail, some musical information just gets lost, and one is aware not that these are very small speakers but that they are in a box. Orchestral music gets a bit squashed. The drivers are well integrated, they image very well and have a surprisingly large sound stage (on hne cableway granite stands and Mana Soundbases). These are fabulous little speakers and I would love to hear a NAP500 give them a real wallop. And the B&Ws? Contrary to popular forum belief, they are just as fast, they are less boxy but have a slight boominess and lack of control in the bass compared to AE1s. They are a lot more refined and sculpt intruments better. A few subtle changes in tempo missed by AE1s are conveyed by the 805s. They also handle transients superbly - the drivers stop as well as start real quick. they make the AE1s sound a little uncouth. As I have often maintained these are refined, seamless and musical speakers, doubtless better than AE1s, but the AE1s, do all the things I really care about very well. Other B&W speakers may be crap for all I know.

So what about the pre-amps?

I must start by saying that an 82/SC is a better preamp combination than a 32.5/HC, but by a surprisingly small margin (in these tests). The 82 is more revealing, more detailed has none of the veiling apparent on a 32.5 by comparison. It also has a little more drive and enthusiasm than its smaller cousin. So what of a 32.5? Wow! this is some preamp with bags of PR&T. It has all the Naim virtues but a lot less "Hi-Fi" merits than an 82. This is very apparent using the B&Ws which seem quite demanding of upstream components but the AE1s still really groove. Consider the price differential of the two combinations and the ability of the cheap one is quite staggering.

I lived with a 32.5 H/C very happily for some years but was overjoyed neither by one nor two hi-caps on the 82 so I thought I would try another comparison: 82/Hi vs 32.5/Super. The results: The veil over the 32.5 is almost completely lifted, also because it is lighter in the bass than an 82 the 805s sounded better controlled (regardless of some loss of detail). Hi-hats impressed. There was foot-tapping a-plently to Pyramidion and the breathiness of the Moloko vocal was impressive. So what of 82/Hi-C? A very sweet top end. But the bass had gone flabby (finally) in the 805s and, whilst it was well extended in the AE1s it had lost some tunefulness. Vocals were good. I would prefer to live with 32.5/S-cap to the 82/HC by some distance. I used to think it hardly worth changing a 32.5 for anything other than an 82 but I've changed my mind, I think one should go straight from 32.5 to 52. Based on these listening tests I would upgrade 32.5/HC to 32.5/SC to 52/SC with no stops in between. The 52 I know to be a leap to another dimension but it is a very revealing pre-amp - any faults with regard to source quality, set-up, supports and room acoustics will be murdered. There is little doubt that a 32.5 is less detailed and revealing than an 82 but it is quite capable of allowing both the LP12 and the CDS2 to show most of what they can do. Nor is it an obvious bottleneck, especially with regard to traditional Naim virtues.

These experiments show that the importance of synergy and balance cannot be overstated when it comes to system building. A very revealing pre-amp could do more harm than good. (Another example of this that I know is that a stand alone CDX, even an XPSed one, sounds worse with a 52 than it does with 82/S-cap). Leaving aside certain hi-fi virtues, the best system, the one that really got me smiling and foot tapping most, that I can presently build is:
CDS2 or LP12/32.5/S-Cap/250/AE1s and I'm not joking when I say this (but could probably do with an outboard phono stage). I hope you believe that I have no axe to grind, no great earth politic, but I'm providing an honest assessment of what my ears, indeed my whole body, have just told me. I also know that CDS2/XPS/52/135s/N805s would give me more pleasure than what I have now in any given combination, but that is also a very well balanced system.

There is no doubt in my mind that maxing out sources is imperative. Just make sure that your power amp can drive your speakers (AE1s really are demanding - a 250 being a minimum requirement). I am certain that I would prefer CDS2/XPS/32.5/Hi-Cap/135s/AE1s to CDX/52/250/SBLs (on Mana Stairway to Heaven).

The question is: will I have the courage of my convictions and flog 82/250/N805s (keeping H/C and buying another 32.5 for home, plus buying phono stage and better cartridge for LP12) or will I keep saving for 52 and 135s - I'll keep you posted.

[This message was edited by Alex S on SATURDAY 25 August 2001 at 14:10.]