speakers for 32.5/hicap/160?

Keddie,

Welcome to the forum.

In answer to your question:-

I would go and try a pair of Mission 780's one of the best small speakers arround.

The Kans would be a good match for your system but the Sara's would need a better amplifier to get the best out of them.

Regards

NB

Yup,

I run early Kan 1's on Kan II stands.
If your room is not too big, they are hard to beat.

I am now in a new room ( new house ) that is 12.5 x 27 feet and the room swallows them, I have lost most of the bottom end. On the long wall, you get some bass, but lose coherance. On the short wall, you get great coherance, but loose the bottom. Having said that, note that the listening postion is against the opposite wall when on the long wall, and free space when using the short wall, so boundry reenforcement comes into play.

regards,

michael

Thanks to you both. I moved house recently too, Mykel, and now have my system in a bigger room which is 23' by 13'. I'm borrowing a pair of Kan 1s on Kan 2 stands from a friend this week -it will be interesting to see if the Kans work in that space. I'll look out for Mission 780's to audition too. Thanks for your advice about Sara's, NB. I believe 160s can be converted to 180s - do you think that would that be enough to make Sara's work?

Hi Keddie

Saras really need a 250 to give of their best. I had a pair of Saras driven by a 90.3 and thought that was very good, until I bought a secondhand 250 and immediately noticed that the music was just "right", PRaT in abundance, dynamics to die for etc. I dont think the 180 is up to it. Check other threads as their has been a lot of discussion in the past.

Yours in Music

Syd

Well....I have exactly a 32.5/Hi-Cap/160 converted to 180 spec, and I use and love SBL's. I previously used Mission 774's, which were really pretty good, but the SBL's in this system are just poetry. Don't underestimate either the 32.5 or the 160, which in some respects is sweeter than a 250 (well I think so anyway). You could get 2nd hand SBL's for £650-700 ish, and I don't think you could make a better move. It really is a good match throughout.

This is all very useful advice - thank you. I'm going to audition the Kans but I'm very interested in the idea of SBL's; I expect that they will be more suitable for a larger room.

Rasher, did you find that converting your 160 to 180 spec was an improvement?

Keddie,

I would also recommend the Epos range of speakers, they particularly work well with Naim especially with a room size like yours.

Regards
Mat

Keddie, if the 160 could benefit from a service, then it is hard to distinguish between the upgrade and the service. I can’t remember because it was so long ago, but I am of the opinion that if it available as a mod, then it must be worthwhile. It certainly won’t be worse, and it’s not expensive really. I have no plans to upgrade my power amp now anyway and see it there well into the CD player upgrade to a CDX2/XPS2 and maybe a 282 pre (or 82 if a bargain comes along). The SBL’s are a perfect partner, and I saw a pair on hififorsale.com for £650 last night.

I have my friend's Kan 1s on Kan 2 stands hooked up to the system now and I'm impressed by how much more exciting and engaging they are than the Royd Minstrels. Bass is very lacking on pop/dance recordings and this produces a strange presentation of some music. However, I mainly listen to jazz and so far I like the with the Kans present acoustic, small group music.

Rasher, thanks for the advice about the 160. I made a bid for SBLs on ebay yesterday but lost them at the last minute! I'll keep looking.

Thanks to everyone for your advice.

Changeme.... A bit off subject, but have you tried swapping around the flatcap & HiCap with pre-amp to CD3.5 etc?? Which way around sounds best do you think??

Hi Rasher, My sistem:> cd 3.5, Hi-cap, 102, 180, mk11 kans and nick's old epos es11's..I prefere the hi-cap on the cd player... Keddie, You must try the epos speakers, they are fast like the kan's but with more depth. I did'nt get on with the sbl's

Just reviving this thread one more time to thank everyone who advised me on speakers and to say I got a pair of SBLs last week - 1997 vintage, second hand from my local Naim dealer. Rasher, you were so right! I am in hifi heaven.

Well this is my second attempt at posting this, so excuse me if it appears twice. I'm just reviving this thread to thank everyone who advised me on speakers to try. I got a pair of SBLs from my local Naim dealer last week - second hand, latest spec in lovely condition. Rasher you were so right - I am in hifi heaven!