Unitiqute 2 and B&W 683 S2

Agree with both of you on this. While the demo sounded really good to me with the NAP100, I didn't push the volume much over 50. I personally wouldn't expect to run 3 way floorstanders with the bare Qute's 30W, the NAP100 may be OK but it's dependent on the user's required listening levels and the size of the room too.

FWIW, I scaled back from floorstanders since I've had my system, first from PMC FB1's which definitely needed more power than the N100 gives, through Duevel Planets which were a great match but not quite as tight in the bass as i like (ported design), and I'm now very much enjoying my music with the Wharfedale Jade 3's, a sealed 3-way design which matches up very well with the Qute/NAP100 and are really coming on song after around 150 hours (mids sounded a little 'shouty' during the first 100 or so hours but now all drivers sound perfectly integrated).

I'll withhold an unreserved recommendation of these speakers until I have another 50-100 hours on them and proper stands, but for now I would say they are well worth an audition for anyone running a NAP100, 200 or any higher Uniti model. They sound clean, fast and really allow the Naim house sound to shine through. And despite their relatively low efficiency 86db, I rarely get the volume above 52 in my 5m x 4m space (bottom of an 8x9m L-shaped living room).

I have a qute 2 & PMC 20/21's, volume limit is set to 90% and I usually listen to it at around 50%, I cranked it to 70% once, only the once mind and well after it and the speakers where well run in.. it damn near pinned me to the rear wall and left me feeling like I'd just walked out of a motorhead gig!! my ears where ringing all night.

As for speakers... buy the best you can afford, I've never regretted lashing out on the PMC's, worth every penny and though I did consider a nap 100 I never bothered as to be honest I'm happy with the sound I have and don't want to mess with it.

I'd agree with that with one caveat...

If you have a simpler power amp (such as a UQ, UQ2, UnitiLite or Nait 5 series) then it's best to make sure that the speakers are relatively easy to drive; otherwise the speakers will degrade the sound quality of the amp, even at lower volumes.  The Nait XS-2 and Uniti2 will cope well with moderately difficult loads, but they still struggle with many of the more difficult speakers.

One thing to look for is the minimum impedance; if you keep to speakers with a minimum of 4 ohms then you'll probably be OK, below this you're increasingly likely to get some loss of SQ in the amp.  The speaker phase relationship is more difficult information to find but also very useful if you can get it.

..........  this whole subject of speaker & amp matching can get really complicated if you dig deep.

Naim amps do not have an output series inductor but do have have a fixed output resistor of typically 0.22R which gives a damping factor of around 16 into a 4ohm speaker load. This low damping factor used with low damped speakers can lead to poor bass control and give an over blown bass. Naim amps are better suited to speakers with good electrical and/or mechanical damping.   

Always have dealer demo's to confirm the match - I've read numbers of cases on the forum where fat bass became a problem in da house after the initial euphoria died down.

Mike,

Sadly, although it's rare for a speaker manufacturer to quote the frequency/phase relationship, it's extremely rare for them to quote the mechanical and electrical Q for a speaker design.  Most often minimum impedance is the only guide available, even if it's just a very rough indication.  Having said that a design with a higher minimum impedance is usually intended to be an easier load and vice versa.

But yes the reality is, as you say, quite complicated.

From experience, A rough guide to speakers with high electrical/ mechanical damping:

Has it got a port: No. Try with Naim.

                           Yes. Circumspect.

Chris

Huge, please treat me as nicely as you treated Mike when you correct me. Thanks.

........   Hi  Huge,   yes, but to be honest even if they did publish the data it would not change anything.  

That's why I said - Always have dealer demo's to confirm the match - maybe that should be Always  (mandatory) have dealer demo's to confirm the match 

I would be confident with infinite baffle loading being OK with Naim amps as a generalisation.

With reflex ports especially, less so with TL & Qtr wave assuming they are designed correctly, Q-m can be extreme from overdamped (no bad thing) to an underdamped boombox.    

Q-e is where it can get interesting,  2nd order or the rarer zero LF crossovers can be (are always) a problem.  a good 3rd order LF tends to be OK.  

 ...........   but it comes back to always demo before you buy.  

Mike, Chris,

The detailed technical info can't tell you if something is going to be a good match, but it can give a very strong indication that something won't be a match.  Auditioning is always required, not only for amp matching but also because the sonic signatures of speakers can be so varied.

Similarly, a sealed box doesn't guarantee compatibility with lower capability power amps (Naim or anyone else) - try powering ATC 19s with anything less than a 200 and the magic just doesn't happen. 

There again for a reflex enclosure, when looking at the lower frequency alignment, the Helmholtz frequency isn't always aligned to be near to the mechanical resonant frequency, and this can give different effects.  For instance, if the Helmholtz frequency is considerably lower (emphasizing extension over deep bass volume), then the enclosure acts as a sealed box to a much lower frequency and this is less bothered by low DF in the more prominent upper bass.

Mike,

I also disagree that 2nd order crossover is inherently problematic; if properly matched to the drivers, (with damping resistors as required) it can work very well.  It can give more positive control of transients in the bass/mid driver through the crossover region, and tends to have less complex phase relationships and back EMF.  If badly designed... oh dear, what a mess, it's more critical than 3rd order (and a lot more critical than 4th order Linkwitz–Riley).  But then that's the key - it's the quality of the design (and how consistently production matches that design) that matters most.

Huge,  apologies,  I meant 1st order (6db/oct)

1st order WITHOUT damping resisters are problematic.  I could never get them right & as far as my library with test notes is concerned, most were on the edge.  All purist ideology & cost cutting or both in the flat earth enlightenment days thru to today & in my view misguided unless you got lucky.    

I tend to go for 2nd order Linkwitz–Riley (12db/oct) as a preference for LF & if the Qm and/or Qe of the bass driver are a bit low, then I add a shunt 15 or 22 ohm across the driver to add damping

Not sure this lower tuning gives much to the audible bass as most bass units are in the lower 30Hz or below & as such not really audible.  With my current speakers - pretty much finalised - they have Scanspeak units with fs at 30Hz open baffle & (est) 32Hz in the installed cabs,  I have the Helmholtz at 32Hz so is at resonance.  With a 2nd order crossover plus a 22ohm shunt damping resistor it gives a firm tight bass with whatever is available at 40 to 30Hz (not much in most recordings)  but does give some life to bass in the 50Hz region.  I tried retuning the ports to 25Hz but found the 50Hz region lost its edge & the whole low bass performance suffered.   A lower port tuning might be more effective with a driver installed in a smaller than ideal cab.