UQ2 + Nap100 speaker upgrade

Posted by: rainsoothe on 12 November 2015

Yea, so... Hi again.

Since my last visit, I ended up with UQ2 and Nap 100 with Flashbacksales RCA to Din interconnect, and DNM Reson speaker cable into my Focal Aria 906. Lemme start of by saying I love the sound, and it suits my 16 sq m living room beautifully (no bass bloom, which was a problem with other setups, beautiful soundstage etc)

Now, when I went to pick up the Nap100, I made the mistake of auditioning ma Nac-N 172 + Nap 155xs into Revel Performa F206. Needless to say, it sounded amazing.

I was thinking of the Revel standmounters, the M105, but sadly I can't audition those. I also got a recommendation for Wharfedale Jade 3.

My question is has anyone compared or at least heard both the Wharfedale Jade 3 and Focal Aria 906? Would it be an upgrade or just a sidestep?

Also, would a pair of Revel Performa 3 m105 be a good fit in my setup? Same question for anyone who's tried XTZ Master 2.

The sound I'm after is not overly detailed but coherent and musical, neutral to warmish, big soundstage that makes the speakers dissappear completely, tight low end that doesn't boom and makes walls shake, and no "cupped hands on voice" effect. So I guess almost just like my Focals, but a bit tighter, less airy and that brings music in the centre of the room.

Oh, and important: big sweet spot, as in good off-axis listening. I dont want them to sound good only in a 1mm spot.

Thank you and muchluv
Posted on: 12 November 2015 by rainsoothe
Shameless bump - noone that's heard either of these?
Posted on: 12 November 2015 by hungryhalibut

You love the sound, so why think of changing? You'd be better saving up for a 272. 

Posted on: 12 November 2015 by rainsoothe
Well I was only thinking about an affordable upgrade, I'd rather buy a car instead of a 272
Posted on: 12 November 2015 by DC71
Hi, I had a couple of hours store demo of the 906's with my qute2/NAP100, then ended up buying the jade3 which I'm still using.

I'm not sure how run in the Focals were but to my ears sounded a bit more 'hifi', edgy and slightly less natural than the jades. The materials design on the jades does make a difference as they are one of the least boxy sounding box speakers I tested, a very well executed design.

After running the jades for a few months now I recommend them but with a few caveats:
- sensitivity is pretty low (stereophile measured 83.5 rather than the listed 86db). If you like to listen to dynamic music at moderate to higher levels then you'll likely need more than 50 watts and it's the reason I'm about to upgrade to a more powerful amp for my 24sqm listening area.

- The frequency response is up 3-5db in the tweeter frequencies. It is high quality, not shrill or sharp but noticeable in the presentation. My room also has a lot of hard surfaces (concrete, tile) which accentuate this and so IMO jade3s will work better in a well damped room (I'll also be adding some new plants and room treatments to reduce the bouncy mid-high frequencies in my room.

So while the jades have some advantages over the Focals, I would say try them out if you don't have a lively room, and they may need a bit more power than nap100 depending on your normal listening habits and space. Do not buy without a demo in your own room.

(I have actually covered the tweeters with thin felt while I await my room treatments and they sound great for me  now as I like a neutral to warm balance, but I understand most people would see this as a compromised solution)
Posted on: 12 November 2015 by George F

If you find a system that you like, and you said that you did, then if you can afford it ... get it. Enjoy it for weeks, months or years ...

 

If after a while you find yourself wishing to alter some aspect - highest volume, tonal balance or whatever, then investigate some change ... With home audition ...

 

But if you find something you like then be happy and get it. The opinion of someone else may not be an improvement for you in any case ...

 

ATB from George 

Posted on: 12 November 2015 by Gremlin

The only speaker I can think of that would have a good off axis sound and disapear into the room would be an omni directional speaker, all the other speakers I have (forward face in) have a very small sweet spot. But unfortunately I haven't heard any of the above speakers so I have no idea what one is best and only home demos will tell you that 

Posted on: 12 November 2015 by DC71
Originally Posted by Gremlin:

       

The only speaker I can think of that would have a good off axis sound and disapear into the room would be an omni directional speaker, all the other speakers I have (forward face in) have a very small sweet spot. But unfortunately I haven't heard any of the above speakers so I have no idea what one is best and only home demos will tell you that 


       


Duevel Planets work very well with qute and NAP100 and are very musical, it can be quite strange to hear the full range all around the room. Worth an audition if listening outside of a tight sweetspot is important to you, but also work best in a reasonably damped room, otherwise some detail is lost if the mids and highs are bouncing around too much.

Jade3's also beat the Duevels on clarity, bass slam control & tunefulness, however the Duevels mids often sound like the singer is in the room with you in a quite uncanny way.
Posted on: 12 November 2015 by Gremlin

Yes I can vouch for the duevel planets as I have a set but they are the only omni directional loud speaker I have. My kef ls50s out do them in detail but most non hifi people I know prefer the planets over all my other speakers. They are a fun musical speaker that look good and are a very social speaker which can be enjoyed by many people at once 

Posted on: 13 November 2015 by AndyL

Totems are great off-axis; Arros or Rainmakers

Posted on: 13 November 2015 by rainsoothe
Hi again all, thanks for all the helpful replies. I now have the Jade 3 on home dem for a week. It's a brand new pair, so they're still breaking in.

First of all, they're huge Secondly, they're pretty ugly for my taste. Thirdly, they sound very good, the sound is room filling. They're not that much better then the Focals imo, but there is a definite improvement in all areas, but especially the bass, which is fuller and juicier - the Focal's bass sounds a bit dry, by comparison.

For the time being, although I find the highs on the Jades a bit forward, they're very smooth at the same time, and cymbals are missing a bit of slam, but I suspect the DNM Reson speaker cable is to blame.

Mids are less forward then on the Focals, but maybe it's a by product of the slightly emphasized highs.

Bass is very juicy, but sometimes it needs more slam, other times it's just a bit loose. This might be because the Nap100 's 50w aren't enough. I never went past 51 on volume, and it was pretty loud.

For the time being, I'll just say that I like the Jades quite a lot, but I'm not sure if they're a significant upgrade, at least with this amplification. The sound is a bit more natural, more liquid then the Arias, but sometimes I miss some slam and/or control in the lower regions. I'll update if anything changes after more hours on the speakers.
Posted on: 13 November 2015 by DC71
It seems you're hearing in your room a lot of what I hear with the jades. Leave them running, I felt they got better over the first hundred plus hours.

I think you're spot on in feeling that they need stronger amplification. Not necessarily for overall volume but to really grab them by the scruff of the neck and control them well, as the jades are maybe a bit underdamped.

Also, although they are sealed, I found positioning and in particular distance from the wall mattered a lot especially for the bass response, so if you find them a bit loose, move them out a few cm at a time and see how they tighten.

Also try the felt over the tweeter trick.. I think they sing and sound wonderfully balanced if you suppress the tweeter around 3-4db.
Posted on: 14 November 2015 by rainsoothe
Originally Posted by DC71:
It seems you're hearing in your room a lot of what I hear with the jades. Leave them running, I felt they got better over the first hundred plus hours.

I think you're spot on in feeling that they need stronger amplification. Not necessarily for overall volume but to really grab them by the scruff of the neck and control them well, as the jades are maybe a bit underdamped.

Also, although they are sealed, I found positioning and in particular distance from the wall mattered a lot especially for the bass response, so if you find them a bit loose, move them out a few cm at a time and see how they tighten.

Also try the felt over the tweeter trick.. I think they sing and sound wonderfully balanced if you suppress the tweeter around 3-4db.

 

Left them running at very low volume over night. After another hour of normal volume this morning, I think they sound a bit better and lost some of the innitial bite the treble had, which makes it sound even better. I tried covering the tweeters yesterday with a couple of cotton scarfs, just for the heck of it, but I thought they majorly screwed the imaging of the speakers. 

 

Right now, I have them by-amped - DNM Reson on bass from the Nap100, Audioquest Type 4 on the high frequencies. The bass is finally under control, jury still out on the entire presentation. But contrary to some review I read, I don't think it sounds bad at all. Anyone else that by-amped UQ2 and Nap100 with better results then solo Nap100?

Posted on: 14 November 2015 by b_lund

Full stop !

bi wire with different cable will never work, both cables are a mismatch for Naim amplication as well