Would you buy NBL with no parts available
Posted by: timoth on 28 November 2015
Strongly thinking of buying used NBL; however, have found out through Naim no parts available. Would you buy?
No, plenty of good brand new speakers, why bother with the hassle.
Because it could provide really good performance at very reaonable price ratio
have you heard them under optimized conditons or just guessing, since you so boldly deny the Q. ?
Buying a pair back when they were current would never have occurred to me then. Buying a pair now would really take some convincing. Like if they were replacing something fairly old cheap n nasty and were going for under 300 quid.
I certainly would! Even though Naim don't have the parts, if you're sensible with them, & the drive units are in good nick to start with, they'll be fine for many, many years and, if the worse came to the worse, there are companies who repair speaker drivers, and with a bit of ingenuity you can probably find alternative drivers that'll work.
If they're in working order and in good cosmetic condition, why not? Then it just depends on the price. I really like my NBLs and would certainly recommend them.
Strongly thinking of buying used NBL; however, have found out through Naim no parts available. Would you buy?
As it's superseded and not supported, that's two big reasons not to. If you are after vintage nostalgia, or they represent a good gamble for the outlay that's two good reason to. Me? No I would not.
I wouldn't, either. But just because I've heard them once in a very nice Naim system, and they sounded really weird.
Timoth - this is the second thread you have started about whether you should buy these speakers. As before you have received conflicting advice: some say yes, some say no. There is only one person who can decide, and that person is you. Clearly you are undecided, and I suspect that your heart says yes and your head says no. If this is the case, follow your head and move on. You already have some of the very best speakers, so be pleased with what you have and forget about the NBL.
Because it could provide really good performance at very reaonable price ratio
have you heard them under optimized conditons or just guessing, since you so boldly deny the Q. ?
...........also there is another world out there beyond Naim speakers, particularly with the 500 kit you have. Hence from my own experience I wouldn't! ATB Peter
Timoth - this is the second thread you have started about whether you should buy these speakers. As before you have received conflicting advice: some say yes, some say no. There is only one person who can decide, and that person is you. Clearly you are undecided, and I suspect that your heart says yes and your head says no. If this is the case, follow your head and move on. You already have some of the very best speakers, so be pleased with what you have and forget about the NBL.
You claim him for starting threads, then tell him to make up his own mind ending with telling him he should forget it ?
confused eh !
If you read it properly, you will see that I said that if the head was saying no, then he should not get the speakers. But if his head is saying yes, then that would clearly not apply. Rather than criticising my posts, perhaps you could give some constructive guidance of your own.
Rather than criticising my posts, perhaps you could give some constructive guidance of your own.
Not criticising but confused, don't take it personally
I certainly believe OP should take the offer if condition and price is good plus he get assisted into setting-up procedure
Also there might be issues if OP wants to run passive or active
I certainly find it fair to start threads here and there regarding such a matter - thats what forums are for, not just telling everyone whatever you own 272/250DR etc or SU this or that year
I'm not sure I'd move from a well-loved and set-up pair of SL2s to a pair of NBLs, to be honest; I think that you'd lose the speed and timing of the SL2s, while adding in the wildcard of NBL bass integration.
I have a room that would work well for NBLs at home, and might consider a trial of an inexpensive pair if available, but SL2s are quite hard to beat, once optimized.
Never heard NBL's, but you have a system which theoretically should be more than good enough for them. The room is everything and if you have the space then they may work, however circa £1500 for NBL's is not exactly a drop in the ocean, but not a fortune (in speaker terms) either. I think the question should be, 'what exactly does your SL2 lack that you think the NBL would cure'?
I partially agree here with David; SL2s have a particularly wonderful quality that few other speakers manage to achieve, but they lack the scale of NBLs. If you've a larger room, properly set up NBLs will provide a more dynamic sound than SL2s, but It really is a case of trying in your own room, in your own system.
Why not let people do their own mistakes freely? I would never, ever trade SL2s for NBLs, but a itch is a itch, and G*d knows I have scratched a number, and am still alive.
Regardless of our opinions (clearly I have a low opinion of NBLs), why not break it down in simple terms of:
1. Are they in good condition to mitigate the risk of serviceability?
2. Do you actually think they are better than well setup SL2 you have now?
3. Do you personally (not what we think) feel that they will give you the best result for 1500 quid?
At the end of the day, whether we think this is good or not is irrelevant. If you love the sound of NBLs over what you have and the cost can be reconciled with the expected lifespan then that should give you your answer.
Whatever you choose, it will be the right decision.
Who said parts aren't available?
Only a couple of months ago, I bought a pair of replacement tweeters for mine, having fried one tweeter after a decorator kindly moved them (without my knowledge) and reconnected them with the mid-range amp to the tweeter....
Superb speaker IMHO
NBL's are better than SL2's if you want more bottom end. Simple as that. Not a fan of adding subwoofers. Thing is not to place any thing between NBL's or outside of them either to allow their bass drivers to work properly. If you can't do this they will be compromised. Other than this NBL's are not hard to get good sound out of. Heaps of bass as 4 drivers have reinforcement from both floor and back wall.
If the NBL's are in good order, not much will better them for speed and musicality. They image very well for a boundary design, probably because of the depth of the cabinet and that wonderful nested box idea. I have SL2's NBL's and DBL's and each step up is considerably better. Buy them and don't miss out on them, speakers as good as these no longer exist!
p.s. when wiring active systems fire up one amp at a time and check all is ok. Start with tweeter amp (look at wires coming from snaxo) and listen. If you have sent treble to your woofer, it won't mater, then do midrange and so on. Even the best of us have made this error once.
Mario.