Kudos Titan T88's

Greetings Andy,

Damn! - You made me put my fingers in my ears and say 'La la la'. I have no personal experience of bi-amping T88's but my dealer Signals have a least one customer has added a second NAP500. It most definitely works from what I've heard.

Email me (address in profile) for further discussion if you wish.

John.

John,

I hear that the said Dealer will loan you a second NAP500 so that you can verify you don't like bi-amped Titans!

DB.

I have no experience with twin NAP 500's for the Titans, but I currently bi-amp my Titans with two Linn Solos per channel.  The difference between having just one amp and bi-amping was quite a significant upgrade.  At present, I believe Kudos even offers a kit to convert the Titan 88's to enable 3-way active operation, but this might only be for Linn users, although I'm not 100% sure.

Joe

Darke Bear posted:

John,

I hear that the said Dealer will loan you a second NAP500 so that you can verify you don't like bi-amped Titans!

DB.

Seems like a perfect plan for John: buy a new NAP 500DR so that it arrives before his current one goes in for a service and DR upgrade.  That way he won't be without music while his current 500 is away and then he can enjoy bi-amping when it returns.

What do you reckon Gary, do you think John should be ever grateful for the clever way we've found to spend his money?

I thought Titans have only one pair of binding post per speaker!

Titans have two sets and need a link-wire - so you save on the cost of the link-wire by having another NAP500 and run of SL speaker cable and SL DIN-XLR. I really don't know why JN has not done this!

DB.

You tinkers!

 Bi-amping with two 300s worked very well for me with my 802 diamonds before I went single 500. Certainly worth a try, if you can afford it.

Before committing though it would be prudent to compare the bi-amped 88s with a single 500 driving the new 808s.

So, J.N.'s shopping list is now a pair of 808s, followed by a second 500, then a S1 Pre.

Sounds like the Bucklesham Pusher will need some back protection for all this heavy lifting! :-)

John 

Frankly, I think that we all owe DB & Graham a vote of thanks for helping J.N. out of his terrible plight. To think, he was almost content with only one NAP500. Now he knows much better and no longer needs to save up for expensive link wires. Phew!

We are lucky to have such good friends :-)

Foot tapper posted:

Frankly, I think that we all owe DB & Graham a vote of thanks for helping J.N. out of his terrible plight. To think, he was almost content with only one NAP500. Now he knows much better and no longer needs to save up for expensive link wires. Phew!

We are lucky to have such good friends :-)

I know; we have such a generous nature

Need any help from DB and myself in spending any of your money, Foot tapper?  Maybe we could offer a service.

Oh, thanks Graham!

Suggestions for a posh cartridge & phono stage for the turntable would be most welcome.

Let's start with a Kiseki Purple thingy and an Aurorasound Vida phono stage to get the ball rolling. I am also fascinated by the Van den Hul cartridges, though cannot fathom out the differences between them for the life of me!

Happy browsing .... FT

FT,

JN's Kandid and Urika are already a step above the Kiseki/Vida combination , imho. 

Now let's get really creative.. Lyra Atlas perhaps?

ATB,

 Mark

FT - have you heard PB's XVS1 in his Artemiz?

varyat posted:

 

FT,

JN's Kandid and Urika are already a step above the Kiseki/Vida combination , imho. 

Now let's get really creative.. Lyra Atlas perhaps?

ATB,

 Mark

upgrading to the DV TKR from DVXX2Mk2 gave me a taste of high end carts and i can well imagine how good this Lyra Atlas would be at astronomical £7500 !!!

enjoy

ken

At these prices i would have to listen to some of the Koetsu range. At this level i'd want some real magic and charm, not just more detail.

Why thank you all for offering the benefits of your experience!

As always, Gary hits the nail on the head.

However, something tells me that this thread may have something to do with excellent loudspeakers.

You are most welcome to tease me with cartridges & phono stages, but probably better in a few months when I'll be in a position to do something about it.

Now, back to compiling a shopping list for J.N. ...

p.s. Rather than yearn for an even better system, it's a good time to enjoy fine music, so that'll be another 5 albums ordered this evening!

Best regards, FT

Spot on FT.  In fact I'm so enjoying my music I've stopped looking at speaker websites!!

In the opposite end, I`ve sold my Titan T88 recently. After many years I have found I don`t want to be at such a level within hifi. I have started to take this down, after all it`s about music when it comes to the end of it. With all respect, I fully understand that others may think and prioritize otherwise.

Titans are really lovely speakers and at some point I think they will achive some kind of cult status (if not already), similar to SL2, but within it`s range or capabilities. They do better along with better source and amp, but work very well with lower end equipment also. The retail price of the T808 (good as they may be), makes s/h T88 a bargain in my view.

S

Thanks for all the replies.

Judging by the comments it will obviously be an improvement albeit at a price.

I have booked, (joined the queue), my NAP for a DR upgrade - Feb 2016 onwards

I have an opportunity to buy a 2009 NAP500 and was contemplating it - need another Fraim shelf, Y link and more NACA5 !!!

I'm guessing I will not be 'happy' until it was also DR'd !!!

The other option is to stick with 1 x NAP and change cables to Super Lumina - I had a dem a few weeks ago and, like others, was suitably impressed.

Thanks again

AndyH posted:

Thanks for all the replies.

Judging by the comments it will obviously be an improvement albeit at a price.

I have booked, (joined the queue), my NAP for a DR upgrade - Feb 2016 onwards

I have an opportunity to buy a 2009 NAP500 and was contemplating it - need another Fraim shelf, Y link and more NACA5 !!!

I'm guessing I will not be 'happy' until it was also DR'd !!!

The other option is to stick with 1 x NAP and change cables to Super Lumina - I had a dem a few weeks ago and, like others, was suitably impressed.

Thanks again

Andy,

If you are considering running a DRed NAP 500 along with a non-DR one I would strongly suggest that you listen to this combination first before committing. 

I've not heard a DRed NAP 500 but I tried a DRed NAP300 in my active system (alongside two other non-DRed 300s) and it just didn't sound right due to the different timing of the amps and their associated presentation.  Swapping all three non-DRed 300s for DRed versions fixed this

Whether this is also a factor with the 500 DR I don't know, but thought you should be made aware of the possibility.

Thanks for the info Graham

Maybe I should go with DR on existing 500 and SL cables ?

Or go with 2 x 500 and NO DR ?

And SL cables as and when possible....

i am facing similar dilemma, except i already have 2xnap500 ...

enjoy

ken

Andy,

Once you get your NAP500 DR'd I would experiment with interconnects.  I went with the Chord Sarum Tuned Aray and they were a huge upgrade over the stock Naim cables.  Have not heard the Super Lumia but I assume it's very good.  I would also consider upgrading the Naca5 as well.  

It was was once heresy to consider cable upgrades, but there are so many great options available now why not experiment?

I tried the Kudos Super 20s with a 250DR earlier today. I didn't like what the DR did to the sound - and preferred the Non-DR 250. I'm running the super 20 with a nap300, and will continue to do so. Upgrading to Nap300DR from a Nap300 might not go so great. The Super 20 was tuned and voiced with the Nap300.

Not sure if similar things might be true for the Titans and 500s. Maybe DRing the 500 not a great idea?