Speakers for 272/300DR

Just noticed my DAVe typo! Dyslexic plonker I am 

I think you right about listening to the Dave as very dangerous and the TT looks good to me. A dem at the end of the month is booked so we will see.

As for your last comment I will for my own safety not respond just in case she is lurking?

if i did not invest all this money to 272/300Dr/555DR i would like to try Dave with an active speaker...

it is a VFM proposition for sure....

May I recommend a pair of Sonus Faber Guarneri Evolution. My friendly dealer has lent me a pair and they do sound very good. The tone is very natural and never irritates. Imaging is pretty good but what surprised me most about them was their transient response. Rapid events are resolved very well and has provided new insights.

By all accounts a new range is due out before the end of the year and they are getting a little smaller.

Some food for taught as we say in Jamaica.

Best etc.,

Ghetto Yout'.

Paulebarrow posted:

Thanks for that, your advice is much appreciated!

I'm surprised by your suggestion of using RCA rather than XLR as I've always assumed that was superior? What cables are you using?

 

For Chord DACS RCA output is better because they are single ended. The audio signal has to be converted from single ended to balanced for the XLR output. Therefore, RCA has the purest and most transparent signal path.

I use a custom Chord Shawline RCA to XLR. The wiring is very specific to get the best out of both the Hugo TT and ATC active speakers (which are also single ended but accept a balanced and unbalanced input via XLR). I have posted details of the custom wiring in this forum if you want to check it out. Shawline is remarkable for the cost, sounds fantastic. I've never felt the need to go further up the Chord line.

Try both Dave and TT if you can and see which you prefer. I have to say than unless you need the additional features of TT (remote volume and galvanic isolation on source USB) then I would just stick with Hugo, connected using an optical cable, and save some cash as the differences in sq are marginal. Saying that, I do prefer the slightly warmer, holographic, sound of TT to Hugo.

Halloween Man posted:

Try both Dave and TT if you can and see which you prefer. I have to say than unless you need the additional features of TT (remote volume and galvanic isolation on source USB) then I would just stick with Hugo, connected using an optical cable, and save some cash as the differences in sq are marginal. Saying that, I do prefer the slightly warmer, holographic, sound of TT to Hugo.

Also if feeding direct to a power amp and remote control of volume is important, Hugo doesn't have it.

For me, TT had another asvantage over Hugo, which was the isolation on USB input, simplifying the system by not needing a separate isolator between my Mac Mini/Audirvana source and DAC. 

I happily used Hugo direct into power amp for a couple of years, but then I'd never had a preamp with a remote, so didn't miss it. After upgrading from Hugo (going higher than TT) I gained a remote, and it is nice to have, particularly when changing streamed music remotely, or when someone comes into the room and conversation is drowned by the music! 

Wow ib, i didn't realise you actually took the plunge and got a Dave! How is it? How does it compare to Hugo? Can I borrow it please? 

Never had the opportunity to listen to Dave.

I'll certainly buy one Adam!

I would have made some PMC suggestions but they aren't in the range Emre's dealer can supply. I would choose the Fact 12 above the lower ones any day - I've heard in two different rooms, in one case sounding a bit compressed in the width of soundstage, but the other time not. Amazingly good for their diminutive size, and do bass very well (and have switchable bass response which allows a degree of tuning). They're around £12k new, so overvthe too price wise, but I've seen ex demo occasionally at about £8k, and the change would allow transpot to wherever you live - and your trip to audition. Otherwise if you want good bass I'd suggest an older and bigger one, the EB1i, which is what I chose (But I'd have happily take Fact 12 if I didn't have the EB, or their pro range MB2, but at a cost.

i have a pair of mb2s on the end of a 300dr and they are indeed very good, have also heard the fact 12's which i also rate, both well worth a listen

Thank you all

Sopra 2 it is good price and a good combo

worth to upgrade from sonus pair! 

Emre posted:

Thank you all

Sopra 2 it is good price and a good combo

worth to upgrade from sonus pair! 

Be sure to let us know if Steve Huff has it about right after you've had them a few weeks!

Emre posted:

Thank you all

Sopra 2 it is good price and a good combo

worth to upgrade from sonus pair! 

Look forward to hearing your reports on the Sopra 2s.

Good luck.

Timmo1341 posted:

Paulebarrow posted:

Halloween Man posted:

wenger2015 posted:

Ardbeg10y posted:

Halloween Man posted:

Emre, it really is a shame you cannot audition as my guess would be that the SCM40 would have the sopra 2 for breakfast, and at less than half the price

This would be the

• lentil curry

From HH's list.

 

The only problem with the SCM40's is the distinct lack of soundstage,  some say the build quality isn't great either, but obviously they are a much cheaper speaker then some of the other contenders that have been mentioned... 

That could not be further from the truth in my experience. Have u heard or inspected SCM40 MK2? The sound staging is superb, even better on the actives. Build quality is exemplary, beautifully finished, and brilliantly engineered. Reassuringly heavy.

Don't believe me? Read the reviews, ask other owners, and check out their pro-audio pedigree.

I strongly second Halloween Mans comment and can only assume Wenger2015 has never heard the SCM40's or seen them in the flesh.

What a shame, in that case, they come with such cheap, nasty and ugly grilles. I know, I know, just leave them off I hear you all say. Unfortunately my wife insists upon 'grilles on', and won't give the ATCs house room! 

Actually I now prefer with grills on, and the speakers are designed by ATC to have grills on to help with dispersion so I understand.... certainly I wouldn't say they are cheap... nasty is in the eye of the beholder, but they marginally improve the speaker performance in my room.

Emre posted:

Thank you all

Sopra 2 it is good price and a good combo

worth to upgrade from sonus pair! 

Excellent choice my friend,  you will not be disappointed.... 

Actually they jusndeliver them

first song sonus 1 sopra 0

it was biko by peter gabriel

sonus got a very tight bass slamm, focal is big

and peter feels like go way back 

it will take time

Emre posted:

Thank you all

Sopra 2 it is good price and a good combo

worth to upgrade from sonus pair! 

Hi Emre

Nice one

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft

Emre posted:

Actually they jusndeliver them

first song sonus 1 sopra 0

it was biko by peter gabriel

sonus got a very tight bass slamm, focal is big

and peter feels like go way back 

it will take time

Give it sometime, they will take a while to break in.....then you will have a very big smile on your face,  which quite possibly won't go away......

Emre posted:

Actually they jusndeliver them

first song sonus 1 sopra 0

it was biko by peter gabriel

sonus got a very tight bass slamm, focal is big

and peter feels like go way back 

it will take time

Don't be tempted to make any judgements yet. I know it is impossible to do but leave them playing (and try not to listen) for as long as possible. Go have a beer, or watch England scrape a win against Scotland, or anything to distract you from listening in too early. It simply is not fair on the Sopras.

My guess is, you are going to love them (eventually).

I'm not sure the England game is showing where our friend Emre lives, but I agree wholeheartedly with the sentiment. I'd suggest to Emre to just enjoy listening to music and not analyse things. Just go with the flow, put the old speakers in another room and forget about them. I'm sure that with a few days under their belts, the Sopras will sound great. They have been massively well reviewed and with a nice big room they can be placed well away from the walls where they work best. Meanwhile, I'll just have to slum it with my superseded old junk...

Hi Emre

Out of interest what finish are the Sopra 2's in please?

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft

İ can try to catch england vs scotland from web but i will watch turkey vs kosova tomorrow! 

İ am listening all my favorite songs one by one, so far so good, these speakers have a huge stage it almost like a real stage which cremonas dont have it, a full 120 degrees almost

i have a black fraim so i choose black, also approved by wife vs the black/wood one, they look good but nothing like a sonus faber, italians are far better designers!

but after this years spending on hifi i have to lie about the value of speakers just cut them by a few k! 

Still waiting my 2 powerlines and 2 additional frame shelfs and a project classic as budget turntable choice.

But i am done till the 372!   Maybe Melco?!! Nooo

but fools gold by stone roses punches far better than sonus

later on i will compare cd2x/tpxs vs 272

i played just texas cd it was fantastic but i dont have it on my Nas to compare, cd2x is a very good source specially with a PS even with a middle eastern one

thank you all for all inputs and comments, this forum is really part of naim charm! 

Halloween Man posted:

Wow ib, i didn't realise you actually took the plunge and got a Dave! How is it? How does it compare to Hugo? Can I borrow it please? 

Never had the opportunity to listen to Dave.

I arranged an audition of Hugo (my own Hugo, together with my Gustard Isolator), TT and Dave early this year, taking along my own MacMini/Audirvana source, played through the same Bryston amp I use, and PMC Fact 12 speakers. After aclimatising to Hugo with, the different speakers and room, we moved to TT. A definite improvement - not huge, but noticeable, an dit was my favoured one because on top of the improvement in SQ it would give me a remote volume and its balanced outputs would allow me to switch power amp inputs when I wanted an analogue source, rather than swapping cables.  

Then came Dave, which I didn't wantbto loke, but felt I would always wonde if I didn't hear, and was not completely out of reach financially if i was suitable convinced. Sitting with me was my cellist son - and just a few bars into the first piece I heard him he utter almost under his breath "wow" echoing my own reaction. We listened more , looked at each other, and expressed our amazement at how much better it sounded when what came be,fore sounded great.

So a few weeks later I arranged a home audition of both TT and Dave, to decide what was right in my system (other than room the only difference was my speakers are PMC EBii)). Hugo was good, as always. TT subtly better. And TT - well, my wife called out from the adjoining room 'that's the best one', and by halfway through my two week trial I found myself forgetting to go back to the others from Dave. I didn't really want to spend that much, but as I'd spent less of the inheritance on the speakers than I had budgeted for it was still just within my nominal limit (with some negotiation and trade-in for Hugo), so I decided yes, I would. So I did! And I can't believe my luck, every time i listen to music.

i am hopeless at hifi review terminology: the best I can manage in describing it is increased clarity, by an order of magnitude, and a stunning depth of soundstage, complementing the speakers wonderfully. TT and Hugo were still very good indeed and highly enjoyable, but Dave to me is like Hugo squared.

i suspect how good it would sound to any individual would depend on the system, especially the speakers, but for me, in mine, the huge cost was fully justified.

as for borrowing it - if you lived nearby I might be prepared to consider when I am away on holiday, but I enjoy it too much to be without it otherwise!

Thanks ib, great post but not what I wanted to read! You've got me itching to phone my local dealer now.

How r u connecting Dave to your MM and power amp? What cables do u use?

Just had 30 mins in my room listening to Dave 

Halloween Man posted:

Just had 30 mins in my room listening to Dave 

Oh dear, was I responsible? What did you think?