Hugo-SN2 > which speakers?

Hi,

How much room can you allow rear and side?   Budget?    

I've heard the SN2 several times and it strikes me as a very efficient performer so much so that it really strutted its stuff with the Focal Sopra 2s.  So depending upon room and budget constraints there is an almost infinite range of models to consider.   The obvious candidates are Kudos, Neat, Focal, Dynaudio,  ATC and Harbeth to name a few.  

When I recently purchased mine it was what happened in our lounge that completely changed my outlook and in fact ended up spending less than I anticipated.   So home demo essential. 

Good luck.  

Lindsay

I've listened to the SN2 with a lot of speakers.  Those that stood out for me were Guru Junior (which I used to own and probably below what the amp is capable of) PMC 20:23 which sounded good and I could have lived with, Kudos and Dynadio which I wasn't too keen on, and Focal 926 which I bought.  There were other too when I auditioned but nothing that stood out. Only piece of advice I would offer would be to aim to get a home demo before you buy and ideally with a set of speakers that are run in.

Zacharis, what do you feed Hugo with? I only ask because in my experience both Hugo and SN2 are very sensitive to upstream components. If you're already reasonably happy with your Linn's it may be that a well optimised source into Hugo will provide you with the additional resolution and tighter bass you're after. 

There is not too much space behind speakers. This was one of the reasons why I bought Linn Majik 140 speakers as they need only 23 cmeters.

There is more room on both sides but it is asymmetrical.

I feed Hugo with Tidal/MB Pro/USB cable and sometimes with Rega Apollo-r/coax cable.

How do you see KEF R900 or PMC 25.26? 

I understand that some kind of space optimisation would also do good for bass issues.

Budget? Don´t know yet. Around 3-5 k.

I had Hugo / SN2 driving PMC twenty 23s successfully for a couple of years and their new higher spec Twenty5 range is well within your budget . I have changed  ATC 19s now after adding a 250DR and they are wonderful speakers . I'm sure your SN2 would be up to driving them as well . I find both PMC and ATC to be very room friendly . 

pete T15 posted:

I had Hugo / SN2 driving PMC twenty 23s successfully for a couple of years and their new higher spec Twenty5 range is well within your budget . I have changed  ATC 19s now after adding a 250DR and they are wonderful speakers .

Pete, any chance you could expand on what you prefer about the ATC's in comparison to the 20.23's?

Zachris posted:

I feed Hugo with Tidal/MB Pro/USB cable and sometimes with Rega Apollo-r/coax cable.

Which do you prefer?

They sound different. Tidal streaming does airier sound, and what´s more, music has more soundstage and sense of 3d.

Cd's sound a bit dry, but still good.

I'm not sure which is more high fidelity, but usually I prefer Tidal. 

Mayor West posted:

pete T15 posted:

I had Hugo / SN2 driving PMC twenty 23s successfully for a couple of years and their new higher spec Twenty5 range is well within your budget . I have changed  ATC 19s now after adding a 250DR and they are wonderful speakers .

Pete, any chance you could expand on what you prefer about the ATC's in comparison to the 20.23's?

Hi , the main reason I changed was that after I added the 250DR I felt I had maybe a bit too much bass at higher Volumes , I live in a  Victorian terrace in London so I was a little concerned about my neighbours , I felt the sweet spot for the 23s had gone a little louder, too loud . 

I tried the ATCs and they are much tighter in the Bass which is what I was looking for , more controlled and sweeter .   They are very dynamic , detailed , no sign of harshness at the top end , a very honest natural sound . They are a better speaker IMO and the bonus is my listening levels are much lower . Whilst I think the  SN2 could power the 19s , I feel they really benefit from the grip of a 200/250DR . The PMC 23s/SN2 was a better match than 23s/SN2/250 in my room looking back even though the latter sounded awesome . 

Famous last words but I think the ATC19s will survive quite a few upgrades going forward .  

Hi Pete,

Thanks for the detailed reply. Definitely food for thought!

Zachris posted:

They sound different. Tidal streaming does airier sound, and what´s more, music has more soundstage and sense of 3d.

Cd's sound a bit dry, but still good.

I'm not sure which is more high fidelity, but usually I prefer Tidal. 

OK. I just wonder whether it might be worth exploring some comparatively cheaper optimisations for your MBP such as Audirvana Plus, USB cables, etc before going for new speakers (assuming you like your current ones). With a computer being a less than ideal source, such optimisations can reap pretty significant benefits.

Zachris posted:

Budget? Don´t know yet. Around 3-5 k.

Kudos S20 or Naim Ovtor S-400 (if you can still find them). Should be right within the price range.

I Zachris posted:

At the moment I have Linn Majik 140. My room is around 30 square meters and half of it is open to the second floor.

So I guess Majik is the minimum size for my speakers.

I'd like to get a bit more resolution and a bit tighter bass.

Zachris,

I had the Majik 140 with upgraded plinths home recently with my SN2. A very musical but relaxed speaker, and definitely wanting for a deep bottom end. My room is about 21 m²  and open like yours. I'd strongly recommend you give Proac D20R a try at home. More resolution and deeper, tighter bass is exactly what you'll get with no loss of musicality. Plus their bottom ports make placement pretty unfussy. Good luck whatever you choose, Often it's really a matter of which few speakers you can get home to audition. Take your time.