N sats

only on the second hand market!

Yes seen some locally

Martin,

yes, they are. Depending on two factors, you love their unique voicing, and you drive them generously.

I have had five (5) pairs of them (1 piano black, 1 maple, 3 cherry), and the last pair is still here waiting for proper use since I have bought S-400s.

The N-Sats don't go much lower than 60/70 Hz, but have a unique quality, they throw sound completely out of the boxes and have a pleasant, teenager-ish unripeness that becomes a lot to certain things, like acoustic instruments and female voices.

They sound perfectly decent with minor amps, but with my last but one system – CDX2, 282, SC, 250.2 (all serviced and recapped) they did their best. Don't expect great body and be prepared to – as HH once wrote – have music slightly all in a heap, but I love them and find that they reward you with a certain je ne sais quoi that no other speakers I've tried have.

Best luck,

M

P.S. I have also had a pair of Kytes, and they were unexpectedly balanced and entertaining considering they felt like carton and that if they didn't bear the name rega none would take them more seriously than whatever you buy in a department store for kitchen sound (ok, this is very Nigel-ish, I admit); but Sats are built, designed and planned to perform differently.

This is a review from 2006 issue of Enjoy the music. It was a field test of a number of small speakers to be used as monitors in studio.

Naim N-Sat
The N-Stats are the only sealed box speaker in the survey and also the most expensive at $1400/pr cherry or maple and $1750/pr for piano black lacquer. Their higher price is due in large part to their labor-intensive cabinet design. Not only is the front baffle curved, but the cabinet sides are too. Making wood cabinets bend like that is not simple or cheap, but it is visually appealing. But looks aside the N-Sats produce a supremely neutral harmonic balance regardless of SPL levels. Unlike many ported speakers that can get a bit lumpy in the upper bass when pushed the N-Sat's sealed box design ensures that they remain harmonically linear. Play them loud or soft and they will deliver the same articulate yet relaxed voice. Even after a full day of listening at fairly high SPLs to aggressive sources I experienced absolutely no listening fatigue. Due to their physical size they don't completely disappear as well as smaller speakers, but the N-Sats imaging, especially lateral placement, is still surprisingly good. Because they are a sealed-box design the N-Sats blend seamlessly with a subwoofer, but if you can't or won't use a sub, their inner cabinet volume allows for decent bass response down to 70Hz.

While not as high-tech looking as the BG Z-1s or Arcam Altos, the N-Sats sport an extremely high level of fit and finish. The review pair had a light cherry veneer with perfectly book-matched front baffles. Instead of five-way binding post the N-Sats use flush mounted connectors designed for banana plugs. Bi-amping or bi-wiring is not an option. Like the BG Z-1s the N-Sats require a larger desktop due to their physical size, but if you have the space and money the N-Sats will give you a great time. For additional technical information see Naim's website at www.naim-audio.com.

Best, M

The Sats are super speakers, with a couple of provisos. If you put them hard against the wall you will get bass, but an accompanying chesty sound. If you move them out by about 5" the chesty sound disappears but so does a lot of the bass. Between the two you can hopefully achieve a nice balance. I used them by themselves with a Nait 5i and really enjoyed them, but after six months swapped to a 122/150 and crucially, added an nSub, which I used happily for about three years. Their ring tweeter is not the most refined. But they are beautifully made and look great on their matching metal stands, and provide a very engaging sound that really gets you into the music.