Speakers of about 5000 range to go with Uniti Nova

For rock music Dynaudio is tough to beat. The C20 suggested is an excellent speaker. I'm a bit biased since I own them but they are nice. They do need some room behind them and are large "bookshelf" speakers. There's also the new Special 40. Some say it's a bit more lively than the C20. 

Will check them out. Thanks for the suggestion.....decisions....decisions.....

Rahul Uchil posted:

Well! I do agree about speakers being a personal choice. I think I will reserve some of my budget for a overseas trip to see which sound I prefer.

Naim suggests pairing the Nova with the Focal Aria series. Any views on how the 926, 936 sound with the Nova.

Firstly HH suggestion of spending the money at the front end is a good one.  Secondly you really do need to hear the speakers with your system, and ideally in your room, for some time to get a good feel for whether they suit you and your system/room - its a very personal choice imo.  I haven't heard Focal speakers with the Nova but I have heard them with a number of other Naim amps and compared them to a number of speakers recommended in this thread, including the 20:23s and preferred their sound.  I have a set of 926s on a SN2 in a room that is only marginally larger than yours and I love them.

Rahul Uchil posted:

Will the sub outlet be available in the Nova and will it have the digital signal processor that has filters that reduce the volume at the precise frequencies of the room resonances as mentioned...

The Nova (or a 272 if you go that route) has an RCA sub out connection.  Connect that to a DSP unit and then connect the DSP to the low level input of the sub (i.e. the DSP unit goes in-between the Nova and the low level input of the sub).

The DSP unit I use (in parallel with a 300DR!) is a miniDSP 2x4 this costs about £95 and it's plenty good enough for interfacing a sub to a Nova.  Included in the cost is a fairly simple application for a PC (or Mac) that can be used to set the filters.  I can help with that.  In reality you'll also need a calibrated microphone (I use a miniDSP UMIK-1 USB mike, but the Behringer mike also works well with good soundcards) and a copy of REW (free software) to measure the room response.

An alternative to the miniDSP 2x4 is a device called "DSPeaker Antimode 8033" costing about £240, this has the advantage of being an automatic system but it's correspondingly less flexible and can't tell you about other room problems.

Or simply connect the sub to sub out (using included cables) and set frequency low around 50hz, gain very low and work yourself up until its annoying to listen at.

It has a manual included if you buy new

I did exactly that and am happy

Tried that - it doesn't work nearly as well as doing it properly.

Wow! So much to ponder on..... will go and start with the auditions first.... and will start tinkering slowly....I am sure its going to be an awesome journey. Thanks everybody.....

That's the main thing enjoy the journey, but don't forget to enjoy the music on the way! 

Yup. I know what you mean. 

Another option using a sub is to get one that has dsp built in and usually includes a lot more flexibilty. I am delighted with my Velodyne sub which came with everything including a microphone and lead to connect to the tv to see the effect of changes (though hearing is the final arbiter of course!).

Pev posted:

Another option using a sub is to get one that has dsp built in and usually includes a lot more flexibilty. I am delighted with my Velodyne sub which came with everything including a microphone and lead to connect to the tv to see the effect of changes (though hearing is the final arbiter of course!).

True (although I'm really not so sure about increased flexibility!) and given the £5k budget for speakers and sub, ones with a built in DSP are well within budget.

(Still doesn't help with other room treatment in the future though, if that's a consideration.)

To throw in a couple more options that may work well in your room and are relatively easy to position, ATC SCM19 (sealed cabinet), and ProAc Studio SM100 (front ported). If you like more bass then without doubt ATC SCM40 - I love mine.

HH suggestion of 272 with 250 and less expensive speakers is worth serious consideration.

When auditioning my current outfit at home a couple of months ago I, just for the hell of it, experimented by running the ProAc K6s, which are now fed by 272/555/250, from my SuperUniti. The difference in sound quality between them and my ProAc D20s was quite astounding. I'm not for one minute suggesting that £13k speakers be paired with £4K of source and amplification, but they did sound extremely nice!!

There are, of course, many, including some of the contributors to this post, who would still describe my new system as a 'mullet', and that I should have spent more on the electronics and less on my speakers. To those I would respond 'Why'? To my way of thinking, if your source and amplification sound good to you, and speakers costing four or five times as much as cheaper alternatives make the system sound absolutely out of this world, better than, imo, a 272/XPSDR/300DR with PMC 25.24 speakers, or an NDX/282/250DR with Kudos C20s, both of which belong to  friends and which I have heard in their lounges, then I say go for it!! This preoccupation with 'source first' and any old cheap speakers simply doesn't make sense to me. In fact, this proscriptive, formulaic approach to building a hifi leaves me a bit cold. Why, given that I really like the sound the K6s produce, should I have to spend £40 or £50k on front end and amplification to comply with this school of thought? 

The answer is, of course, I don't, but I really would like to know why this view is so often expounded in this forum compared to others I visit, where a far more relaxed 'if it feels (sounds) good, do it' approach prevails.

That's the thing - till I really hear and feel the difference it is very difficult to decide whether to go for the Nova or the 272/250DR. I had chosen the Nova thinking that its a one stop solution. I am aware of the 'law of diminishing returns' when it comes to hi-fi because of which I was not very keen on going the 'separates' way. Cos that way there is no end to it and I will eventually end up wanting other components as well. Not to mention the interconnects which are quite expensive as well. So, I had decided that - ignorance is bliss, was the best way to go for now. Now that the issue has come up though, I will surely try and get a demo of same speakers with the Nova and the 272/250DR to see if its worth the plunge.

My predetermined route is my current Nova, which I demoed with and without 250 dr. The 250 dr adds more control and authority and tightens the music up nicely. I plan to look out for a good second hand 250 dr. Then I will be ready for the next generation 272 based on the Nova streaming platform technology. As good as the current 272 is, we know it will not be developed any further. For a single box solution a Nova is excellent and does not let itself down in the company of Nap250.

Gazza posted:

My predetermined route is my current Nova, which I demoed with and without 250 dr. The 250 dr adds more control and authority and tightens the music up nicely. I plan to look out for a good second hand 250 dr. Then I will be ready for the next generation 272 based on the Nova streaming platform technology. As good as the current 272 is, we know it will not be developed any further. For a single box solution a Nova is excellent and does not let itself down in the company of Nap250.

You might find that your proposed new boxes, when they eventually arrive, don't match, if that's important to you. 

That’s a possibility of course, always nice if they match, but the Blu-ray player etc already look different

Gazza posted:

My predetermined route is my current Nova, which I demoed with and without 250 dr. The 250 dr adds more control and authority and tightens the music up nicely. I plan to look out for a good second hand 250 dr. Then I will be ready for the next generation 272 based on the Nova streaming platform technology. As good as the current 272 is, we know it will not be developed any further. For a single box solution a Nova is excellent and does not let itself down in the company of Nap250.

The limitation to the SQ of the current 272 is the effect of packaging streamer DAC and pre-amp into one box.  Why do you think that changing one embedded streaming computer for another will substantially improve the SQ if the SHARC processor doing the digital filtering, the DAC and the analogue electronics remain largely the same?

With the 272 vs the Nova - we really don't know the spec aside from the usual rules were somewhat put aside, some believe maybe the Nova is the latest tech, but if you tell people that why would they bother with a 272 ...

Time for you to listen, i assumed you have the Nova or have you not purchased it yet.

ChrisSU posted:

Gazza posted:

My predetermined route is my current Nova, which I demoed with and without 250 dr. The 250 dr adds more control and authority and tightens the music up nicely. I plan to look out for a good second hand 250 dr. Then I will be ready for the next generation 272 based on the Nova streaming platform technology. As good as the current 272 is, we know it will not be developed any further. For a single box solution a Nova is excellent and does not let itself down in the company of Nap250.

You might find that your proposed new boxes, when they eventually arrive, don't match, if that's important to you. 

Do you know what approach Naim have taken in the past when introducing new ranges? I've read about, and seen photos of the olive, bumper etc. models, and wonder if they were all discontinued at a stroke rather than piecemeal? I'm sure I read a comment not too long ago by HH or another forum stalwart to the effect that Naim have no plans to replace or do away with the Classic series. I don't suppose it would be the end of the world were the next iteration of the 272 to be cased à la Nova etc., with new colour screen, but it would be nice if the Classic box could be retained, even if a little taller.

Wishful thinking I know, as I'm sure Naim will produce what will appeal and sell to the next generation rather than us old gits!!

The interview with a Naim  marketing Director in the Connection magazine indicated they had no plans to get rid of the classic look. However that does not mean that it will not evolve, as it has before, but the Uniti range has its “own” distinct style and will not carryover.

Gazza posted:

The interview with a Naim  marketing Director in the Connection magazine indicated they had no plans to get rid of the classic look. However that does not mean that it will not evolve, as it has before, but the Uniti range has its “own” distinct style and will not carryover.

The style of the new Unitis is in line with Statement and Muso styling, so it's only the Classic boxes that maintain the older Triptych/Green light design. My guess is that when the new streaming platform appears in new Classic sources, they will be in the new style cases, and a restyling of the whole range will soon follow. Of course, Naim will keep quiet until such new products are ready to hit the market, as usual. I think I'm right in saying that in the past, Naim have not kept two different styles in production for any substantial period of time.

The interview is with group design director, “black boxes will continue for the foreseeable future”. Many will hope that is a long time, not that bothered myself, as I like the new design look. We shall have to see what the next black box upgrade, looks like?

although I'd have though that  they will need to dispense with the funky top mounted control for people who have stacks of boxes. That seems to me to be a big part of the new look.

Also not sure those acrylic (?) bases will look so good in a rack of boxes?

I'm not so sure the new Uniti design translates

From what I have gathered, the new platform classic streaming products will remain in the current style cases, so that they match with the power supplies and power amps.

My guess - if we are guessing - is that the right hand section of the current triptych case will be replaced with a glass colour screen with the four buttons vertically arranged on the right hand side, like the new products. 

Boxes with volume knobs in the top just don’t make sense at the higher levels. The Uniti range is intended to be one of standalone products, hence the more lifestyle look with the plastic bit at the bottom. You really wouldn’t want a stack of four or five boxes with plastic bottoms, would you?