Speaker Dilemma

Check out the Spendor A4 or A7, I’m running the 4’s with a Nova and it’s pretty darn good, borrowing a set of 7’s today hopefully to see if they can give me a bit more scale. Spendors are fab for midrange presence and they really shine with vocals so you might like them, in budget too. 

Hi Nick

I see from your profile that you're based in Kingswood, England. If that's Kingwood in Surrey I'm pretty close and you'd be welcome to come and hear how a pair of Electra 1028be perform. 

M

Before spending any money whatsoever, I’d try removing the sideboard. Give the Allaes some space. You might be surprised. 

The ribbon tweeter of the ProAc D20r is superb, and the bass is as tight as a..........! I ran a pair for 2 years with a SuperUniti and loved the result. Pretty impressive sound stage as well. The downward firing bass port makes positioning fairly straightforward. Worth an audition if you have a local dealer.

MDS posted:

Hi Nick

I see from your profile that you're based in Kingswood, England. If that's Kingwood in Surrey I'm pretty close and you'd be welcome to come and hear how a pair of Electra 1028be perform. 

M

Sadly I’m in Kingswood Bristol, thanks for the offer. What are your impressions of the Focals, have they got the “sparkle” ?

Nick

Ah. Ok, Nick. I’m a big fan of Focal speakers and have heard quite a few.

The 1028’s have scale, and the beryrillium tweeter certainly gives them sparkle, as it does on the stand mount 1008 and the other speaker ranges where it is used eg Kanta, Sopra and above.

mike

dalmatian posted:

MDS posted:

Hi Nick

I see from your profile that you're based in Kingswood, England. If that's Kingwood in Surrey I'm pretty close and you'd be welcome to come and hear how a pair of Electra 1028be perform. 

M

Sadly I’m in Kingswood Bristol, thanks for the offer. What are your impressions of the Focals, have they got the “sparkle” ?

Nick

I thought 250mm seemed rather a large gap but I’ve just measured the ones in my spare room and they’re 225mm and I know the care I had to take to get them right (220mm gave a one not bass) so presumably you’ve done the same, if quoting to the nearest mm is any indication. Allaes are about the right level for a Nova and beyond but are they still in good nick? There was a thread recently about the foam in the bass driver box perishing. mine is still OK so they haven’t all gone yet but easy to check , I think a replacement was identified in that thread. 

yeti42 posted:

I thought 250mm seemed rather a large gap but I’ve just measured the ones in my spare room and they’re 225mm and I know the care I had to take to get them right (220mm gave a one not bass) so presumably you’ve done the same, if quoting to the nearest mm is any indication. Allaes are about the right level for a Nova and beyond but are they still in good nick? There was a thread recently about the foam in the bass driver box perishing. mine is still OK so they haven’t all gone yet but easy to check , I think a replacement was identified in that thread. 

They are in near mint condition inside and out, when I first bought them I tried various distances from the side and rear walls and have them sounding good, they are superb speakers. No doubt they would be better without the sideboard in between them (they are 5” away from the sideboard) but room constraints dictate the positioning, I’m really after speakers that will give me the improvements within the constraints I have.

Nick

I’d try them either without the sideboard or, if that really is impossible, firing across the room. You won’t know until you try. It’s all very well getting recommendations but if you are going to put them either side of a sideboard you are not going to achieve the three dimensional sound you seek. No speaker is immune to the laws of physics. 

They are in the only position they can be in sadly, there must be speakers that will work within my limitations.

Nick

I have friends in Kingswood, Bristol, I could come and bring my microphone and laptop and measure the acoustic properties of your room; then you can really see where the acoustic problems lie.  You may be able to fix the problems with moving furniture or adding some absorbers or diffusers.

Dalmatian, there is a really nice offer from a very nice and clever person who is steeped in knowledge on this subject. I would personally take up the offer by Huge, just to have a lovely chat.

It is a very nice offer, much appreciated, I am going to try moving the sideboard tomorrow and see what gains I get if any and reassess from there.

Nick

dalmatian posted:

yeti42 posted:

I thought 250mm seemed rather a large gap but I’ve just measured the ones in my spare room and they’re 225mm and I know the care I had to take to get them right (220mm gave a one not bass) so presumably you’ve done the same, if quoting to the nearest mm is any indication. Allaes are about the right level for a Nova and beyond but are they still in good nick? There was a thread recently about the foam in the bass driver box perishing. mine is still OK so they haven’t all gone yet but easy to check , I think a replacement was identified in that thread. 

They are in near mint condition inside and out, when I first bought them I tried various distances from the side and rear walls and have them sounding good, they are superb speakers. No doubt they would be better without the sideboard in between them (they are 5” away from the sideboard) but room constraints dictate the positioning, I’m really after speakers that will give me the improvements within the constraints I have.

Nick

Can you see the internal foam of the mid/bass box without removing the speaker unit or have you removed the speaker to confirm that the foam is in mint condition. It would be helpful to Allae owners to know the size and shape of the foam for replacement.  At the moment, the foam is available but I don't know for how long. I have replaced my SBL foam with the correct specs of 80 ppl and shape. 

I have looked into the bass unit box without taking the driver out, it’s all there and looks in great condition.

Nick

What source and amp was on the demo system? 

I was over the moon with my Spendor A7s which were better in every way than Credos that have the same drive units as your Allaes. 

As others have said get rid of the sideboard.

I went to a demo the other night and they had the Spendor A7 speakers set up with the NOVA and it was a very nice pairing. They would be worth a demo with your NOVA.....

???? Dalmatian,....As others have said,..Remove your sideboard.

Once you have done that,it is very possible that you may have to make a small "tunning" of your Allae.
This is because you are changing the acoustic conditions a little.

If you use a systematic tunning-method,then you will ultimately be able to hear a difference of just 1-2mm movement of your Allae.

Also,consider this,..as both me,others and even Darke Bear have written about earlier....
If you are not knowledgeable yourself,..or do not have the right tools.
Then let a savvy trader or friend perform this below described,..this makes a big difference musically.

If this hasn't been done in the past at some point,it might be a reason you've started looking for other speakers.

◾Torque Draw all screws,bolts in your speakers,...speaker-drivers,tripods,etc.
Naim,..or your dealer has the real Nm-values you need.

But as I said,if you've never done this,..or do not have the right tools,..or feel uncertain. Let a savvy trader,or savvy hifi-friend perform this.
Note: This makes a bigger difference than most people think.

Also keep in mind that your spike's on your Allae should be as short as possible,in other words,as far as screwed in the tripod as possible.
And if you don't have Naim Fraim Chips under your Allae,borrow home 8 pieces from your dealer and try it out.

But remember,your Allae has to stand "Rock Solid" on these Naim Fraim Chips,..In other words,no rattling.

This takes time to perform,just finding the right position on your speakers takes at least a few weeks..So do not stress.
The result is well worth the effort.!

With these measures performed,..as I described in my post,well then you may not need to look for new speakers ????.

Good luck....
Peder ????

Good advice from Peder.  

A  couple of caveats though. ????  whilst accurate positioning is important it doesn't need to be millimetre perfect. ???? you're not assembling a Cosworth DFV!

Also be careful of torquing up bolts on old cabinets. It may be fine of course but you could issues. My Credos tightened up fine with a noticeable improvement, but another chap on here had an incident with his SL2s.

I have tightened the bolts not long ago, I am an Aerospace engineer and have access to the correct tools so they are fine. I will be moving the sideboard tomorrow to see if it makes a difference and rechecking the set up of the speakers, I’ll report back with my observation when done.

Nick

I have a Nova in a 7mx5m room and paired them with Dynaudio Special 40s. 

Excellent sound and well worth an audition.

What's the sideboard latest?

Christopher_M posted:

What's the sideboard latest?

Sorry, meant to update the thread. Moved the sideboard from between the speakers had a good listen and there’s a definate improvement, bass is a bit tighter and the soundstage a bit bigger, not a massive difference but a move in the right direction. I’ve realised I do like the “sound” of the Allaes as opposed to the other speakers I demonstrated, I’m wondering what SBLs’ will be like as most people seem to rate them higher than the Allaes?

Nick

I really wouldn’t recommend SBLs with ‘just’ a Nova, as they are more at home with more elevated systems. I think they are hugely better than the Allae, but are more system dependent. But that doesn’t mean that the Allaes aren’t great speakers, because they are. 

The SBL's certainly seem to be cheap speakers to buy, quite a few recently on fleabay, they may sound good but they sure have had a good thrashing with an ugly stick.