Speaker Dilemma
Posted by: dalmatian on 10 November 2018
My current system is a Uniti Nova into Naim Allaes my room is 4m wide and 6m long I have solid walls and solid floors. The speakers fire down the length of the room, I can have them about 250mm from the rear wall and 750mm from the side walls, there is a sideboard in between the speakers. I do like the sound of the Allaes but as always I’d like “more”. I’d like tighter bass more realistic voices and a bit more 3 dimensional sound, with this in mind I went to my dealers to audition some speakers and came away confused.
I have tried a pair of Ovator s400 s hoping they’d give me what the Allaes have but “more” , they really didn’t suit me/my room so I moved them on.
I have about £3000 to spend so I listened to Focal Aria 926, PMC Twenty Five 23s and 24s and B W something! I liked the bass on the Focals but not the treble, I liked the way voices were portrayed on the PMCs but didn’t like the bass and the BWs just sounded flat. Having spoken to the dealer we came to the conclusion that what I’m looking for isn’t available for £3000 and I really need to double the figure!
When I returned home I played the same tracks I used in the demo and the Allaes blew them all away, they are great speakers, so my question is to get what I’m looking for I should buy pre loved, a quick look on eBay and I found Focal Electra 1028 be, Naim SL2, and Kudos Super 20a’s. My dealer recommended the Focal Electra range (but he doesn’t stock them), I do like a sparkling top end and realistic 3D voices. Also what about stand mount speakers? What about SBLs? God I’m confused! Your thoughts would be appreciated.
Nick
hungryhalibut posted:Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. They are pretty tiny and sit by the wall, unlike many more modern behemoths that are four feet tall and need that much behind them to sound any good.
Most definitely.
Can't beat a bit French elegance. I know you're fan, HH. 
dalmatian posted:My current system is a Uniti Nova into Naim Allaes my room is 4m wide and 6m long I have solid walls and solid floors. The speakers fire down the length of the room, I can have them about 250mm from the rear wall and 750mm from the side walls, there is a sideboard in between the speakers. I do like the sound of the Allaes but as always I’d like “more”. I’d like tighter bass more realistic voices and a bit more 3 dimensional sound, with this in mind I went to my dealers to audition some speakers and came away confused.
.......
......What about SBLs?
I think most SBL owners past and present would agree that although they have many fabulous strengths, 3D imaging is not one of them.
I can't help but wonder how the S400s would have been with the sideboard moved but, sadly, that ship has sailed 
Christopher_M posted:dalmatian posted:My current system is a Uniti Nova into Naim Allaes my room is 4m wide and 6m long I have solid walls and solid floors. The speakers fire down the length of the room, I can have them about 250mm from the rear wall and 750mm from the side walls, there is a sideboard in between the speakers. I do like the sound of the Allaes but as always I’d like “more”. I’d like tighter bass more realistic voices and a bit more 3 dimensional sound, with this in mind I went to my dealers to audition some speakers and came away confused.
.......
......What about SBLs?I think most SBL owners past and present would agree that although they have many fabulous strengths, 3D imaging is not one of them.
I can't help but wonder how the S400s would have been with the sideboard moved but, sadly, that ship has sailed
The S400s were so far off the mark it wouldn’t have made a difference, even after I put 100+ hours of running in/different positions they still didn’t sound good to my ears. I was really disappointed as I wanted to like them but they were not performing.
Nick