Arriva

And just the other evening you were singing the praises of your B&W CDM 1NT's! Upgraditis biting again?

To enlighten other forum members, after various banter on the forum, Woody and I had a "mini" riders session a couple of weeks ago. We both bought CD5, Nait5 and FC2 from the same dealer at about the same time. The only major differences between our systems are the rooms they are in and the speakers. I have floorstanding Ruark Prelude 2's as opposed to Woody's B&W's mentioned above. Anyway, I trekked up to North London after work to listen to Woody's system and also have a few beers (of course).

The biggest difference that I noticed, compared to my set-up, was in the frequency extremes. The treble from the B&W's is much more explicit and detailed, one of the tracks we listened to was Eminem - Sing for the moment (from the Eminem show album), and the top percusion was a lot easier to appreciate and follow. At the other end of the audio spectrum, the bass is not as extended as my floorstanders.

The overall balance of Woody's system is brighter than mine, not only from the extended treble but also due to some reflective room surfaces. The mid-range of the B&W's is excellent with more detail than the Ruarks, I found it a little tiring though with the sound too sharply etched for me.

Horses for courses, we have different tastes in music and I prefer the smoother presentation and deeper bass of the Ruarks (which is why I bought them )

Seth

p.s. Thanks for the beers Woody

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Originally posted by woody:
the quoted sensitivity of the new Arriva seems low at 88dB...can a nait5 (not i) deliver sufficient "juice" to drive them satisfactorily?

-- woody

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Hy Woody!As said by B&W marketing:
Listen and you will see!
Having had thiels with 85 db i would say
ohm stability can be more important than
watt power.And i think all naim amps are stable.
O.j

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Originally posted by Maxi Me:
And just the other evening you were singing the praises of your B&W CDM 1NT's! Upgraditis biting again?

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I think they are good speakers - particularly for the money they have a great midrange and treble and what bass is there is pretty tight - so not really looking at upgrading but would consider a small floorstander if it could be near a wall

quote:

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To enlighten other forum members, after various banter on the forum, Woody and I had a "mini" riders session a couple of weeks ago. We both bought CD5, Nait5 and FC2 from the same dealer at about the same time. The only major differences between our systems are the rooms they are in and the speakers. I have floorstanding Ruark Prelude 2's as opposed to Woody's B&W's mentioned above. Anyway, I trekked up to North London after work to listen to Woody's system and also have a few beers (of course).

The biggest difference that I noticed, compared to my set-up, was in the frequency extremes. The treble from the B&W's is much more explicit and detailed, one of the tracks we listened to was Eminem - Sing for the moment (from the Eminem show album), and the top percusion was a lot easier to appreciate and follow. At the other end of the audio spectrum, the bass is not as extended as my floorstanders.

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Bass extension definitely needs looking at - but due to the room it can't really be done with positioning

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The overall balance of Woody's system is brighter than mine, not only from the extended treble but also due to some reflective room surfaces. The mid-range of the B&W's is excellent with more detail than the Ruarks, I found it a little tiring though with the sound too sharply etched for me.

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I'm beginning to find it a little too bright to be honest - and some of this may be that the floor is oak on concrete and all the walls are painted plaster on brick so no absorbative surfaces...whilst my system is fantastic with some stuff it is too bright with other stuff.

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Horses for courses, we have different tastes in music and I prefer the smoother presentation and deeper bass of the Ruarks (which is why I bought them )

Seth

p.s. Thanks for the beers Woody

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It was a good evening - so we'll listen to yours next and I'll write that up

-- woody

Hi Woody,

You should definately try some floorstanders with your system if it feels too "bright" now. I have NAIT5/FC2/CD5 and used to drive the same speakers you have with great result. Until... I borrowed a pair of Allaes from my dealer. Oh - my - God!

I heard things I´ve never heard before on a lot of my favourite CD´s. If the Arivas are as good as we all hope you will probably enjoy them a lot more than your current speakers (but they are still darn good!)

One more thing, I was surprise over how nice it worked having a Nait5 driving a big speaker like Allae. The Nait has a lot more power than you would think, looking at the specs!

Good Luck!

Question is, will Arrivas or Allaes perform given that the room has a tendancy to brightness?

-- woody

I was moving the Allaes around for quite long before setting for a location pretty close to the wall. After adding a NAP200 to my Nait5 I now have moved them out a bit again. I have painted walls and wooden floor and a big room (50+ sq.m.) but the Allaes managed to deliver a tight and nice bass and was less bright than the B&W already with the naked Nait5.

Guess you have to do a demo to see what happens in your room...

pic of my room below - would Allaes or Arrivas fit to the left of the fireplace (next to the rack)?

-- woody

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Originally posted by woody:
pic of my room below - would Allaes or Arrivas fit to the left of the fireplace (next to the rack)?

-- woody

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Hy woody!looks as if your speakers stand very close to the wall(can make high frequencies and also bass sound compressed and
therefore bass seems not to go so deep. are
also standing very close together.Do not know
(until now )arriva sound and positioning but
from my experience i can say a floorstanding
speaker does often not bring the bass extension
to low frequencies that you (maybe) expect comparing to your B&Ws.Secret of better sound will be the
positioning of the speakers.Imo B&W cdm 1is
able to bring a lot of bass .
cannot comment your room rsonanceproblems,but if Cdm1 sounds bright,i think Cdm7 will sound as bright
in the same position (just to give you a floorstanding compare)
If speaker place is given close to the wall
there are good chances for near wall concept
like allaes to sound better. (do not know the recommended positioning for arriva )
O.J.

o.j.,

Unfortunately our flat is open-plan and the listening area is quite limited.

The speakers are either side of the chimney breast and not really much I can do about that...When you say they're very close together, the listening "hotspot" is roughly where I took the picture from and appears to be the optimal position (re: L/R). At least they're not in corners and don't sound at all boxy.

The bass I get from CDM1s is good, but the overall balance is a little top-heavy.

I guess I'm in the market for some floorstanders that give me a little more bass extension, work better at low volume levels and work well close to a wall. Allaes? Arrivas?

-- woody

Woody

How about the B&W 704's? I have the CDM7NT's and I love them, they sounded very good with my CD5/112/150 and now the CDX2 is inplace I am beginning to love them even more.

I listened to the 704's when I bought mine and if it was not for the fantactic deal on the CDM7s I would have the 704's now

Cheers Stevie

Actually, I was thinking about Nautilus 803s...if B&W change the Nautilii range they'll be going cheap (hopefully!)...how much did you pay for the CDM7NTs?

-- woody

OJ Are you typing from a phone or something?

You don't have to press return when you get to the edge of the window

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Originally posted by garyi:
OJ Are you typing from a phone or something?

You don't have to press return when you get to the edge of the window

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Hy Garyi! I admit i have a lot of problems by using the whole computerstuff.First time i recognize that my laptop (or better its programm) can part sentences of its own in the mailprogramm. concerning this i will try to follow your advice.Thanks O.J.
And from a phone i would have broken my fingers during the first sentences.