Thinking BIG?

Charles

So, go active with 250s, or buy an LP12 like I've just done

Andrew

Andrew Randle
2B || !2B;
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Naim switched speaker cabinet manufacturers a few years ago; the new cabinets are noticeably better then the older ones. At 6 years old I believe they would be from the older cabinet maker and so not as good as a new pair. That said, it sounds to me to be a reasonable offer. And it is a pair of DBLs.

I believe that a 250 will drive them quite well--obviously not as well as 135s or a 500 but I would be willing to bet that in your system they will sing.

If I had your system and could afford it--I would go for them. Worst case is you have to sell them for whatever reason--you'll almost certainly get close to what you paid for them.

All of the above assumes you have heard and liked DBLs before--they really are a big step up from SBLs.

Cheers,

Bob

Have you found any good dealers in Switzerland?

Thanks
Paul

/Erik

I have seen walnut DBLs (in the flesh so to speak) plus cherry DBLs (seen/heard too). IMO DBLs at first give an impression of being gigantic and quite ugly to boot. However, they are placed against a wall which helps to make them less obtrusive. Personally, I felt that the walnut DBL was much uglier but I like the black DBL (from pictures) which I feel helps to lessen the impact of all that black foam. However, the sound from these beasts is another issue and if you like your SBLs you should really like DBLs. I am not sure if room size is really an issue as I heard the DBLs in a very small room. However, they did overpower the room both visually and to a lesser extent sonically.

Interestingly, you are in much the same position as I - I have LP12/52/250/SBLs. I have heard active SBLs and was most impressed and I also have heard NBLs driven by both 250 and 500 (passive) and was impressed by these too. Like yourself, the 500 is out of the question and I have been considering either active SBLs or passive NBL. However, rumour has it that Naim is preparing a replacement for the SBL at a lower cost than the NBL. I may wait for this first. What I would really like to know is will the "new SBL" be a two-way speaker and the old SBL SNAXO compatible with it? Naim probably cannot answer this yet though.

Paul

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Originally posted by Paul B:
Adrian:

IMO DBLs at first give an impression of being gigantic and quite ugly to boot.

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Second impressions, too!

quote:

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However, they are placed against a wall which helps to make them less obtrusive.

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Well, a bit!

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Personally, I felt that the walnut DBL was much uglier but I like the black DBL (from pictures) which I feel helps to lessen the impact of all that black foam.

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This is exactly how I feel - light-coloured veneers make the foam look absolutely ugly!

I wonder, is the foam an integral part of the design? I can't help feeling that this speaker could look much better with more wood & less foam.

cheers, Martin

I'd love to hear your active Credos (I use them passsive). Any chance? I'm only a holler away from you up HWY 75.

Best Regards,
Mark Dunn

Bob:
I heard DBL's twice, but long ago. For the first time at a show about 7 or 8 years ago with the older CDS1/52 and active 6pack . They left a huge impression. But you could not go very loud, because the ceiling metal plates began to rattle (greetings to Paul Stephenson and Paul Desmond).
A year later I heard them at the local shop. But at the time, the top electronics was at the show. So it was a mixed trown together of CDI/72/HC/180 if I remember correctly. Even there, they failed not to communicate at a very emotional level.

Christopher:
You have no mail stated in your profile. Please mail me about the dealers... but I know more about the german parts than the french parts of our country.

Paul B:
According to the pictures I received from from Andy Sheens walnut beasties (thanks!) the contrast from the foam to the wood should not be this big, as it looks as one of the darker veneers. All black could make them look even more monumenal, but I have to wait and see.
As for the SBL2 - it has to fit from the sound, price and design between Allae an NBL. No one but naim can tell if it uses 2 or 3 ways. But they can convert a Snaxo 2/4 to 3/6.

Thanks everyone for the hints!

happy listening

Adrian

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Originally posted by Adrian Frauchiger:
But they can convert a Snaxo 2/4 to 3/6.

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Really, never heard this before.

cheers, Martin

quote:

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Originally posted by Martin Payne:
Quote: "Personally, I felt that the walnut DBL was much uglier but I like the black DBL (from pictures) which I feel helps to lessen the impact of all that black foam."

This is exactly how I feel - light-coloured veneers make the foam look absolutely ugly!

cheers, Martin

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Disagree. I have walnut DBLs and think they look great (I bought 2nd hand so didn't have a choice of finish...). The problem with the black ones (IMHO) is that they look like the two monoliths from 2001... The walnut is a large grain (which helps on a large speaker) and Idon't like this on, say, SBLs.

Anyway, the finish is immeterial once you have them hooked up

As for active vs. passive, it will depend on what you are after. If, ike me, you like loud rock music, the extra finesse of SBLs active vs. the grunt and air-moving abilities of DBLs passive is not all that tough a choice

Andy

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But they can convert a Snaxo 2/4 to 3/6.

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I nearly hopped on the active boat recently with my 4-pack of 135's, but I'll have to save a bit more.

I asked if I could buy a 3-6 and run two channels as a 2-4 until I found my next pair of 135's. The answer is "no" - different crossover points on the 3-way jobby. What I was offered was a new 2-4, with a no cost swap if I changed to a 3-6 within a year. No mention of converting a 2-4 to 3-6 operation.

It wasnt until I recently traded it that I realised it had no external serial no. and opened it up to see if it was stamped on the circuit board. It wasnt but the board was stamped SNAXO 3-6.

The answer is that either all (S)NAXO boards stamped 3-6 or they CAN be converted from 3-6 to 2-4

I believe Naim may have offered NAXO -> SNAXO upgrades early in the life of the SNAXO.

When my NAXO was serviced this was certainly not available as an option.

cheers, Martin

as you may have been following I bought a pair of DBLs late last week (they are active only).

They are not spiked, not re-sealed, and I'm still stuck with an Isobarik-configured NAXO for now. Hi-fi wise, they often sound a mess.

Even despite all this, I believe (hope?) from what I hear that they will be a superb speaker. There is an ease to them which I suspect is beyond the SBL.

I have been in two minds about whether to post here, because I can't say that I'm getting the full performance. As I've lived with them (for five days) all I can say is that my biggest problem is that I get grumpy whenever my girlfriend wants to watch the TV instead.

Regarding your 250, I have briefly (10 mins?) heard NBLs on 1x250, and I thought it sounded quite OK. I suspect I would prefer it to 1x250 & SBLs, but then SBLs are a speaker that I can respect rather than really love.

I have also heard DBLs driven by 2x125s (that's 2x250s, using only one channel of each). The extension and dynamic freedom were superb (actually, better than I'm getting active at the moment), but there was something not quite right about the sound. A lacking of 'completeness' to the sound and missing that spark of musical performance.

At the time I put this down to inadequacies of the 250s. Since then, I have wondered whether it was down to the system being on the shelves of a bookshelf rather than any proper racking system.

I seem to remember that 2x135 has been reported as minimum amps for DBLs, although 3x250 would surely be better in the long run?

Important point - don't buy the DBLs to cure some horrible setup or room problem. If you are having nightmares getting the SBLs to work properly you might find that the DBL gives you the same problem squared or cubed!

Your comment "250/SBL which I like very much" is promising, but I wonder if you have a problem with your room? Your two identical 4.5m dimensions should give you quite nasty problems at 75Hz & 150HZ. Your 2.3m height will also compound the 150Hz problem. Is the bass OK with the SBLs? Still, I don't see why these would be any worse with the DBL than the SBL.

See, I said at the start of this ramble that I wasn't sure whether I should post, and all I've done now is probably to confuse you even more.

sorry, Martin