New speakers for me...

Posted by: Tony L on 10 January 2002

I did a little experiment last night, I brought the Heybrook Point 5s from my second system through and tried them in the main system. The results were mixed, the Point 5s are obviously not as good a speaker as a Kan (though they are an incredibly good speaker for their price), but they are more tonally even and shift a bit more air. The system sounded more evenly balanced and fuller, but had lost a lot of the musical ability and clarity it has with the Kans. It was painfully obvious how much better the Kan tweeter is, the Point 5s sound a bit muffled and shut-in in the top. It was equally obvious that the Kans are simply too small to drive my listening room. My room is quite big as it opens out to the kitchen, the whole space is about 19' x 13' with a high ceiling. The speakers are on the shorter wall and fire down the room.

My conclusion is that I definitely do need to get a bigger pair of speakers. Time to do some serious thinking… I have a feeling that a second hand pair of Credos, Elites, or reasonably sized Royds may be the answer.

I have heard Intros and Credos many times, and have heard both work well, so they represent safe ground. I suspect the Nait is up to driving them quite well (at 89db they have to be easier than Kans), I really don't want to force myself back onto the amp buying ladder, I am more than happy with the quality of the Nait, though intend to respect its quantity when choosing speakers.

I could then move the Kans into the second system (I ain't making the mistake of selling them again!) and then sell off the Point 5s. In my normal tight arsed fashion I probably won't want to buy new, so will be looking second hand…. (hmmm, anyone got a nice pair of AR 11s or 14s for sale?).

What else should I add to my list? I want a nice easy to drive and relatively full range speaker that is tight, musical, and works close to a back wall. I plan to do some thinking about this over the next few months - I am currently taking voluntary redundancy (yippee!), so won't be buying anything expensive immediately, but I am getting a good deal from the company, so assuming I find another job within the next few months I will come out nicely ahead financially… this is when I will buy some speakers!

Tony.

Posted on: 24 January 2002 by Rico
I used to have some kef coda 7s.

I used to listen to Coda 7's - not the last word in accuracy or even capability, but a pretty rockin' good speaker under the right conditions (say, on the end of a Nad system)... I will be trialling a NAD CD/62/90/NACA5 into Coda 7's soon.

Sorry to get so far off topic.

wink

Rico - SM/Mullet Audio

Posted on: 25 January 2002 by Tony L
quote:
ANyway, I'll be interested to read what you think of them next week, and if you like them I know of 2 pairs for sale at about £400 - walnut pair in Sweden, black ones in the UK. Email me if you want more info.

Thanks very much for that, I will make a decision once I have heard them. I'm looking forward to this, as somehow I have managed to avoid IBLs ever since they came out! I remember them getting a great review in the most flat earth Hi-Fi Review when they came out.

Tony.

Posted on: 25 January 2002 by Paul Ranson
quote:
Gee Paul, I hope you don't judge all hi-fi by it's name, that sure would leave a lot of great sounding products out of the mix! At any rate, just a suggestion.

I can't think (at present) of any great sounding product that has an unacceptable name....

What's the name of that wardrobe sized speaker in the hifi shop scene in 'Ruthless People'? That's the corporate image that 'Biggatron' conjures up for me.

(And what's the name of the male kidnapper? I recall it's vaguely appropriate.)

Paul

Posted on: 25 January 2002 by Martin Payne
quote:
Originally posted by Tony Lonorgan:
Martin:Quote: " As a short term measure you might like to try disconnecting the earth in the NAIT's mains plug. Be very careful that it does not touch the live pin whilst doing your tests!!!!!!

If this is an improvement, put the mains earth back in place, and remove an internal wire which connects mains earth to NAIT's motherboard."

Will give it a go. One question first: Will this be a problem listening to the P9 with the CDX turned off? Surly this means that I would not have a system earth.


Tony,

the earth is a physical wire from mains through to CDX signal outputs. It is not disconnected just because you've switched the CDX off at the back. That just interupts (?sp?) the live wire, but leaves neutral & earth connected up.

It is also a quirk of Naim (pre-)amps that they leave the earths of all connected sources in circuit at the same time (i.e. they are not switched). I believe this is why they sound better with the other sources disconnected, but it also leaves you open to ground loops, which will degrade the sound quite severely.

Thus, if the CDX is switched off, it can still provide a system earth.

quote:
What about my TV? Any ideas?

Sorry, can't remember the details, but if you get hum with just the TV rig connected to the NAIT, this might give you a temporary cure.

If it does, you will need to source an earth breaker for the TV to avoid yet another earthed connection.

You should note, though, that I have heard the mere connection of a VCR on standby to an 82/250 system had a most appalling effect. You may find that you have to disconnect the TV anyway, just to be able to bear music on the Kans.

cheers, Martin

Posted on: 25 January 2002 by Greg Beatty
..."Klimax" is a name that would put me off.

- GregB

Insert Witty Signature Line Here

Posted on: 25 January 2002 by Paul Ranson
quote:
..."Klimax" is a name that would put me off.

Like the construction and the idea, but not the price. However I would let a stack of Klimaxes in the house. Biggatron are definitely still barred.

Paul

Posted on: 27 January 2002 by Rico
So Tony - what did you find?

Rico - SM/Mullet Audio

Posted on: 29 January 2002 by Bob Edwards
Tony--

Check your email--finally got the IBLs and emailed a few (highly preliminary) thoughts.

Bottom line is they would appear to be worthy of serious consideration.

Cheers,

Bob