Forget the 5/SBLs - can a NAIT3 drive Epos ES14s!!??

In my experience, it depends very much on the room.

When i was using my 92/90/ES14 in a 3m by 5m room, all worked fine.

I shifted to a 3m by 4m room and its was booming away.

The room is (by my standards) a barn! I think it's about 4.5 meters long by about 6 wide, but with a slight "L" shape due to a 3x3 foot cutout in one corner....

But the 92/90 physically drove it without it sounding like Shrove Tuesday (flat as a pancake) then? That's pretty encouraging. I've never got the Epos' to boom in either system or 3 rooms they've been in, but then a Rega Planet and Samsung DVD aren't renowned for trouser flapping deep bass

__________________________
Make your choice, adventurous Stranger;
Strike the bell and bide the danger
Or wonder, till it drives you mad,
What would have followed if you had.

ES 14's sounded wonderfull with my Nait 2.

Paul.

Same here.

can a NAIT3 drive Epos ES14s!!??
Yes.

TN

Dom. I have tried a Nait2 with Epos 14s and imo the amplifier was underpowered. The 3 is more powerful as you know and I suppose it will sound ok but remember that the speakers were designed using 72?/hi/250. They have a very kind impedance so are not hard to drive per se but they do like a more powerful amp.

I did wander that, but the NAIT makes my Rega Mira sound like a 0.1 watter, so I'm hopeful

I know they're designed round the 250 though, so it could be interesting. I'm not an all out volume freak though due to flat dwelling; my Rega Ear/HD580s are there for when I need to Beavis and Butthead "daa daaa duh de duh daaaah" it

Isn't the NAIT2 supposed to be smoother than the '3? If I'd had the dosh, I'd have got the 2 but the 3 has more inputs and matches the Flatcap for the CD5 (how girly... - I don't mind visual mismatch anyway )

What's their sensitivity btw - isn't it something grim like 84dB? Might make the volume with CD a bit more stereo-balanced if I have to wind it up (Elas seem really sensitive!)

__________________________
Make your choice, adventurous Stranger;
Strike the bell and bide the danger
Or wonder, till it drives you mad,
What would have followed if you had.

I don't know the sensitivity but I guess around 87 db but with a kind impedance, they are not difficult to drive but a good/big amp is worthwhile. Maybe you can change them for a pair of Epos 11 or 12, or sell them and get a flatcap2 for your cdplayer and amp? A nice upgrade those caps....

87 dB is bang on the money. For more measurements, see here.

He he - yeah, was just about to post I'd found 87dB as well - not sooooo bad then

Have a Flatcap 1 on the CD at the mo; sounds excellent on Love's Da Capo, Kate Bush, and, err, Republica, but what happened to the dynamic bass drum bit on dIRE sTRAITS' Telegraph Road (during the bit where Mark's singing about "From these rivers of rain" THUD "From the..." etc etc? Very odd - though maybe I was redlining the amp (it was fairly loud!).

__________________________
Make your choice, adventurous Stranger;
Strike the bell and bide the danger
Or wonder, till it drives you mad,
What would have followed if you had.

Dom/Bjorne.

I honestly cant say I found a Nait2 underpowered while driving ES14's. Although my room was not that big and the front end was a Planet/Planar 3, ie. not particularly demanding in the bass department, volume and/or clipping was never an issue.
I was however able to possition the speakers well away from the rear wall which would help the Nait with regards to the 14's bass performance, which is not the tightest you will find. I admit a more powerfull amp would help controll this aspect of the 14's in more difficult circumstances.
Dont forget that there is something just "right" about the Nait 2 that lets us forgive or ignore its shortcomings.

Paul.

ps. I've just finished giving my modified Kefs a final thrashing with Telegraph Rd. before moving to a semi-detached house tomorrow

Yeah - Telegraph Road is one of those tracks you have to crank - especially the last half!

That's the problem with my potential '14 debacle - they'll have to go right up against a (solid) rear wall if I DO use them - but obviously with foam bungs in place. I can't put the poor blighters in the garage and let them rot! But then again, I can't sell them either.

__________________________
Make your choice, adventurous Stranger;
Strike the bell and bide the danger
Or wonder, till it drives you mad,
What would have followed if you had.

"That's the problem with my potential '14 debacle - they'll have to go right up against a (solid) rear wall if I DO use them - but obviously with foam bungs in place. I can't put the poor blighters in the garage and let them rot! But then again, I can't sell them either."

Sorry , but they’ll sound awful up against a wall. IME they need to be a minimum of about 10 inches away from a wall to work properly. As for the Nait 3 – well, it’ll work OK but only just. I got my daughter a '3' not long ago and tried it out driving my ES14’s. It was adequate, but only if you are happy listening at fairly low levels – turn up the wick and the whole thing starts to sound very strained and well, crap really.

Naits are good, but you need to go very easy on them.

Mr Tibbs

He he - well, I guess they'll have to wait until I get a bigger amp and my own gaff then, as (the left speaker anyway) can't come that far out into the room or it'll get in the way of the important bits - the CD drawer and turntable!

Might try briefly for a laugh though - will definitely put these on the back of my mate's Belcanto for the sheer hell of it

__________________________
Make your choice, adventurous Stranger;
Strike the bell and bide the danger
Or wonder, till it drives you mad,
What would have followed if you had.

It all depends on what you mean by 'drive'. I used ES14s with a NAIT5 for quite a while and I thought they sounded absolutely stunning. Then I got a NAP180 and realised what the NAIT5 wasn't doing, in terms of control and drive. But the NAIT5 produced a highly enjoyable sound.
Whatever you do don't swap them for ES11s, the 14s have a so much bigger, more real sound to them, which incidentally is something I find very hard to find in modern speakers.
I'm back to using my NAIT5 now as I've got to sell the 180 (and 72, check out ebay), and it can be frustrating at really high levels after hearing the 180, but the NAIT5 is still highly enjoyable.
I recon your NAIT3 will only sound inadequate if you've heard something better, if you haven't it'll sound great.

[This message was edited by Phill82 on FRIDAY 20 February 2004 at 14:57.]

I've heard the '14s off the back of a CDS2/52/250 in Audio-T - but for only about 10 minutes

I reckon I'll be OK provided I can squeeze them in the flat; to be honest, I'd rather have the 14s sounding bad SOMEWHERE in the house, than keep my MS25i's in the house (in the bedroom) and let the '14s go damp in the garage...

My nephew might just have found his speakers for his new seperates system (all my old spare bits!). (The MS25is that is - I KNOW the A&R Cambridge Alpha One can't do the Epos' justice!! - they sound OK on the back of my old 8000A in a LAAAARGE room at a mate's tho').

__________________________
Make your choice, adventurous Stranger;
Strike the bell and bide the danger
Or wonder, till it drives you mad,
What would have followed if you had.

Had the 14 with 60 watter Exposure Super XV integrated amp previously and I thought it sounded pretty good at low to moderate volumes. At higher volumes, it kinda got messy and the bass was a little wooly but still it made great music.

But when I got the 82/Super/250 with the 14s, things got really more dramatic. Gone are the wooly bass and the messiness. All the while I thought the 14 couldnt take loud volume torture and boy I was wrong. It can go as loud as my ears can take it. Also, it responded well to all the upgrades I made along the way (hicap->2hicaps->Supercap, P25->P9), showing the improvements glaringly.

Every now and then I had tried putting the 14 near the wall a couple of times and each time without fail I will pull it out not long after that. I even tried using straws and it still sounded weird. So conclusion is that it is meant to be placed far away from walls.

To those 14 owners, you havent heard what 14 is capable of until you have them on a 250. They do deserve it.

I think it is fair to say that the ES14 is well known for responding to both an improved source and more power.

I used mine for a number of years going from a Sondek 42.5/140 set-up in a smallish room, through to an 82/140 (better) and then to 82/Hicap/135s with a better turntable in a bigger room. Wow - Epos loved the 135s - but eventually had to make way for SBLs.

I've still got the ES14s though because I couldn't bear to part with them!

I think I wouldnt too if I do get the SBLs.

quote:

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Originally posted by blockat:
I've still got the ES14s though because I couldn't bear to part with them!

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