Sonus Faber and Naim?

Posted by: Jaybar on 25 August 2001

I have selected Sonus Faber (concertino or Signum) as a replacement for my Dynaudio Contour 1.8's, which put out FAR Too much bass for my room. Ultimately, I will be moving away from my Spectral amp/pre-amp/MIT Cables to a simpler and far cheaper, but I hope highly involving Naim system. I am not looking for equivilent sonic quality to the Spectral, just more of a simple music lover's system than an audiophime system. I Currently have a Linn/Ekos/Lingo/Linto, Naim CD5/highcap. The fewer boxes (that effectively does the job) I end-up with the better. I did not have the opportunity yer to audition the SF with the Naim gear, but I hear good things on this forum.

1)Can a Nait 5 effectively drive either the Concertino Home's or the Signums or will I need a 112/150.

2)Having not a lot of experience with Sonus Faber and being able to hear clear differences between the Concertino and Signums (although the Concertino's did have their unique strengths) are the signums really THAT much better?

TIA

Jay

Posted on: 25 August 2001 by Chris Bell

Jay,

Have you tried a Naim speaker like the Intro or Credo? I thought the Sonus Fabers were really boring when I heard them. You should also seriously consider a flatcap for your Nait 5. Its performance increases substantially.

Chris Bell, Naim Speaker Zealot =

Posted on: 25 August 2001 by Jaybar

Rules out MOST Naim speakers.

Thanks anyway

Jay

Posted on: 26 August 2001 by John C

As I understand it the new Allae can be adapted to work in proximity to the wall or out into the room. This flexibility may be just what you need. I have only heard them very briefly so cant comment on their sound.
John

Posted on: 26 August 2001 by Martin Payne

Jay,

do you actually prefer the SF's, or are you doing this out of desperation? Have you tried your existing speakers with Naim amps?

Could you borrow a well run-in 112/150 to try at home for a few days?

I am not familiar with the Dynaudios, but it seems to be to be worth a try, at least.

cheers, Martin

Posted on: 26 August 2001 by Top Cat

...but I thought the Signums driven by ??? amps which I heard a while back easily outclassed the Intros driven by Naim amps, but then the sound was significantly different and probably the preference element had a lot to do with it...

John

Posted on: 26 August 2001 by Jaybar

The Dynaudio's are sold. I spent 7 months moving them into evey conceivable position in my room w/o success. They just overwhelmed me with bass.

I was not impressed with the Allae's when I heard them at the hifi show in NYC and the other Naim speakers won't work in my room.

The SF were attractive for a number of reasones. My dealer suggested Naim, but we did not have an opportunity to audition them with any Naim gear, so I was wondering if any forum members has experience with Naim and SF and if so what is the mininum Naim combo that would do the job. Its very simple.

Posted on: 26 August 2001 by Martin Payne

quote:
Can we focus on the possibility of SF and Naim?

Oops - 'Nuff said.

cheers, Martin

Posted on: 26 August 2001 by Jaybar

James, I can't afford the equipment configuration you suggest-evin with the sale of my Spectral gear. While the sale of the Dynaudio's would handily cover the concertino/better stands, I would be short for the Signums. One of the reasons to scale down was to recoup some cash

Would I be better to forgo the lower-end Naim gear and keep the Spectral which has no problems with 4 ohm loads.? I am worried that it might sound a bit bright though.

Any alternatives to lower-end Naim for less dollars than the configuration you suggest?

Thanks,

Jay

James

[This message was edited by Jaybar on MONDAY 27 August 2001 at 01:48.]

Posted on: 26 August 2001 by Jaybar

found the bass lower with the Concertino's but not as tight, airy and defined. I heard some high frequency roll-off/loss of hall acoustics with the Concertino's relative to the Signums. Was this really lack of resolution on the part of the "Tino's", or lack of the Signum's brightness? Who knows? Some slowness relative to signums. On the plus side, more easy-going tonal balance and less fatigue on less than great sources, with the Concertino Home's. On balance, the signums were a better speaker, but the concertino's acquited themselves nicely.

Posted on: 27 August 2001 by Sidney Overton

Jaybar,

You do seem to be in a bit of a pickle, having sold your speakers I can imagine it must be frustrating, and in the pursuit of replacements we can all get obsessive, sometimes that involves correcting things that ain’t broke.

I currently run a CD5/FC2/112/150/NAC5 into Concertinos here in Belgium and it works – three feet from side-walls and back wall; but I started with a CD5/Nait5/Concertinos and only moved to a pre-power because I suspected that would give me more grip on the undoubted bass from the Concertinos. It does, but with the magic of hindsight, the benefits of the change above the Nait/FC2 are not so great to be considered cost-effective. I appreciate your financial predicament but your Spectral amps and turntable source (and CD5/Hi Cap) would appear to justify Signums. Price apart, I was surprised, given the problems with your room and the Dynaudios, that you don’t consider them the better option sonically and financially if you are going one step at a time. If you are determined to go the less boxes are better route, and you have sufficient self restraint not to start thinking immediately about upgrades, then CD5/Nait5/FC2/Concertino is well balanced and would keep you happy – the Signums need better amps (and possibly a better source than the CD5).

If you take the Concertinos be prepared for more frustration because they take forever (and then several days more) to run-in. No need to bi-wire, jumper leads offer a reasonable compromise with NAC5. Mathijs is correct you need the SF stands, for height as much as anything else.

Posted on: 27 August 2001 by Andrew Randle

Jaybar,

Try these freestanding loudspeakers... if the dealers in NY have them. They're made by Living Voice and have a musical, revealing, expansive sound. They're probably one of the few loudspeakers that boogie, provide scale, great bass, pick up on the finest musical nuances and details of playing.

Don't worry about the finish, they come in different woods, and can be made to order in piano black.

SFs are good, but not this good.

Andrew