Taking Steve T's query in hand today I decided to find out once-and-for-all today whether the JM Lab 816s would work on the end of a Nait.
Well, they do. Extremely well in fact. The bass was bold and yet well controlled, and the whole thing timed beautifully. Fortunately when I turned up at the shop the Nait had been switched on and running for three days. The system may seem a little imbalanced, with the speakers costing a bit more than the amp, but it doesn't matter. The Nait and CD5 are both good enough to do the job, and the beauty of it is that the speakers will withstand future upgrades. I believe that speakers are more subject to personal taste than anything else, so you should try to get them right in the first place. Then, over time you can upgrade the rest of your kit without having to go through the upheaval of changing your speakers again - something that will cause you more grief from the missus than, say changing your 180 for a 250, which she wouldn't even notice!
I went throuth the full upgrade path and the sound just kept on improving, such is the potential of these speakers.
Firstly I added a Nap 140, using the Nait as a pre. That was an improvement - more slam and dynamic reach etc.
Then I ditched the Nait for a Nac 102. More of the above plus more drama and detail, and better timing.
CDX replaced CD5/FC2 - more definition and detail, better timing, more bold sounding.
Then I swapped the 140 for a 250, adding a Hi-cap -- I couldn't be bothered to stop off at the 180. Again dynamics, bass punch and timing improved.
Next, I added a Napsc - more punch and detail again.
Now it was time to go for the '82. The music was now seriously dramatic. I stayed with this setup for about half an hour before realising that the 816s, good that they are, were not really my cup of tea. So I swapped for the Rega Naos I have at home. Much nicer to my ears, my personal taste. Now I'm looking forward to being able to get a CDX in place of my CD5/FC2 and an '82/Hi/'250 in place of my Densen B200/300! But the Regas will stay because, well, I like them. It's as simple as that!
Posted on: 22 June 2001 by David Antonelli
Hi,
The whole point of this, as I see it, is to realize that all components matter. While the source first apologists always smile smuggly as they point out that a 500 buck CD player will sound crappy with 20 K speakers and 30 K amplification, what they always fail to realize is that a CDS 2 will sound dreadful played through a hitachi integrated hooked up to Radio Shack speakers. Why buy a CDS 2 and a 52 and two 135s just to play it all through el-cheapo speakers? Certainly such a system could make modest speakers sound OK, but the benefits on leaping up to the next level of speaker are just as fundamental as a source or preamp upgrade. My ACT 2 upgrade was, for example, very amp-like in character, but on the order of the difference between a nait and a 52/250. I'm sure other speakers in that league, DBLs, Mezzo Utopias, Avalon, etc would all bring a similar magic of their own to a system that is just as crucial to musical enjoyment as a source upgrade. I can appreciate that we all don't have a zillion bucks to upgrade all at once, and it will be about a year before I can get a 500, but I feel it is unfair to downplay the importance of speakers - or any other componet for that matter. Ditch yoir speaker cable and replace it with the stuff that connects your electric shaver to your bathroom plug in. See how good your CDS 2 sounds then!
As for albions, they are "nice" at low volumes but lack dynamics. What I notice about the ACT 2s at low volumes is that they still have that profound sense of dimension, contrast, groove, and dynamics (ranging from a whisper or pin drop in the back ground to a drop kick in the gut bass slam) all at volumes the neighbors won't complain about at 2 AM. On low volumes my albions sounded a bit flat and muddy. Turn it up and the become more alive, but also strident. I think they have a certain character that no amount of electronics could fix. But I had them for two years and generally enjoyed them. But just remember mike, your CDS2/52/250 will be holding a lot in reserve.
davee
Posted on: 22 June 2001 by Rico
quote:
what they always fail to realize is that a CDS 2 will sound dreadful played through a hitachi integrated hooked up to Radio Shack speakers.
Rubbish. Like your ears are so cloth-like that you couldn't both tell that it was a CDSII providing the music, and enjoy it as well? What next - LP12/Creek 4040/JPW-P1's in the same boat? The source-first punters make no apologies! They've just been there and wear the T-Shirts. 
The rest get directed to the water, but well... the horse, and all that.
However, I will agree with you Dave, if your point is that a CDSII will sound dreadfull through anything, if you think the CDSII sounds dreadful.
'just had another thought. Why does CDX/62/140/Taliman II's on wobly ikea make such good music - and what's the point of strangling down that fine source? And surely you couldn't enjoy a CDSII through that?
Oh well, after watching thread mutate into another stands argument 
I guess it's time to launch something like "one man's meat... etc etc."
Rico - all your base are belong to us.
Posted on: 22 June 2001 by Steve Toy
Please! No more stands arguments! The CDS2 makes such damn fine start of things that it would be a pity to mess things up big time downstream. Yes, it is possible to create a bottleneck further down the chain by using poor amps/cables/speakers, that would make even the CDS2 indistinguishable from a 200 GBP Japanese CD player. There are source-first proponents, such as myself, and then there are source-first absolutists - something entirely different!
[This message was edited by Steven Toy on SATURDAY 23 June 2001 at 05:21.]
Posted on: 24 June 2001 by Steve Toy
I go completely with what you are saying. I was actually using the CD5/Flatcap 2 combination with a Nait because that is what Steve T has in his system, and initially my task was to try to solve his specific dilemma, which was to use an easier-to-drive pair of speakers than the JM Lab 816s, his personal preference, but only heard on the end of a NAC 112/NAP 150, and not a Nait, or see if the Nait was really up to the job. I found that it was.
As for using second-hand gear, that really wasn't an option I had at the time, given that my auditioning took place in the demo room of a dealer, using his gear! Of course a used CD2 @1400 GBP is going to be preferable to a new CD5/FC2 combo @1600 GBP.
As for speakers, that is where the personal taste comes in. I haven't heard either of the speakers you mention, so I can't comment, but your suggested system would probably sound really good to my ears, so long as the speakers are sufficiently fast and dynamic, as well as refined. There are many different ways to spend a budget of around 3200 GBP, and all could be musically satisfying.
