Credo set up

Never got on well with the Credos sound but opinions vary greatly.

Not too bad close to a wall but they don't go right up against it like the SBLs did. You will need them out a little bit.

The Credos can be sited very close to rear walls although they do benefit with a bit of space around them, not too much though with hardly any toe in.

They are very easy to drive and are quite revealing with equipment feeding them.

They can go very loud cleanly with a broad dynamic sound reaching far out into the room.

The biggest thing to look out for is the crossover speaker cable sockets which can unknowingly fracture from excessive NACA 5 movement but this can be easily fixed with a good solderer and iron. 

Apart from making sure they are level and spiked direct to the floor with no voodoo involved (chopping boards) they are easy to install.

They sound amazing Active.

regards

Thanks for the reply. 

This is going to be with a Nait XS, not active.

When I  used to sell them, I'd get them pretty close to the rear wall, 4 inches (10cm) would be enough to let them breathe.

Zero toe-in, as far apart as you can get them without causing a hole in the middle. Make sure the spikes are well sited so the speaker doesn't rock. Then when you play them you'll get ROCK! (Sorry, couldn't help myself...)

Regards,
Frank.
All opinions are my own and do not reflect the opinion of any organisations I work for, except where this is stated explicitly.

Still scared to trade a newer speaker in for at 15 year old set...but if they sound better I'll keep them.

15 year old speakers would worry me, the surrounds tend to rot, the caps in the crossover tend to go off and the ferro fluid in the tweeter, if they have it tends to thicken with age and affect the performance.

Do Naim put ferrofluid in their tweeter?  I thought that would kill PRaT.  Sorry or distraction, but I find that surprising.

Do Naim still stock the parts to rebuild Credo's?  If so, then there would be less concern or risk for the age, which is otherwise a good point.

Charlie

Check the little spacers are all present between the two boxes. Obvious but a killer if not. Personally I never really bonded with mine in passive mode at least. They certainly can fly but need a pretty good chain in front of them to show their merits I felt.

As ever your ears will be the answer!

Bruce

So its possible to use them and be too revealing of  something else in the chain like the source, then have a big improvement if the source is upgraded later?

Maybe I should look for Allae instead?  They seem to have been started when Credo stopped.  Not sure how long they were produced, though.

Same for SL2?

The Allae was a development from the original Credo and was originally to be called the Super-Credo.  However, so substantial were the changes, and so superior was the resulting performance that it was decided to give it a new name, Allae.  The Allae was discontinued in 2009.  

The Credos are 1999 so going on 17 years actually.  What's your thoughts on this speaker Richard, is there still a way to repair Credo if something goes wrong?  Same question for Allae I guess.

The wiring in the back looks odd in the pictures I can see, where does the actual speaker wire go?  Is it two post or four?  Images for Allae and Credo are similar.

AFAIK Naim can still replace drivers and spare PIPs are available.  You'll need to check with them though to be sure.

The passive crossover on the Credo and Allae is similar and lives outside the cabinet in a black box that is compliantly fixed to the lower cabinet.  You plug into the terminals on the black crossover box.  From the crossover box run two sets of cable, one to the tweeter and one to the mid/bass driver.  Removal of the passive crossover box is easy and then allows you to drive the speaker with active crossover and amplification.

Here's an Allae pic of what Richard is describing. The Red and Black speaker input terminal can just be seen at the bottom of the Black crossover box. Each cable from the box is terminated with Naim speaker plugs fitting into the same type of sockets as the input sockets on the crossover box.

 p.s. If it were me I'd be looking for the Allaes. I've been happy with mine.

Went with the Credo...nothing ventured, nothing gained.

After about 8 hours straight, with is much vinyl and digital I could throw at them...repositioning, etc...they are in a different class of speaker for sure.

I tried to throw to much power at them right away and they liked it still around 9 O'clock.  At first I thought they had the polarity reversed, but then around the 4th vinyl record they just popped and sounded incredible.

For the next 2-3 hours I listened I liked them more and more.  Totally different...lots to hear still from these speakers.  The larger diameter of the drivers is also apparent in the low frequencies...the base seems to sneak up and "enter" the room from some unknown location...probably thrown down from Thor.

They are great speakers.

Even after 19 years of ownership I swear mine are still getting better and better, a bit like a single malt.

Enjoy!!

I use them completely differently than I used the Rega RS5...with these I *slowly* turn the volume up...

Awesome, SS.  Glad you are pleased with the Credo's, Stageline and other improvements.  I am looking forward to a visit.

Charlie

Yeah I get to burn it in all the dark winter long.

But the Credos keep tempting you to turn up the wick... right?

Slowly turning up the volume more and more as each track is played until you think...jeez this is loud! and not only loud but amazingly fun!!  

My Nait 5si drives them perfectly with nothing missing or leaving me wanting in anyway.

Welcome to the Credo club!!   

Yeah, I hear something I like...turn it up!

Then the next song comes on and I'm wondering why its so loud and turn it down.

Now I walk around with the remote in my pocket so I can adjust while doing stuff...its the only way.

Have you unscrewed the crossover so it hangs freely? (If you feel competent enough try it)

I just leave mine hanging freely, NACA5 own weight seems to deal with not letting them touch the cabinet.

I have found this to be a worthwhile improvement even at low volumes. It improves the bass and dynamics.

regards

I'm afraid to touch anything...just listening and cleaning vinyl.  I clean 5 at a time so I can listen for awhile.

I had credos with a 122x 150x for a couple of years, all worked together quite well. Then went to SBls  with 202 200.

SS I just credo myself too. Well it would seem my little sonus Faber concertos were telling lies to me for years. I would guess the credos are reveiling 10 to 15% more information IMO.i can't get over how good god good good these baby's are. Cds2, xps, SuperCap, 82, 180 are singing like never before. I'm not self glorifying here I'm just so NAIMED at the moment. 

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