Mites

My car is a Volkswagen Up!, which means I can afford decent speakers! Seriously, do see what you can do to get the A5s working to your satisfaction, but I suspect you are flogging a dead horse. 

Alan, is there a reason why you considered the Mites in particular? Changing to stand mounted speakers isn't necessarily a bad thing, but a tiny speaker like that seems a bit extreme. To my mind, the most important factor in shortlisting speakers is that they have to be available at a dealer for you to listen to in your system. Otherwise you might as well just choose whatever gets the highest star rating from What HiFi.....which is probably how you ended up with the A5s 

Sorry, it was the Kin Mini I listened to and thought of while writing my reply. I have not heard the Mites personally. What I wrote probably still applies to them too though, I would have thought.

That's interesting. I felt the Arro were a wonderful match with a Nait XS and Nait 2 as well for that matter. Yet I did not like them much when partnered with a Supernait. The Nait XS seemed just right in terms of power required, while the SN somehow sounded too forced and overbearing at higher volume. Odd but true. Found some Forest soon after and that was a much better match.

Good to know they work well with your system though. Well matched they are very special as you say.

Hungryhalibut,

A Volkswagen UP !  My mates daughter has one and she loves it, great little car.

I can afford decent speakers as well as the Aston it's just that I don't know which to buy 

This is why I'm asking you chaps on here, you have far more knowledge on things Hi-Fi than I do.

I don't read the Hi-Fi magazines either. I will try experimenting with re-positioning the A5s to see what happens but as you say I may be flogging a dead horse.

Anyway, plenty of food for thought so for the moment thanks for the help, I appreciate it.

Alan. 

Before getting my current speakers, I had some PMC twenty.23s, which were really excellent. They need a bit of power though, so I was wondering whether swapping to a Supernait 2 might give you more options. It will certainly sound better. Driving speakers in a way to fill a large room with a 150 is quite an ask. My room is 'only' 5.5m by 3.6m and I use a 250DR; in the past I had a 300. The sheer power and drive these amps can deliver makes the listening experience far more engrossing, and it's not just about volume, there is a real sense of control and composure. 

I  would try listening to a bigger system before deciding on your speakers. This will enable you to take a strategic view to avoid a potential scenario of changing speakers and then finding that the rest of the system is not up to it. 

While I was slightly harsh about the A5, the root of your problem might be that they are not being properly driven. I made that mistake with the 150, and a 180 was little better. So it might be worth borrowing some different speakers and a Supernait. Try the 150 with the new speakers, and the SN with the A5, and then Supernait and new speakers. You may find that you actually like the A5 once properly driven. They will always be a bit slow and a bit bassy, but that is a sound many people like. I don't, but you might. 

Hi Alan

Congratulations on being able to enjoy both a lovely car and a decent music system.

HH's more considered post above really captures the essence of the wise way to proceed at this point.

By all means try what you can with the Spendor A5 and if they work after re-positioning or with a Supernait 2, then good news.  

If not, then let your friendly Naim dealer do what most Naim dealers do so well, which is to demonstrate what another pair of loudspeakers and/or a more powerful and controlled amp can do, given the size of your room.  A "bigger" or more controlled amp will help smaller speakers to work better in a large room but there are limits.  Fortunately, your Naim dealer will not charge you for these demonstrations, so you can sit back, learn and enjoy the experience!

Happy hunting, FT

Alan,

SN2 is a well-respected amp but a cut above your CD player. This is why I suggested trying to match speakers to your room and your nicely balanced set of electronics.

IMO the moment you have a SN2 you will want a CDX2.2 as well. And then.... someone will suggest, 'Oh no, I wouldn't get a CDX2.2 and SN2, I'd get a N272 and Nap250DR', and your straightforward speaker matching issue becomes something else entirely.

Interesting times, enjoy the ride.

C.

Guys,

Some really interesting and helpful points you are making..thank you.

I'd never realised how important the amp was in terms of controlling the speakers.

In fact I'd never even given it a thought, that shows the depth of my knowledge !

The point Hungryhalibut makes about me changing the speakers and then finding the rest of the system is not up to it is very thought provoking.

Mmm...that's what I like about Naim gear, so many paths and options

Thanks again,

Alan.

In suggesting the Supernait I was conscious that Alan may not want to go beyond that, but still wanted a balanced system. I made the suggestion based on my view that the CD5x with Flatcap 2x is good enough for a Supernait, and a CD player I would take in preference to a bare CDX2 any day. 

Alan

If your room of 6x6 and with the option of having speakers 3 metres apart and a metre from the wall - was a dedicated listening room - you would need big speakers and an even bigger system I think.

If it's a room that shares duties with everything else have it so speakers are 1 1/2 metres across from each other and firing across one corner to the other and listening more near field, this way you can try smaller better quality speakers with your current system. Try it with the A5s and see if it's an option. If it is then the Mites could do the job you want.

If you find that you are more comfortable with the idea of speakers standing sentry like within the room you would need advice from a dealer to get a bigger system overall.