UQ2 - PS & Speakers.

Enjoy your UQ - it is a fine beast on its own. A general concencus is that NAP100 is not needed.

As to speakers - UQ will drive pretty much anything (within limits of course So it really down to your room size, budget ans]d aesthetic preferences.

I'm not so sure there is a general consensus re the Nap100, probably fairer to say there are mixed views on whether or not it is an improvement or takes away the Qutes nature.  Personally I prefered it with the Nap100 but it's brilliant either way. I had Guru Juniors on mine and they are fantastic, a match made in heaven, but you will do well to find a set

True re: NAP 100. Some prefer it with NAP100, some without.

I prefer my UQ 'bare'

Thank you Adam & Dayjay,

Food for thought for sure. The obvious choice is to start without the Nap100, and audition it thereafter. As for the Guru's, presume you have a pair going 'spare'?

Sadly not, traded them in some time back.  You may find a set used but I don't think there are any new ones around now

Richard Bennett posted:

As for the Guru's, presume you have a pair going 'spare'?

Richard - please note the forum rules. Trading or indeed inquiring about items is not allowed.

Also, Are there any other speakers I should consider/audition

I run a pair of PMC DB1i's through mine and love them, so the newer Twenty 21's are probably worth a listen as well.

I used to have the uq2 bare driving a pair of harbeth shl5, then added a nap 100. Much prefer the sound with the nap 100. As the amp section of the uq2 is turned off, this setup hives slightly better resolution and most importantly fuller sound. Have move on to sn2 after that.

As I own a pair of Ls50's I'd say you are best off with a 100 or larger amp. 

I love my Unitiqute 2 on its own into a pair of Neat Motive 2SX, I auditioned the Iota's but wasn't keen, so the dealer tempted me and my wife agreed! Very happy.

I agree with Adam that the UQ2 doesn't 'need' a NAP100 - it sounds great without. But in my experience, the NAP100 is a small upgrade on the sound. I think people's experience of that differs depending on the speakers they have . . . my suspicion being that harder to drive speakers benefit from the 100. (I don't agree with Adam that the UQ2 will drive anything - I think it runs out of puff with tricky speakers).

And on that note, the LS50s are hard to drive, so I'm not convinced about them with a bare UQ2. With a NAP100 I'm sure they'd be ok. But anyway I would advise against selecting them on the basis of having liked them with the Arcam - they will sound quite different with Naim. Also, in my experience, they're very sensitive to positioning (being rear ported) so you should make very sure they work well in your room. 

Guru Juniors are very hard to find. If you do get the 100, try the ATC SCM7s against the LS50s at home - for me, that's no contest in favour of the ATCs. If you don't get the 100, second hand PMC DB1i or new 20.21s are good choices, budget dependent, and the Focal 906s are good too.

For me, the ATCs are a precision instrument that takes time to understand, like a Porsche 911, whereas the LS50s are more brash, like an AMG Merc. The 20.21s are a fast Audi and the Focals are a big, friendly American muscle car. It all depends what you're looking for.

GT posted:

Also, Are there any other speakers I should consider/audition

I run a pair of PMC DB1i's through mine and love them, so the newer Twenty 21's are probably worth a listen as well.

Definately!! Just got a pair for my Qute 2.

You say "our little house" so I assume you haven't got lots of space and as such the speakers will need to be compact and not be far from walls. If so, the PMC Twenty 21 and Kudos X2 are the best of the small bunch of speakers that I tried.  The PMCs sound refined and are v fast, detailed speakers with deep but relatively restrained bass; some may find them bright though. The kudos on the other hand have deeper and more impact to the bass and do everything well, but loose the top end / mid range sparkle of the PMCs.   However, both of these are almost double the price of the LS50.  If you look closer to the price of the LS50, the Monitor Audio GX50 are v good, they use a ribbon tweeter to great effect but will need slightly more space (from back wall) than the Kudos and PMCs.  

Whatever you like the look of do try them out at home first as rear ported speakers especially (like the LS50) need room to breath and sound their best.  

If you do go with Ls50's then budget in a solid pair of stands. Made a world of difference esp in the bass response, and mine are only inches away from the back wall and driven by a lowly though sweet 110. I also use the supplied half bungs in the rear ports. 

Richard Bennett posted:

...

Also, Are there any other speakers I should consider/audition if the UQ2 is used in conjunction with one of the upgrade paths listed above? Is there are discernible difference in sound that would warrant spending a little more on speakers? I hear good things about the Neat Iota's and Guru Junior. Although they are still within my price bracket. 

 

I used UQ with Neat Iotas, which were great. But Harbeth P3ESRs were miles better. I'd recommend a powerline, which you can keep if and when you head onwards beyond UQ in the future.

If you get a Nap 100, wouldn't you have two volume controls? (Not fatal, but not ideal if so...)

Nope - NAP100 is a power amp, no volume control.