Hello all,
I've been following this forum for some time now with great interest.
I owned many different brands. Philips, Sony, Marantz, MF, KEF, Harbeth (P3ESR) and just recently moved from the stunning Nap100/V1 combination to a Mac - 2Qute - 47 Labs 4708 RCA/DIN (self-made interconnect) - SN2 - ATC SCM19 set.
I am an audiophile who likes to experiment, from self build tube preamplifiers to all kinds of modifications to make it sound better. (Haven't opened one black Naim box so far, so that says something)
I prefer to buy 2nd hand, and the SN2 I got was in a nearly new condition.
Although the SN2 is a beast with amazing drive and power, the 100/V1 had something which was hard to describe.
Don't get me wrong, the Chord DAC has more resolution and a bass to die for, but my first cash I spend on Naim gear was something I never forget.
I moved from a 30 watt class A MF A1 integrated with Harbeths P3ESRs to the SCM19s. Which are absolutely stunning and give me the feeling of really being in the music. I could have gone for the scm40's but chose the smaller brother with more slam and drive.
The NAP100 had difficulties with the ATC SL drivers, the SN2 just handles them perfectly.
My next upgrade will probably be a 250DR but shouldn't be hard to get one 2nd hand with so many sold lately in a few years time.
HCDR with SN2 could be an option in the short term.
Conclusion: Hail the Naim entry systems, wish I could buy them back for a second system.
Que the music and enjoy.
Joe
Posted on: 18 June 2016 by Yogibear
Hi Ryder,
The P3ESR have a sweeter midrange in my opinion. The dispersion of the drivers isn't as good as ATC's and they really need a high volume and Watts to get them singing in an average room. There's basically no bass, it's focussed completely on the mids and highs.
I never tried them on my SN2, but even the NAP100 struggled with the tiny drivers in a shoebox.
Maybe for near field monitoring the Harbeths might do the trick.
It's all a matter of trial and error. Both ATC and Harbeth do vocals brilliantly but the P3ESR's put some extra salted butter on it.
The ATC 19's can play loud without any distortion and fill my room (45 sqm) completely with the most beautiful bass and dynamics.
Posted on: 18 June 2016 by ryder.
Thanks for the information Joe. Much appreciated. I have somehow expected the ATC to sound more neutral than the Harbeth, though it is the added warmth (salted butter) that gives human voices the organic feel on the P3ESR. It is the organic bloom that gives the P3ESR and all other Harbeth speakers a sweeter midrange.
Actually the P3ESR can do bass. I suspect the NAP100 may have struggled to drive the P3ESR. The sensitivity of the P3ESR is the lowest in the Harbeth range if I am not mistaken. The Supernait2 may have made a difference to the P3ESR if you have used it on the speakers.
Have you listened or compared the SCM11 to the SCM19 prior to settling with the latter? 45 square metres is a rather large room you have there. The SCM19 would be a better fit in this room than the SCM11.
Posted on: 18 June 2016 by Patu
I use SN2 with HCDR to ATC SCM40v2. It's a much bigger speaker and difficult to drive but I think SCM19 is also quite difficult to drive and needs lots of power. Simon in Suffolk uses this speaker and will probably comment on this shortly. But anyway, I strongly recommend trying out HCDR with SN2. It changes the amp with ATC speakers. SN2 doesn't quite have the power to drive SCM40v2 alone. The bass control is clearly loose without HCDR. Now with HCDR, there's no such problem and the combo works perfectly. Of course, dedicated power amplifier would make things even better but that's another story.
