On the borderline of being a mullet – but it sounds really good!

Great feedback Markus.

I thought that the XL6 was a tremendously dynamic and fast loudspeaker that injected life into music, but at the cost of a slightly uncouth top end.  In the same demonstration was a pair of Audiovector Si3AA, which had an equally fast sound but with a much more refined and smooth top end.  The Si3AA highlighted the same limitation in the refinement of the XL6 that you heard and made it sound a little uncouth or unfinished.

Having said that, the XL6 is a lovely sounding transducer, so long as you don't hear a better one.

Best regards, FT

benjy posted:

As a paraplegic (with foot and leg pain being the only feeling i have) I can definitely sympathize and also recognize how much more important just sitting and listening to music has become. I was wondering if your rack can go higher? Possibly 2 more tiers and then place it on the column (where the spare speakers are shown in the pics). Might look odd,but that and maybe amp stand on the floor would open up the space between the speakers. I still think that would make for a tremendous improvement in sq (certainly soundstage). Either way,enjoy your system. think I'll update my profile for my system btw.

Hi Benjy!

I’m sorry to hear that you are paraplegic but am glad you are enjoying your music!

Thank you for your suggestion about system placement. I have been thinking about that but it would be a rather high stack of boxes. Behind that small wall is “the cooler and freezer” and the kitchen starts there. We have an open plane between living room and kitchen. With children in the house I would not dare to have all cables exposed next to the main passage to the kitchen…

Next time we move I will try to get a better arrangement but now I don’t find any better solution…

/Marcus

J.N. posted:

Hello Marcus,

As a five year owner of your new loudspeakers' predecessor (T88) I've been following your new adventures in Hi-Fi (an REM album, no less!) with interest. Part of what drove your decision to choose them, was possibly the same as mine. 

My loudspeakers like yours are sited relatively close to the back wall in a modest sized room. Most big boxes in that sort of position turn into bass monsters. One of the really great things about the Titans is their out of phase isobaric bass-loading which makes clean, extended and controlled bass available in such compromised locations.

A transparent lucid mid-band, and sparkling detailed top end complete a delicious musical palette for me.

Congratulations on your new acquisition and good listening.

John.

 

Thank you John!

I can only agree with your well-made description of the Titans 

Placement friendly is a very important quality if you buy a speaker that you intend to keep for 20-30 years or even for the rest of your life. During a lifetime you will probably change house or apartment a few times and then it’s good if the speakers also works well in the new room. It would be a pity to have to change speakers just because one changes their house or apartment.

/Marcus

Marksnaim posted:

Hi Marcus,

Thanks for an entertaining and interesting post. I was quite shocked by the sudden intrusion of hostile comments. Hopefully most of us here don't feel remotely that way about the posts of high end equipment. Congratulations on your new purchase and I hope you get lots of enjoyment from them over the years. 

Best regards

Mark

Thank you Mark!

I was also shocked and a bit sad by the remarks. I really think they picked on the wrong guy… 

/Marcus

Tabby cat posted:

All this negativity on this post is depressing.I have been reading HiFi forums for years and never encountered snide comments about the owner showing off his wealth etc on System pics threads on The Wam or Pink Fish.

Thanks for posting a interesting thread Markus I found it a great story and the bit about your son put a smile on my face.The pics where great and I liked the bit where you left your final decision on what speaker you had elected to go for.I couldn't work it out on page 1.

Liked your comments defending the snide comments.You come over as a really nice guy.

Cheers Ian

 

Hi Ian!

I’m glad you enjoyed my thread and understood my idea about guessing what speakers I purchased. I named it “mullet” to confuse a bit so that the guessing game would not be too easy. Not all seemed to understand that or have the same sense of humor as I have… 

Thank you for your nice comments about how I choose to defend against the snide comments! I know I don’t have to but I felt I needed to explain the purpose of my thread since it was questioned…

/Marcus

Chris Dolan posted:

elkman70 posted:

Marcus,

Thank you for sharing your experience. What a fantastic adventure and you have some truly great speakers. They are next on my shopping list when Derek designs a smaller version to replace my Kudos S20

I completely agree - including the Kudos S20s replacement plan 

Thank you elkman70!

Chris and elkman, that sounds like a smart move if you are in no hurry and already have a good pair of speakers. Maybe a Titan 606 or something like that will show up in a not too distant future… 

/Marcus

Foot tapper posted:

Great feedback Markus.

I thought that the XL6 was a tremendously dynamic and fast loudspeaker that injected life into music, but at the cost of a slightly uncouth top end.  In the same demonstration was a pair of Audiovector Si3AA, which had an equally fast sound but with a much more refined and smooth top end.  The Si3AA highlighted the same limitation in the refinement of the XL6 that you heard and made it sound a little uncouth or unfinished.

Having said that, the XL6 is a lovely sounding transducer, so long as you don't hear a better one.

Best regards, FT

Thank you Foot Tapper! I’m just trying to help 

We seem to have very similar experiences with the Neat XL6 and Audiovector speakers.

I have discovered that I seem to be very sensitive to “a slightly uncouth top end”. That’s what made me exclude most of the speakers I listened to and did not like…

/Marcus

Lovely read Marcus, thank you for making the effort to post your story!

As for the negative posts, people who post on a Naim forum and own Naim must be 'relatively' wealthy. I doubt many of us are using food banks and I really did not 'get' their problem. As a teacher I remortgaged to buy my dream system. It was aspirational. And I love  the System Pics thread every year. Lovely rooms and systems that will always be out of my reach.

Car is an Up. Speakers are SBLs. Baaaaaa! 

Stu

stuart.ashen posted:

Lovely read Marcus, thank you for making the effort to post your story!

As for the negative posts, people who post on a Naim forum and own Naim must be 'relatively' wealthy. I doubt many of us are using food banks and I really did not 'get' their problem. As a teacher I remortgaged to buy my dream system. It was aspirational. And I love  the System Pics thread every year. Lovely rooms and systems that will always be out of my reach.

Car is an Up. Speakers are SBLs. Baaaaaa! 

Stu

Stu - I like the priorities Music!!!!

I also come from a modest background - father was a university lecturer (now retired) and my mother a professional (also now retired). My wife is a teacher...

10 years ago I was fortunate enough to be given an opportunity to start up a company in Poland for two Norwegian chaps. Nearly worked myself to an ealy grave with a near stroke at a tender age of 41 (when I was lying in an ER the highest blood pressure I had was 220 / 160 - nurses thought the equipment broke). Finally some money started to come out of this work... I could afford my first NAIMs.... 

I'm very happy for Marcus and his new speakers. Haven't got to that point myself yet  - therefore I found his post very inspirational.

Adam

Thanks Adam,

perhaps a separate thread discussing our various judgements regarding our relationship to wealth is required? I am not wealthy. My reaction to most of those that are is to assume they worked hard for it. A good hi fi system is one of the rewards for their efforts!

if I don't like a thread I move on. I also think the social media generation lack responsibilty while 'fighting' on their keyboards. Its why I always post under my real name....

Tolerance in all things, especially as Marcus comes across as a real gentleman and enthusiast.

Stu

Hi, Marcusm!

I like to thank you for the time and effort you put in to this thread. Nice work! 

I'm not sure I'd go so far as saying that the thread is 'inspirational' - man buys £20,000 speakers and finds they are good; surprise! But it's certainly useful as a guide to others making similar decisions, and it's also certainly not a thread that should raise ire in others. 

There's only one thing that raises ire in me about this thread and that is that it has raised ire in others!!

Markus - thank you for the feedback on the Neats - great stuff.  I will let all know how this plays out.  On a point of detail how far off the back wall did you feel was optimum for the XL6?

Regards,

Lindsay

Of course it's inspirational, just as when you buy an expensive cable from Naim and find it good...��

On a more serious side I was glad being able to demonstrate 808 with electronics not to far away from what Marcus used. I do think he liked what he heard...

I don't think it's possible to get "listening fatigue" by them and the combination of effortless bass and voices integrated is something to hear to believe IMO.

I always been in love with DBL, that being my reference speaker for years. Titans 808 could be the modern alternative for them.

//Jonas

Jonas Olofsson posted:

Of course it's inspirational, just as when you buy an expensive cable from Naim and find it good...��

On a more serious side I was glad being able to demonstrate 808 with electronics not to far away from what Marcus used. I do think he liked what he heard...

I don't think it's possible to get "listening fatigue" by them and the combination of effortless bass and voices integrated is something to hear to believe IMO.

I always been in love with DBL, that being my reference speaker for years. Titans 808 could be the modern alternative for them.

//Jonas

+2 on the above.

I to am very fond of the DBLs, back in the day it was common to design speakers to perform there best when placed close to the wall.

I own Briks, and Vienna Acoustics Baby Grands.

Very different types of presentations, but to the point, with the rear ported speaker, I understand why placement to close to the wall is not desirable, just put your hands behind the port.

I would imagine less air being dispersed from the the Titans, which would allow closer placement to the wall.

Jonas, or Marcus could you comment on the the Titan's ported guide design?

Allante93!

Greetings Allante,

The T88 Titan uses the elongated front baffle of the bottom enclosure as a flat physical barrier in front of the two ports which fire into a defined gap. The new curved aluminium enclosure divider employed in the T808 encourages the air from the ports to flow in a more controlled manner. Just one of the innovations of the new model. It also has the function of an attractive enclosure separator.

The defined gap remains effectively the same on both models, with the two ports being offset from each other.

John.

J.N. posted:

Greetings Allante,

The T88 Titan uses the elongated front baffle of the bottom enclosure as a flat physical barrier in front of the two ports which fire into a defined gap. The new curved aluminium enclosure divider employed in the T808 encourages the air from the ports to flow in a more controlled manner. Just one of the innovations of the new model. It also has the function of an attractive enclosure separator.

The defined gap remains effectively the same on both models, with the two ports being offset from each other.

John.

Thanks J.N.,  I do agree with Jonas, that the Titans appear to be a modern version of the DBLs, just a lot more attractive! 

Key word being controlled manner, I think this is what enabled the OP to place them closer to the wall, just guessing! 

Out! 

Allante93! 

stuart.ashen posted:

Lovely read Marcus, thank you for making the effort to post your story!

As for the negative posts, people who post on a Naim forum and own Naim must be 'relatively' wealthy. I doubt many of us are using food banks and I really did not 'get' their problem. As a teacher I remortgaged to buy my dream system. It was aspirational. And I love  the System Pics thread every year. Lovely rooms and systems that will always be out of my reach.

Car is an Up. Speakers are SBLs. Baaaaaa! 

Stu

Thank you Stu!

It’s the same for me. I love the System Pics thread and even more if somebody go the extra mile and make a dedicated thread with pictures about a long journey to an upgrade. There are often good information and thoughts to reflect up on when developing one’s own system. On top of this you have the personal story and joy for the lucky person that reaches a long aspired goal with his or hers hifi system.

/Marcus

Adam Zielinski posted:

stuart.ashen posted:

Lovely read Marcus, thank you for making the effort to post your story!

As for the negative posts, people who post on a Naim forum and own Naim must be 'relatively' wealthy. I doubt many of us are using food banks and I really did not 'get' their problem. As a teacher I remortgaged to buy my dream system. It was aspirational. And I love  the System Pics thread every year. Lovely rooms and systems that will always be out of my reach.

Car is an Up. Speakers are SBLs. Baaaaaa! 

Stu

Stu - I like the priorities Music!!!!

I also come from a modest background - father was a university lecturer (now retired) and my mother a professional (also now retired). My wife is a teacher...

10 years ago I was fortunate enough to be given an opportunity to start up a company in Poland for two Norwegian chaps. Nearly worked myself to an ealy grave with a near stroke at a tender age of 41 (when I was lying in an ER the highest blood pressure I had was 220 / 160 - nurses thought the equipment broke). Finally some money started to come out of this work... I could afford my first NAIMs.... 

I'm very happy for Marcus and his new speakers. Haven't got to that point myself yet  - therefore I found his post very inspirational.

Adam

Thank you Adam!

I’m glad you found my thread inspirational!

Have fun chasing down your new speakers! Listen to as many different brands and models as you can. Maybe your conclusion will be that your current speakers are good enough but then you have tested yourself and come to that conclusion. 

/Marcus

Seaman posted:

Hi, Marcusm!

I like to thank you for the time and effort you put in to this thread. Nice work! 

Thank you Seaman!

Since I have enjoyed a lot of good and interesting threads here on the forum I just tried to pay back a little… 

/Marcus

Hungryhalibut posted:

I'm not sure I'd go so far as saying that the thread is 'inspirational' - man buys £20,000 speakers and finds they are good; surprise! But it's certainly useful as a guide to others making similar decisions, and it's also certainly not a thread that should raise ire in others. 

I see your point HH.

“man buys £20,000 speakers and finds they are good; surprise!”

As you know it’s not that simple. One of the things that surprised me a bit is that even at that price level there are quite a big difference in quality and sound between different speakers. You can’t just choose any 20k speaker cross your fingers and hope they will suit your taste and be a really good speaker.

Some of the speakers I listened to were actually not that good… 

Maybe not a surprise to the long time hifi enthusiast but for me it was good to actually hear it with my own ears.

Before I listened to the Titans I had almost decided not to replace my speakers at all since I thought that the ones I listened to was not that much better.

/Marcus

stuart.ashen posted:

Thanks Adam,

perhaps a separate thread discussing our various judgements regarding our relationship to wealth is required? I am not wealthy. My reaction to most of those that are is to assume they worked hard for it. A good hi fi system is one of the rewards for their efforts!

if I don't like a thread I move on. I also think the social media generation lack responsibilty while 'fighting' on their keyboards. Its why I always post under my real name....

Tolerance in all things, especially as Marcus comes across as a real gentleman and enthusiast.

Stu

Thank you for your kind words, Stu!

I think that you are on to something regarding your comment on the lack of responsibility from the social media generation… 

/Marcus

The Strat (Fender) posted:

There's only one thing that raises ire in me about this thread and that is that it has raised ire in others!!

Markus - thank you for the feedback on the Neats - great stuff.  I will let all know how this plays out.  On a point of detail how far off the back wall did you feel was optimum for the XL6?

Regards,

Lindsay

Hi Lindsay!

If I remember correct I think that we ended up at 70cm from the back of the speaker to the back wall with the XL6 in my room. Up to that distance we heard improvements for every step of 5 cm.

The guys setting up the speakers thought that there could be further small improvements if the speakers were moved even further into the room.

That would not have worked at all in my room and with kids. Instead of having to move the speakers out in the room every time I wanted to listen to music I choose a more placement friendly speaker… 

Since this is room dependent I don’t doubt that XL6 can work closer to the back wall in other rooms. And to be fair, they sounded quite okay even with 50 cm to the back wall, but if you are trying to extract most of their performance…

Yes, please let us know what you think about the Neats if you listen to them. I would love to hear your opinion about them.

/Marcus

Jonas Olofsson posted:

Of course it's inspirational, just as when you buy an expensive cable from Naim and find it good...��

On a more serious side I was glad being able to demonstrate 808 with electronics not to far away from what Marcus used. I do think he liked what he heard...

I don't think it's possible to get "listening fatigue" by them and the combination of effortless bass and voices integrated is something to hear to believe IMO.

I always been in love with DBL, that being my reference speaker for years. Titans 808 could be the modern alternative for them.

//Jonas

Hi Jonas!

It was very nice of you to invite me into your home and letting me listen to your hifi system with your Titans. Your system is one of the best, if not the best, hifi system I ever heard!

The music sounded so real, alive and musical. A real eye-opener and great experience!

If it wasn’t for you I would probably never bought these great speakers!

All in all a very positive and pleasant experience but I must say that the Titans look even better in black… 

/Marcus

On behalf of all us thank you for your responses and the time you have taken.  

L