Nap 100 and dynaudio

I would think the NAP100 would be more than capable of powering the X14's (sorry - no experience of the M10's) given the 4x5m space isn't huge. Is a home demonstration viable, perhaps alongside a heftier NAP to compare? This would help I'm sure.

When I had a demo (and subsequently bought) a UnitiQute2, the end part of the dem involved adding and swapping out NAP's at varying price points to illustrate their benefits. The 'Qute alone drove the Dynaudio X14's rather well, with the addition of the NAP100 it lifted the performance and seemed to enhance the overall presentation. Not a night and day difference, but worthwhile and drove the X14's to pretty high levels without losing control. Plus, an expected benefit being, lower listening volumes seemed more enjoyable.

Thank you for the useful feedback Yeti

Your words are encouraging but I take your point regarding the room size. I recently purchased a naim dac v1 and my finances suffered as a result (no regrets though). I would be able to only purchase the nap 100 used so I am not in a position to borrow one. For the time being I am running the V1 as preamp driving the power stage of an old Rega Elicit.  It sounds great but I think the Rega is adding a lot of warmth / boominess. 

Many thanks

i used to own a Unitiqute 2,as Yetizone said,it drove my excite 12's very well on it's own,they are the predecessor to the x14...but when i added the nap 100,everything was taken up a notch.At the same time,i owned Dynaudio Focus 160's,and also tried those with the UQ2/NAP100...the results were also very satisfying,this is a much more capable speaker from Dyn,and it had lots of slam,finesse,and was just a really FUN combo to listen to.My room is close in size to yours too,so i would have no reservations about the NAP 100 with the x14,great combo.

My experience is similar to that of No Quarter.  I started with a Qute 2 and Dynaudio Excite X12's.  Sounded lovely but wanted to buy a NAP 100.  Sounded lovelier.  Clearly enough umph to drive X12's with the Qute 2 alone, much less with the NAP 100.

YiannisK posted:

Thank you for the useful feedback Yeti

Your words are encouraging but I take your point regarding the room size. I recently purchased a naim dac v1 and my finances suffered as a result (no regrets though). I would be able to only purchase the nap 100 used so I am not in a position to borrow one. For the time being I am running the V1 as preamp driving the power stage of an old Rega Elicit.  It sounds great but I think the Rega is adding a lot of warmth / boominess. 

Many thanks

Do you need to match the shoe box size of the UnitiQute? The 150x would be a good option I think if funds are tight.

I picked one up as an interim amp and it's ridiculously good for the money.

Many thanks for the great responses. I really appreciate it.

Michael, very good point. I do not need to stick to the Nap 100 other than due to financial constraints. Strangely I have not found older gen Naims to be comfortable for my ears. I briefly demoed a 155x (same power stage as the XS) as well as the previous gen Nap 200. This was with Kef LS50 and B&W CM1 S2. Very fast, dry and clear sound but I quickly experienced listening fatigue. I had the opportunity to try a NAP 250DR and it was very very different. Same case with the XS2 and the Nap 100. I may be wrong but I suspect Naim may have slightly changed the sound. Could be wrong of course

My experience was with the NSats. I have never heard the NAP100, so I can't compare. 

Your impressions on the Nap100 make me very interested in hearing one

Just wanted to touch base regarding my original post. I ended up giving the Dynaudios more time and as it turns out they did need more break in. The booming disappeared completely but it took ages and ages for them to stabilise (a full month). The warmth/boominess has not gone and the sound is lovely, detailed and balanced. 

I still intend to audition the Nap 100 at some point but there is no urgency any more. The Dac V1 drives the Rega power stage just fine for now :-)

Really can't go wrong with Dynaudio. I am in the process of auditioning the new Countour range, they sound pretty special. Bass is unbelievably quick and detailed.

I own the Dynaudio xd 600's and excite 12's currently,and have owned focus 160's and c1 mk11's...needless to say,I am a Dyn fan.Can you tell me which Contour you have for demo?

i would think that they are currently refurbishing the confidence line too,so I am going to wait to see how it all unfolds.

I had the Countour 20's on demo, very impressive for a stand mount speaker, my dealer hasn't taken delivery of the 30's yet, but as soon as he does, I will have them for a home audition.

My dealer is also a Focal dealer, I thought the new Contour 20 was more impressive than the Sopra 1, by quite a big margin.

Very much looking forward to the floor standers.

I am located in Canada,there is a guy I know from the Dynaudio AVS site (he is in Canada too)that ordered the new Contour 30's last spring,he was originally told to expect delivery last October,but as far as I know.. he still has not received them.It seems that anytime a new line comes out,you can expect delays,whether it is speakers or electronics.Keep us up to informed of your thoughts of the 30's,if you don't mind.

I've tested DAC V1/NAp 100 with the much bigger X32, no problems driving them

Dynaudio speaker present a stable 4 ohm load..... 

YiannisK posted:

Many thanks for the great responses. I really appreciate it.

 

Michael, very good point. I do not need to stick to the Nap 100 other than due to financial constraints. Strangely I have not found older gen Naims to be comfortable for my ears. I briefly demoed a 155x (same power stage as the XS) as well as the previous gen Nap 200. This was with Kef LS50 and B&W CM1 S2. Very fast, dry and clear sound but I quickly experienced listening fatigue. I had the opportunity to try a NAP 250DR and it was very very different. Same case with the XS2 and the Nap 100. I may be wrong but I suspect Naim may have slightly changed the sound. Could be wrong of course

 

I am a bit of a Dynaudio fan.  I had the Excite X12 but moved to the Focus 160, which I prefer.  Dynaudio speakers seem to have a beautiful mid range and treble, but the Focus 160s added more bass weight over the Excites.  I had a NAP155x and changed to a NAP200, pre-DR.  Personally, I have never experienced listening fatigue.  I know that some people consider the Naim NAPs to have a tendency to sound a little bright and I once auditioned the KEF LS50 and struggled with the tonal balance.  I was happy with the Excites, don't get me wrong, but the Focus 160s just sounded more polished and sophisticated to me.  It is really hard to choose speakers, there are so many high quality ones around.  For me, Dynaudio tick all the boxes and it is a shame that the Focus 160s are now discontinued as they certainly had a high bang to buck ratio.