Front end upgraded

The 272 is a fantastic device for the money - it has always impressed me in all systems I've heard it in. It will still do good service even with a 300DR Amp which I heard demoed using the 272 when a customer wanted to hear against 250DR, especially with the external supply you have on it. The 250DR really is a sweet-spot choice unless you are going for large demanding speakers.

Enjoy!

Both ATC and Proac have launched infinite baffle stand mount speakers that should fit the bill for you in a small room.

Infinite baffle speakers, as opposed to ported ones, are usually easier to place close to a back wall without booming, so may suit you  better.

I use a pair of PMC DB1i monitor speakers, bolted to a back wall on PMC's own stands. They are absolutely lovely with a Naim DAC-V1 and NAP140, though your amp would be easily capable of driving a more modern design with greater bass extension.

Happy auditioning! FT

Anyone using Harbeth P3ESR speakers with a NAP259 DR. If so, do they work well placed close to a back wall?

You could start with the Iota Alphas. 

It's a shame Naim can't take advantage of being in bed with Focal to do some new boundry designs, assuming Focal could meet Naim's standards.

alanbass1 posted:

Anyone using Harbeth P3ESR speakers with a NAP259 DR. If so, do they work well placed close to a back wall?

 

 

I had Harbeth Monitor 30.1s with a 250.2 and they needed space to work well. I think generally Harbeths are not designed to work against back walls. I really liked my Harbeths but I had to change when I moved house and needed a different configuration of the speakers (I'm now using SBLs).

Clive

How about some SBLs or (at risk of being accused of promoting what I own) SL2s. Both go hard against the wall, are sealed designs, and will take up no more space than small speakers on stands. For small standmounts the ATC SCM 11 looks very appealing, and come highly recommended by Jon Honeyball. The Harbeth website says that the P3 needs to be at least 30cm from the wall, and I'm sure I read somewhere that it was designed to be used in free space, say 1m from the wall. With a room 8' wide that would mean about 6" between them. 

Good that HH has checked. If Harbeth website says the P3ESR needs 30 cm from the front wall, a safer bet is to add 10 cm to it. Harbeth says my SHL5plus needs 75 cm from the front wall and my speakers always have approximately 100 cm from the wall instead. The closest I had was 90 cm and anything less it didn't sound too good to my ears.

12' x 8 ' is surely a very small room. The speakers would need to be on the short wall shooting down the length of the room.

Hungryhalibut posted:

How about some SBLs or (at risk of being accused of promoting what I own) SL2s. Both go hard against the wall, are sealed designs, and will take up no more space than small speakers on stands. For small standmounts the ATC SCM 11 looks very appealing, and come highly recommended by Jon Honeyball. The Harbeth website says that the P3 needs to be at least 30cm from the wall, and I'm sure I read somewhere that it was designed to be used in free space, say 1m from the wall. With a room 8' wide that would mean about 6" between them. 

That'll be headphones then!

Small yes and due to two doors, entry and cupboard, the speakers back onto the 12' wall.  So, difficult yes but the little Iotas work well but I just can't help but feel the system can give more.  

alanbass1 posted:

Anyone using Harbeth P3ESR speakers with a NAP259 DR. If so, do they work well placed close to a back wall?

I auditioned the P3ESRs a couple of years ago in my home, driven by my elderly chrome bumper 250. They sounded perfectly well balanced close to the angles of a shallow bay window. No trace of a bass hump. The only reason I didn't buy them was because I ultimately preferred the ATC SCM7.

My brother owns a pair of P3ESRs, and they sit on a mantelpiece with maybe an inch or two behind them. The acoustics of his room aren't ideal, but excessive bass isn't a problem i.e. I doubt that the speakers "want" to be further out into the room.

As always with these things, YMMV, so a home audition is essential.

alanbass1 posted:

Well, after much auditioning I traded in my Superuniti for a N272 and PS555 DR, which are now happily feeding my NAP250 DR.  Was going to go for the XPS but when I demo' the 555 it just made everything sound more musical and I got a really good deal on the store demo model.

 I was actually auditioning for some new speakers to replace my Neat Iotas but decided on the source first. Also, as my listening room is very small I would rather audition speakers at home with my 'target' system to ensure I get it right. Notwithstanding this, the Neats sound extremely good and not disgraced at all by the rest of the system.

Now to continue my research on speakers that would work in a 12' x 8' room.

With a room that size I think I'd be looking for infinite baffle speakers to avoid room resonances (i.e. bass boom). ATC are worth looking at.

Yep, the ATC SCM 11 is on the audition list. Also, the Proac Tablette 10 looks interesting and should be worth an audition.

Foot tapper posted:

Both ATC and Proac have launched infinite baffle stand mount speakers that should fit the bill for you in a small room.

 

Foot tapper, what is the ProAc model that you have in mind?