Speakers that maximize Naim sound.

Don't know where you are located, but Hawthorne Stereo in Seattle sells ATC (and Naim).  They used to have some models on demo, but I don't know the current situation.

CXF04 posted:

Robert Burgess posted:

The new Magico A3 speakers look interesting 

Robert, do you own Magico? I Increasingly hear that many people are enamored of Magico line and see it as speaker of choice in way that Wilson were spoken of, especially the larger and more expensive versions. As shared I do have them on my short list, but non-Forum contacts who are Naim owners were first in love with their Magico's and then couldn't wait to get rid of them. Still I will consider them. Thank you for your thoughts.

Is there any consensus among these contacts as to why or even any agreement on where next?

I do have NBLs and very good they are too but they need a solid wall close to their backs (5.5cm in my case) not a plasterboard lined one or similar.

aht posted:

Don't know where you are located, but Hawthorne Stereo in Seattle sells ATC (and Naim).  They used to have some models on demo, but I don't know the current situation.

AHT, thank you for suggestion. While I've never heard ATC, at your suggestion I looked on line and saw they were carried by David Lewis in Philadelphia, while not next door, still accessible and they are a Naim dealer with generally fine reputation. I will put visit to David Lewis and ATC on my short list.   

notnaim man posted:

Going completely on a limb, based on including Harbeth and the price I have just found for the Yvettes.

Graham Audio VOTU, a company that has a BBC ethos, similar to Spendor and Harbeth???

Notnaim man, never heard Votu before. Online they looked like they were intended for Buckminster or Versailles.

I agree that Wilson Audio Yvette's are expensive, in current US dollars about $25,000, that's before whatever else I'll need. Having heard current Wilson's Alexia series 2, that cost $58,000 in "standard colors" and delivered in armored car. Set up I saw was all Naim and driven by NAP300 and I thought in terms of sound I want that it did everything perfectly. Cannot escape cost and size, 53-inches tall, looks like robot in your living room that only cleans up after your bank account and visually might benefit by placement in cathedral, still what I heard in room smaller than mine was for me something that kept music and listening right on page I wanted.            

wenger2015 posted:

The Focal Sopra 2’s or 3’s are designed to work with Naim. 

I would suggest it’s your best place to start.

Wegner, I've asked after Focal's at my Naim dealer who said he would not carry them, nothing bad to say, just thought his other lines were better and all were British save Wilson. My auditioning will take me to three shops, I originally hoped to go only to two and one sells the Sopra 2 & 3. Thank you for your suggestion.  

Huge posted:

The Harbeth Super HL5 Plus are almost identical to the Spendor SP1.  Both are direct descendants of the Spendor BC1.

If you change from the SP100s I feel you are most likely to be somewhat disappointed.  Whilst they are a bit different, they still have generally similar sonic characteristics inherited from the BBC monitor style of construction and optimisation.

Huge, thank you for your thoughts. having never heard BC! or SP1 I can't comment. My SP100R2 probably don't sound the same, just as they do not sound like current Harbeth 40.2. Spendor's ever elusive update of SP100 still not in shops almost a year after being announced is supposed to be return to original BBC sound. So far two dealers in different parts of the country have shared great disappointment with the alleged updates, one gave Spendor staff tongue lashing over their 200, yet same dealer thinks Spendor's  D7 & D9 are excellent and a  preferred choice, regrettably they were not for me, too life like, if I want to hear music in performance I'll do that, my home listening is more introspective and less intense. Anyway wonderful D series pushes performer down my eardrum. Not my forte.          

feeling_zen posted:

Not sure how meaningful it is to ask the question. Speakers are so personal anyway. Recommendartions almost seem pointless beyond general vouchers for compatibility - and that does have some real value as there are some things out there that are fine on paper but just don't work.

Case in point, clearly the speakers that would maximise the Naim sound most as heard by the ears at Naim would be Naim's own speakers prior to them stopping production. Yet here we are talking about non Naim ones - and Naim speakers themselves are, as reading the forum will reveal, highly polarise opinion. Another example is that for some reason, many ex SBL owners gravitated towards PMC Twenty.23 as a replacement if their SBLs gave up the ghost or were sold on to later regret. Yet The PMCs (another ex BBC heritage) sound not even remotely similar to SBLs. I confess, I have never heard a Naim speaker I got on with (and I've spent hundreds of hours in front of SBLs) yet chose the same PMCs a lot of ex SBL owners seemed to also like.

The point being, I'd strongly recommend just ignoring the notion of a "Naim sound" and find a speaker that works for you. No one on the forum will have the same shaped ears or room as you anyway. And most people will invariably just recommend what they own. 

Zen, thank you for your extensive and thoughtful post! Right now it seems there is no longer any USA PMC distributor, or distributor with retailers. If I can find dealer somewhere between New York and Virginia I will try and audition.

I recognize the dilemma of room size, shape and furnishings, even my own listening room  changed as my children grew older and eventually moved on and now as I prepare to move and my wife ruminates on what to keep and to throw away. Still I think personal opinions mean a great deal and I have come tor value many of the considerate thoughts offered on Forum.          

Max_B posted:

And yet, a good 2nd hand pair of SBLs has the best value for money ratio on the planet. And, in spite of a silly rumour, their setup can actually be some fun, and teach something (on speakers and on Naim).

Max, I wish I had trusted dealer who inventoried and restored SBLs & DBLs, but USA for moment is not UK where many still cherish audio and keep in mind how nice it is to set time aside to listen for pleasure.   

CXF04 posted:

notnaim man posted:

Going completely on a limb, based on including Harbeth and the price I have just found for the Yvettes.

Graham Audio VOTU, a company that has a BBC ethos, similar to Spendor and Harbeth???

Notnaim man, never heard Votu before. Online they looked like they were intended for Buckminster or Versailles.

I agree that Wilson Audio Yvette's are expensive, in current US dollars about $25,000, that's before whatever else I'll need. Having heard current Wilson's Alexia series 2, that cost $58,000 in "standard colors" and delivered in armored car. Set up I saw was all Naim and driven by NAP300 and I thought in terms of sound I want that it did everything perfectly. Cannot escape cost and size, 53-inches tall, looks like robot in your living room that only cleans up after your bank account and visually might benefit by placement in cathedral, still what I heard in room smaller than mine was for me something that kept music and listening right on page I wanted.            

I haven't heard them, I was working on the budget of the Wilson's together with the mention of Harbeth. Graham Audio started producing BBC monitors, Derek Hughes designed System 3D and VOTU developed from that so there is a BBC link all the way through. It's difficult to relate System 3D to domestic audio but they are not like your average PA.

I don't particularly like the piano gloss of the VOTU, don't own Naim, so just a guess really.

I'd like to add question in context of my above original concerns about speaker matching. My current speakers Spendor SP100R2 use NAP300DR and NAC552DR, is it possible Spendor's require something more powerful like NAP500DR? I sent this question to Spendor both their USA distributor and home office, I received no answer. Spendor's USA distributor has never been helpful for me and this is 2nd or 3rd time I've reached out to them. They are no Naim!      

Slightly from leftfield, I wonder if you could be happy with a pair of Quad electrostatics? Might have to be wary of pushing too much power into them with your NAP300DR though.

CXF04 posted:

The Strat (Fender) posted:

Neat, Kudos or Dynaudio?

Strat, the speaker I was always most interested in from your suggestions have been Kudos, a speaker often favored by many Naimites with very "British" sound, but Kudos website does not show any USA distributor.

Thank you for your suggestions.   

Mango Monkey who lives in the USA has Kudos S20s.  E-mail Derek at Kudos direct and see what he says.  

Best regards,

Lindsay

Please forgive me if I’m being a bit dim, but I’m a little confused. You say that you value Naim’s musical communication, which is something I’d wholeheartedly agree with. Yet later you say that the Spendor Ds were not for you as they are too lifelike, and that you are looking for something less intense. The two seem somehow diametrically opposed to me. I’ve never heard the various US speakers that you mention, so can’t really help with those. The other thing you mention is preparing to move: my thought on that is that it’s probably best to stick with what you have until you have found your new place. Your current room sounds really big, and were you to move to somewhere smaller you may find that your carefully chosen new speakers are no longer a good match. 

Christopher_M posted:

Slightly from leftfield, I wonder if you could be happy with a pair of Quad electrostatics? Might have to be wary of pushing too much power into them with your NAP300DR though.

Christopher thank for your question. Every time I read speaker review the writer seems to be comparing the speaker to Quads. Going back to I think 1969 I knew chap who had what I guess  was ESL63. He was spoke about them more than he played them, but I was always impressed with what I heard, I think electrostatics are great, but can you match the with my Naim gear? I also recall hearing Magnepans in many different set ups. Chris, if you or someone has had successful Naim match with Quads please let me know.          

Thanks. I confess I have never heard Quad electrostatics with Naim but they do have their fans here.

I was an LS3/5a owner for years (of which, you may know, Spendor was a licenced builder) so your experience of Spendor, and mine in hi-fi retail in the early 90s where we sold ESL 63s (very often to people who loved Spendor LS3/5as) made me think that ESLs might be the answer. Plus, I don't think they would have the sort of rumbley bass to bother fellow appartment dwellers.

I don't know how widely available the latest incarnation are in the US.

Enjoy your music.

C.

Hungryhalibut posted:

Please forgive me if I’m being a bit dim, but I’m a little confused. You say that you value Naim’s musical communication, which is something I’d wholeheartedly agree with. Yet later you say that the Spendor Ds were not for you as they are too lifelike, and that you are looking for something less intense. The two seem somehow diametrically opposed to me. I’ve never heard the various US speakers that you mention, so can’t really help with those. The other thing you mention is preparing to move: my thought on that is that it’s probably best to stick with what you have until you have found your new place. Your current room sounds really big, and were you to move to somewhere smaller you may find that your carefully chosen new speakers are no longer a good match. 

Hungry Halibut thank you for responding, I've read and appreciated your posts for some time. Sorry if my explanation seems ambivalent. My purchase is for new home bought few years ago and now gutted and rebuilt so home is there though I'm not. I will not take delivery until I'm ensconced and have dealer voice the speakers in fully furnished room. In UK dealers provide home demonstrations, I've not seen that stateside. I have pretty good musical memory and not very good musical vocabulary, so buying speakers is merger of experiences of others and auditioning. If I could have three speakers brought to my home for 30-minutes each, Forum inquiry may not be necessary.  All suggestions are appreciated, taken seriously and will be functionally followed up. Hungry Halibut, your thoughts and suggestions are much appreciated and valued given their source.          

I have a Nap 300 DR too, my loudspeakers are Dali Epicon 6, great fit.

Focal Sopra 2!!! I have them with a NAP300.  The 300 has perfect control over these speakers.  Bass is tight and controlled; mid are to die for, specially if you like vocal jazz, female voice in particular.  Transparency with good extension.  Even better if you use convolution to deal with the acoustic of your room.  I can sit down and listen for hours!

Neat Speakers.

They just sound right with Naims.

I should be the one then to mention ProAc. Possibly K6 at your system level and considering the dimensions of your listening room.  

Chag -

CXF04, it's a pity Spendor doesn't seem to care much for their customers in the US but I have heard SP100's a few times and IMO, they are one of the best loudspeakers out there! You asked if the Spendors could use more power so that maybe the best solution for you, especially because you already own a 552 and the 500 would be the perfect partner.

CAT345, thank you for your response. I wish Spendor acted like they were in business to make money. As I probably mentioned in earlier post I added 552DR, just few weeks ago and it has transformed what I was getting from SP100 in ways that did not seem possible. Prior to acquiring 552 I was sincerely ready to leave the speakers  in my building’s recycling. Now I wonder if the speakers were being vastly under powered, but I’m not audio engineer, I have no idea what speaker’s requirements are. However 500’s would cost after trade in something in vicinity of Wilson Yvette. CAT345, thank you again!

Rui Marques posted:

Neat Speakers.

They just sound right with Naims.

 

Ruin Marques if you own Neats are they matched with system that approximates mine? And which Neat are you using, or what match has impressed you?

I have the Proac D40Rs and have been happy with them since I tamed the bottom firing bass with Herbie's Fat Gliders.  

I am open to better speakers but I am not sure what.   Auditioning speakers without buying them is very difficult; you can forget hearing them "in my listening room".    Accordingly, it is a crap shoot at best.

I might be open to the next Proac up the line.   I heard the Rockports and wanted to like them based on friends who love theirs, but the rear port rules them out for me.  I heard the Magicos and liked what they did in the store; they have a fast and detailed sound and might work well with Naim or might be too much of a good thing.   The Wilsons have been an aspirational speaker for me since the Watt/Puppies but It has been a while.  Never seen a Focal.   If there were a Kudos 707 in my future, I would be open to it but there are not a dozen pairs in North America.

Audiovector. Back when the sr6 and sr3 series were designed Audiovector was the Danish distributor for Naim. And Naim still provides Snaxo configured for the sr3 and sr6 series.