Naim Nova and ATC ! !

Hi..have you looked at Proac ?..we have just upgraded to a Nova and Core,from Unitiserve and N-serve...we chose the Proac DB 3’s and are delighted with the sound !

..auditioned the Dynaudio special 40’s but did not like what we heard..it’s all very subjective and only you can decide..

On another note , the Powerline made a big difference to the soundstage and separation, as did the addition of a Music works Reflex lite distribution block.

steve w.

You seem to have found what you like.....but are still not satisfied and are looking for the upgrades. This is fine, but it is the most expensive way forward. If you like the ATC have you considered the active speakers with a preamp...you mention Bryston?

I had a Nova, it’s a great amp, with a number of speakers, but speakers are a very personal choice.

There is nothing like an active ATC. Whole different ball game. The passive boxes are fine. But active is an order of magnitude more real, more substantial, more musical, more tangible. And the SL drive units are special. Take the leap.

(Plus you end up with a very simple system, with lots of inherent savings. No daft silly money racks that overwhelm your living space, no coils of intractable speaker cable) 

Yes i think i will indeed take the plunge and get a pair of active speakers,thinking of the SCM20 ASL's,those along with the Nova i think will be a winning combo,but just a little nervous about not being able to demo a pair at home which by learning the hard way is extremely important,sadly my local dealer only has the home consumer line of products,

Guess i will be taking a leap of faith,but i am reasonably comfortable that the end result will be amazing,

Thanks for the reply's

Regards

Also i think sealed cabinet speakers give a better sound (tighter bass) and integrate better with subs,for sure Proac speakers get great reviews and there appears to be many many happy customers,but as my speakers will be 30cm from a wall rear ported speakers are definitely out,

As was pointed out speakers are very personal and subjective,and as i mentioned on a recent demo i knew straight away (to my ears anyway) that i liked the ATC 19's over the Dynaudio and PMC's,just sounded so lush and full bodied with an amazing mid range and virtually no colouring,

regards

Oops just realised that i am using the pre-out on the Nova for my pair of BW DB4 subs,which leaves me with no way of using the SCM20 ASL !,

Any ideas on a work around with this !

Thanks

Me again,

Apologies for rattling on,but am i correct that i could in fact buy a DIN to RCA cable then an RCA to XLR adaptor (Mogami make one for example) which would allow me to run the SCM20 ASL's !,assuming that the DIN and RCA pre-outs run in parallel ! and leaving the regular RCA pre-outs for the subs !

Thanks

RGMD11 Based on my experiences with my Superuniti your assumptions seem reasonable.

Thanks Roog for your answer

I demo:ed the active ATC SCM19A a while ago and really liked them. I could keep the 252 and still do a 4-box system (NDX2 + 2 x power supplies). Should have gone active a long time ago ... with the SBL:s.

RGMD11 posted:

Thanks Roog for your answer

 

 

Hi RGMD11, I suspect, (no more certainty that that!) that you are right in your assumption that the DIN and Phono outs are in parallel, I would be surprised if they were independently buffered, so you may need to consider whether applying a 'load' on both affects the sound. The product specification on the Nain site for the Superuniti indicates a low  output impedance 22ohms which encouraged me to try an external amp on the DIN and left my headphone amp connected to the phono, I can't say that I experienced any issues. Naim don't seem to publish the equivalent output impedance for the Nova.

You are probably aware that the DIN out includes both L+R channels so the DIN cable would be a 'Y' cable to split the channels for each speaker. I guess you could get have a DIN to XLR 'Y' cable made up but given the length of run to each speaker that really would be a funny cable!

I would be interested to hear how this works out, i did consider active SCM 40's, but my budget intervened and I had to settle for passives. 

Well today i picked up my ATC SCM20 ASL's and using the Nova RCA Pre-out to BW DB4's subs and the Din to XLR adaptor to the ATC's,works perfectly,and without swearing i will say "Oh my goodness" i now have a cheshire cat grin,and the speakers are not even close to being run in,

After Hegel H360,Gryphon Diablo 120,Accuphase E-470,Lumin and Aurender and a variety of Goldenear,Sonus Faber,BW 805D3 and Uber expensive Kubala Sosna Emotion speaker cables and Synergistic research Powercell UEF i have finally hit Audiophile Nirvana,this combo has MOJO synergy in abundance...so very happy right now,shame i have to go away in a few days to work,but when i get back i will be playing my favourite music over and over,already listening for hours and no Fatigue "Amazing"......

Congratulations, if your SCM20s are brand new, they are certainly going to improve significantly through use. Most ATC drivers seem to take a loooong time to bed in

congrats mate - i'm really happy with scm11 with my nova and i'm a tad envious of your active 20's...

Thanks Gents

These speakers are just incredible,they just reveal everything in such an open transparent and revealing nature,they reveal so much in a very satisfying manner,throw something well recorded and it just has me salivating in joy,material not recorded so well is a slight dissapointment but i can quite easily accept that,

Naim and ATC is a match made in heaven,i have spent 3 years and a lot of money on a vast mixture of Speakers,amps,front end streamers and cables and power blocks,never truly satisfied,luckily and finally got there and i am truly happy

Well done Naim

Well done ATC

I bought a Nova this year and it was only after 15 hours of auditions with two different retailers that I made my speaker choice. It was only after a second audition that I made my speaker choice. When I first heard them I was not that impressed. Second time around I appreciated how good they were compared to my first preferences.

My advice is take your time and go back two or three times. 

Congratulations RGMD11 , I very nearly bought some SCM20 ASL's last year but waited until some renovations were finished and went with Active 40's instead which are a revelation and reduce the box count  . I'm sure you'll be very content for a long time with your speakers and as Simon says just wait until they've opened up a bit to see what they can really do . 

Not sure what cables you are using but I'm finding Mogami  2549 XLR's are very good .

Funny the Mogami XLR cables are exactly the ones i am using,extremely capable,i had some uber expensive Kubala Sosna Emotion speaker cables which in fairness were very very good but part of the diminishing returns scenario

Regards