250DR, but which Evoke - 30, or maybe 50? UPDATE

Hello all, following your comments, advice thoughts and of course my ears and wallet, I have purchased the Evoke 30’s, and after c100hrs of running time they’re becoming rather more like those I demo’d at the dealers.
I’m really enjoying their overall sound, whether listening critically or ‘just playing music.’ This will be my system for a few years to come, and I’m very happy with it. I may be looking at a turntable upgrade towards the end of the year but the 150b and 250DR will not change unless my lottery numbers come up :grinning:

I’d like to thank you all for your help - all comments, good, bad and indifferent have contributed towards my decision. Much appreciated, everyone.

Hello everyone, this is my first foray into the world of half-decent hi-fi. I have recently purchased a HiFi Rose 150B streamer and a 250DR. I’m currently using my existing MA200 Bronze speakers and they sound ok/good, but I’m looking to purchase some Evokes at a decent price.
I have auditioned the Evoke 30, Sonetto III and Fyne 501 SP’s - all fantastic speakers in my newbie opinion, but having extensively back-to-back these speakers for direct listening comparison I find the Evoke 30’s best for my ears. However, I may have the opportunity to grab some Evoke 50’s at a really good price (budget is limited), but have been told by a couple of people that the 250DR would not really be best powering the 50’s and to stick with the 30’s. Room is 4.5m x 3.5m. Would the 50’s bass be too ‘boomy’, and not as controlled as the 30’s?
Would really appreciate some expert advice, and opinion, please. ATM I’m leaning towards the 30’s. Have not had the opportunity to try the 50’s.

Well, as is the tradition in the forum, I shall rep my own… “Evoke 50’s”!
Love ‘em❤️
Full spectrum sound.
Match well with Naim Amp’s (for me at least).
Stylish design.
Very versatile with all Genres of Music (that I listen to at least).
YMMV of course, BUT the proof of any HiFi pudding, is in the listening.
Home Demo is a must!!
Enjoy the adventure😁

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We auditioned Evoke 30 too, but ended up with Sonetto III. Mainly because they are bottom ported (30 are rear ported) so we thought they’d be less fussy about room placement. Both are excellent speakers.

That was with a 250DR.

Now we’ve got a 300DR we appreciate how important amplification control over speakers is. Whilst our speakers sounded very good with the 250DR, with the 300DR there’s more slam, more bass and finer detail. Far more separation of musical threads at higher volume levels.

We didn’t listen to 50s with a 250DR, is there any possibility of audition or home demo?

I think your room is too small for the 50s. My listening room is 0.5m smaller each way and I would not put 50s in there. The 50s need plenty of space between them and the rear/side walls and you don’t want to end up too close to them. I’d stick with 30s or equivalent. You might want a listen to some SCM ATC40s as well which are not ported and can sit fairly close to the rear wall. I looked into all this but decided to service and upgrade my Keilidhs instead. Saved a fortune. You could do worse than a used pair of these with a 250. You might even be surprised. :grinning:

thanks, QuickSticks, I’m trying to get to audition the 50’s on my set up, but I haven’t managed to get some on loan as yet…

Thanks, IainO, I found the Evoke’s to be more neutral, in my room. I found the Sonetto’s soundstage to be almost permanently wide, and I felt some tracks I listened to needed a closer, more intimate sound. Just my old ears, probably. Due to room size and layout, the speakers will end up reasonably close to the back wall and that was the main reason I tried the Sonetto’s, but I didn’t find the Evoke’s too boomy, even without the bungs. The decision was so close, I can’t tell you how many times I played the same tracks, swapping the speakers, listening again, and so on !!

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Hi Paul52135, thankyou for your reply; hmmm, I’m thinking so, too, but will still try to get them auditioned. The speakers makes I’ve tried are linked to budget, as I can get a favourable price on those. The wife is already wondering why I’ve no money left in my account !! thinking: …
The ATC’s are too much for my budget. Might have a look at Keilidhs, though, but I think purchase and service/upgrade would still cost more than I can get the 30’s for.

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Speakers are such a personal choice, that’s why advice all has to be taken with a pinch of salt!

If we’d read What HiFi we might have bought Spendors :cry: At audition they were not good, very noticeable as point sources compared to the glorious soundstage of DynAudio and Sonus Faber options. Three tracks in and SWMBO was asking dealer for “next”.

I’d think 30s are more than enough for the room. Our listening room is 10m x 8m and Sonettos flood it with no problem :smile:

Our speakers are not particularly close to the wall.

Paul, who did you get to service your Keilidhs?
I might get mine back from my Brother in Law, as he’s still not using them, get them serviced and use them in my Media Room🤔
Sorry to the OP for the mini Hijack of your thread😉

Me! :grinning:. But a quick google search should find you someone local if you are not confident with soldering/desoldering. It’s actually an easy job as access is good. If yours are mesh covered tweeters then then improvement is pretty significant. Even if it’s the later 3 bar tweeters then the improvement should still be well worthwhile. Either way the caps themselves make a difference.

Oh…bugger. I’m no longer skilled enough to take that on myself🫤
OK, I’ll investigate options and see who I can find. That’s always assuming he’s prepared to sell them back to me of course…:man_shrugging:t2:

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I auditioned the Evoke 30 against a Contour 20i (similar price to a discounted Evoke 50) and found the Contour had better bass extension and soundstage, despite being a standmount. It was also much more refined. Both great speakers but would encourage listening to the Contour 20is to compare what you get. I am running mine with a 250dr.

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The most important thing is to try your potential speakers at home. Never be tempted to buy something because it’s a bargain; only buy what works in your room. My room is 4.5m by 3.6m, with the speakers on the long wall, and I certainly wouldn’t have something as large as the Evoke 50. Speakers need to look appropriate as well as sounding good.

Agreed, IainO, all our ears and perceptions of what we think we hear are different. Thanks for the advice.

Not a problem, here , Qucik Sticks - all good chat for me to learn from !

Thankyou, 30hertz, I might see if I can give those a listen!

Agreed, HungryHalibut. I have tried them all at home and directly with with my RS150B and 250 DR, not other demo room/dealer kit that I would not be using at home. The fact that I might be able to save money only works if the speakers I hear are the best for me, up to my budget limit, of course. The consensus does appear to be that the 50’s might be a step too far. This corroborates what my hifi dealer has said. The 30’s fit very well into the room and SWMBO also likes them, she thinks they are the best looking as well as the best sounding.

Excellent, it’s always good to try things at home. My only concern about your system, is that Naim power amps usually work best with Naim preamps; the preamp defines the operating conditions of the power amp, and Naim pre and power amps are literally designed to go together. I know nothing of the Rose streamer/preamp, but I can’t help thinking that the new Naim NSC222 might make for a better match, the only downside being the cost of course. It may be worth trying one at some point.

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I’ve got a pair of Evoke 50’s on the end of my 250 DR and they sound great. “Downsized” from Focal Sopra 2’s. Have never missed the Sopras.

Understood, HungryHalibut - I would dearly have liked to go with the new Naim Classic kit, but my budget and my wife curtailed that little exercise… :cry:
I picked up the DR and the RS150 for around the same price as the NSC222. That said, I’m really happy with the sound I’m getting, but need to upgrade my MA200 Bronzes to the Evokes, hopefully next month… which I’m really looking forward to. gotta get through the running in, tho !

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