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

Hi Zipperheadbanjo, and thanks for your comment. Glad you love your 50’s, I really like the size of them in the showroom, but I just can’t help thinking they may need more breathing space than the room my hifi is in…more experienced people on here, and the hifi dealer seem to be leaning towards that.

I need to move into a bigger house with bigger rooms, then it would be 50’s all the way!

I would choose between the Evoke 30 and Contour 20i (assuming your budget would strech to the Evoke 50). If for some reason you want to stick to Dynaudio i‘d also not rule out the Heritage Special which you can find at around 5000€ ex-demo.
I am pretty sure that depending on the music genres you value to listen the most, one or the other of these will suit you better.

It’s often true that large speakers can overwhelm a small room, but that’s not always the case. For example, last year I was discussing speakers with a Linn/Naim dealer of many years standing who explained how he had used Isobariks in a tiny 12 x 13 foot room and found that they worked exceptionally well, whereas they could be more difficult in larger rooms, apparently including the demo room at Naim HQ, where they just didn’t work despite the tiny Linn Kan sounding exceptionally good there.
He also uses Shahinian Obelisks in a very small room.
These setups can provide a very immersive sound, in some ways similar to a good headphone setup, which can be very appealing. Of course, every room is different and personal taste varies, so I’m not saying this would be a good choice for everyone.

Hi conlegno, thank you for your suggestions. I heard the Special Forties but they were hooked up to the NSC222 and the new Classic range kit; it sounded just awesome. But at 5.5k per box and £3k for the speakers it was all too rich for me, unfortunately. I haven’t had the chance to try the Special Forties or the Contour 20i’s at home on my system, and I’m looking for a floorstander in the first instance. I will, however, discuss these speakers, including the Heritage special with my dealer and see what he has that I can loan and test. Cheers !

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Hi ChrisSU, thanks for your insight. This is all a huuuuge learning curve for me, but what I’ve picked up very quickly is the fact that every thing is different for every one of us, and just because the dealer or an expert says something is good, bad or indifferent, it is really based on their experiences and knowledge which is in turn based on what they have used, listened to and so on. I’m tempted to give the 50’s an audition, if I can get them on loan in the room, hooked up to my system. Otherwise it will not be a true audition with respect to where they are going to be used in their final position. It’s all really interesting stuff, and no-one is incorrect for themselves, but their correct might not be my correct…
More auditioning, methinks ! :wink:

It may or may not make a difference to you but I would ask your dealer if the Evokes you choose are still made in Denmark… If not, resale value can be greatly affected.

Hi StuA,
I have a room basically same size as you 3.5m by 4.5m ish with ported floorstanders firing down long dimension.
If this is your set up you will probably find you have a standing wave around 38hz which results in a circa 10 dB peak at that frequency which was not always noticeable in all tracks but once you know about it made me think I’d bought speakers that were too large - and perhaps I did!
I run a convolution filter in Roon to negate the impact of the room and think it works exceptionally well.
The filter is designed by a chap called Obsessive Compulsive Audiophile “OCA” which is free although if you have same set up as me I could share the filter - let me know.
I’m not trying to confuse you just reassure you that even if you buy large speakers, that you really like, solutions do exist.
Good luck and enjoy the journey :+1:.

Hi cat345, yes this has been confirmed. Denmark is the country of manufacture. Thanks for the heads-up.

My room is about 3.35m x 5.2m. I had a 250DR for years. That powered a pair of Dynaudio Contour S3.4 for years and they sounded great. I upgraded to Confidence C2 Platinum. The 250DR powered them satisfactorily for the most part, but they didn’t really open up and shine until I got a 300DR.

The Confidence C2 are not too big for the room. They work really very well, although I do plan to move the system to our living room which is larger (4.0m x 6.7m).

Offhand I think the Evoke 50 should work pretty well with a 250DR. A 300DR will be better but that’s always true.

Not for me. Sorry to disagree.

It will for the Dyns, IMO. Better control, and better sound at lower volumes.

Do you have Dyns or something else. What do you think makes the 300DR less good than a 250DR?

Hi JosquinDesPrez, thanks for your comment re the 250 DR and the 50’s. Food for thought, and an audition…
I’m not aware of the C2 and its’ dimensions compared to the 30’s or the 50’s, so will do some research. If I could have afforded a 300, I would have gone with that. but overall budget means I have to tread carefully with what elements from the whole system, so one does not outperform the other by too much; balance on my budget is key.

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You write about balance being important, but do seem to be getting a bit carried away with speaker choices. I’d suggest you’d be better going with the 30s and putting spare money towards a 222 to replace the Rose. Why not borrow the 50s and a 222 and see which approach works best for you. So often people get big complex speakers and find their electronics are letting the side down, and then have to spend a lot to restore the balance.

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In my system, my room, my speakers ( Apertura Altra). I thought you were saying that 300 dr will sound best in all cases , with all speakers and rooms, not only Dynaudio speakers.

Yeah, Dynaudios are my experience. They love the higher current amps.

The upgrade from 250DR to 300DR for me was pretty significant, with no downsides. I don’t read all the threads around here, but you are the first I’ve heard – at least that I recall – someone disliking a 300DR compared to a 250DR.

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You will tend to get all sorts of suggestions here about better sources and better amplification. That, of course, is what Naim make, and it’s important to get it right. However, the single most important and most difficult thing to get right in any system is the speaker/room interaction. Crack that problem, and everything else is just the icing on the cake.

If at all possible that is what you need to do - with a 250DR driving them (take your amp if not at your home and the seller doesn’t have). Whilst in your own room is ideal, if not possible then in a room of as close to similar dimensions as the demonstrator may have, and if possible comparing directly with the 30s. If that is not possible then compare with something else you know - such as whatever speakers you have now, taking them along, to set a baseline for how things sound in the demo room.

In this case Chris, we know that the 30s work, because the OP has tried them. The point I’m making is that the Rose/Naim interaction may not be optimal. That’s exactly what you found when your you tried Chord/Naim. So given the room/speaker interaction is sorted with the 30s, surely the pre/power interaction is the most important thing. Of course, bigger speakers are an option, but it must make sense to ensure that everything else is working harmoniously. It may already be, of course, but without trying one doesn’t know.

Hi HungryHalibut, as I’ve already just purchased the 250DR and Rose 150B on a limited budget, I am not in a position to change those for a while ! The 222 is impressive but just too much money for me right now. So that’s why I’m concentrating on getting the best speaker match for the components I have and the room I have. But I take your last point.

Hi ChrisSU, for me it’s that blending of all component parts of the system; the amp and streamer were what I could afford given the deal presented before me at the time. I tried the Atom and the Nova but my ears preferred what I now have, and I can hopefully upgrade in stages as time goes on. The speakers are what I have yet to decide upon, and have tried three sets of speakers and placed them nearer/further away from the back and side walls as much as the layout, dimensions and other furniture in the room will allow - and the differences in the placement and interaction between that and each speaker type is very noticeable. Work in progress!