500 v 2x300 active?

Just start playing all of her favourite music for the next few hours :wink:

What is the color you choosed Tim? Can you point it on that pic?

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That pic is a great find - I have been looking for a couple of days now for the various kudos options and didn’t manage to find that one - thanks :blush:

Ok so left to right we have black, oak, walnut, tineo and white

The ones on dem are tineo (I will take a close up of the colour when it’s a bit lighter so people can see), I was thinking I would prefer oak but now (having seen a few pics of the walnut) am thinking that walnut is going to be my choice. The tineo is too orange and stripy. I think it might look good in a very modern home, but not in our comfy, rustic space

Edited to add - being rather dense, I have only just twigged that my lp12 plinth is walnut and connected that with the walnut finish I would probably choose

But they are a bit too big for the space, visually (don’t know if them being the wrong colour has anything to do with that). The fireplace has a shadow cast over it, which isn’t very pleasing. Am hoping that I can get used to their size (and/or find that the sound compensates dramatically)

The latest stupid thought is that if I got Simon Price to make up some Simracks in walnut I could have the shelving, speakers and lp12 all matching (which would be an improvement), and probably fit three racks in the available space. The width of fraim means only 2.5 wide is possible

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Here’s a close up of one of them - the colour isn’t quite right in the photo though - actually more orange than this, but you get a very clear impression of the stripes

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But they are sounding lovely

Uh oh…

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Not sure I understand the logic in this. Are we saying that if funds are no object one should go to a 500DR before even considering active and if so go active with 500s. I have NBLs and that would mean 3 500s and the room would look like an electricity substation.

Like many commenting here, I am an Acoustica customer. I run my NBLs on 3x250s active and a few years ago, when I was going pale at the cost of 3 SL speaker cable sets, I asked Geoff whether I should consider a 500DR and go passive. The answer was an unequivocal No! which taking into account Geoff’s love of a deal made me put the thought aside.

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I am saying that is what Naim have said. Some people disagree. I never had a conversation with Geoff about active v passive other than at the September kudos active day. And I preferred two 300s into 707s over one 300. And I have never heard NBLs

But I agree that plenty of people on this thread are disagreeing with naim’s stated philosophy of getting to the highest possible level before going active.

And I know what you mean about the thought of 3xSL speaker cable sets

I remember several dealers preferring active 250’s to a 500. One went as far as to say that Naim had got it wrong with the 500, losing everything that Naim used to be. I haven’t really listened to the 500 so am not sure exactly what he meant.
I love my active 250’s into NBL’s and feel that spending so much on replacing the NBL’s with Kudos 808’s simply isn’t worth it. Maybe one day I’ll be convinced otherwise…
Perhaps @TimOopNorth should try to get a pair of active NBL’s, which look gorgeous and not too imposing!

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Tim
If you have decided against the tineo finish; and if the spatial fit of the 808 is less than ideal, that may open up the field of choice a bit wider for you. Not having heard them, I’m wondering if the 707 would be a more acceptable fit in your room; and would they have sufficient sound capacity to serve the volume of your room. Or does that space really need something like the 808 to provide a step change from your existing speakers?

Not trying to mess with your brain! :innocent:

Peter

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Ask me in a couple of weeks. Today is simply too early to know much about the sound - only about 18 hours from zero (10 hours here, 8 at factory) so simply too soon.

707s were a tempting try as I could go active with my 2x300s quite easily (whereas the 808s are either single 300, a trio of 250s or a single 500 - unless I change racks when I could do 3x300s but the number of cables from 2x300s is already doing my head in a bit), but I wanted to try out the 808s here - and I know that getting 707s and then later on going to 808s would work out more expensive in the long run. And enough people whose opinions I respect rave about the 808s. Not found anyone who prefers the 707s over just about anything in the Titan range (though active with 2x300 I thought they were a big step up over the 606s - I thought the 606s were at a level with my SL2s)

And I am just blurting out random thoughts as I go, really

Interesting - I have never before heard that view expressed re the 500. I have heard that Peter Swain prefers 3x250 into 808s over a single 500, but not heard anyone else say the same thing

With the 808s if I go for them, that’s the end game speaker wise - and will be the first new set of speakers I have bought in 30 years. Not keen to buy more used speakers. And the sideways firing bass units in the NBLs would be firing straight into one of the racks

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I send you a photo of my 808 in oak. Maybe it helps you to make your decision which finish to choose.
You see my 808 are close to the wall. The TV board is oak too and the n-sub in the corner is cherry.
The whole equipment is on racks in walnut finish

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Hi Michael!
It was the same when I did the comparison 808 to my beloved NBL. The demo 808 stays at my home until I got my new 808s in oak finished delivered.

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Great setup and space, thanks. Helpful to see more examples of different finishes

Edited to add - your TV is a bit bigger than mine :joy: took a while to get the scale :grin:

Whilst I have absolutely no intention of changing my NBLs at present, I have to consider that if something happens to them they are not repairable. I have looked at Kudos because that allows me to remain active and whilst I was mightily impressed with the 808s when I heard them, they are just too big for my listening room (even Pete agrees with that ). Accordingly, I would be faced with either 707s active or if I really wanted to be radical and cut the box count active ATCs a route that would be not far off cost neutral. Would need to have a listen.

Good luck with your decision making, I will be very interested in your conclusions.

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Thanks for your wishes. I don’t think DBLs would quite fit here but, even if they did, I would struggle to contemplate having them due to the difficulty of refurbishing them

I liked the active 707s with a pair of 300s at acoustica. I did hear active 808s at acoustica’s show last year (cannot remember if they were 3x500 or 3x300) but didn’t consider I would be able to get them in any short time period so just enjoyed the music without taking them seriously. Enjoyed the 505s similarly the previous year same place.

I have heard ATCs on three occasions but (a) the look is unacceptable to me and (b) the sound doesn’t do it for me

Should also say that if I go for the 808s then I will subsequently have to choose between a single 500 and 3x250. I think Pete likes active less than Geoff did - but Ed who now works with Pete is getting (or has got) 808s fed by 3x250s

Cripes purple66 - is that a sub you have in addition to your 808’s?!! A veritable wall of sound!

Peter

I still have my NBLs sat unused. My most frustrating hi-fi experience! They look fantastic (to me anyway!) and with the right music I absolutely loved the sound. Problem was that they just did not work properly in my very sub-optimal room - the bass just wasn’t on tap for most music despite the sometimes magical mid and highs. Maybe I’ll resurrect them if I move home for one last try!!

Peter

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I used the sub in addition to my NBL. You can run the 808 with the sub but I prefer to run them without the sub. The accuracy of the bass from the 808 outperforms the n-sub. Now I use the sub mainly, when watching movies.

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