Yep, isn’t it a great game this! 
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Work out what each combinations TX VA rating would be. A very rough( but often accurate) way of knowing whether a combination may sound better.
Nice rug too, but why under the settee?
AFAIK Its a mono so 746W (or one horse power!) each channel \nitpick
But yes, I completely agree with your point about Tx rating
Better than on top of it
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ATB Peter
A few of us were fortunate to hear a comparison of 500DR passive versus 2 x 300DR active into Kudos 707 at the Signals Hifi Show in Ipswich a couple of years ago.
A few preferred the active 300DR system though the majority had a small preference for the 500DR.
I thought that they were different but broadly equivalent. If forced to choose, I would go 500DR passive due to lower box count, fewer wires, less temptation to upgrade in the future etc.
Hope this helps, BF
Yes was there too. I felt they were about the same but the active 300 was perhaps a bit exuberant, whilst the passive 500 had a more calm approach, taking the music in its stride. I preferred the 500, but as you say its just a preference, nothing wrong with the active 300,s. When i told Derek i liked the 500, he took that as a compliment on his work on their crossover😁
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I too preferred the 500 passive at the demo, to me it sounded more musical and natural. The 500 drove the speakers with ease and had that superb control we know the 500 just has.
Thanks for the replies on the 500 - I have only heard a 500 at length through my friend’s B&W 802d3. I perhaps don’t have a hugely positive view of the 500 because I don’t like B&W speakers - so I possibly need to hear it through my SL2s, to know what it is really like.
Although I started the thread to consider my end game (2-5 years away) rather than what I might do now, it would be sensible to try a 500 now. Although I am probably going to pause on that as my LP12 is coming back tomorrow, after getting stuck in the Linn Keel queue for two months!
Before I bought my dealers demo 500 it coincided with a visit to Salisbury HQ. This is a few years ago. One of the other visitors had active DBLs driven by a six pack of 135s. He has just P/Ed them for a 500 running passivly and said it was better than all the boxes. All this well before DR.
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Hi Tim, Im still not confident in gauging just how good the 500 is (…and it is) through the SL2s, as I said earlier. ATB Peter
Everyone will have their own story…
I once auditioned active Akubariks, with the dedicated on-board five amplifiers for each 'speaker. I was not impressed.
A few years later I am using passive Akubariks, which I assume have complex crossovers, powered by Solos. This arrangement, to me (obviously), is VASTLY better than the active set up.
I do remember, many years ago, that NAIM’s position was to not go active until you had reached the top of the amplifier ladder.
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I completely understand Peter - I know I have to make my own mind up.
My thinking only incorporates a 500 if I go to 808s - which I haven’t listened to properly yet
If you’re planning to upgrade your speakers up to the Kudos 808 price tag make sure to audition other brands like Raidho or Magico. Both blend nicely with the NAP 500DR.
I will, thanks, Thomas, though from a quick google they don’t look so attractive - and my wife would probably be unhappy with something bigger and black as that would look too hifi. Even with the wood veneer sides of the Titans I might have trouble persuading her
And now considering snapping up ex dem 808s to run with a single 300 as I reckon (with a lot of p/x ing) I can just about get there without laying much cash out. A bit worried about all the talk of them having to be “only” 18 inches from the wall though as that would bring the fronts out quite a long way compared to the SL2s…
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They are probably the easiest speaker to site i have heard, but talk to Kudos, they are pretty happy with the ability to be positioned inmost rooms.
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I think the 500dr and the addition of a 555psdr would give you a major step forward. The 500dr against the active 300s…may be a sideways step… for me in your shoes I would go for less boxes and the 2nd 555ps… tough decision 
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The 500 will work beautifully with the 808’s…sometimes opportunities seem to pop up when you least expect 
Now that your LP12 has a Keel, my suggestion would be to spend a wad on the cartridge , phono stage and IC. Upgrades here will pay off far greater than going active imo…
ATB,
Mark
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