500 v 2x300 active?

I did hear improvements with some of the tricks :astonished:
I also did a test on several people who watched me align the screws in a main plug on a lamp that wasn’t even plugged in. And then played the same track again…and watched their faces in amazement.

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TBH, this one does not sound so completely outlandish in a Naim world with cable shakers, cables transmitting microphonics and you should not use the locks on the interconnects (that were put on the cables to begin with), cables should never touch BUT the 252 snaic and burndy must, but only in one spot.

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I remember at (I think) the Penta Hotel Hi-Fi Show, listening to someone trying to sell a crocodile clip in a plastic bag for what, at the time, seemed to me, both mad & silly money.
They were stating that if you clipped it onto a curtain in your room, it would improve the sound.
I am sure they sold some too !?
The crazy world of hi-hi !

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The look of scorn on my face would give away my views on that! :grin:

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Ok the time is near - and we have pretty much finally arrived back at the original question, but not quite how I imagined. I had thought I would be saving up for years to get 808s (if ever) and was wondering originally if I should stick with 2x300 on the SL2s or go for a 500 on the basis that I would be unlikely to go active on 808s

Anyway - on Monday my walnut 808s are coming together with a 500 that will be staying if I like it. Nice Christmas pressie to myself.

Am a bit worried that getting all the changes done in one day will be a bit too much and (naughty) Pete has no hope of remembering all the bits needed (my one rack of fraim lite is being replaced with full fat to match the existing rack of full fat fraim). Although he will have to make two trips anyway, as the boxes for 808s fill his car with nothing else in at all - and he has to take away his demo 808s, SL2s, a sn3, supercap, snaxo, a pair of 300drs, ndx and a stack of fraim lite

The new spur isn’t done, sadly, so 2021 for that. But everything else should be in place to have some nice sounding stuff happening over Christmas :blush:

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Interestingly Tim, it seems like your SL2s are coming to live in our house next week, I spoke to Pete about them this morning. I hope that big black spider won’t be in the box or you’ll be hearing from my good lady or the undertaker!

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You have a lovely problem…just put on the Xmas slippers, sit back, and let the music take over. Have a great Xmas Tim.

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Ah no the spider will be staying :grin: Hope you enjoy the SL2s as much as I have - they are excellent. But the 808s are excellenter!

Not looking forward to getting the boxes out of the loft in preparation though :flushed:

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Thanks, Gazza. Same to you

I hope so too, they’re a bit of a shot in the dark for me but I love SBLs so we’re in with a good chance. We’re moving house sometime in the near future and the speakers need to be up against the wall and my Utopias love a bit of space. The SL2s definitely have the wife pleasing factor which is handy as Wendy isn’t ever going to let me get something much bigger or room dominating

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Well they replaced SBLs here and I was very pleased with the uplift. They have been pretty hard against the wall, sounding great on NDS/52/sc/300 non dr up to ND555/552/pair of 300dr. Not the deepest bass but fast and accurate. I hope very much that you love them as I have

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Hi Tim, hope you didn’t mind me pointing Colin in your direction, he was putting out feelers for SL2s in the fishy place, so it was me who told him to get in touch with Pete…just on the off chance that yours were still up for grabs.

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Of course I don’t mind! Very happy with community minded stuff like this and will be pleased to hear how Colin gets on with them

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I’ll be sure to let you know, it will be into January before I do anything with them, the Christmas tree has been plonked well and truly in front of the RH speaker so it’s not an option until then. I’ve spent to morning looking for another pair of 135s believe it or not, I’m rather hoping I don’t find any until after the house move, I think I have a spare supercap in the loft so that would take a chunk out of the cost of going active which is an itch waiting to be scratched. Waiting for the house move is the sensible thing though just in case they don’t suit the room.

Thank you Chris, much appreciated, you took a lot of stress out of the search for a decent pair

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Maybe you need a snaxo then?

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TimOopNorth - i have been following this thread and your journey quite closely and it has been very interesting. Can you describe what you are hearing with the 808s that in your view make them superior to the SL2? Realize it is a basic question but here in the US the Kudos brand is not really a factor and they look like very good speakers.

I did think of asking but I think I’ll wait until I’m 100% sure

Listening to the news just now I suspect we may both have to wait a while longer to get our new kit unless the delivery does count as work?

Wales is going into lockdown at midnight tonight so that will be me without then! Well better safe than sorry. Hopefully you’ll be OK Tim

Oh dear, sorry to hear that :slightly_frowning_face:

A lot of it is (I think) down to personal taste - speakers are very personal items, and I think we all hear things differently.

I haven’t been on a huge slog around lots of different dealers and shows looking for new speakers, but I have heard Kudos speakers (Titan 505, 606, 707 and 808) at various dealer events at Acoustica. Every time I have heard them, they have sounded very musical. Very listenable to - more so than any of the other speakers I have heard in the same locations over the last 3-4 years - could sit and listen to them all day very happily. Where heard at shows, none of the other rooms did anything for me - and I just sat in the kudos room for more time than spent in all the other rooms out together.

The 808s (compared to the SL2s) seem to do just as fast bass, but they extend lower. With a single 300dr into the 808s, the sound is fuller and deeper and with more scale than (but just as fast and musical as) with a pair of 300s into the SL2s.

Now the 808s started with only 8 hours on them (fresh from the factory) and it took a couple of weeks of playing 6-7 hours a day for them to get somewhere nearer their potential - and they have continued to improve. They are quite close to the wall behind (9 or 10 inches)

When I had the SL2s powered by a single 300 (non dr at the time), the max volume was 9 o clock. When I went active with two 300s I could go to 10 o clock. With the 808s 10 o clock is a fairly natural volume (as long as nobody else is in the house!).

One thing I particularly like about the 808s is that when played quietly the lower notes still come across very naturally and at the same level as higher notes - no need for a loudness button here

Not sure what else to say - I am not great at putting into words what I hear (same with coffee tasting - my wife is much better at putting the flavours into words) so sorry if this is not much help

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