Ive recently been forced to upgrade from an arcam diva biamp system when a water leak fried it. Ive got Heybrook Heystack floorstanding Speakers.
I always liked my mates nait 3 so i took the plunge on a 5i and cd5i (original) which was a bargain.
Now theres lots i love and its a huge step up in some areas from my previous setup. However the system now lacks a bit of excitement. Its almost like its lacking a little focus. Sounds a little flat. Too laid back you could say. Its got none of the focused punch and crispness of the arcam not my friends nait 3. I have tried them in different positions etc as they are sensitive to positioning.
I know these speakers can do deep bass and crisp treble but itm guessing the match isnt right.
Hopefully, you may be able to improve it with something as simple (inexpensive) as speaker wire. Are you using the old wires, perhaps some properly terminated naca5 would help. A knowledgable dealer could be very helpful. A dealer could help if you are interested in changing speakers - from advice to actually auditioning speakers. Dynaudio is one I would look at - the special 40’s are very nice but not a floorstander, however they have a new line coming that on paper seem worth auditioning. I use harbeth 30.1 and am very satisfied (282/250 system however). I have a feeling they would not be for you- but I would still recommend a listen.
Naim gear likes to be set up properly, and getting it just right nearly always reveals what a system is really capable of. Speaker cables are a priority, with suitable, properly soldered plugs, as Benjy says. Are the Naim boxes on a proper rack, or at the very least, not stacked one on top of the other?
Its all racked properly and its all using very good cable. We arent talking subtle here really. . There is a definite and very noticeable (even my wife noticed without being asked) lack of upper midrange focus.
The more i think i wonder if the arcam setup was bright and sterile and the warm paced and rhythmic qualities i really liked were coming from my speakers. Now im getting too much of the good thing and its lacking in the other.
Im using a van den hul 4mm low capacitance oxygen free copper with an independently grounded silver shield. Cut exactly to the required longer length and mirrored on the other speaker. The cable is uncoiled to avoid inductance and all ends are terminated directly to the binding posts as per manufacturer instructions.
But to indulge the idea ive swapped out the cable for 2 runs of chord silver xt, some 10mm solid core cooker cable which is surprisingly good and some braided qed revalation stuff borrowed from a friend. You can hear changes between them but honestly no improvementon my cables.
My interconnects are the premium naim 4 pin din ones.