Also I had the pre P1000 and amp PA1175 here for about a week and compared them to my NAC82 and NAP250. I prefer the Naim. The Goldnote were good and could be played extremely loud without fatigue which can not be said about the NAC/NAP. But they were too polite for my tastes. It’s difficult to find that balance between in your face and refined.
Ah so you struggle a bit with your current system giving you fatigue?
Balance is indeed trivial since the room colouration is such a big part of it. Have you tried other speakers in your current system?
I struggled for some time with my former naim system and Harbeth SHL5+. The mids were bit to hot for my room. I’m sure they measured better than my current speakers but they gave me constant fatigue and were picky on music. I decided I wanted a system where I decide what to play and not my system so I made a change to speakers which had a long story of focus on connecting with music and never looked back. When reading a bit on your speakers some find them pushy in the mids which reminds me of SHL5+. Our ears ars super sensitive to the mids since they are tuned to voices so if something is not right there it’s more often an issue than with treble IMO.
Not sure how close D7 and D9 are but here’s few comments on D7 and naim.
“I had a pair of D7’s but only briefly for the same reasons the OP listed.
Very fatiguing and hard to listen to with my naim electronics.
I initially thought it was the tweeter causing the fatigue so draped a tea towel over it to check, turned out it was the mid-driver that caused me discomfort.”
“I find the D7’s presentation to be somewhat hard and at times harsh in the upper mid range”
"That’s the emphasis I found, which made them overly analytic, although I wouldn’t say they lacked ‘space and air’, just that it was that rather artificial sense of space produced by the analytic method.
They are impressive in some ways - if placed very wide apart they can really image an orchestra - but ultimately I thought they had an artificial emphasis that I could never live with."
agreed it is about how clean you can take your music … my bane for the last 40 years
It’s not really an issue just something that can be fine tuned. I never heard the d7 but d9 I wouldn’t describe as artificial (not sure what they mean) or that the midrange is hard or harsh. The feeling is they don’t sound. They disappear and there is only music. It’s actually the first and only speakers I heard doing this trick with such success. My thinking is they play what is served, hence my focus on electronics when thinking about upgrades and also because I love how these speakers sound.
Yes that’s a good way of putting it.
Speaking of NSC222, I’m planning to pair an NSC222 with PSI Audio A21M for my one-box second system (aside the TT)
Any input/thought on this? Or would I be better of with NSS333/NAC332? Well that will make it 2 boxes (plus one small phono stage - IFI Zen Phono).
The speaker is done deal. It’s arrived already, waiting for the source.
Overkill?
Valid point, because 333/332 together would cost around 2.5 times of 222 . Thank you for the input:pray:
You could always add the NPX300 later if you really felt the need…but with active speakers it seems sensible to keep it simple?
Yes, actually I’d like to keep it one box for it is replacing my Uniti Star.
It’s just people are talking so high of 333/332 that it trigger my upgraditis
The press said about the D9
Midrange is intimite, affecting, direct and communicative. That the vocals is a captivating listen that makes you sit down to listen to one song and end up listening to a whole album.
That they have a natural and expressive mid band. That they “underpin vocals and instruments with unforced sense of musical shape and context”
That the tweeter is so well integrated with the mid band it doesn’t seem like a separate entity
That the D9 are one of the most “effortlessly accomplished speakers” they have ever used.
Sources are hifi choice and hifi+
This makes me believe that there is either a very big difference between D7 and D9 or the people writing about the D7 hard or harsh mid band doesn’t have the right synergy with surrounding electronics or room issues.
It’s substantially better and absolutely fab with my LP12. Luckily 252/SupercapDR’s are rare where I live so it was a lot easier on the pocket book.
I have the D7.2’s. I thought I had made a huge mistake as they were fatiguing until they broke-in. It took about 3 months. Absolutely spectacular but very revealing.
A moot point might be that the NSC222 with and without the power supply got a great rap in this month’s Stereophile mag.
High praise when combined with the new 250.
Do you als have a 300NPX connected to the 222?
I have recently upgraded from 222/300/250 to 222/300/350 and I agree that the 350’s are a huge step forward.
When I traded in my old naim set incl 272/300dr for the 222/300/250 combination I missed the bass power. The 250nc is a nice amp and has a clearer/brighter sound than the 300dr, but the 350’s combine the best of these 2 amps.
From a 272/555PS/300DR combo I upgraded to the NC222. Rest unchanged. Wondering whether the improvements in SQ would justify the large expense of trading the 300DR for the 350s.
How did you find the change to the 222?
The.comparison 300dr vs 350 is night and day. I have had the 250nc and I liked the sound more than the 300dr. The sound was brighter/clearer. I have recently upgraded from 250nc to 350 becauae I wanted more power and bass control. In my opinion the 350 is the ultimate amp, also in combination with the NSC 222.
No… No power supply. I figured benefit/cost was far superior with the 350s than the 300. I am sure one day, after I succumb to the 332&333 upgrade. I will get the power supplies.
You’re not helping Daan, at all. Where am I supposed to find the money for the 350s?