I tested a few floor standing speakers for a NSS333 NAP252 NAP250-3 setup that I plan to purchase. The speakers I tested were Bower and Wilkins 702, Dali Epicon 6, Dali Rubicon 6 and ProAc D20 ribbon.
In the end, I thought that the Epicon 6 were those that I preferred for being both very precise and easy to the ear. On the contrary, the BW were rather harsh and the ProAc were not precise enough.
However, in our living room placing the floor standers could be difficult given that they would have to stand behind a sofa. The tweeter would definitively be above the sofa but part of the woofers would be masked by the sofa.
I am thus considering buying a pair of bookshelf speaker. They should be of a quality and price similar to that of the Dali Epicon 6.
I would be interested in advice about speakers I should test.
Before thinking of speakers, you need to sort your room out. Having speakers behind the sofa is just silly, when you’ve spent tens of £000s on equipment.
Thank you for pointing this out. I have both the 252 and the SCDR.
The reason why I will use a NAC252 is because I kept the one I had when I upgraded to a NAC552 in another system. My retailer didn’t offer me a good price for the 252 and I decided to keep it. I think it should nicely fit between the 333 and the 250-3. In addition, it will spare me buying the 332 (which admittedly should be superior but maybe only with the new power supply).
I’ll have a think about bookshelf speakers , definitely need very high quality ones with that front end plus will need some isolation pads under the speakers to assist in getting the best out of them
I can vouch for the fantastic combo of a NAP 300DR with Kudos Titan 505 bookshelves. They like to be close to rear walls so provided you can move them back it may work well for you.
They have a tight, dynamic sound with sublime driver integration and overall coherence. Most importantly they handle the most extreme, complex music you can throw at them without breaking a sweat. Get a home demo if you can.
Agree Taake they would be a great combination I would think
The other one might be the Neat Ministra , an isobaric design with deep refined base for its size. I had a pair and they worked quite well as bookshelf’s
Maybe if less bass is required the chrome badge Falcon LS3/a’s might do the trick
Of course, HH is right - in an ideal world your room would be arranged differently. In an equally ideal world I’d be younger and fitter…
Your results with speakers so far (e.g. ProAc D20) are a good reminder that these things are very room-dependent and pretty ear-dependent too.
I am listening to Neat & Naim together as I type, and I have not heard any recent-ish Neat that does not work well with Naim, so I would endorse the above suggestion.
LS3/5 options may well give more precision and air but less foot-tapping and infectious boogie, and will probably want space around them. If that’s going too far toward politeness, the Dynaudio suggestion may be inspired.
Given where you are, Focal options would be well worth trying.
The new French-made Revival Atalante speakers may well be worth a listen if you want to look beyond the obvious names, and many here who don’t want harshness or excess vigour are very attached to Sonus Faber.
For B&W, I hated them for years, but the recent 805s (and pretty much the whole 800 series) are staggeringly better than lesser- earlier models imho.
In short, please hear in your own home before buying, but there are lots of great speakers that might well suit.
Please let us know what you pick, and good luck in your search.
The Titan 505 is a good idea. There is a solid wall in the room that could be used. The difficulty is that I am in Milano (commuting from Paris) and there is no Naim dealer that have them. It would be difficult to test the Titans with the Naim rig here. And the dealers don’t lend speakers. It would be nearly impossible to test them in situ (you have such a fantastic HiFi dealers in the UK that just don’t exist elsewhere).
Thank you for the Neat suggestion. I like have some bass. It is important to me when listening to jazz music where I want to hear clearly the attack of the double bass. Hence the Falcon might not be ideal.
@JosquinDesPrez
My budget is in the 8000-12000€ range, similar to what is needed to buy the Dali Epicon 6 speakers. I’ll look into the Dynaudio Confidence 20. I have read elsewhere that the Dynaudio need powerful amps. Is that right?
@NickofWimbledon
Bookshelf speakers are used in specific situations and of course I’d prefer to have floor standers. I have considered moving the sofas but that just doesn’t work.
I thought that HH answer was rude calling me silly. On top of that, he made comments about my way of spending my money which is inappropriate. Finally, he didn’t answer my specific question. He should have shut up.
Concerning your suggestions, others as you do have suggested the LS3/5. I’ll look into it. I also thought about the Focals but I read mixed reviews from people on the forum. But as you mention there seems to be dealers around here who sell them and it may be worthwhile to test them.
There must be a reason why LS3/5As, first made in 1974, have outlasted others such as Linn’s Kan (very different, but built in an enclosure of the same dimensions, apparently to use up redundant unused cabinets).
Is there any other loudspeaker - other than QUAD ESL57s - still being made that is as old?
Actually, I read some good things about the Mission 770 speakers in Whathifi. They placed them on top in the premium bookshelf category. the design dates back from the 70s.
