[Advice] Seeking warm, non-fatiguing compact floorstanders for Uniti Nova

Hi-Fi Corner
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Hi everyone,

Greetings from Taiwan! I’m relatively new to the audiophile world and joined the Naim family about a month ago with a Uniti Nova, which I paired with Dynaudio Contour 20i standmounts.

After a month of listening, I’ve realized that while the Contour 20i is incredibly capable, transparent, and resolving, it’s a bit too “clinical or maybe so staightforward”(sorry I know straightforward is the word to describe human, but I can’t find a proper word to express) and unforgiving for my personal taste. When listening to modern pop music for extended periods, I experience listening fatigue. Therefore, I’m looking to transition to a pair of compact-to-medium floorstanders that offer a more forgiving sound and can seamlessly bridge my current and future listening spaces.

Here are my room parameters and specific requirements. I would highly appreciate your insights!

1. Room Acoustics & Placement (The Boundary Conditions)

I am planning to move in about a year, so the speakers need to perform well in two different environments:

  • Current Room: A 3m x 3m (approx. 10ft x 10ft) square, asymmetrical room. Listening distance is about 2.4m (8ft).

  • Future Room: A 6m x 4m (approx. 20ft x 13ft) living room. Listening distance will be about 3.5m (11.5ft).

  • Acoustics: Both rooms feature solid brick walls (very reflective, prone to bass boom) with no acoustic treatments other than standard window curtains.

2. System & Budget

  • Source/Amp: Naim Uniti Nova (Wi-Fi streaming only). I’ve checked the bench tests showing it delivers 80W into 8Ω and a very healthy 155W into 4Ω, so I know it has excellent high-current grip and control. I plan to keep the Nova as my end-game all-in-one.

  • Budget: Around £5,500 / $7,000 USD (I am very open to the used/ex-demo market).

  • Preference: Passive, compact or medium floorstanders.

3. Sonic Preferences (What I’m looking for)

Rather than extreme resolution and analytical detail, I am chasing a highly musical, “forgiving,” and engaging sound:

  • Treble: Smooth, silky, and non-fatiguing. I need something that tames the sibilance and harshness often found in modern pop recordings.

  • Midrange: Warm, full-bodied, and meaty. Vocal presence and emotion are my top priorities.

  • Bass: Bouncy, punchy (good PRaT), but with an enveloping, room-filling presence rather than just tightly controlled monitor-style bass.

4. Musical Tastes & Reference Playlist

My playlist mostly consists of post-2000s Asian and Western pop. Since many of you might not be familiar with specific Asian artists, here is a breakdown of the musical styles and what they demand from the speakers:

  • Modern J-Pop & Anime Soundtracks (Female Vocals): These tracks often feature incredibly dense, fast-paced arrangements (sometimes bordering on math-rock or shoegaze) and can suffer from dynamic compression (“loudness war”). Requirement: The speaker needs to untangle complex mixes without making high-pitched female vocals sound piercing or harsh.

  • Mandopop Ballads & Indie Rock: Very vocal-centric, melancholic music often driven by acoustic instruments, piano, and electric guitars. Requirement: Needs serious midrange body, warmth, and emotional weight for both male and female vocals.

  • Western EDM, Synthpop , Modern Pop & Tropical House: (e.g., Lvly, Fancy Car). Requirement: Needs Naim’s signature rhythmic drive (PRaT) and a satisfying, enveloping sub-bass foundation.

5. Current Shortlist

After doing some homework regarding downward-firing ports (to combat my brick walls) and Naim synergies, I have the following on my radar:

  1. Sonus Faber Sonetto V (Hoping for that silky DAD tweeter and midrange warmth)

  2. Spendor D7.2 (Known for great PRaT and being relatively easy to place)

  3. Fyne Audio F702 (BassTrax down-firing port seems ideal for my room issues, and the point-source driver should help with imaging)

Since the aforementioned choices are recommanded by Gemini, does anyone pairs these specific speakers with the Uniti Nova? I would love to hear your real-world experiences, or if you have other recommendations that fit the bill, please let me know!

Thanks in advance for your help. And sorry for the post seems to be rigid, because my English is poor. Therefore, some part of the words are rewrited by AI in English.

1 Like
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Hi,

Speakers are always a challenge especially if you’re moving home. Ideally you need a home demo but I appreciate that isn’t always possible.

A speaker that is very room friendly is the Kudos S20 now only available 2nd hand, but would be risk free.

Good luck.

1 Like
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Hi.. I listened 99 % mostly to Cantopop,mandarin pop, kpop,English pop,R&B, rock, rock ballads,heavy metal .

Seldom listen to jazz /classical already ,

You need fast speakers, cables to bring out such music genre .

I tried these genre when I demo for amp, speakers, cables , streamers etc.. so I concluded that beside amps, speakers, cables are very important .

And naim has the best pace and slam and momentum for such music.

And also dyns are very fast speakers if you pair them well . And they work very well w naim. Not sure of contour 20s , but my Confidence are not forward etc.. in fact it disappears and the music is behind the speakers. My room is only 3 m by 3 m by the way .

You can give borresen speakers a try .

Hope this help​:wink:

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I wouldn’t say the Kudos S20 had smooth and silky treble though, in fact rather the opposite, being rather bright. Having owned a Nova I found that matching speakers wasn’t easy. The ProAc Tablette 10 Signatures that worked well with a Supernait 3 had virtually no bass with the Nova. On the other hand, PMC twenty5.21i worked really well. If the OP wants floorstanders, then the larger 23i could be a good choice, and possibly a better match with the Nova than the Kudos. I just don’t know how easy home demonstrations are in Taiwan.

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I second @HungryHalibut suggestion. When I had the Nova, it was a perfect match for the PMC twenty5.21i with great synergy and very engaging sound.

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We hear things differently of course but mine were with a 250DR, but never thought bright.

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You really should add Proac D20R to that shortlist.

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That’s the challenge of course. I certainly wouldn’t describe the Kudos as risk free, as you did, unless ‘not’ was missing. I would never describe an unheard purchase of any speaker as risk free.

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Speaker cables will make a big difference in my opinion. What cables are you currently using?

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As well as proper room treatment.

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Hi @Mrfatman. I think you are going to struggle to find speakers that work well in both your rooms and there’s a real danger you will need to change speakers again in the new room. Assuming you’re going to be in the new room for some time, I’d be inclined to wait until you move before spending a lot of money. If you can manage to put up with your current setup for a year, I’d try your current speakers in the new room before doing anything. It’s hard to overemphasise the effect of the room on the sound you get and you may find the Dyns work really well with more space, perhaps with a little discreet room treatment in the form of soft furnishings.

Roger

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Yes, it’s probably best not to change speakers in the short term. If the floor is tiled it would be well worth trying a large thick rug, and possibly thick curtains and some cushions.

Speaker cables aren’t mentioned: Naim NACA5 or Kudos KS-1 are two that are worth trying.

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Graham LS5/9F

Zingali Zero Evo Sei

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For now, I use the A.R.T.MONOLITH-SE 4.2G cable, and I am definitely with you that Dynaudio has really wide and deep sound stage, but what I pursue is more rich and warm timbre(or flavor), I just feel the contour is a little bit lacking of emotional. Or maybe I can share you that I was a headphone audiophile before, and my system was Meze empyrean with Hugo TT2, which is a very warm and lush, full of musicality system. It is the sound I am eager for.

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THANKS for recommandation, I would give it a try for kudos speaker, even if I think the brand has no agent in Taiwan (╥_╥) .

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I use the A.R.T.MONOLITH-SE 4.2G, and I think it is the cable having much flavor than others(maybe, based on other users’ feeling, since this is my first cable to use), and I buy the cable in a very inexpensive price(about 100 bucks with a pair in 3 meters), so I think I have noyhing tyo complain about XD.

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THANKS for your suggestion. A nice info is that the PMC has agent in Taiwan, so I can go to the shop to give PMC speaker a try

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YEAH, but I am tired of handling the acoustic treatment, maybe it’s better for me to find a sealed speaker or the one which is equipped with Down-firing Port?

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Yes sure, I will put it into my candidate

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I has no interest in coping with the acoutic treatment at very first, but it seems that you are not the only one for the suggestion, so I think it is really worth to do that(?), maybe add some absorbing board and carpet then let’s see whether can solve the problem.