The crucial thing is to try speakers in your listening environment because it is your room which will make the biggest difference.
For example a small speaker which is able to produce less bass response might not cause an issue in a room which has a strong resonance in the lower bass frequencies, where as a speaker which is able to excite these room bass resonances might not sound so good ‘In Your Room’, and yet the same speaker might sound fine in the dealers demo room. Its probably not the speakers fault, rather that the less accomplished speaker does not show up the issue with the room.
It is also worth considering that a speaker that cannot produce the low bass notes loses this information, where as it is possible to reduce the bass from a speaker that can.
From my observations such bass resonances are often very sensitive to the listeners position in the room, such that a small (say 750mm) move can make a significant difference.
As for choosing a speaker, I don’t understand the purpose of a speaker that is only good for certain genres, like, chamber music or 50’s jazz, for me that wouldn’t be a niche speaker that would be a faulty speaker. Most of the major brands produce good general purpose speakers.
Well, I guess it means that I would love to hear the forum member’s experiences and recommendations for what I’m after. It may be a good way to start looking for brands and models
Whilst ideal, unfortunately that is simply not an option for many people, it seems particularly uncommon outside Britain, but even within Britain, depending on where people live, and where they are buying from.
If auditioning, or at least confirmation, at home is not achievable, then second best is to hear the speakers wherever they are, if possible in a similar size and shape listening room is yours, and taking your own existing speakers to hear in the same room to provide a baseline for comparison. In addition if can be beneficial to take along your own amp if whoever is selling doesn’t have the same. I can say that my own speaker buying experience I have never been able to listen in my own room before buying, but I have never been disappointed with my choices, the last two of which were done the way I have described. (Also, I have moved home quite a few times keeping speakers, with only once having any significant difficulty in getting a good sound in the new room, and that was solved quite satisfactorily using REW software to assist me finding best speaker and listening positions, simply needing the right re-arrangement of the room. Maybe I’ve just been lucky, but often it is simply a matter of finding the right positioning for both the speakers and the listening area).
If you don’t want to spend much, you might want to consider a pair of used Totem Rainmakers, they have a very nice character to my ears (they just lack a touch of bass compared to floorstanders). There’s also a review on What Hi-Fi if you are interested.
But on the other hand - if you narrow it down to the music you actually listen to a lot it is easier, and so much more rewarding, to find really good ones.
I consider it a bonus if speakers, and other components, make music I hate sound really, really terrible. Like accordion music of any kind
I have no idea what that is, but there is no reason to believe my C2s will all of a sudden stop performing quite well if that was played, but I’m also driving them with a 300DR.
I think your problem is when you want to play that kind of music and crank it, your 200 is struggling to meet the demands of what you are asking from the speakers.
I would seriously consider swapping your 200 for a 250. It has plenty of extra low end grunt, making the 200 sound a bit polite by comparison, and it would be a perfect match for your 82.
With the recent release of the NC 250 you should find it a bit easier to get a good deal on a 250DR or older as people trade them in.
Pretty extreme metal that sounds best on a boom blaster No, it’s well produced. But demanding. It might be that a 250 would be a better move than new speakers. I don’t know.
Well, for what it’s worth. I started with a 250DR on my Confidence C2. I thought that while they sounded great with most things, they struggled a bit with full-scale orchestral music at concert volume I like to play. Mahler brass choirs playing fortissimo, for example. OTOH, they play classic rock and jazz really pretty well.
Then I upgraded to a 300DR. Not only did the speakers stop struggling on the orchestral music I like, but they were significantly improved on all the other music I play, even something like solo acoustic guitar. The speakers were transformed. It was as if I had upgraded my speakers to a better model.
I think if you find speakers at a dealer you like better for death metal, you could get them home and have still the same problem, and end up back where you started. I know what the Focus 160 sound like. They are a very capable speaker and should sound right with any kind of music. If you aren’t going to improve your amp, then you should make sure any speakers you audition are with your amp or comparable, and not with something more capable you won’t have at home.
I would certainly consider a 250DR if you can find one at a decent price. The previous 250.2 sounded a little different, with slightly more pronounced mid/bass that you may or may not prefer.
The older (Olive or Chrome Bumper) models were a little less powerful and could struggle a bit more with some demanding speakers and buying something that old isn’t risk free, but still worth considering.
When I had my 250.2 I had it serviced and upgraded to a 250DR. That was when I still had Dynaudio Contour S3.4 speakers (not as demanding as the C2s). I thought the improvement to the bass and midrange was quite good. The bass sounded deeper and more well-controlled and midrange had more texture and detail. It all sounded much more refined.
Given a choice I think I would pick a DR every time.
No, unlike the 200, Naim amps from the 250 on up can not power any preamp. Your 82 will connect to the HiCap as it does today. You can change the HiCap to DR when have a chance to, but it isn’t required. You will have a different IC from the HiCap to the 250 (DIN → XLR) but that should be provided with the amp.
For the very simple reason that the 200 socket has power and the 250, 300, 500 are signal only.
But as @HungryHalibut suggests, it might be a good idea to look at the manuals and familiarize yourself with the connections and cables needed.
If you get a 250 you won’t need to buy the cable for it. It is provided. If you buy used and it doesn’t have the cable, insist on it being included or move on.
No, it’s well produced. But demanding. It might be that a 250 would be a better move than new speakers. I don’t know.