Hi forum friends,
As per-title really. I’m looking to scale down my speakers (Motive SX2) to some small book-shelf/stand-mount speakers. I want some of really good musical quality, easy to drive, not too much bass, that will match well with my NAIT XS2. My budget will be around £1,000>>£1,500. So far I am thinking about the Neat IOTA or Russell k Red 50. I want a speaker that will work really well in a small listen environment without taking over the room with too much bass emphasis.
Any ideas?
The ProAc Tablette 10 and the ACT 7 or ATC 11 would be where I would start. If you have a local dealer that carry ProAc and ATC I would go give them a listen and see if they are worth a home demo.
My first Naim amp was a NAIT XS 2 and ran a pair of ProAc D2 speakers and loved it.
Good luck with your decisions and have fun along the way…
Maybe a PMC DB1i ?
I use Majik 109s with my Nait XS in my second system and really like the combo.
Hi guys,
thanks for your suggestions here. Obviously my dealer is my best bet to try out speakers but the reason why I’ve come here is to see who has scaled down from floorstanders to stand-mounts because of bass issues. I’ve had my Motive SX2’s now for 2&1/2 years and have upgraded from CD5si/NAIT5si to ND5 XS 2/NAIT XS 2, during this time the sound has grown immensely, so much so that it’s grown too much for my living space, hence why I’m now after smaller speakers.
My dealer does stock ATC but I’ve read that these need a rather powerful amp, maybe more so than what a XS2 can provide? I also would like only a single wired crossover, not a bi-wirable one, so this may rule out the ProAcs too? My dealer also stock PMC which is another contender. Not seen Linn speakers in along time.
My listening environment has solid walls with a concrete ceiling and floor but my Motive SX 2 are just too much bass coming out of them. All the other frequencies are spot on but the bass is a nightmare…at this stage.
Remember that stand mounts on stands take up as much space as floorstanders. My suggestion for you is perhaps a bit too good in theory for your electronics, but they are perfect for smaller spaces, solid walls and a solid floor. They are easy to drive, small, live by the wall and sound wonderful. What are these amazing speakers? SBLs of course.
So that’s why you blew hot and cold about a pair of Allaes!
For what it’s worth, my room is 5 x 3m and when I tried Motive SX2s in here, the bass was shockingly bad. Whereas the Naim Allaes are tight and tuneful, with 11cm to the wall.
FWIW I think the Russel K 50 or perhaps 100s are a good place to start. While not the type of speaker I was particularly looking for at the time, when I arrived to try out various floor-standers a couple of years ago, my dealer happened to have a pair of 100s already hooked up and ready to play with an SN2, so gave them a run anyway. They had a nice layered and detailed character that was very easy on the ear. Ultimately, they lacked the scale and punch I was looking for, but a very pleasant listen all the same, and I suspect that most of what they lacked was simply down to being a little overwhelmed by the room size. They impressed me enough that I remember thinking that if I had less space to fill, these would be well worth experimenting with further. They have a mature wholesome sound in my opinion, not the kind of speaker that shouts ‘listen to me, listen to what I can do’, they just get on with it in a more subtle and enjoyable fashion in my view.
What are the dimensions of your listening space?
Yes of course, my listening room is very oddly shaped (boat shaped even) and is about 3.5m across by 5m length ways to furthest point. The bass response (in room) from my Motive SX2 sounds, when sat in the ‘sweet spot’ ok, but the problem I’m having is it’s migrating into other parts of the property regardless of volume control level. My neighbours are starting to complain about the bass and this is now becoming a big concern for me. I’m becoming paranoid to even listen without headphones on.
So I’m after a speaker that is a lot more community friendly. It’s a shame as I quite like my SX2’s and have been liaising with my neighbours so can we can all compromise on a solution but even for me, the Motives are just too bass orientated and I can clearly hear this for myself in the other properties.
I need something more ‘upfront’ but with less bass.
Linn Kans, Naim n-Sats, Spendor SA1s. All good in different ways but possibly hard to dem.
Yes, thanks Chris. I had forgotten about n-Sats. I reckon they could be well worth investigating also.
I run ATC SM11 Mk 2 in my main listening room - 5.5m x 3.5m. These have always been reviewed well. I have even driven them directly with an 18wpc Chord Hugo TT2, although I got better results (not louder, just ‘nicer’) with a 100wpc power amp.
I have given them a bit more bass effect using TQ Green (now rebranded to TQ Diamond Blue) speaker cables - better for this purpose than the TQ Black and Chord Shawline I also tried.
Bass resonance / transmission will depend on floor and wall construction, and whether the speakers are tucked in a corner or alcove.
I think I will certainly give the ATC baby models ago. Thanks. My dealer speaks very highly of them and I can see myself getting into near field listening, which is why stand-mounts are ticking all the boxes so far. In all of my HiFi journey, I have always only ever used floorstanders but a change in direction for me is now inevitable, for reasons explained above.
Hello Stephen,
Didn’t realize you had this problem and really do feel your pain. I haven’t resolved my speaker change dilemma either and need to do so for the same reason. OTOH, two work-arounds that would bring results with your current speakers are:
Roon DSP. Not sure if you’re using Roon but in my case I simply set the DSP parametric EQ at -3db for 65 and 86 hz. This was after seeing the room humps in REW. This allows for anxiety-free listening even though I dislike having to implement the solution. It clearly works.
MIniDSP with Dirac room correction. Same principle as above with lower frequencies and phase alignment being modified after room measurement with Umik mic. It works surprisingly well. I removed this from my system because I disliked adding another set of circuits in the signal path. However, to be honest, it works perfectly well. You can even define 4 personal curves you can switch between using the remote control, all on the fly.
Hope you find a suitable solution. Have you considered those little Swedish Guru speakers? Personally, I will have to revert to sealed acoustic suspension or front-ported bass reflex speakers. Will be looking at ATC 11 or 19s, PMC 25.21, 22 or 23s along with a demo of the Neat Ekstra…
Keep us all up to date!
I was thinking of N-Sats too, if you can find a pair, preferably with dedicated N-Stands. They do still crop up on ebay occasionally, although it might take a bit of patience. I have a pair in a second system with an Atom, which does a pretty good job of driving them.
…then you just need to seek out an N-Sub for when the neighbors are out.
I might have missed it — but wouldn‘t the SX3 be an obvious candidate for demo if you still very much enjoy your SX2?
For an agile floorstander with a small footprint that can be used close to the wall and can picked up really cheap, if you can find a pair, Naim IBL.
They are wonderful speakers but perhaps not with an ND5XS2 and a Nait XS2. The SBL is somehow a lot more forgiving.
Yes I agree with you but on that same token it might more tempting to go for a different design if I’m going to change altogether.
Fair point — always good to listen to a number of options. 