Many thanks Max, that looks a beautiful setup. I take it though that you don’t have 20month Grand-Twins running around . I may of course be using them as a bit of an excuse, but there are a couple of things here.
It’s not that I don’t care about design, it’s more I don’t know much about design. Although when I brought those 21 years ago, my wife hated them and called them coffins. I fully appreciate that view, although I do like chunky wood. At the time and for the money I had, they sounded so much better than anything else, and that came first then. The photo is somewhat stretched out, so they are even more squashed in than the picture shows. I guess I have just got used to them. As said this is a multi-purpose room, and therefore is a compromise, but I can see how standmounts might open up the room.
The other other problem is choice. There are certainly better looking stands these days as you have clearly shown, but that then doubles my choices to investigate, and for me thats just too much choice. I realise asking on the Forum will give lots of suggestion which is always accepted as helpful, but I now have 13 speakers to investigate. I think I can probably narrow that down a bit by looking at Kudos/PMC/ATC, as they often come up in the forum (and SL2’s if the prefect pair come along). I think I will then use a dealer to help me narrow that down to one Make, then it’s down to SWMBO/design(ish)/Home demo. Thankfully I now have the time, I just don’t want to waste the time of dealers. Money wise I’d rather save and wait and get the right pair than make an early compromise based on current funds.
I very much appreciate all your help
@snarfy thanks for the tip, I’ll give them a call next week
No burndys to accommodate for Supercap to 82 connection. I merely questioned your assumption that your speakers are “clearly” your weakest link … may be the case, but not necessarily.
sorry, my bad. From what I hear a SC does make a difference, and I guess I just don’t know how much. I suppose a SC will give me an even upgrade, whereas a speaker upgrade will give me a different upgrade. The more I think about it, I’m also hoping that speaker technology has improved over 20 years compared to a SC, and I really need to start to do some listening. If I can’t find any speakers that I like, then it’s back to things like SC, Powerlines, NAC52 and/or other cable upgrades
There are some stunning NBLs on the ‘bay at the moment. Like really stunning. If only we had the systems to do them a full justice. Maybe a step too far i know but just thought i’d mention them, seeing as though we’re still on the theme of Naim speakers
Thanks, Yes, I saw those, they look great, so I am watching them, but when I measured up, I think they are really too big for where they need to go. Someone is going to get a treat!
I had Ovator 400’s and couldn’t get them to work, flat and lifeless.
I loved my Allaes, they are awesome speakers for the money and not too fussy about placement.
I now have Kudos X3’s which are great and do things differently to the Allaes, as always different speaker/room/ear combinations get different results.
I always buy pre loved so a home dem is never an option, some work some don’t.
Funnily enough, broadly the same happened to a friend of mine who had the first Supernait. I asked him, ‘why not try a Nait XS with your S400s instead?’
[Naim had brought out the Nait XS2 by then.] So he tried an XS2. And was delighted. His response, ‘Damn you, you were right!’
The Ovators are a perfect match for a 250DR in my experience. I’m very happy with mine. I suspect the negative characterizations are a result of issues not related to the matching of the speaker.
@ElMarko on reflection, and thanks to people pointing out the Emperors Clothes on this chat, I do think the Ovators would have been too big for my room.
I have listened to what everyone has said, and changed my mind thanks to you all. I will now consider floorstandards and standpoints in Kudos/PMC/ATC/Proac. I’m hoping that I will be drawn to just one make, and then a matter of narrowing down the right model for my room. I may also consider SL2/Allaes if a suitable pair come up that I can return.
I share your preference for small stand-mounters, and for the same reasons. Maybe I’d feel differently if I had both an unlimited budget and a dedicated listening space, but I don’t think I even aspire to those (at least, not the latter ).
As someone who’s (a) a designer and (b) prone to never-satisfied upgraditis, I find that another benefit of small stand-mounters is that they impose a welcome restriction in that they limit the perceived need to be continually upgrading sources and amplification: less of the audiophile fireworks, more of the essence of the music.
I’m surprised that this is such a minority preference in the audio world. If I knew nothing about the industry I would have assumed, given typical living space realities, that maybe 2/3 of all quality speakers would be small, discreet, and designed to work close to the boundary wall. But it appears that the default choice – if such a thing exists – is a floorstander that needs a foot or two behind it.
It seems that everyone wants bass (or, should I say, “bass”), even though bass anomalies are one of the most common problems in this forum (and one of the hardest to fix).
Great big boom boxes are the way to go for many. Multiple drivers? Tick. Massive bass port that your pet rabbit could live in? Tick. Shiny rings around the drivers to impress your friends? Tick. At least three feet high? Tick. They have got to be good. How could a little speaker a foot high with no shiny bits possibly compare? People seem to get caught up in the big expensive speaker thing more than they used to. How often do we see questions asking why their £10,000 speakers and a Nova aren’t working out so well?
I must say that very rarely I’ve read my own thoughts so clearly, concisely and perfectly expressed. Thanks, your posts synthesizes in 13 lines what normally takes me pages…
I agree totally. Best,
Small and discreet don’t feature on the radar for many. Having massive speakers that dominate the room seems little different from wearing a 45mm watch that makes your arm look like a Twiglet, or driving a Range Rover when the only challenging conditions you face are the school run. It’s all about things looking impressive. Never mind the quality, feel the width.
. I may of course be using them as a bit of an excuse, but there are a couple of things here.
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