I hope this isn’t your first foray into naim speakers! If you could find a pair of IBLs and an nSub, I think this is just a sublime pairing.
I already have SBL, IBL in active mode and nSat
Oh lovely. I have ibls, nbls and dbls. ibls with nsub is lovely!
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How do you compare the NBL with more classic designer like SBL or SL2? There is a nice one of the latter for sale now bere in Italy. I had one before S600 but was really annoying to set up and i never succeded to male it work properly.
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Well I prefer SBLs over SL2s, I have had three pairs of SBLs over the years.
But the NBL is a different story, if a pair of those came up, you should have a listen. No joke a guy in Andover gave a pair away on Facebook because one of the drivers was playing up, I just missed out!
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nbl are fantastic
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Same here, i prefer SBL overall
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I’ve owned the Arivas for five years. Initially, they didn’t sound good at all, and I was considering selling them after a month of listening to them in my living room. It took six months of testing and moving around to figure out how to get them to work, but the effort was more than rewarded by the listening pleasure they deliver.
I was able to let me hear the differences with various amplifications passed through my system from the Rega Brio 3, Nait 5i, Uniti and Supernait.
In any case, the position is crucial. The very thick stone back wall is 36 cm apart. The side walls are also influential, both exactly 120 cm apart. There are still other important elements to take into consideration.
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I bought a pair of Arivas in a brand-new Naim system when they came out.
I thoroughly enjoyed them compared to the non-Naim systems I had had previously, and as I never researched Hifi back in those days I happily kept them for about 15 years.
I hardly ever kept them close to the wall in any place I lived then.
You need to work on positioning and give them time to run in.
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I remember discussing positioning and other details of set up with you at the time. 
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nSat usually worked very well right out of the box and pretty much regardless of position. Ariva here are 210 cm apart and 90 cm from side walls, like the S400 used to be
Yes, I remember. The suggestions in that discussion have yielded excellent results. It’s easily found on the forum, and it also discusses other tricks.
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There might not be enough space from the side and back walls. I’d try moving them 30-35 cm away from the back. Then I’d play with the space on the outer sides, reaching 100-110 cm. Don’t worry about the internal space; if the room is small, that’s normal. Screw the base tips as close to the floor as possible, and tighten them firmly once you have perfect contact with the floor. I’d check the woofers after a few years; they can be loose, as I’ve personally experienced.
It’ s not small, they are placed along a 4.5m wide wall, firing down a lenght of 5.5 m. The left side of the room is opened on another space. Probably the main problem is the sloping roof and the bed in the middle scattering sound. I’ll get rid of them btw and probably the whole system which i use very little
It’s fine and probably the best and least frustrating choice you can make. Especially when you already have high-end hi-fi systems. However, this shouldn’t give the impression that Ariva isn’t capable of delivering results worthy of its brand. I’ve heard the Allae, ibl, and nSat. The Arivas deliver different results, but the Naim spirit is undoubtedly the same. For me, some parameters such as impact and listening pleasure are better than the models listed.
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Basically, they are bass heavy which ruins the midrange as well
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