Can Naim NAP 500 DR can play well Dynaudio Confidence 60 or Wilso Audio Shasha DAW?

I have a 552+500, and Harbeth HL5 speaker now.
I have a question is if Naim NAP 500 DR can play well Dynaudio Confidence 60 or Wilso Audio Shasha DAW.
Naim NAP 500 DR has only 140 watt in 8 Ω per channel.

Thanks.

In spades.

I am going to risk being contrarian here :grin:

What is your goal? And what is driving thoughts of the wish to change? e.g. what are the Harbeths not delivering what you covet?

Re the Sashas, while a NAP500DR/552 combo will drive them OK (in relative terms), if you take a look at the Stereophile review of the 'speakers (esp the measurements), it’s clear they require a much more powerful amp than a NAP500DR to really get them to perform optimally. This will also come down to what genres of music you like, your room and how loud you like things?

With the Sasha’s retail of ~£45k (UK), swapping the 552 out with a NAP S1 (and getting much better quality source) comes in to view, unless you are going down the pre-loved route (assuming you are in the UK). Of course, active speaker options like ATCs also present.

I run Sasha DAW with NAP 500 non-DR which drives them effortlessly.
NAP 300 drives them very well too.

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If you are auditioning speakers be sure to check out the ProAc K6 Signature or the K10. I run my K6’s with a 552/500 and I am making the best sound I’ve ever heard.

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Really? Hope its true :slight_smile:
Some of my friends said NAP 500 cannnot drive Shasha DAW well.

I have the B&W 802d3 with the Nap 300dr. Many people would say this Naim amp is too small for the 802d3 and that is what I thought before hearing it. Naim amps are deceptively powerful. As Jason Kennedy, the hifi reviewer said of the 802d3 and the 300dr it was a marriage made in heaven. Yes he said more powerful amps would have more slam but not necessarily the finesse or subtle control of textures. I haven’t heard the Sasha Daw or the Confidence 60 so my observations may not read across. F1 fans will know that the engine used is just 1.6 litres but the cars are quite fast!

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Equally, put a Porsche 911 GT3RS in the hands of a club racer (smaller amp) and it’ll drive very well – and that club driver will be happy. Stick a top-flight driver (bigger, better quality amp) behind the wheel and it can perform so much better :grin:

I drive a pair of Dynaudio Confidence C2 Platinum with a 300DR. I have no doubts whatsoever that a 500DR will drive a pair of Confidence 60 quite well. That would be a dream combination for me.

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The Wilson has a 91 db rating, the 802d3 has a 90 db rating so both are relatively easier to drive than the Confidence 60 which has a 87 db rating. Of course as with many speakers impedance can drop to 2 to 3 ohms around typically 80 hz which is where really powerful amps are much less troubled. At the sound levels I play it isn’t really a problem for me but it could be if you like to wind up your system to the max.

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FYI, the Stereophile review of the Sasha points to a ‘real world’ 89db (IIRC) – and the dem in the article was done by some powerful Mac amps.

As you allude, if you play at modest SPLs and not very heavy bass-laden music e.g jazz/folk/very light classical (which will avoid the dip in impedance), things will likely sound OK.

John Atkinson tested the 802d3 at 91db so it may be a bit easier to drive in the real world than the Sasha Daw.

I can assure you from extensive personal experience with both brands that a NAP 500 not only drives the Wilson Sasha DAW well, it is one of those magical combinations that fosters a “whole is more than the sum of it’s parts” listening experience. For most listeners, any of the Naim amps from a 250 on up in the Naim line up work well with modern Wilson speakers. I recently went to a customer’s home with a ND 555, a NAC 552, and a NAP 300 DR feeding his pair of Wilson Sasha DAW’s to fine tune the Wilson speaker placement and optimize his system. It was among the very finest Naim systems I have ever enjoyed in the many decades since I was first introduced to Naim in the neolithic era. Naim and Wilson both prioritize dynamic tracking and timing. The two brands can work beautifully together in this era, which was not always the case with older Naim amps when partnered with some of the Wilson’s from the previous decades. As always, you should try to hear this for yourself. Even the best speakers won’t be to every listener’s tastes.

Good listening,

Bruce

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The impedance curve doesn’t look like it will trouble a 500 too much, nothing below 2Ω and mildish phase angles. Have you seen the plots for some of the Focals that get recommended by Naim (we’re led to believe) for their amps.

I have re the bigger Focals – and some on here have struggled when pushing them with a 500 and the nasty bass-driver impedance dip arises. The suggested Uniti-kit pairings also look ‘interesting’.

I have no doubt a 300/500DR will drive the DAWs OK, and have been careful to use the word ‘optimally’, as these better/bigger speakers always benefit from more power & current IMHO and ‘to my ears’.

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It will drive them obviously, how well, well that is down to the listener.
As an amp with more grunt, will drive them better, but only when you swap over amps, will you hear the difference of what more grunt and control can bring. Obviously this all depend on what other amp you are swapping too

That is exactly what happened to me changing from a 250DR for my Confidence C2 to a 300DR. I thought the 250DR worked great, but when I upgraded to 300DR it became evident very quickly how much the latter works so much better. It was as if I got a significant speaker upgrade. The control and refinement of bass was especially noticeable. My wife noticed that immediately from the adjoining hallway when I first turned the 300DR on and played something.

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The 500DR drove the Sasha DAW beautifully when I auditioned the ND555 and DCS Rossini streamers.

Best regards, BF

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I had DAW with 500DR …. Magical ! I have Alexx V now …. Still no problem

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I’ll let others advise on the speakers. In my opinion and experience, the amps have outclassed the speakers by a great margin. I’ve owned the Harbeth SHL5 and SHL5+ for more than a decade. I suspect you’ll achieve a lot more when the Harbeth are swapped with something else, particularly in bass performance and dynamics.

Good luck.

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