Celestion SL6Si - again

Hi-Fi Corner
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As I’ve just joined- hello.

With apologies (already!) I know that this topic has broadly been addressed previously, but I wonder if anyone has any insights with respect to my particular situation.

My Celestion SL6Si speakers were given to me, new, many years ago by my very kind and generous brother after I raved about the original SL6 I heard, of all places, filling the air outside the old Laskys shop on Manchester’s Market Street. Not ideal auditioning!

The main issue with the SL6Si is their famous inefficiency. When they sound good, especially with a good vinyl source of vovcals and acoustic, I love them - clear, smooth and natural with great imaging. For me, this is how they sound most of the time, as we don’t listen at high volume. However, there are situations at higher volumes or in more dynamic passages, in which harshness sets in, and I think this is due to the relative lack of drive from my Nait 5.

So the question is, really, given I’m never in normal situations going to use the system at high volumes, is whether, and how much, I would benefit by upgrading the amp? And second, if I were to go down this route, what is the minimum worthwhile upgrade within the Naim range. My constraints are that I would add no more than one further box and that I would like to retain the “vintage” nature of my system. So really, options are, I think, moving to a more powerful integrated, or adding a power amp like the NAP250 and using my Nait as the preamp, or adding an external power supply. Buying new is not an option so I would be looking for second hand (otherwise I’d probably take my speakers to a dealer and bother them with my “problem”!).

I am very well aware that the Celestions are not everyone’s cup of tea, but given my history with them, changing speakers is not an option I have in mind, nor would I consider significant modifications to them, as I see others have tried.

Thank you in advance for any words of wisdom.

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@Hughie Long before I moved to Naim I had these speakers and cherished them They are capable of being paired with much better electronics IMO. Whst about a SN3?

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From what I remember, these were very good speakers…… but needed ‘a lot of welly’ ( a lot of power from a beefy amp ).

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Which is kind of the point of my post. The question(s) is (are) how much will I notice given I don’t drive them hard, and what integrated/power amp would deliver a meaningful improvement?

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Would a SN3 suffice for the OP?

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I have no experience. Just passing on what i remember.

I think that a SN3 would struggle. But, as I say, it’s only based on what I remember reading.

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It depends on whether the OP wants to stay with Naim. Perhaps the high powered Nova. But that is costly.

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Yep, prefer to stick with Naim and don’t want to/can’t stretch to big money!

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Do you have a dealer? If you need a high powered amp you are stuck unless you want to leave Naim.

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An SN2 is excellent value used and drives my Dynaudios which are said to love power beautifully. The SN2 can be picked up for around £1,500 used which is excellent vfm.

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The SN2 might not work for the OP. The OP has a turntable. The SN3 might be better suited.

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I have a turntable and use an SN2 the Moving Magnet Phono Stage was added to the SN3 as a selling point for people who wanted a simpler set up, the SN2 with something like a Trichord Dino or a even Rega Fono would at least equal if not beat the SN3 with the same turntable and for less money.

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Mind you, I have just seen a description of the new Quad Platina which looks to tick all my boxes - but at 3.5k GBP it’s just a tad (as in an extra zero) what I’m really prepared to spend…

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They did indeed, particularly the original SL6. Some years back I bought a lovely little CB system of a NAC62/NAP90 with a nice pair of SL6s. Initially I was a bit worried as it really didn’t sound that great, but soon realised that it was just a mismatch of amps and speakers. Once hooked up to a pair of Naim speakers the amp pairing came alive, and the SL6s sounded much happier on the end of a much more powerful amp.

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I had a pair of SL6S about 20 years ago. They clearly needed a bit of power. I used them with a Marantz PM16 (c1995) - difficult to find in the UK, so mine came from Germany as I recall. That certainly did the trick.

I hung onto them until the woofer surrounds perished, which was a known weak point.

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I upgraded from Nait 5si to Nait XS3 recently, which definitely sounds better. One little warning: Make sure you audition the amplifier in your situation (I did not…), before buying, especially playing at low volumes. The volume control on some units may have channel imbalance at low volumes. I believe this is not a potential issue anymore on New Classic units.

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That was my thought, Richard. Depending on how wedded @Hughie really is to the Celestions, I wondered if a pair of n-Sats, Intros, Credos or Allaes would give a simpler, more satisfying solution with his existing Nait 5.

Ah… just noticed that changing speakers is not an option, in which case surely NAC82, Hicap and NAP250 (olive) has to be in the frame.

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Yes, thanks @Christopher_M but keeping the speakers is one constraint, the other is adding no more than one box. So others are suggesting an XS3 to replace my Nait 5, you are the first to suggest the NAP250 fir power, which was one of the routes I putt forward. I’m thinking keep the Nait as preamp, add a 250 for power and I’m sorted. Buying used that seems much more cost effective than an XS3, and provides more of the oomph everyone agrees is missing (I think …).

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Not quite. You will need a flatcap or a hicap too. This is because a NAP250 does not contain a preamp power supply.

Others will no doubt comment on the desirability of using a Nait 5 as a preamp with a NAP250.

Good luck with whichever path you choose.

C.

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Thanks for that, it’s a clarification I needed, not being immersed in Naim architecture. So the power supply already in the Nait is isolated if it’s used as a preamp?