They are, but no longer stock Spendor
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Listening post shop is now in Lower Hutt FYI
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Thanks.
The Memsahib is none too keen on the āmassiveā 502SP so if I want to stick with that route, I need to try some smaller speakers.
She has seen Majik 140ās from Linn at a friendās house and said āno bigger than that!ā
I think of these whenever I hear of these decor arguments.
Eclipse TD 712zMK2
Also available in white.
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Show her the Neat Iota Alpha/Explorer range or even Motive/Momentum.
These are compact but a huge sound
My Naim system arrived 28 years ago and didnāt miss a beat until last year. Rather spoilt for choice in Oxford, England but Oxford Audio came up trumps and provided a run-in Nova, an ND5XS2 and an NDX2 for an indulgent covid lockdown weekend. Rather modest for this forum, my Cdi/Nac72/Nap90/Rega Elaās held up well, but Iām going ND5XS2, because without a separate power supply, the NDX didnāt provide very much at all over the ND5. My ancient 72/90 was better than the Nova in a room 8m l, 5.7m wide & 3m high, so for me, my serviced amps and the entry level, lower priced ND5XS2 win easily. I prefer not having a screen on the streamer. Iād buy a stunning piece of furniture to enclose the separates on a decent standā¦
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I think this is the same speaker I heard at a hifi show some years ago (at least it was a compact Totem floor stander). Definitely one of the best I heard that day (of the āreasonablyā priced ones). Definitely worth an audition if your dealer have them on demoā¦
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What do think about this
ProAc Response D20R
Naim Supernait 2
Naim ND5XS-2 (allows you to upgrade later to the NDX2)
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Hi
After a lightening strike which blew my amp and speakers I ended up with the following system, ND5 XS2, Chord Qutest, Elicit-r, B&W 603. I have a neighbour who after hearing my system has upgraded his front end and amp to the same as mine except he has the Aethos.
We are both happy with the results, except I now covert his amp
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May I ask how you are using the Chord Qutest? Is that in between the ND5 XS2 and the Elicit-R? If so Iām also curious why as the ND5 XS2 has its own DAC already. Was there anything with the default sound that needed correction or was not pleasing?
Hi
I was already using the Qutest with a previous steamer before I got the ND5. The sound of the ND5 is very good and I would be happy with that without the Qutest, however, I just find the Qutest to be slightly more revealing and being just as musical.
Thanks for the reply Mnc. Iām also shopping for a new system and considering a similar setup. To frame my taste, Iām looking for a slightly warm side of neutral sound but still plenty of detail and I think KEF usually sounds brightā¦
I went for Dali Oberon 7 iso the B&Wās. They are a better fit for my room (large volume) and purpose (music + tv) I think. Easy to drive, good spread, excellent stereo imaging, not only in the sweet spot and theyāre designed to be placed close to the wall without needing a turn in. Enough bass, warmth and still clear yet not harsh in the highs. My ears liked them very much for the price, I was impressed with their musicality. I heard them on the elicit-r first and they sounded really nice but the Aethos really made them sing. Being Danish and looking Danish is also a plus for the estethics commissionā¦
For amplifier I listened in real life to SN3, Yamaha 2200, Elicit-r, Aethos, Primare I35, Denon 2500 (also others like arcam, marantz but not noteworthy in my book). I must say that they all did a very good job, none of these is a bad amp, it comes down to features and personal preference.
Yamaha: I really liked for the build quality, the features and it sounds really good. However, it seems a bit coloured, not sure if it will fit everything, my taste is pretty eclectic. I donāt think is is the best fit for for me but I really liked it and will maybe keep my eye open for one on used market for my 2nd set.
Primare: although class D, really surprised me with its clear and dynamic presentation, sounded way better than expected, not like a class D. If I would go for primare I would go for pre35 prisma + A35.2 power amp combo but that was not in demo. That will give you 200W power amp and a preamp with quality replaceable DAC and replaceable network modules with all the latest features (airplay, chromecast, tidal, mqa, ā¦). Very nice piece of engineering, upgradeable, great sound, great design, the right connections/interfaces, if i decided only with my brain, this probably ticked most boxes. Also scandinavian design so usually easy to get passed the esthetics commission.
Denon: a complete and high build quality amp. Sounded very clear and accurate but not my cup of tea, a bit boring after a while, missed some puch. But I know people who prefer this type of soundā¦
Naim: the SN3 was very good and I can understand why many people love it. Taking the price point i was expecting something great off course and although it sounded great I did not feel an immediate urge to pull my wallet out.
Elicit was very decent and able to drive the speakers way better than expected, to be honest, this is enough for a good quality sound at a loud volume. I immediately had a good feeling with the elicit-r.
Aethos was then a step up, it sounded immediately high end to me, a feeling I did not had so much with the SN3 to be honest although at higher pricepoint. I was in doubt about Aethos because I donāt find it the best looking amp (although I liked it more every day when I had it for demo at home), remote is pretty crap with all useless buttons, volume is indeed sensitive, the lack of balanced output and the inability to directly select an input, not even with remote, only up and down cycling.
The Regaās were amongst the first ones I listened but my preference was not with Rega at that point. I kept looking for something more refined and maybe better engineered. Maybe I found that but they did not matched the feeling I got with the Regaās. They all have strong points but I concluded that sound and the vibe of the amplifier is my priority, not design, connectivity or clever engineering, and if I was honest with myself, that was best with the Regaās. In the end, its the sound that counts, each amp had itās proās and contraās but Aethos stands out in terms of pure sound and musical ability. Supplier told me prices were also going up soon because this Brexit thing and Aethos stock is running low due to this corona thing. So I ordered one today 
My source is also mainly streaming. My disks an cd player are in boxes since my last move, I have flac but also old crappy files from NAS but I havenāt even touched these since I subscribed to streaming. Iām currently streaming from a CCA to my 25 yr old stereo, was pretty ok but with the Aethos you really hear its lacking in terms of imaging, sound stage, ā¦ Its doing pretty well at moments but its just very inconsistent and annoying once you pay attention to it. I got my cd player out to compare. So, a new streaming solution is definitely also on my list. Important for me is chromecast ability if I donāt want the ethical commission to file complaints every day. This limits the selection very much, Auralic doesnāt have it and is not planning, Linn also not at the moment, and so on.
I tested the ND5 SX2 at the dealer on same speakers as mine with elicit-r. It sounded very good but I was reluctant to pay 3k for a streamer. Now when I look around I realise that 3k is apparently not much for a quality streamer but still, its a streamer and dacā¦ In 5 years it will have an old feeling to it, in 10 yrs it will even be probably be outdated to a degree that you canāt even recuperate on the used market. I also like a few buttons, not much, maybe play/pause, skip, back, the basics. Probably you should be able to get something working via remote control link but yeah, maybe, unless you go all Naim. Sadly its together with the Technics SL-G700 one of the only 2 streamers out there with 192khz chromecast integration.
I also looked at the Cambridge Audio CXN V2, i think offers a very decent package for the price, it really has everything but it did not convince me when played at the dealer. I think its the wolfson dac Iām not liking so I might use it just as a streamer and use another dac with this. I might also consider the model up but same dac there I think and I would not be surprised if CA will be replacing this one soon. I heard it on a class D amp now that Iām thinking so maybe worth a revisit.
Arcam is also coming with an interesting streamer on paper, the ST-60. I think the app looks crappy but I will stream mostly via other apps and it has buttons for basics and some visuals so that should only be a pain during setup. Havenāt heard it play though, my dealer will invite me for a listening when it has arrived. On paper it seems a very interesting choice, burr brown DAC and the arcam reputation of a warm sound. I think this might suit the aethos pretty well for my taste.
I also tested the Qutest, the first 2 days of home demo I was thinking its a keeper but I have returned it. It is very, very nice for certain, especially accoustic, music but it really changed the music a lot sometimes. I really noticed it when multi-room was on how the Chord was only lifting certain elements and loosing some body with other compared to the other rooms. I would certainly like to have one but as all round base dac right now i donāt think its the right choice.
So basically on source end, I have the feeling its maybe a bit to soon to step in for me. There are more chromecast integrations coming and my test with the CCA was pretty positive in terms of what it can do. So Iāve bought OTGY cable and USB ethernet adapter to enable my CCA with a stable wired connection, Iām routing that via an optical to a a Digital Clocker (Remedy Reclocker) to remove any jitter coming from my CCA. This really brings the bits and bytes from the CCA on par with a lot of more expensive streamers, add a power supply upgrade and I think that will produce a very decent stream. That will then go to a Schiit Bifrost 2 dac (ordered today). I havenāt actually heard this so its a bit of a leap but its less than 800 USD, shipping to EU included, and it has some reputed sound signature. It can alway move to other set and I get a taste of the Schiit. The CCA can deliver up to CD sound quality, Iām testing it out as a Roon endpoint and then I get CD quality out of it. Even tidal is only that for most of its tracks. It will be good enough untill Iāve found a streamer and maybe more permanent DAC. Roon is also worth looking into as your home solution for multi room in high quality across brands Iāve discovered these last weeks, if you donāt know its worth looking into. You donāt need a nas, just buy a nucleus or even a passive NUC.
Plan is to get the estethics commission convinced on using Roon for streaming duties at home (and move from spotify to tidal as main supplier), dump the Chromecast dependency and look at some quality separates with Roon integration, mainly streamer and quality dac. Linn, Auralic, Sonore, ā¦ Especially a nice looking modular streamer is interesting. Schiit is also going modular, the bifrost 2 is their latest upgrade, I expect the higher models to follow. DACs from Audio-GD I also want to hearā¦
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