I don’t think that’s what’s being said at all. A number of people have offered a number of differing views on the 50’s of which speaker cable choice is but one factor to consider. Ultimately it’s a multitude of factors which will determine the audio quality as you know, and simply saying because a room has a given set of dimensions that speakers won’t fulfill their potential isn’t entirely correct. It’s a big factor and I agree it has a significant bearing but it’s not the only factor.
My 40’s took an inordinate amount of placement before I got them right and I must have moved them a hundred times before I was happy. The 50’s dropped in very easily with minimal toeing in and they appear to be a lot more forgiving in terms of the power needed to work the Drivers and reach optimum volumes.
At the end of the day that’s why auditioning equipment in your own room is so important.
Hi mate. I’m afraid if you go for the high gloss premium finished it’ll increase the price by 2k or thereabouts.
It’s a really Labour intensive manual process which the cabinet makers at ATC use. They liken it to polishing a Roulette wheel. Its not like spraying a lacquer on to the veneer, they are literally hand polishing and buffing over a number of applications of the gloss so the additional cost covers that additional labour. I’m not sure if you’ve seen any of the premium gloss finishes but they are a work of art and real quality pieces.
Thanks for the info. If I do end up liking the speaker, I don’t think I’ll be putting down another 2k on a premium finish though. I’ll probably go for the ash black
Also do the stands come with the speakers?
I believe they come with the domestic 50’s but not the pro versions.
My 40’s are in the Black Ash and they look great. If you have a look at my previous posts you should see them .
Yes the stands come with the speakers. I wasn’t sure about them tbh and was thinking of going for the tower version but when they arrived I was pleasantly surprised as they have the visual effect of making the speakers look less obtrusive. Given the cabinet is 50L that’s kind of moot I know 
but nevertheless they do look a bit less obtrusive. The Tower version is exactly the same volume, so the additional wood underneath is just dead space.
I dont know much about speaker design but from auditioning so many speakers I have this impression that cabinet depth and how slim it is has a noticeable effect on the type of sound. For instance deeper cabinets usually produce surprise surprise a deeper bass response. A more shorter depth produces a snappier response. I suspect they kept the same volume on the tower version to keep the same sound although I would still expect the standmount version to sound a little more immediate with the open metal frame.
Apparently according to my local dealer the stand mounts are slightly more agile but I guess you’d have to hear them together and I imagine to the human ear it might be negligible? The 50’s stand mount that I have on demo deliver a lovely taut bass.
I’ve just replaced 40’s after 5 years with Classic 50’s on their little stands and agree they somehow seem to blend in to my room better . I think the stands definitely help with this as you can see much more floor space , I haven’t had my tape measure out but they also seem a little bit lower than the 40’s by an inch or so .
Great feedback Pete. How are you finding the 50’s? Enjoying them?
Btw Saddleworth was looking very picturesque this weekend even in the cold bleak winter 
I’m really enjoying the 50’s thanks . They have a more wholesome sound than the 40’s but thankfully they aren’t upsetting my room in lower frequencies . I haven’t had much chance to play around with positioning , like you I’ve just put them in the same position as before . I’m going to have a play around with REW at some point re Bass response just to see and may implement something down the line . My gut feeling is digital EQ before a DAC will become much popular in the coming years .
Are you from the Saddleworth area ? It is a really beautiful place even in February … I’m lucky my family are still there and go home often .
Hope you enjoy the 50’s Pete.
I have a nasty room mode at around 36hz which needs to be treated with DSP. It’s so low that it would need an insane amount of bass trapping otherwise. 50ASL’s play to 23-24hz in my room with almost no attenuation. I have few concrete walls, floor and ceiling made of concrete so plenty of bass boost.
Anyway I’ve measured my setup with REW and currently use a Virtual Bass Array filter made with instructions on youtube. It works much better for the low end than any regular EQ I’ve tried previously. I’m afraid to post the video here since pretty much all links get deleted on Naim-forum. But you can find the video from Youtube site called Obsessive Compulsive Audiophile.
Middleton, North MCR Pete but we take the kids to Upper Mill and Saddleworth at weekends for a drive out and walks and parks.
Yeah totally agree re the 50’s. I don’t know the electronics/physics/acoustic reason behind this but I am able to listen to the 50’s on a much higher volume than the 40’s without the energy transfer to the walls/furnishings etc. It’s as though they’re that big more in control but I guess maybe that could be down to the bigger cabinet volume coupled with the increased size of the drives? Dunno.
They certainly pass the ‘wife’ test when I’m downstairs in our music room (ie I don’t get any text messages saying ‘turn it down!’)
Thanks Patu , I’ll have a look at that for sure . I think Youtube links are generally ok but I’m not 100% .
There won’t be a room in the world without a room mode , everything sounds nice and controlled here at the moment but I guess measurement will tell me different . I don’t think there’s anything too nasty here though .
I know Middleton quite well , I had a long term girlfriend who lived on Middleton road in Chaddderton but that’s another story … .
You’ve ordered some 50’s right ? What was the lead time ? mine came a couple of weeks early fyi .
She probably works in the local chippy now
Yeah I’ve had an order in for 2 weeks now but have gone for the high gloss burr finish which is quite a laborious process so don’t expect them anytime soon but thanks for your feedback. Maybe they’ll be here sooner than I thought!
Oooh Burr gloss, lovely. Hope you might post a picture when you are set up. Thats a finish I’ll consider.
They don’t look too bad in Walnut either ! Just had my first really good listen this afternoon after an annoying cold and wow are they sounding sweet ! And I still haven’t got around to turning the stands the right way .
They look great in Walnut, that would be my choice too.
Gary