First time Floorstanders

I would be too timid to try speakers unheard but it’s obviously worked for you, which is great. Enjoy your music.

Roger

pics please :grinning:

Still haven’t experience floorstanding speakers :joy: only bookshelfs. I must go to my uncle’s place which is 4 hours away to experience his rig, Full Non-DR Naim 202, Nap200, CD5i and a Hi-cap with ProAc D25. He said his rig creates crazy detailed tight bass. Especially the songs I hear with the bookshelfs, it can’t reach low frequency. Quite excited to go to his place to experience it myself.

You can also try dynaudio, they work really well with naim

Now after roughly 15 hours use the DALIs have really started to open up.
Vocals/Midrange are becoming a little less recessed with slightly better projection within the soundstage.
Treble is much sweeter and is really impressing me.
Bottom end slam seems to be dominant standout feature with the DALIs.

Just an update on my floorstanders debut.
The DALI Rubicon 6 have been returned after 10 days of auditioning.
Treble and upper frequencies are reproduced beautifully on the DALI and bottom end authority and presence is big and well extended.
Its the midrange that was the sticking point for me.
Vocals are set back a little in the picture and with some albums can sound a little lost.
Electric guitar in particular is not as extended as I am used to and sounds less vibrant.
The DALI IMO seem to be all top and bottom with a weak middle
The bottom end (with certain recordings) can become unruly and take over the show on occasion.

Anyway now for the last 2 days, i have been auditioning the Focal Aria 926s at home.
And i know its early days, but i could possibly have found what i was looking for, fingers crossed :crossed_fingers:

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Sounds like you’ve made a good move. If at the end of the demo you don’t want to give them back and no longer really care if anything else out there is better, buy’em would be my advise. They take some beating, and at £2k are something of a bargain. Good luck.

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The truth is,
I love the basic sound characteristics of my A/E Reference 1s.
But I want a bigger presence and soundstage with a more layered and hard hitting bottom end.
Straight of the bat I could hear similar characteristics with the Focal.
But with added soundstaging and far more expressively layered bottom end that doesn’t overpower the mids and highs.
Vocals on the focal IMO are a big improvement over the DALI and have better weight and more emotion than the A/Es
After auditioning the over £3K DALI, the focals do sound quite the bargain

Seems like you really trust your ears. In the end that is what truly matters.
Hope you have the best of luck in finding what you are seeking.

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Perhaps not, but hopeful concerning piecemeal thinking.
Remember it’s all about the balance.
If you are happy with all the rest of your gear and the speakers are the final part of the puzzle.

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Regarding the rest of my gear,
Absolutely without a doubt love the NAIM sound from my Nait XS2.
No other AMP sounds like a Naim.
Again with my Chord DAC it was love at first listen.
Done the cabling bit too.
I suppose this is the last piece of my puzzle now.

CD5806B9-63FA-4E91-BD28-CCA8C0C41454-2751-000004054282C963
Are these your AE1s ?
There is the AE2s

These look interesting.

AE3s perhaps ?

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Perhaps Marmite. But I think these look gorgeous.

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Yes they are the same piano ebony A/E reference 1s i currently have.
I did email A/E directly to enquire about possible EX demo or old stock of the AE3s or AE2s
But no luck unfortunately.

Funnily enough, the new monitor audio gold 300 series are quite similarly finished .

Here are one of the demo pair of Focal Aria 926 in a “Noyer” Finish with my A/E reference on top for size comparison :grinning:
If I do decide on the focal I shall be returning the demo pair for a nicer gloss black, brand new pair.

IMG_20200209_230217

@EazyRyder If superb imaging and awesome midrange are your thing. I’d strongly suggest you listen to the ProAc D20R ribbon. I owned the D30R but it needs more Grunt than a XS2 can deliver. ProAc’s do the disappearing act maybe better than anyone. When setup correctly the speakers cease to exist as the source of sound.

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Hi Opus,
I’m assuming that you own a pair of Proac D20Rs. How would you describe bass response and rear wall proximity limits? Local dealer here has described them as a “bass factory” … Thanks for your feedback.
Brgds.

@anon64018693 I owned D30R. Personal reasons forced the sale. D20R should sound like 30 with a bit less bass. I had the D30R in a room that’s 15’x22’ huge sound stage wall to wall. I’m sure the 20 like all ProAc’s need room to breathe, they will be really boomy right against the Rear wall I’d say two foot behind them as a minimum but setup correctly they will amaze!

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Very good, thanks for the answer. Will have to audition soon.
Brgds.

ATCs 3 inch dome mid driver is regarded by many as the best midrange unit there is. Maybe try a speaker with that (SCM40 and upwards). Alternatively, with more extended bass, PMC’s SE range use what amounts to a clone of that unit, while their Fact 12 also has stunning midrange clarity, with what may be a more domestically acceptable box. However, other than the smallest of the ATCs all these are considerably more expensive than the Dalis.