Impasse

In the end, I think that at a certain age and after having heard, bought, sold, borrowed, discarded and dreamed of a lot of audio gear, one has a sort of duty about a system - it must correspond to one’s nature, culture, income, taste and aesthetics. Mere sound becomes just one parameter.
After all, we who have pursued the right sound for decades are still here questioning, asking for help, changing and swapping continuously. I know of just one person who has the same system since 1999. He’s not a standard but an eerie, admirable exception.

In this summer morning I have just browsed an old Stereophile review of bookshelf speakers. I wanted a panorama of types and options.

The number of designs made me realize the obvious - each and every model was thought of for a single type of customer. Lines, curves, the absence of curves, sloped front panels, intentional retro looks, plain utilitarian boxes that make you wonder if the cost of a little more visual condescendence would have been unbearable; idiosyncratic choices, useless features that are only there to rise the cost and make the speaker a thing to show off to friends; everything has a target. We are targets.

Most of what I saw was totally uninteresting and uninspiring, something was plainly annoying. In the end, I was at the starting point. Not a single, modest soul-stirring revelation.

And this made me also realize that the only maker of loudspeakers that seems to me to have designed models with a selfless mind, to only give the customer something that responds to cultural, aural, visual, engineering and domestic demands is Naim. At least, up to the Ovator line. With that, they tried to address a more universal audience. It wasn’t a success I believe. Back then, Naim users wanted Naim, not another brick in the wall.

So I’m here in this sunny, lazy summer morning finally discovering that, to me, Naim has been the best manufacturer of loudspeakers I know. I may have stated this before, but never before I had found myself at a sort of final turning point - the right system or no system.

The thought is an anxiolytic. In this moment of no certitudes, when everything is on my shoulders and I can rely only on my seventy years old battered soul, this is comforting. I have no interest in any other maker. Naim has already thought of what I think is important and beautiful in a loudspeaker design. I’ve had a similar feeling with the Klipsch Heresy - a 67 years old design, still selling, still working.

So much for fashions, so much for le dernier cri.

M.

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This didn’t prevent me from buying two pairs of S-400s, which I still think are the most elegant and furniture-friendly floor standers I know of.
Ok, sorry for the verbosity,

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I still fancy a pair though, Max, despite forum deniers. And when the happy day comes that S-400 prices reach today’s SBL prices, I will snap up a pair for my glorious XS set here at Chateau Christophe.

But this is about you…on with your thread.

C.

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Hi Chris,
I wouldn’t mind a third pair of S-400s. They only need some air around them and a moderately ‘live’ space.
They are beautiful and blend miraculously well into the living space. Some may find them a little more ‘full bodied’ than what Naim had taught us to expect, but a very very enjoyable floor stander.

My thread is just about Naim speakers, really…

M.

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This space is crying out for Totem speakers. Stand mount or floor. Compact and a great match with the SuperNait.

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I don’t want to leave my space crying out… Especially at night. :slight_smile:

I’ll do some research about Totem speakers.
I have met Vincent Bruzzese in Munich at the Audio Show; he was very nice to me and my friends, but not very friendly about competitors… :slight_smile:
I don’t have an opinion about Totem speakers; I have heard one pair, once. I recall an assertive presentation and a very controlled bass. In this respect, I’ve little doubts that a SN could be a good match. To be honest, I think that a SN would be a good match for most speakers…

Thanks for your opinion,
M.

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Quite happy with the aesthetics and the sound of my Ovators S-600 :slight_smile:

I‘m totally with you that loudspeakers have to tick more boxes than „just“ good sound, in order for me to consider them.

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My finding regarding the SN1 is that it likes difficult and or inefficient loudspeakers. It’s not too refined and that makes it a bit of a party amp.

When used with SBLs I would certainly add an hicap to improve it.

When I used the SN1 in my living, I had it paired with 84db B&W CM1’s and that was a wonderful combination. The B&Ws though have the B&W sound which includes the bit darker and fuller bass which caused in my room unpalatable effects which I only heared after I was well in my way learning about hifi.

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I got the Ovator 600’s in the first place for their robustness. The reason for the need was the swarm of kids going round in my house. They have survived cats jumping on them, duplo trains thrown to them et cetera.

Second reason is that it’s the best speaker I’ve heared for organ music. The gravitas, timbre and detail is just right.

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I love the “et cetera.” on the end of that, after Duplo locomotive missiles, it covers literally anything X) The ultimate endorsement of Naim build quality :wink:

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Ardbeg,

first of all, it took me some time to discover that you are a whisky… :slight_smile: And I must have discovered it either at Manor’s in Lugano or in the duty-free zone at Stansted. I’ll try you!

Secondly, I happened to hear both S-600s and S-400s with a SN/HiCap combo in proper spaces; it was great sound in both cases.

I perfectly agree on the SN’s lack of refinement but, as I have just written to my friend Chris, I love its boldness and its obvious love for audio joy de vivre. It’s powerful and fun and never fails you. It’s the Labrador of amplifiers…

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Max

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Yes, the et cetera category is intriguing.

M.

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Everything from custard to books.

A person I trust (he’s the technician servicing Naim in Italy) and a good friend, also suggested Totem to me.
He says the Forest.
Totems are not cheap though… But I’ll try to have a demo of some. I can’t say that I rave about their looks and I wonder how a square wooden box with two drivers can cost more than a pair of S-400s sporting a much more complex and visually captivating build.
But oh well.

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Well, I wonder the same myself some days, but they do. Try to listen to the Forest Signatures if you can, but they will take a lot more then a SN1 if you want - I’ve mine on a 552/300 system, but they started on a Nova.

You will be surprised what the stand mount options offer for that space. I use The Sky on their own stands in my second system driven by a NAP100. Quite excellent at their price point. And I run S400s in my main system.

Hi Max,
I’d go for that pair of SBL or S600 instead of S400, visually are not that much bigger and should be a good match in your rooms

Hi,
I trust the SN1 to be able to extract decent sound from most speakers, bar perhaps an Apogee Diva…
Forest Signature are very expensive, I surely am looking at the 2nd hand market.
Thanks

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Hint received thanks… I love stand mounts more than floor standers even though I don’t love speaker stands…
Picky Max

Roberto,

I am well aware of how S-600s sound; how much better they are than S-400s. I did extensive listening tests at my friend audio dealer’s.
I find the S-600s too large visually, and can’t even begin to imagine where to get a pair, where to drive to fetch them, how on earth to transport them to my apartment. I’m too old to still face such ordeals.
I’d need Naim to assemble a pair directly in this living room. If I was in the Bezos financial zone, I’d do.

Ciao