Impasse

Mine go with a Supernait 1.

I have just now connected everything, and Keith Jarrett is playing Hændel’s Keyboard Suites.
I am aware that my choices of speakers have subconsciously often been dictated by the way the piano was rendered; but this is the sound I live with best.

(The red box in the background is a two-volumes collection of cartoons from The New Yorker, a constant source of amusement and pleasure)

M

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A slightly odd Swedish bird that would probably fit into your room like a glove, Rauna of Sweden…:innocent:



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Hi,

thanks. I have had Marten Miles IIs in the past, great speakers.
M.

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Is there any point in suggesting you never sell this pair?

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I had almost forgotten the Sats’ greatest quality - the ability to project the sound totally outside the boxes.
I have heard no other speakers do it with the same ease and openness. They seem to have nothing to do with the music playing…

This pair is optically mint and sounds very very fine. Finally something good this year…

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I won’t. Promise.

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MaxBertola, what subwoofer did you use with your SBL’s. Some have mentioned RELs work well with the timing and speed of the SBLs.

Hi,

I never used a sub with my SBLs. I found them good enough for music.
I had an n-Sub for a while with my first cherry Sats. It was a magnificent piece of audio equipment.

It’s not the easiest thing to match a sub with satellites, even when they have been designed to work with each other, because there is the space to deal with. The n-Sub was a 39 kg, 250W cube with a number of settings that made it almost ideal for any use. And, as usual, it was visually elegant and a more than acceptable piece of furniture.

You must accept that the mass and power of a sub must be used to be barely audible and work over little more than one-half octave… I have never been interested in subwoofers but the n-Sub was one piece of audio gear I liked.

In the end I had not enough use for it. A guy who had come from Wien to Bozen to buy a pair of SL2s saw my ad and drove another 4 hours to collect it. I invited him to lunch.

Now that I have n-Sats again, I may fall for a nice 2nd hand one…
:slightly_smiling_face:

Max

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But of course I too have heard very good opinions on REL subs…

Ironically my second pair of Sats (previously yours) was soldi to a guy in Wien as well

For Max.


nsats7


:upside_down_face:

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Is this your home? I had no idea you’ve had Sats…
:upside_down_face:

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His place and his funny dog Kuma. :grinning:

Hi Max,

Lovely space and sorry to hear that you are now alone. I’ve arrived a bit late as you’ve already bought the nSats. I once owned a pair after using IBL’s for 17 years and Linn Kans before that. Excellent speakers as you well know. I found that whilst they didn’t have quite the ultimate strengths of either the Kans or IBL’s they are far more evenly balanced than either of those older designs and far better suited to digital sources. The older designs of course were firmly routed in the analogue era and really only thrived (IMO) with a Linn LP12 as a source.

I know you’ve owned Klipsch Heresy’s and I was going to suggest the Klipsch Forte IV. I have the Forte III and they really are not only the best speakers I’ve ever owned but the best I’ve ever heard anywhere. I’ve never heard anything else that conveys the aliveness, immediacy and musical impact that one gets with a live performance as well as the Forte III’s do. Obviously they are horn-loaded in the mid and treble which I’m sure is the reason for this. Conventional speakers just can’t match the sheer immediacy and musical directness of a good horn-loaded design, sounding rather vague and soft in comparison. Obviously all IMO.

Anyway you’re happy with the nSats and that’s all that matters. Happy listening.

Hi PJL,

thanks very much for your kind words.

My time with Klipsch Heresy IIIs (two pairs, :slight_smile: …) was fun but in the end I was aware that they weren’t being used properly; Heresy IIIs are best listened at from some distance and loud; they seem to me to be better suited for a sort of ‘open-space’ listening than for the typical, ‘audiophile’ near-field listening where 3D imaging and soundstage are important. They love to emulate a widespread live presentation.

I couldn’t have that type of sound here. Sats guarantee me what I think important in home listening, a good amount of fun and and a carefree relationship with music replay… And so does the Supernait 1.

What more could be asked for? :slight_smile:

Best,
M

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The ultimate objective for sure. Once achieved - forget and enjoy.

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Here we are
:grin:

Linn Kan paired with Lp12 and CB amps were unbeatable in it’s classe and beyond, i owned two pairs for over 20 years

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I agree absolutely. Many moons ago I had an LP12/Ittok/Asaka, Naim 42-5/HiCap/110 and Kans. The Kans are probably the most musical speakers I’ve ever heard. Incredibly addictive. They really thrive though on the end of a CBNaim 250. I remember being stunned when I heard that combination way back in the early 80’s at my dealers. They sounded superb at home, but with the 250 suddenly they seemed to have grown to around 4 or 5 times the size! Bass was full, deep and powerful - it shook the floor. A lot of the faults - the midrange forwardness and hardness seemed to all but disappear. And all the good points, the speed, dynamics, timing and that icredible sense of forward momentum and solidity were greatly enhanced.

I’ve heard reports of some people who ‘upgraded’ to Isobariks and later returned to the Kans because they preferred them!

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I was never able to get the sort of bass you describe out of my Kan Is, nor was I able to tame the somewhat relentless, fatiguing quality they had, and I had a full monty LP12 (Ekos, Troika etc.), 72, and CB 250.

That said, I once sat in on an audition where a customer was comparing the Isobarik with the then-new SBL (both driven by a single CB 250) and neither speaker tempted me. My takeaway at the time was that, in order to truly suspend disbelief and be able to submit to the illusion of music being played in front of you, the combination of source and amplification needed to be vastly better than the speakers they were hooked up to.

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