In praise of the humble Credo

I bought these in 1999 and they have been my main speakers ever since. Constantly in use, they have barely had any rest in all that time. Most of the time they have been partnered with 102(no NAPSC)180/hicap/cd3.5/hicap and have sounded good enough. Definitely light in the bass department though.

This year I have upgraded to an 82/250/supercap, still with cd3.5/hicap. Much better but still light in the bass. I knew the 250/supercap had no service history, so after getting used to their sound, I sent them off for some TLC. They have been plugged in for two weeks post service now, and today the little Credo’s punched out the deepest chest rumbling bass I have heard in a long time (outside of concerts). Massive improvement!!

They are not the best speaker in the world, but they certainly can pack a punch when fed a decent signal. Loving my Credo’s today! Will I ever upgrade them? Dunno, It’s tempting to try out some SBL’s, but not sure what they can add.

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I had Credos for 15 years or so. Great speakers and it took Spendor A7s to better them.
In the time that I had them I had new tweeters and the crossovers serviced after a component in the board overheated.

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If I may make so bold, you need to raise the speakers so that the wood is clear of the carpet, and get rid of that crap rack. Your lovely Naim boxes deserve much better. Then it may be time for SBLs.

Thanks HH. Bold is good! :grin: Will need to put a slab of something under the speakers as the spikes are almost at full stretch. Will I need to spike the slab of whatever to the floor? The rack will have to wait. SWMBO is already frowning at the money I’ve spent on hifi this year. But just for reference, what works best? Wood or glass?

Longer spikes are the answer. As to racks, Quadraspire, Isoblue, Hutter, Fraim are all good. Avoid Hifi Racks.

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Very pleased for you Graeme about this set, post service.

@Stephen_Tate will love this thread :slight_smile:

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Hi, Graeme if you have a wooden sprung floor I would recommend 8mm stainless steel marine grade bolts in tight. Then credos on top of them, made a world of difference to my ones, i wouldn’t recommend or use slabs. If you do it may be a slightly better bass, but I found if to become all hifi lost the Naim sound stage just went out the window. I’ve herd slabs under other speakers and they sounded fine, could be a near wall speaker thing, you can only try and hear for yourself. But didn’t work at mine
Credos are A really great speaker for the money. Epos es11 and 14’s are right up there too imo. I can’t rave about credo speakers enough. Setup is crucial as usual.
Your rack as HH politely point out may need to be changed at some stage. I have herd the smaller version like your one and it wasn’t bad at all. Has a long rod that enters from top of the leg’s through a hole in each level of glass and fasten at the bottom. Really was very good I was happily surprise.
I feel glass is better with Naim, wood seem to bring a slowness to the music doesn’t allow things to light up and deliver what glass does. Really whatever floats your boat at the end of the day.
So on the positive well done mate! Looks like a pad I could happily exist in. In fact I would find it hard to get to bed if that was sat in front of my beer drinking belly :musical_score:
Try to pick up a cds2 when funds allow. I see they can be found with xps and all cables for as little as ÂŁ1500. Then get a hiline into it Wow, another little Naim tango surprise.

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Thanks Soundsfaber, some useful tips in there. I do have sprung wooden floors but not sure how the better half would take to putting bolts in. May have to spend a lot of man points for that one.

I’m tempted to try some SBL’s at some point, but the Credos will carry on in a second system. The rack will be upgraded when funds allow. Need to do some research on that one. Cds2/xps is something I would very much like to have. Keeping an eye open for one, at the right price.

It is hard to stop playing music and go to bed some nights. I’m retired (early retirement) so can stay up all night and sleep late if needs be. :grin:

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Ok,I’m hearing you, as you know sometimes a bloke just has to do what’s best for everyone including himself.
You will need to use stealth mode for this . My suggestion. Get bolts, paint bolts same colour as carpet with your shag pile you won’t see then anyway, then wait till lovely has gone out, not bed because boss lady will become suspicious she can’t hear that comforting thump, just make sure she doesn’t spring you in the middle of your sinful act. So once you have it all clear get the bolts into the floor ASAP! ‘You could even use 6mm’ it’s easy to do, just use the spike holes in the carpet as a template be sure you screw them in vertically. Job done, you have a definitive upgrade for next to nothing makes you happy and boss lady is happy because you’re happy magic.
Best not tell her it came from me thanks😉

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Sonusfaber, you’re a very naughty boy. However, the good lady is still a wage slave, so things can happen in her absence. Muahahahaha!!!

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hello Graeme,

for a long time, I preferred the Credo to the SBL…
When I had my first SBL, I did not know how to put them in place to like them.
My second pair of SBL arrived with a Naxo, which pushed me to the active… I think that a passive SBL gives less pleasure than the Credo in this same configuration.
My Credo, I love them with a Nap180 that gives them the agility that suits them. For my ears and my listening room, the nap250 is too “romantic”

Hi Crifo

I may have been persuaded by friends and comments here and in another place to try some SBL’s. If I like them, they are great value for money, and if I don’t like them I can sell them on for no loss of money, so it’s worth a try. I do have a solid brick wall to place them against which I am told is half the battle.

The Credo’s will stay, and go back in my second system which is 102/180/hicap.

Thank you for your insight Crifo, it is very useful.

If you do go for SBLs then do some research on how to get the best out of them. I have used them for 30 years. They reward both setup and system improvements. Superb speakers imho.

I went to a Naim demo a while back to listen to their new product - the SBL :grinning:

First track played was Ry Cooder - The 13 Question Method.

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Well Stuart, I have gone and found me a 2001 pair of mkii sbl’s with spare gasket kit included, in walnut for a fair price. I have done some rudimentary placement faffing but have not re-sealed them yet. They are much better than I expected, with some really good bass in them. Really need to get a better front end now. Still running a cd3.5/hicap. Also worth noting, the Boss says she likes them. So that’s that then!

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Great news. They are a really late pair which is even better. I hope they give you much pleasure Graeme.

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I took advantage of a few days of vacation to put together an active system with a pair of 135’s on the Tweeters and a nap180 on the Woofers of my Credo, so I’m in horizontal configuration.

The settings were taken point by point on the Naxo2-4, the Credo delivered “in original condition” and I was surprised by their positioning in this configuration.
Credo, which work around the 30cm of the back wall in passive, are arranged at 5cm with this configuration, although they are “Bass Reflex”.

The difference with the SBL in active is rather tenuous, whereas I found these two speakers quite distinct in liabilities.
Perhaps the Credo is a little more flexible, less engaged… not even sure.
The criterion that one might prefer to the SBL is its more controlled low and again, because in the general equilibrium, it seems less present.

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