It’s always a challenge to find speakers to match the Nait and Nait 2.
Thought it might be useful to pool our experience into thread that can be referenced next time someone asks. It would be good to have multiple comments per model since our opinions will no doubt differ.
- Audio Note AX-2 - Easy for Nait to drive. Lovely midrange on easy listening/songbook material. Doesn’t carry much of a tune or particularly boogie
- Audio Note AN-K - Very easy to drive and play loud. Lots of deep bass and very nice midrange. Treble stood out at times, distracting from the music. Presentation/balance is a better match with Audio Note’s own amplifiers. Dealer dem so never heard at home. Expensive but nice finish
- Elac Debut 2.0 b6.2 - Nice sound with some bass. Slightly warm/forgiving presentation. Not particularly tuneful or rhythmic but very good value (£300 new)
- Epos ES14 - on the end of Xerxes/RB300/K9/Nait, it was a lovely combination, lots of drive and energy, very musical, I listened to a lot of music on that system
- Diesis Solitaire - On the end of my NAIT 2, it’s too long ago for me to recall exactly how it all performed, but it certainly didn’t seem lacking and outperformed a few other well regarded amps on these speakers
- Graham LS3/5 - Great bass, definition, imaging. No issues driving them with Nait 1
- Guru Junior - I think the Guru Junior has some similar elements that Kans have, timing, rhythm, reasonable imaging, and a great illusion of decent bass, especially for such a diminutive cabinet. Maybe they even out-Kan the Kan overall. While maybe not the ultimate in detail, still just a very fun and enjoyable listen, hard to go wrong with them. Fairly easy to set up, hard against the walls behind them, play with toe-in/out, adjust to your liking. Enjoy! — Had Guru Juniors with my Nait 2 CB - A real boogie speaker that just makes you smile.
- Jean Marie Reynaud Twin - Fantastic combo, tuneful, emotionally involving, good timbre and bass. Not as snappy as Kans but much easier to live with in a bigger room and not quite as source critical. Will still reveal a bad front end though!
- KEF 101 / 103.2 / 105 - KEF 101 was a BBC monitor design; flat response from 60hz to 20k. The 103.2 had an eight inch woofer and is still considered one of the most beautiful speakers ever made. The 105 was a trash can sized monster with an extra horn, and total separation of the components into separate sub enclosures. Amazing detail and soundstage. I heard Tull “Songs from the wood” on those through a Naim separates setup plus a Linn LP12. Great speaks!
- Klipsch R15-M - Easy for Nait to drive. Nice treble/midrange as I recall but don’t remember much else. Kans left them for dust in terms of rhythm/timing/coherence
- Kudos 606 - Very musical
- Linn Index 1 - My roommate enjoyed this very much especially with rock music. This combination can cover most kinds of music.
- Linn Kan 1 - Superb rhythm/timing/resolution/coherence. Requires solid rear wall. Limited bass so best used in a small room. Age and tired drive units are a concern. Very much voiced for vinyl source, especially pre-Cirkus LP12. Tried 3 main combinations of Scanspeak, Hiquphon and KEF drivers. The ultimate Marmite speaker
- Linn Kan 2 - More tuenful and neutral version of above but with less life/fun/rhythm and a slightly compressed/restricted feel compared to the 1.
- Linn Kan 2 (Kustone) - Quite boring compared to Kan 1s - perhaps just a bad pair
- Linn Katan - OK. Tuneful, decent resolution and some bass but they struggle to really come alive. Something uninspiring or not quite right with pairing*
- Linn Keilidh (with upgraded bases) - Plenty of bass, tuneful, fun, great rhythm/timing but sounds quite ‘shut-in’ and muffled. Lacks midrange resolution/insight and treble refinement but still good VFM in the right setup/room (~£250). Later versions with 3-bar tweeter have better top end. Sealed cabinet design
- Linn Majik 109 - Quite a weird sound - not a good match
- Linn Majik 140 (with upgraded bases and 2db bass cut) - Passable but nothing special. Tuneful, can boogie a bit and has a decent amount of bass but ultimately a bit boring
- Linn Sara 9 - Nait 1 one drove late-Sara 9s no problem which amazed me. A bit thin sounding (as is common with Nait) so lacked bass and foundation but superb rhythm and timing. MC cart and dedicated phono stage would have helped fill out the sound
- Linn Tukan - Same size as Kan but softer/warmer/more refined sound that will better suit some bright or digital sources/rooms. Doesn’t have Kan insight but more forgiving of source. Works close to rear wall despite rear port. Largely forgotten and underestimated and therefore great VFM (~£150)
- Monitor Audio R252 - Clean tight bass (sealed box) easy to drive, fun sound, but not the last word in clarity or refinement as can be a little strident on some recordings. Very easy to place though. Cheap on the used market and an alternative to Heybrook HB1s
- Monitor Audio R352 - Slightly warm full sound but a little lumpy one-note bass, easy to drive, great fun, decent dynamic range but not the last word in clarity as per the R252, but a little smoother than the 252. Very easy to place. Cheap on the used market, but do seem to be going up in value of late.
- Naim IBL - Superb rhythm/timing/resolution. Requires solid rear wall. Limited bass so best used in a small room. Some will find Kans more tuneful/coherent but less neutral
- Naim SBL Mk 2 - Superb rhythm/timing/resolution. Also good levels of refinement. Requires solid rear wall and top source. Can be a bit frenetic so some may find them best partnered with lazier pre/powers. Great VFM for this level of sound quality (~£500)
- Naim SL2 - With a top class source this combination can work beautifully
- Naim SL2 / Allae - Played at moderate volume the Nait drives these beautifully on both SL2 and Allaes, bass lines sound sublime. I’m a big fan of Stanley Clarke and the Nait driving either of these two speakers is such an enjoyable listen. The SL2s obviously pip the Allaes on the Nait but the Allaes are not a million miles away and the characteristics are similar
- Naim n-Sat - Seems to work nicely with Nait 2 — They are a mighty combination with the Nait 2
- Neat Ekstra - Very detailed due to the ribbon tweeter, yet silky high frequencies (zero fatigue), deep tight (isobaric) bass. A big impressive sound for a small enclosure - Neat Acoustic’s party trick. Great fun too, and easy to place. Only heard them at a show with a Nait 2 — I can attest to how good the pairing of the Nait 2 and Neat Ekstra’s is. The Ekstra’s are a very good all round speaker that work well with all genres of music and are very good with classical and Baroque.
- Rega ELA Mk 1 - Lovely speakers, tight transmission line bass, refined high frequencies, very easy to live with and place next to a rear wall. Ridiculously undervalued on the used market
- Rega ELA Mk 1.25 - Nice sound, some resolution and enough (tight) bass for a medium-size room. Good all-rounder and great VFM (~£150)
- Rega Kyte (original) - Poor mans Kan perhaps. Very well made little speaker. Fast, punchy tight fun sound, easy to drive. Front ported but designed for wall placement to augment the light, but tight bass response. More forgiving of a lesser quality front end than Linn Kans.
- Royd Eden - Kan competition in its day. Fast attacking sound with snappy timing plus more bass than Kans/Tukans but less tuneful/coherent
- Royd Eden - Not a lot of bass, didn’t go loud without harshness. Very analytical - wish I’d never sold them
- Royd Minstrel - Fun and engaging. Similar lightweight breezy sound to the Naits. Best used in a small room. Cheap as chips (~£100)
- Ruark Sabre 2 / Talisman 2 - This combination was fantastic fronted by a Sondek LP12, I still regard this set up as one of my all time best. Both speakers were superb, the Talisman 2’s were the same as the Sabres but with deeper bass, fantastic speakers
- Russell K Red 50 - Good timing and alive sound. Some bass. Lacks some tunefulness/coherence and overall balance didn’t work as well as some other models
- Russell K Red 100 - As above but with some more bass. Again, nothing all that special with serviced Nait 1 which was a surprise. This one was a dealer dem so not heard at home
- Shahinian Larc - Kan-size omni speaker with great rhythm, some bass and room filling sound. Metal dome tweeter can draw attention to itself. Flexible but omni design not for everyone
- Shahinian Super Elf - Great combo. very musical, just a lack in the bass maybe due to the cables I used (DNM reson). If I had used the K20 I think I would still have them here with me permanently
- Snell Type K/II - Remembered playing many female vocal music, the emotion was in the music. In combination with Nait 2, I realised the importance of source. In combination with Nait 1, the listening environment improved, and I enjoyed this combination given a top source. The separation between instruments is not clear, but I enjoyed almost all kinds of music
- Spendor Classic 4/5 - Small speakers like the ProAc Tab 10. With my Nait 2, the Spendors are easier to drive than the ProAcs (brief stay). Surprising amount of tight bass for the size, very natural sound and good articulation. A good buy!
- Trenner & Friedl Dizzy - Floor standing speakers made in 2010. Fantastic tone/touch/texture and momentum!
