Hello, I need help. I have a used pair of N-Sat. I listen to them with a nait 2 and a nac202 and a Nap 250-2. On both devices they play very thinly and without a fundamental tone. very little bass. I tried it from the back wall at 10-30cm.
could it be that the crossover need to be replaced?
Kind regards
Chris
Unlikely.
Which sources, Chris?
Which cables?
Which stands?
As you can imagine, their dimensions preclude a lot of bass, but “thinly” is not how I would describe them.
Sorry if this is very obvious, but I’m assuming you have them wired in phase?
They really benefit from being as close to the wall as you can get them.
The crossover hypothesis I think is unlikely from the perspective that they would probably sound different to each other before both start sounding thin.
That’s how they sound,go for a pair of Linn Kan ,for more weight in the sound from a similar sized speaker.
Are they up against the back wall or in a corner (that will enhance the lower frequencies and give the sound more body).
They are, after all, satellite speakers. Try them with an n-Sub?
I love nSats, but bass ain’t what they do.
They are very good speakers but I couldn’t live with them without an nSub, with which they work beautifully. Without it they always sounded congested.
Hi,
I think I know the Sats well, having owned seven pairs. I’ve discovered that much depends, to begin with, on the vintage: very early models (222*** or so) are often thin, with a pronounced upper midrange and yes, a very discreet bass.
The piano black ones - I’ve had one pair - were definitely more bodily, although no Sats emit much below 70 Hz.
One ex-demo pair I bought from my dealer, who had kept them constantly in use at a minimal volume, were so poor in bass and lean that I had to give up after a while, and another early pair in cherry were also rather squeaky.
My current ones are more balanced, but unless they are kept a couple of inches from a solid wall and fed with robust power, they won’t ever be full enough.
As for what HH says, yes I had an n-Sub too, but I found it an ordeal to make them interact perfectly. In general, they tend to sound congested, true, and their only level of excellence is guitar, piano, harp, few acoustic instruments.
What is yours’ serial?
Best
M
BTW, as could be reasonably expected, they were excellent with cinema sound. I still love their ability to project sound outside the boxes and build an ample, lively, detailed scene and am often dissatisfied with more pedigreed designs that aim at doing everything.
I have in the last couple of days got a pair of nSats going again with ndx / 282 / hc / 250dr and I am very pleased with the level of bass. They are on wall brackets. (Also have a full cinema n-system). I think they need to be hard against the wall
Isn’t it in the name, sats? Satellites, designed to be used with the sub, not on their own.
Covering the bases here but n-sats are very room dependent.
In a smaller room on stands or popped onto solid furniture close to walls = good.
Larger rooms without the n-sub = bad.
I have a mint cherry N-Sat pair with factory stands and they sound great on a Nait XS and Flatcap XS, or a Supernait 3 with a HiCap DR, via NACA5. My son hated them on the Nova and sent them back to me. You really need an external power supply and a good source to make them shine. But they do shine in the right setting. We have enjoyed them since 2006.
Fingers crossed you don’t blow the woofer.
My fifth pair, in cherry, was eventually driven by 282, SC, 250 (non-DR). The combo made them sound powerful and perfectly satisfying, but I didn’t like the sound of the 282/250 so it all went. As I said, and as is the experience of many, the more and better power you feed them, the finer they sound. As soon as I have properly terminated NAC A5s, I’ll put mine hard against the wall even though the wall is not a hard solid one but a brick, somehow resonating one.
I agree on the n-Sub. I first heard them years ago at HH’s place (very good fish, a lovely home and a nice family), and the Sats/Sub integration sounded perfect. I simply wasn’t able to replicate it myself. But if I find a good 2nd hand one, I will buy it and try again.
They arn’t magic speakers, though. They are small and they don’t deliver a terrific amount of bass. I have a pair in the kitchen, they are fine in a smaller space.
N-Satisfaction it is IB 
I have piano black n-SATs with n-SUB and a very nice speaker system it is indeed. The n-SUB definitely fleshes things out and helps to bring a sense of tonal ease to the sat’s, as well as more weight.
However, I’m still convinced a full range floor-stander gives a better and more cohesive result such as Naim’s Allae or NEAT’s Motive SX2 for example.
A change from this?
You are very kind. I bought the sub from Norman and Ian from the now extinct UHES. Norman has long history of designing hifi and getting the best results in the room and thought the back wall would work best, and so it proved. I could sit about 60cm from the sub, yet it was still perfectly integrated with the sats. While the extra bass extension was good to have, it was the way that the chestiness of the sats was removed. It worked on all music, even solo violin, where the sub added space and the ambience of the recording venue. How it does it I don’t know, but it was very effective.
That’s interesting that you sited the sub on the back wall. I may try this myself. So far I’ve only tried the n-SUB quite local to the main speakers, either in-between or to one-side.