Naim and Dynaudio Thread

Sorry for going off topic here, but what’s the best way to heat the rubber shrink tubing?
Thanks, pete

hair dryer

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You can use a naked flame if you’re careful, such as a cigarette lighter. Better, though, to use a hairdryer if it will go hot enough, or a hot air paint stripper.

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Most amplifiers will drive most speakers. However, if you care about what comes out then matching is vital. Dynaudio are well known as being power hungry; they open up and feel sublimely controlled. However, with insufficient power then they are not going to hit the spot. Try before buy, and be realistic. The S40s are fantastic on my 250DR but even that is probably less than ideal.

My dealer has proposed a pair of Evoke 30s with my XS2 & FCXS. I tried them in store on a Nova and also a Hegel streamer (390) and it all sounded good. I haven’t tried many other speakers - does anyone have comparisons around that price point? (3KEur) there are few reviews for the Evoke range.

I have the evoke 30 with nd5-xs-2 nait xs2 hicap dr had them 6 months they are just coming to,sound excellent I would highly recommend ,demo against speakers costing half as much again and blow them away.

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Me again, speaker cables due tomorrow and I have some shrink tubing and hairdryer ready.
I have realised that I have another issue unfortunately - I currently connect my BK Electronics XLS200 sub using the high level method. This means that three thin cables attach to the amp speaker terminals along with the regular speaker cables. It works fine now, but how am I going to connect the 3 sub wires onto the naim plugs? :grimacing::grimacing:

If your speakers have dual purpose sockets which accept both bananas and spades, I would use bananas for the main speaker cables, and spades for the sub cable. Otherwise, you may be able to solder both speaker and sub cables into the banana plugs.

Hi Chris, thanks for your reply.
My speakers do have dual purpose sockets, do you mean I should connect the cables from the sub onto these sockets? - currently the 3 sub wires are connected to the amp’s sockets directly.
Please excuse my lack of knowledge
Pete

Yes, you can connect a sub to the speaker end rather than the amp end. When Naim made the N-Sub, they recommended this as the preferred connection method for best sound quality, especially if you use a Naim amp.

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I connect my REL subs from high level Neutrik connectors to the speaker terminals instead of my Naim amp terminals. Connecting to the Naim amp isn’t recommended, due to issues with inductance I think. REL actually makes a high level cable specifically for connecting to Naim amp terminals but it’s $500-600 (and I would need two), so I don’t bother.

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Hi all, speaker cables have arrived.
I’ve noticed there is a directional arrow on each cable - does the arrow have to point towards the speakers, or doesn’t it matter?
Thanks for everything. Pete

yep towards the speakers

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Totally agree. I run a Miller And Kreisel SB8 just to excite the bottom end and to stretch down to the lower levels. I only run stand mount B&W 707 S2’`s so they need a little help getting down there :wink:

Thanks for the feedback.

A little story… I have special 40s, driven by Naim 250DR, 272 as a preamp with a Chord Qutest (latest purchase) into the 272’s DIN analogue input. Most of it is in the photo accompanying the OP of this thread. Anyway yesterday I was playing the new record “Inks” by Aes Dana (electronic downtempo with a bit of drum & bass, on Ultimae records) the other day. This was on moderate (but not excessive) volume and I had to go outside to put the bins out while the music was still playing. While I was outside I happened to lean onto one of the patio door handles of the living room where the stereo gear is and I was shocked to feel how much the speakers were moving the patio doors, even though they were locked shut. It was like the speakers were pumping the air in the room and the large glass doors were flexing to accommodate the welly! It felt very powerful. But everything is well controlled – at the same time as this big bass that has real texture, you get delicate mids & highs and good imaging. Almost one year in and I think the special 40s are the business. One of my best stereo gear buys ever.

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I have a small room so have stuck to bookshelf speakers. The S40s are stunning and their bass is incredible for their size. Mind, you need to control it properly. Moving from a 250.2 to 250DR made them really shine.
I agree with what SJT says, they are my favourite buy for many years.

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They are a beautifully finished speaker , i love the gloss on the special 40

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“Inks” does reach pretty low at times; need the rear port plugs on the Evoke 50 even with them well into the room. Really like that album.

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I’ve just purchased Evoke 50 and positioned them 60cm off the back wall, quarter way in from the side, looking straight out and haven’t needed to restrict the portal. These really are exceptional speakers.

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