I think this is really it. The market has dwindled to an uneconomic extent for these products. Naim upped the price of Snaxo a year or two ago to the same level as a custom build, which they probably were at that point, effectively.
Steve Sells himself reflected on it a little in the “Occasional Podcast” episode on Naim (about 14 mins in link here, but also in podcast players), when discussing technology he enjoyed that didn’t quite make it to broader adoption. And he briefly touches on the (still relevant) benefits.
I thought that until on a previous thread their was a discussion on Ovator spares or lack of…….so the thought of investing in some more amps quickly died.
Surely any speaker can be run in active mode, if you are willing to do a bit of dismantling. My first Naim speakers were not designed to be active, so I took out the bass units, removed the crossovers and put all four wires out of the back of the speaker. Worked perfectly well.
This is more true than you can suspect. The Linn Exact page has just hundreds (or did the last time I checked) unofficial hack guides on removing crossovers from all sorts of speakers for going “Aktiv”. Even links to kits for new back panels with twin binding posts for PMC Twenty5 range.
If you are willing to reduce the resale value to zero, anything is possible.
Hi Charlie,
I couldn’t agree more with your post. The days of sound first in my opinion has ceased due to the need for convenience for the majority. Just look at the new classic thread and the posts where the main priority seam to reduce box count from what I see most posters have great systems to go to a streamer pre/ to do it all. A lot of people do not have or want to put the effort or money into a system that gives in my opinion the ultimate sound experience that a active system can and I get that. There are of course lots of ways to make a great sounding system without going active and crossovers in modern speakers are much better than they use to be. There are also a limited amount of speaker manufacturers offering the option of passive and active so speaker choice is limited to a point. But ultimately if sound quality and realism is top of your wish list and you have the space and the means they are very hard to beat imo.
If I had the financial resources I had 3x500 or 6xStmnt active without any hesitation
But in reality even 2x300 and Sanxo+SC would be a bit of a stretch right now and thus begging the question if this investment would not be better spent on 1x500 and a source and cable upgrade?
Well, I bought the speakers for about £200 (maybe £250) brand new, used them for many years, and sold them for a similar price - but yes, it was a little less than £200, allowing for inflation. I converted them back to passive, first, and told the buyer what had been done. Also had to replace the internal foam, which had turned to a sticky sludge.
I would be nice! I wouldn’t have the financial means to go to that like the majority and I’m sure it would sound unbelievable!! But having listened to a few active systems and spoken to a few dealers they are all in the active camp fully. I have kudos 808s and plan to go active two 250drs and a 300dr. Running 3x 250s the consensus is that they are above a single 500dr passive and having heard I would agree.
I agree with most of what’s said about the reaction to New Classic. So far the reaction is greatly geared towards box count, though I expect other items to change that in the near future.
But in terms of going active… well I think the reverse is true. It is far easier to go active now than it was in the heyday of SNAXO. Back then (90s) few speakers had any built in amps and therefore a bundled active crossover. You were reduced to a small subset from Naim, Linn and Audiovector and of course all the Naim power amps that required. Now, many speaker manufacturers have active offerings with amps built in. While you can’t choose the amplification, it’s tailor made for each drive unit. Modern active speakers don’t need amps to be as good as a NAP300 (for example) to perform better. They just need to perform to maximum operating parameters of one totally known drive unit. The number of active offerings is pretty vast. Though I do admit, the starting price is much higher than it was back when you could go active with a modest pair of Credos or Tukans. However, to be fair, even back then, for the cost of going active, you could just go to a better amp and speakers. Active SBLs with 2 250s a NAXO and HiCap or 135s and NBLs? I know which I’d rather do.
No worries, the lower shelf is empty on purpose to keep the bottom 500 -powering the tweeters- out of reach from the big Trafo inside the S1 basement, aside from that a Snaxo is highly sensitive requiring a top shelf well off from all potential interference
Yes I agree regarding the increasing amount of active speakers now hitting the market I’ve listened to a few and there all pretty good to a point. But you have to stick with them as there is no upgrade path really. Fine if your more than happy with the sound and don’t have the need or want to tweek or upgrade your system and I’m sure that will work nicely for the masses. But I know what I’m like as like many on this forum it’s a hobby and the main driver of that is to try and obtain that sound that connects us in some emotional way. It’s hard to put into words really and I’m sure it’s different for each and everyone of us and many maybe never get there totally but that’s part of the journey and having the flexibility to try different ways to get there is part of the fun!
I agree that diminishing demand is why Naim/Focal is killing the option of going active. Buyers are gravitating to simpler systems but at a price. My NBLs are required to be close to the back wall and sound better active however my wife would prefer fewer boxes. It would be difficult going passive without spending vast sums of money however.
