Hi,
I was looking to buy Naim nova along with Dali rubikore 6 and wanted to ask if it can be a decent match? Unfortunately there is no way to demo them . Also can it be ok to pair 4 ohm speaker (40-200w) to nova which is 80w at 8 ohm.. I don’t listen to super loud levels max will be 90-100 db.. given Dali is 88db sensitivity my sense is nova should support?
if you have some other recommendation of speaker pairing or integrated amp pls let me know too
purely by the numbers, it’s not a problem. Naim amps are extremely capable with low impedance speakers. Nothing in the spec of the Rubicore 6 looks problematic. Dali also make excellent speakers and a few forum members pair Dali with Naim.
However, that is a lot of money to spend on a punt without any kind of demonstration. Speakers are very personal and there is no way of knowing if their sound signature is your cup of tea. I personally like Dali speakers very much but others feel differently. I’m not aware of any members with the new Rubicore range either. I’d certainly, at the very least, want to hear whether the Dali brand sound is to my liking before spending the money.
From my own experience with other Dali speakers, you get a lot of quality for the money. They are likely to respond even better to an even higher end amp if you were to ever upgrade from a Nova in the future.
I mean hhave listened to Dali but different amp. Nova I think pairs quite well with PRoac so that is one option. But I was more leaning towards Dali as they sounded more musical with superb soundstage. Not sure if it was amp but for soundstage amps have a relatively lower role..
Was hoping if someone has paired Dali and Naim nova and what was the experience.. but yes I might need to pair them together to make a final choice
It strange Naim says to pair nova with only 8 ohm speakers. Will it be an issue if I pair with 4 ohm dalis if I play a sensible volumes
Response from Naim:
Hi there,
As confirmed, I have further confirmed with the head of service as well, we recommend 8 Ohms only, which is our recommended spec. While it is possible for any amplifier to run right down to 2 Ohms, it depends on how long it can do so before it overheats and consequently causes more wear and worse sound output.
Regards
Unless you are playing at party levels in a cavern it is probably okay. Important to bear in mind that power output increases dramatically as impedance decreases. But peak output ceiling will stay the same so you effectively have less headroom.
However, if you browse the forum like the System Pics thread, you will see a lot of Novas and Atoms and what people pair with them.
You would be bonkers to spend this sort of money without hearing the system in a room of similar size to yours, and ideally in your own home. Add the fact that Naim themselves advise against the match, and it could be a recipe for disaster.
What size room do you plan to use the system in?
I am not sure why Naim is advising against it. Ideally if my speakers are not super loud and my room isn’t that big.. it’s close to 15 ft by 25 ft or so…
its shouldn’t draw load on the amp.. naim nova has 80w for 8ohm ..
I am surprised they say it’s not build for 4 ohm when on the website they mention clearly it’s meant for variety of speakers
The main issue here is that not all speakers are a benign even load, and some can be quite reactive, with impedance far below the quoted number. The load quoted is often an average rather than a minimum. With the Unitis, I see that Naim recommend a minimum of 4 ohms, so perhaps there is some caution being expressed here on the basis that some speakers quoted as 4 ohms may present an impedance far lower at certain frequencies?
Either way, provided the speakers you choose aren’t too reactive and don’t dip below 2 ohms at any point then you’ll likely be fine.
As ever, the best way to determine the match is to go by recommendation of your dealer and then take a listen for yourself. Obviously you have stated that the latter is not possible, so you’ll need to take a chance (not easy with speakers), in which case your next best bet is to go with what your Naim dealer recommends.
n.b. For reference, Naim’s own speakers were always designed to present a benign load of around 8 ohms.
I had the combination Dali Rubicon 8 + Nova with 4Ohm running for several years. I switched to the 200 series 1 year ago and the Daliś also runs there without any problems.
I am still very satisfied.
Wow this is encouraging to hear So I should be safe probably 
do u notice any significant difference when upgrading from nova.. just curious to know..
Another option I loved as Macintosh Ma 352 .. quite amazing but much more expensive than nova
Agreed. I think Naim are just covering themselves here.
I ran my Atom with Neat Iotas which are nominally 6 ohm but have a very benign impedance curve and the combination worked well. Probably unsurprising as the Iotas were originally designed to work with the Atom’s predecessor.
OTOH I agree very strongly with the others that spending a substantial sum on speakers you’ve not heard is very risky. Also, choosing hifi by numbers misses the important consideration of whether the components work together to give a sound you enjoy.
Unless it’s absolutely impossible, a few dealer visits should substantially reduce the chance of a costly mistake. Home demo, even better.
Roger
My friend has been running 4Ohm PMC CI range speakers from a Nova with zero issues for 5 years now.
Amazing to hear .. I was asking coz Naim themselves suggested not to pair 4 ohm.. may be they are just being a bit conservative
