I’ve been in the market for some new speakers for a while now , and was tooing and frowing between Atc , ProAc and kef . And had more than a passing interest in the s400 .
Well to cut a long story short a pair came up and I made a cheeky offer , it was accepted.
Set them up yesterday and first thing that struck me was the quality of the unit itself , absolutely stunning as you would expect from Naim .
These are in immaculate condition .
Setting up was relatively easy .
Powered by 272/250 .
Well my first impression was WOW
Goosebumps …they are warmer than I thought they would be and I’m glad about that with my tinnitus. It’s like a whole new layer has appeared in my music . I’m not and audiophile but I do like nice sounds and well produced music . These are amazing , not sure why the are dismissed …
Going to take some beating
I agree……but they like a room bigger than their size suggests. Dealer demo rooms were often too small to do them justice. Enjoy.
I recognise that from my 600’s. It was like a very serious source upgrade.
Ovators work best if they are not close to a sidewall.
…I had a pair for awhile with my SN2 and they were fabulous. I eventually traded them in when I bought my ProAc D30RS speakers.
Enjoy the music!
…found a photo…
Nice speakers - know them well! I have copied (edited) this from a post I made last year!
Optimising performance; S400s will really start to give of their best with good source and pre/power. Consider a ps on your 272, if that’s a keeper!
Naca5 and especially the Ovator speaker plugs (which are it seems, becoming more difficult to locate unless you received a pair), all make a difference.
What age are your S400s? Realistically at least ten years old if you are lucky, likely maybe older. No probs. Simply a case that the crossovers would significantly benefit from a service. I’ve recently had one pair done and a second pair are off to Wilmslow Audio in the next few days. If you elect not to get the xovers done, which will include re-torqueing, then the following will bring out their best.
So set up of Ovators. Care is an absolute. There are no spares afaik, of absolutely anything.
The Ovator spec sheet is available. Take time, the grills must be eased off very carefully, not rotated and replaced in the same position. Use a pair of fine x-head screwdriver or hex key and remove squarely. If they haven’t been off before, they will need patience.
Use a quality torque screwdriver - it’s important. If you don’t know, it doesn’t measure current torque, only when tightening. So give each bolt a slight loosen using the correct hex key, then retighten. Two views, diagonal or clockwise;If you only slightly loosen, then personal choice.
The best starting point for torque is to do the bases first. Look at the diagram first and until you have the base off, it is tricky to understand how the drawing works. Tip - do one bolt at a time or things may move.
The base contains the crossover, so if it hasn’t been off previously, it will be tight. Doing the base is just as important as the drive units. The speaker wires are connected and seem to be of different lengths, so allow plenty of room around you. Loosen and retighten each setting in turn. Return the base and then do each of the drive units. Any q’s, do ask.
Placement and positioning, is personal choice. I have one pair on NC kit - stuffed into a shallow alcove - no other options and they perform. Toe-in - experiment and ditto with distance from rear wall, but imho they are not mega difficult to position; ymmv.
If you do upgrade boxes at any stage, then be open to change their position.
Enjoy!
Yes I get that , considering they are the “baby “ of the range the are quite imposing
There was a S200 in the planning, never materialized I believe.
I never really liked the uprising look on rear top of these s400/S600 loudspeakers.
I’ve had S400 for a couple of years now, probably never going to love that look, but the sound my dear…
Love my Ovators both the design and sound.
Hope you enjoy them and they bring you a lot of musical pleasure 
ATB Graham
Still a great speaker, mine have survived many assaults from other brands, but still remain in my living room. I was an early adopter when they first came out and have been driven by everything from a Nait 1 to a 552/300 and now a Nait 50.
Nice to see you posting Gary !
Thanks Mr Tibbs!
Your profile lists Kudos……….?
Yes my profile is 5 years out of date. The Kudos Titan were one of the speakers i’ve had along the way but still returned to S400.
And are liking being on the end of a pair of 350s (and occasionally a NAIT 50). I hope you are well, Gary.
@Woodford
Congratulations on obtaining such great speakers. They are brilliant on the 272/250dr combination. I have really enjoyed the 272/555dr/250dr the last 9 years. If you can get the 555dr eventually, you will have a touch of true high end. The 555dr turbocharged the setup. The Ovator400s are a speaker that just gets better as you improve source.
Sounds great James! All good here thanks, hope you too.
I bought a pre-owned pair of Ovator S-400s a couple of months ago to replace may ageing and rather tatty MkI SBLs. I got them for a very good price and am enjoying them. Whether I would have bought S-400s if I had been flushed with a pocketful of cash is another matter but given what I paid for them and their condition, I am very happy.
The Nait 5 finally became 50?
I had them with a 202/200 for a couple of years. They worked in a very difficult space, but after moving somewhere easier I found the imaging rather too diffuse, but lived with it otherwise especially as they did sound good with a 252/300. A change of system to a Devialet 250 and that amp really hated them… moved to Atohm GT1 stand mounts which I’ve stuck with now on Naim NC.
I still have the Nait 5 & Nait XS, highly regarded, sometimes rotated into my SBL system in the office. The Nait 50 replaced an 82/SC/250.2 on the Ovators, but they may go back, and the Nait 50 go with the SBL once it’s fully run in.