These are bass heavy loudspeakers compared to IBL’s Geoff!
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Lovely! My black pair are my spares.
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Are there any Naim dealers or independent service people who can rebuild SBLs. I have a pair of MkIs that I bought ten years ago and I would really like to get them looked at
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SBLs have been around for well over 30 years and only discontinued in 2002, so to be on the safe side, the younger the better generally, although older excellent examples of SBLs do exist, often with mkII mid/bass driver units retrofitted post 1995 to older cabinets.
The very latest Hornslet version that is veneered on the rear sides are considered a better cabinet too.
The most important thing is cabinet condition due the the sealed nature of the design. It’s a good idea to know the mid/bass drivers are functioning okay too because replacement costs of these units can be high. The other areas of concern can be more easily sorted with new tweeters and x-overs if need be, and an obligatory SBL rebuild kit.
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Only the BBC
Despite these statistics, the BBC continues to purchase more copies of The Guardian ( 68,307 copies ) than both the Telegraph ( 57,763 ) and The Times ( 59,490 ) and manages to pick up 50,398 copies of The Independent over the course of a year, a paper which registered an average of just 75,802 sales per day so far this year, according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations.
BTW don’t know why the site puts asterisks in
Thanks for the response Debs, most of that I didn’t know, like some having veneer on the back.
2002 is not that long ago, and possibly in the right environment/home a good second hand pair should have been well looked after - though not everyone cares as much about their naim equipment as we do. 
Are the crossovers easily repaired if damaged, rather than replace them?
Is the ‘kit’ you refer to, the ‘sealant’ and other items?
The “Kit” includes sealant, gaskets and small pieces of aluminium, which are stapled the the bottom box to take the spikes from the mid box. You need to provide staples, washing up liquid, and nerves of steel. 
The crossovers can be repaired or rebuilt, but better still would be to go active!
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This is the sealant I used:
It was recommended by the folks who respond on this topic too!
My SBLs came with a bunch of aluminium pads.
Out of interest, is an SBL snaxo also suitable for IBL’s?
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That’s the stuff I’ve got as well. Mine came with pads and gaskets.
Active IBLs, eh? And there I was, wondering what to do with my spare NAXO…
I think that is financially feasible, and I can stay focused on the required task 
If you’re going to change the aluminium pads, you need two part wood filler such as that available from Ronseal. I think it’s called High Performance Wood Filler. This is to fill the holes made by the spikes and staples through the pads.
If you’re handy with a sealant gun, I’d suggest using standard silicone clear sealant with a new nozzle cut to a small aperture rather than a tube, which would be harder to control.
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Does anybody know if you can buy the aluminium pads separately? Thanks.
I’d contact tomtomaudio, they have the gaskets listed and so mention pads included.
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And how did it sound ? 
Seeking some advice - I’m in talks with a seller on a US HiFi site that listed a pair of black ash SBL, MK2. The condition is listed as near mint and performance wise no issues. He has the original shipping boxes, packing materials, all in excellent condition, and the foam grills are like new. Unfortunately the seller lives in Seattle, 2,800 miles away from NYC but he is willing to ship, but IMO speakers are the hardest to ship and the distance they would traverse really scares me. I’ve read a lot on the forum about the need to position them against a solid wall to sound their best, which I can accommodate but I will need longer lengths of Naca5. I’m using a pair of stand-mounted Harbeth P3ESR that I purchased new a couple of years ago from Gene Rubin. I’ve never owned or listened to a Naim speaker so I can’t speak of its attributes, and there must be some synergy running an all Naim System. And there are many happy SBL owners here. I’ve also read that the SBL’s can be fiddly to set up correctly, but once done right, it’s a speaker to own for 20 years. I am willing to to what it takes to make them work. What I like about the P3 is the uncanny ability to produce an intimate sound close to the human voice but because of it’s size, they don’t play as deep. Plus the P3’s are just plonk and play. I know this is a subjective question but am I better off keeping the P3’s or making the switch?
Hi Aren,
Do you have solid brick internal walls? US buildings are a mystery to me but a solid wall is an essential part of the SBL design. If you do then they really are great having used them since 1988.
Stu
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Hi Stu, thanks for your feedback, yes, the walls are plaster over drywall.
So not solid brickwork then? Not sure the early Naim speakers will be a good fit for you then tbh. You could buy them and move them on if they don’t work though.
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Our SBLs where in a different league after we moved from a flimsy house to solid concrete floor and solid brick walls. I’d be cautious of anything else.
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