Hi Geoff,
No, no poll, simply referring to previous comments from several noted contributors but, accepted, you think they’re great and that’s absolutely fine.
I’ve heard them on 2 or 3 occasions and was non-plussed each time. I didn’t feel they did the Statement amps any favours, a sentiment that has been expressed by a few. Big P.A. (admittedly a decent one) was what I thought.
I think you are doing the right thing… they will improve…by how much I am not sure… the Statement system will also benefit…
Sorry pls can you clarify your whole system…front end and interconnects
I was fooled by the pictures. Not so tall indeed the Stella Utopia.
Good evening Richard,
Thank you for that link. A mighty fine read on the Statement. Also, how much was the S1 back in 2015 compared to today’s Naim price list 
I think it’s about 14% more today in 2020 compared to back in 2015 (just over 2.5% year on year).
Richieroo,
Front end is a set of DCS Vivaldi with Antelope reference clock. At the moment, a CD555 has been inserted as backup because the DCS transport is under repair. Analog front end includes AVID ACUTUS SP with Thales reference arm & DS Audio Grandmaster cart. Main analog rig is a Bergmann Sleipner with Benz Micro LPS and ARC ref10 phono. Most cables are Chord Sarum tuned aray. Phono cables are Cardas clear. Pre to Power interconnects are Chord Sarum T 6m which will be reterminated to 3m. Speaker cables are Chord Sarum tuned aray as well.
While I am concerned that things did not work out immediately upon delivery, rest assured I have much more worrying things on my mind. The state of business in this pandemic is a real crusher. After several years of downtime in the industry I am in, My peers and I only enjoyed two short years of recovery before this disaster of a year hit so hard. I bought the speakers in 2019 during the recovery year. Totally no budget for anything remotely pricey this year or beyond if this state of economy persists .
And they were delivered now?
Yes just delivered. Initial plan was for the dealer representatives to fly in to assist with the set up and tuning as part of the deal. Well, we all know what transpired in between. Finally, I decided to get the speakers delivered first and that the dealer rep from their branch office to come assist. Unfortunately even that plan fell through due to the 3rd wave of escalating numbers just as the rep was about to fly in. In the end, only the speakers turned up and rep did virtual supervision to get them to my room. Surreal year to say the least. When / if the pandemic blows over, dealer still needs to come. In the meantime, I am left to my own devices.
I see, thanks. What a mess indeed
Sorry to hear @joeling. I hope this crazy pandemic time will blow over soon. I was lucky. Due to no travelling beyond 5km pandemic lockdown rules, dealer rep delivered my last purchase for free, which was on top of discount. No such thing now since travel restrictions has been relaxed.
Hello! I hope you will find your musical heaven soon. Furthermore, I hope for all of us that the current difficulties will come to pass.
It seems to me that one thing you have, is time, to spend to learn your system. My experience has always been that the more I got to know my system the more likely I was to tweak it effectively. Fingers crossed that you see a positive difference when your speakers exit the out-of-phase blanket session 
.
As a Post Scriptum, not to go off topic but to answer related questions from other members:
Good luck @joeling!!
Best regards, GN
Perhaps the SHL5+ really needs minimum 552/300DR if not Statement to show its capabilities. 
I’ll have to stay put with my 282/250DR as that’s all I can afford. Still sounds pretty good to my ears! The consolation is the Harbeth sounds best driven by the Naim after I used countless of non-Naim amps to drive them. The Naim amps are the costliest though…
Cheers allot to think about there me son!!! …
I’m going to be brutal here. I have a principle, never buy (from new) a costly piece of audio equipment, especially speakers, without an extended home demonstration. When in the dealer’s demonstration room no matter how well configured it is no way going to replicate your home environment. For one thing your mind set will be completely different, in the dealer you’ll be seeking out certain nuances and almost listening too hard to the point that you might be really impressed with one particular scale, arpeggio or harmonic at the expense of everything else. When at home reality, normality, creeps in, you put Beethoven III or Miles on, feet up, enjoy the coffee or wine and it is all very different. Your listening experience is more holistic.
I’ve relayed this before but nonetheless I’ve always been a huge fan of the Neat Ultimatum 6 and was hugely impressed when I heard them in a dealer demonstration room on a system pretty identical to mine. A few months later when the finance had been worked out I arranged a home demo and after 2 days I was completely disillusioned, the bass was wrong, the mids were muddled despite the treble being as sweet as a nut. No amount of repositioning helped they just were not going to work. They had to go back.
Now I of course fully appreciate in non UK markets especially if long distances are involved home demos may well be impossible. That being the case you either have to secure an arrangement with the dealer that the product can be returned with a full refund perhaps bearing transportation cost, if not you’re taking a huge risk.
Finally, whenever I’ve heard the Utopias they’ve had lots of space down the sides. From the picture the OP has posted they look far too close to the sidewalls to me.
With apologies for being so frank.
Regards,
Lindsay
Focal Stella Utopia set up at dealer place. Poland.
From the point of view of the OP I’d be delighted to be wrong on the placement issue.
Thanks guys for the insights. Where I am, impossible to secure a home audition & unlikely to be able to work out a deal to return big ticket items once committed. So, plenty of school fees paid over the years. Hopefully, this will not end up as one. Fingers crossed.
Regarding the space to the walls, yes at the dealer’s their pair was in a much bigger space no where near the side walls. My only consolation is that my out of town friend’s place has similar width to mine and I heard good music from his system. Again, once burn in done, I will put this to the test.
