Ecco!
Nice… I see that Audio Note share some of the design principles that Russel Kauffman of Russel K adopts with their speaker designs. I suspect they sound great with good timing because of the great phase alignment and lack of damped cabinet smearing. I also like the fact they spurn fancy driver materials that in marketing bumf looks impressive and gives the impression of ‘hi tech’ , but in practice add their own colourations and distortions.
Looks wonderful and bet is sounds great too. I once had the chance to demo the Audio Note AX-two hooked up to a Nait-2 (and I think an Accuphase CD-player) and it was one of the most memorable small-room systems I’ve heard! (too bad the price of the AX-1 and AX-2 have more than doubled over the years. )
I tried AX2s with the Nait and it was very good with vocals, especially songbook classics from the likes of Ella F.
Actually Audio Note #K, J, E are a development of the original Snell design from decades ago, before Peter Snell passed away.
Qvortrup sold these loudspeakers back then in Copenhagen. PQ managed to change construction for near wall or corner placement.
Only the original Snell A were designed to be used up against wall- one of my all-time favorite loudspeakers.
Really interesting to hear all of this! Was super curious to hear how any Audio Note speakers lined up the Nait 50. Wanted to try the AN-J myself, but they probably would not have good synergy with my current listening room.
Putting a speaker (right into ) in the corner and pointing 45 degrees in can really increase its sound pressure and direct to reflection ratios. Longer wavelengths so I understand can get a quite a sound pressure boost. I understand works best with more directional tweeters and mid drivers, ie narrower dispersion. I understand horn speakers can sound superb in corners. So a directional mid and tweeter with an attenuated bass performance speaker is going to sound at home right in the corner.
…the Paul Voigt Domestic Corner Horn…
In the 1930’s…
I am sure you know the story…
I’m running 2 sets of speakers in this room currently - Neat Petite Classic and AN Ax-one/2 and tend to agree with what is written in the following review:
Both are great in short
There’s something very unique to the presentation when you’re not listening to the drivers pointing into the face or nearby. Like you’re also in a way avoiding a part of their distortion. It may be a bit tricky to position the speakers into the corners as every mm counts and probably it doesn’t come without a compromise however it’s an approach to make sound different and attractive in its own way.
Please don’t post unauthorised commercial links in the Hifi Corner. Thanks.
The combination Nait50/Intro2 is really nice:
-so much expressive
-with this unique good old Naim groove
-far enough details
-overall coherence (no bass grab the floor and on the other end no highs floating somewhere over the loudspeakers…).
Really good job!
I’m just listening Fugazi album.
Fantastic!
Heard the Roger’s LS3 etc with the Nait 50 and ND5XS2 last week, it was very good
I have been following this thread (as well as the main thread on the NIt 50) closely for a long time. I have gradually built up my system over the last few months with Nait 50, ND5XS2, NDac/XPS. Only my speakers (Vienna Acoustics Haydn) are from the previous system with the Uniti Atom. The longer I listen, the more I get the impression that they have now become the weakest part of the system. They are a bit boomy in my listening room (17 square metres). Many posts recommend Harbeth or ProAc speakers with Naim, or even Neat Acoustics or Russel K. However, these brands are not very common in Switzerland (at least not within a reasonable distance). Because I was in the neighbourhood at the weekend for family reasons and had already bought the Nait 50 there, I asked Hifi Studio Wittmann (Stuttgart/Germany) for a listening appointment for speakers with Nait 50. On Friday I was able to spend 2 extremely exciting hours there. Marius Dittert from HiFi Wittmann is a Nait50 owner himself and had connected a Linn Selekt DSM (Dual Mono) as a source (it is qualitatively superior to my system). The listening room was about 25 square metres in size with light acoustic treatment.
As previously agreed, we listened to the following loudspeakers, which should suit the size of my room.
ProAc Tablet 10 Signature, Harbeth P3 ESR XD, Harbeth Compact 7 ES-3 XD, Franco Serblin Accordo
I had initially hesitated to suggest the Franco Serblin because they are significantly more expensive than the others. I thought they would probably need better electronics than the Nait 50 to realise their potential…
We heard some titles, that I know very well, e.g.
And what was the sound impression like?
Franco Serblin Accordo: Right from the start, it was clear that the combination with the Nait 50 + Linn Selekt DSM was something very special. The sound image had an extremely open stage and especially with classical music or the vocals of Dominique Fils-Aime’s recording, not only the grand piano or the main voice was placed in the centre, but the orchestra or the polyphonic background vocals were presented with a differentiation that I have never heard before. The whole thing was then presented with a beautiful tonal coherence in all frequency ranges, including a tight bass foundation. This was not only very good in terms of hi-fi criteria, but also created a close emotional connection to the music. In many places, the music gave me goose bumps and touched me deeply. That’s how it should be.
It was perhaps an unfair break, but then we switched to the ProAc10, which only cost less than 1/3 of the Accordo’s price. The ProAc’s were very well balanced and created a coherent sound that was surprising for their size. In the bass and fundamental range they reminded me of my Vienna Acoustics Haydn, in the mid and treble range they where slightly better. Certainly a good choice for the Nait 50, but the resolution was limited compared to the Franco Serblins. Voices or lead instruments in classical music were more in the centre, but the differentiation of Background singers or orchestras remained mich more limited. The emotional experience of the music was therefore a good deal removed from the Accordo’s.
The Harbeth P3ESR XD were convincing with vocals, even more so than the ProAc’s. However, the sound image seemed rather thin and rather pale in the bass and fundamental range. I assume that they were simply too small for the room. The Harbeth Compact 7 ESs clearly improved on this and created a harmonious and balanced sound. However, even they did not achieve the coherence and resolution of the Franco Serblin Accord’s. This was immediately clear when we connected the Accordo’s again at the end. With Dominique Fils-Aime’s “Rise”, an all-round harmonious and finely resolved balance was achieved.
Lessons learnt: the Nait 50 is an extremely differentiated and balanced amplifier that delivers an extremely harmonious sound image with the right speakers. It benefits greatly from sources that are priced significantly higher and immediately passes on their quality. Even high-quality and correspondingly expensive loudspeakers can make sense with the Nait 50. What the Franco Serblins have delivered with the Nait 50 was simply impressive.
I have only ever had similarly harmonious and moving experiences with the Marten Oscar Duo (albeit with NCS 222/NPX 300 + Nap 250, not with the Nait 50). I have also heard that my Vienna Acoustics Haydn are not so bad in comparison. Harbeth P3 ESR and ProAc Tablette 10 Signature each have a different sound character. There is no doubt that they are also a good choice for the Nait 50, depending on the room and source. However, they seemed to me to be a step sideways compared to the Viennas. For a big improvement, a correspondingly large investment is necessary, but with the Nait 50, this can certainly make sense.
Thanks to Marius from Hifi Wittmann for this impressive presentation of the different speakers.
Oh, this sounds like a totally fun experience, thanks so much for the super nice and detailed write up, was very interesting to read your thoughts about both the source and, of course, the speakers comparisons.
Every time I look at a pair of Tabs 10 Sigs, I simply start longing for a pair just because they look so awesome, and I did enjoy mine for a good while.
I know nothing about these Italian speakers but sounds like they must be pretty
special. Are you taking them for a little home audition?
And possible placed too far out in room.
The wall shelves makes it impossible to place many loudspeakers correct closer to wall, strange lay-out for a shop like that with seemingly serious kit.
Thank you very much, @garcon. It really was an exciting session. But the source (Linn Select for 20k) certainly also played a role. And besides the Franco Serblin Accordo, the Tablette’s 10 were a positive surprise for me. The ProAc D2Rs might also be an option, which I haven’t heard yet.
And yes, the Accordo’s would be worth a home demo. I still need to think about it (they cost 8k… more than I actually wanted to spend…).