I current use DALI Royal Menuet Mk.2 speakers with a Naim Nait 5i-2 integrated amplifier in my UK bedroom. I chose those speakers as they were the only good quality speakers I could find, which would fit in the built in heavy oak shelving. They have been very good both with my current Naim Nait 5i-2 and the previous upgraded Quad 77 but are now getting a bit long in the tooth. I also have a Ruark/M&K powered mini sub woofer.
I have found that the Swiss speaker company Piega are about to release a new bookshelf speaker in their Ace range, the Model 30. Piega have a very good reputation and are beautifully made. I like that they use a ribbon tweeter. The UK importer is local to me and has offered a very fair price. I will sell the Menuets on.
My concern is that the Piega Ace 30’s are 4Ω, rather than the 8Ω of the DALI’s. I have heard it rumoured that Naim amplifiers do not like lower impedance speakers and can struggle to drive them satisfactorily. However if there is any substance to this, I suspect it was the older amplifiers, that unlike the 5i-2, needed special inductance speaker cables. Has anyone got any experience of driving 4Ω speakers with any of the more modern Naim amplifiers? Does the wattage output increase like on the Krell amplifiers I use on both my main UK and French systems, where for example the Evolution 2250 Class A power amp increases from 250+250W-RMS to 500+500W-RMS from 8 to 4Ω.
Naim amps are very happy into 4 ohms, happier & more able than most in fact. The 4 ohm numbers may not have been published with some, but that is not indicative that they don’t work at 4 ohms.
Just search for Sterophile the www magazine & have a good read of “Naim Audio NAIT 5si integrated amplifier Measurements”
Many thanks guys, much appreciated. I will put a pair of the Piega Ace 30 speakers on order. They are apparently due to arrive in around two weeks but we don’t currently know if all the launch editions will all be the traditional Piega plain silver/aluminium, with grey grills, as I want the anodised black ones with a black grille.
The Piega Ace 30 speakers finally arrived from Switzerland, having taken nearly 4 weeks for their 1 week delivery. I am delighted with them. Unusually, they sounded good right out of the box. Compared with the DALI Royal Menuet Mk.2 speakers they replace, even though they are physically slightly smaller, they produce a bigger speaker sound and that sound quality is well maintained at low volumes. As one would expect from the ribbon planar treble driver, the upper range clarity is excellent. However what is most impressive is their timing. Even though due to spacial limitations in my bedroom, they are too close to the listening point, there is absolutely no sense of two speakers and the sound stage is wholly coherent. I would say their timing is up to ATC standards. I am very familiar with ATC as I use them with Krell amplifiers on my main systems in both UK and France. They seem to suit the Naim Nait 5i-2 very well. I would unhesitatingly recommend them to anyone looking for a higher end bookshelf speaker, where space is very limited. At their tiny size H.22cm W.14cm D.16cm, I don’t think they have any real competition. Very good service from the UK agent, Audiologica, in Billingshurst, W.Sussex.