Yes Steve they are indeed cherry and a perfect match for the cherry Fraim. I only ran them passive although they were originally designed as active speakers. I did not try the 606/707s as I had heard them before and knew that the 808s would be in a different league. I know Polarbear tried the 707s but like me saw the benefit of the step up to the 808. The NBLs would give you a great stepping stone towards the Kudos range for a very modest outlay and as already said if you look after them well you will easily be able to get your £2k back selling them on.
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Lovely room and system Steve. Your SBLs are a carbon copy of my pair! The room does look big enough to accommodate NBLs. If you can get the bass balanced then I would expect good results. It’s all down to the room really. As I said earlier, hang on to your Sibbles for a bit just in case.
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Hi Steve,
I have been running my pair of NBLs in a system similar to yours since 2006 when they replaced a pair of SBLs that I had used for about 10 years.
I have a 40 m2 room and the SBLs had difficulty filling it without becoming bright, forward and a bit thin. The NBLs build on all the strengths of the the SBL but provides a larger, fuller more well balanced and relaxing (without becoming laid back) sound. Bass is excellent, tight and tunefull and definately not boomy. The sealed bass and seperate chambers help I am sure. I could never go back to ported loudspeakers ( but never say never, I may have to eat my hat).
A steal at 2000 pounds, speakers of equivalent performance would cost well over 10 000 pounds today I am sure.
I don’t think the corners are a big problem but I would try to move the Fraims closest to the speaker if possible.
Good luck.
Hans
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What a gorgeous system!!! But that first picture is playing havoc with my OCD…
But on a serious note, being an SBL owner first with X series equipment and now CDS3/555ps/282/250DR I am happy to know I have many system upgrades available before the speakers become a possible weak link. Maybe the stud wall is not ideal for them in your set up, but the NBL is far cheaper than having an internal wall replaced…
Haha! Wasn’t going to say anything but my CDO is also going bonkers 
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CDO - in alphabetical order like it should be…
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I ran SBL’s for 13 years before buying my NBL’s.
The NBL’s are really like a bigger SBL, with all of the wonderful SBL sound plus, deeper bass and larger scale overall.
I initially ran my NBL’s on a 250, then tried a 300 (much improved) and finally settled on 3x250’s which is how I still run them.
I have listened to Kudos 808’s but on returning to my NBL’s felt that there simply wasn’t such a difference as to warrant paying ££££ more for the Kudos.
However, if my NBL’s break (I do have spare tweeters) I may well consider the 808.
After I had owned them for a year or two, I had one tweeter fail for no apparent reason.
More recently I had another tweeter failure which turned out to be due to (I suspect) a workman moving the speakers and then connected the mid-range speaker cabe to the tweeter socket…
Mine have lots of space around them but do have a TV cabinet in between the speakers.
I and seemingly everyone who hears them, think they sound absolutely superb.
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I run NBLs active with 3 Nap 250-2 amps, Nac 52, CDS3 with 555 PS. Great sound, ample base and decent imaging[for Naim]. I never listened to SLs or SBLs but was not impressed with Allaes or Credos. A Nap 500 should be a good match.
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Here are mine, run active with3x250 also in Cherry. They are c6 inches from the rear wall slightly toed in. I bought these x dem when they were discontinued replacing SBLs which are still in my second system and I have heard nothing better that is not well north of £20k.
In my view, at 2k they are a no brainer and should be fine with your system
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Steve
If you live within striking distance and are concerned about purchasing without auditioning it may be possible for me to lend you a pair of nibbles. I have the packing coffins off site but could get hold of them (I think!). I am in N London.
If not, as others have said they can be brilliant speakers. I ran them passive with a 300 and then a 500. When they sounded great they were simply wonderful. Unfortunately for me, my listening room is square and this it transpires is far from ideal and I felt I wasn’t getting the best out of them. I still have them though, just in case!!
Peter
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Allaes did nothing for me, but context is important, SBLs I love.
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@northpole Thank you Peter for your incredibly kind offer. This just goes to show what a great family this is. I have actually decided to buy the speakers and confirmed today my interest and requested the cross overs to be sent away to Naim for a make over! Listening to all of the comments above I think for the money I will be getting a great pair of speakers. In the unfortunate circumstance that they do not work in my room then I will be selling hopefully a great fully serviced example! I will retain my SBL’s of course @stuart.ashen not sure if I can part with those beauties just yet! After being told they were the best pair of SBL’s that my long established dealer had heard I think I may consider my second system options first 
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@Dirkdiction @Graeme I know what you mean! The sound is just so much better that way! The TV and Pictures could be moved of course but that is a BIG TV and not an easy job! Once in the room its not as bad as it looks in the picture but it certainly is an OCD nightmare! Sound quality with eyes shut is just sublime 
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Steve
I hope nibbles fill the slight gap you feel may exist with your sbl’s. I think they also look fantastic.
On a timber floor I found that naim chips made a huge beneficial difference to sound quality.
Let us know how you get on with them when you have the crossovers back and your new speakers set up.
Peter
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Congratulations Steve, yes do let us know how they sound in your set up… hopefully fantastic.
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Thanks again for all of the responses. Every post was useful and I read them all many times and studied every one of the photos. It really did help me make my mind up and go for them!
The Cross Overs will go back to Naim early next week hopefully and get a good once over. I suspect we are about 2 weeks away from NBL day! I will of course post my findings and let everyone know how they perform in my room. I Have never had Cross Overs serviced before but expect they will take a bit of time to ‘burn’ in again. Looking forward to seeing what one of Naim’s finest is capable of!
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As I think I said, positioning is critical. My dealer identified 5.5 cm as the wood to wall optimum in my room but after he’d left I couldn’t leave well enough alone and after improving on his lateral placement (which he’d said to have a play with) I went on to check his wall spacing. I happened to be playing Roy Harper’s Man and Myth at the time, the track January Man and I could year the emotion fade from his voice as I moved the speakers to 6cm or 5 cm from 5.5. As a final check this was quite telling, I wouldn’t want to wear that track out but never mind your bass and treble balance, they’re just the way, this is where it gets to the why.
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Are the NBL’s good at low volume? I mainly listen around 8-9 But sometimes background noise at 7ish is more suitable. I find SBL’s good for this.
I`m listening around volume 10 with Sl2