I know how much everyone loves these X vs Y threads… My system is based around a Supernait 3 and an NDX2, with the very small ProAc Tablette 10 Signatures for speakers.
As some may know, my hearing is pretty bad; my left ear doesn’t work at all and my right isn’t that great, so I use hearing aids whereby the left hearing aid sends sound to the right. The brain copes with this very well and usually I don’t notice that everything comes from one working ear.
I only include this as background. Having recently sold a 555PSDR that powered my NDX2 and finding that I didn’t miss it at all, I was wondering whether my hearing was so hopeless that I wouldn’t notice the impact of swapping the NDX2 and Supernait 3 for something more modest. I don’t need to downsize for financial or any other reason, so it was very much an experiment to see if I could hear the difference and, if so, how big that difference would be.
I tried a Nova in late 2020, when I had Naim SL2s, and didn’t feel that it was up to the task of driving them properly. Would things be different with the little ProAcs I wondered? To find out, I’ve been comparing my NDX2/SN3 and a Nova that I have very kindly been lent by the ever helpful Audio T in Portsmouth.
It’s been a really interesting experience. The good thing is that my hearing, even with one ear and the aids, can easily tell the difference. I won’t use the term night and day, or even chalk and cheese, but the differences were very clear to me. Whether using aids shows up things that others wouldn’t notice I don’t know - maybe others would hear a bigger difference, or a smaller difference, or maybe different differences.
The Nova gives a hugely detailed sound, with everything rendered very explicitly. Very rhythmic and engaging. But on the downside I found the sound rather thin and anaemic, and the bass was much less and didn’t go anything like as low. This rather surprised me, as both amplifiers have the same rated power output.
As well as listening to music we use the system when watching TV, using an optical cable. Watching David Attenborough’s wonderful Green Planet, as well as a thin sound, there was a very pronounced sibilance in his voice, which I’ve never noticed with the usual system.
Listening to Achirana by Vassilis Tsabropoulos, Arild Andersen’s bass, which is hugely deep, was a bit thin and weedy with the Nova, and much of the wonder of the album was lost. Switching to the NDX2 and SN3 immediately gave an enormous improvement in bass depth and definition. The biggest difference was that instruments became much more natural and everything sounded much bigger and more solid. Music flowed in a much more natural and organic way and was just much, much more enjoyable and engaging.
Now, I fully realise that a Nova costs £4,800 and an NDX2 and Supernait 3 cost £9,300, so the latter jolly well ought to be better, whatever ‘better’ means. What has been really interesting for me is to discover that I can still tell the difference, and also that my little speakers can easily reveal the difference. I suspect my hearing is impacting on me in a way it may not with others, as I know that many people love what the Nova does.
Maybe with bigger and fuller sounding speakers I wouldn’t have noticed the difference. In terms of the greater fullness and depth of sound, I’m pretty sure this is the impact of the Supernait, despite it being rated at the same 80W, but of course it’s impossible to isolate exactly what’s doing what.
I really rather wanted the Nova to work for me. I’ve warmed to its looks; it’s lovely to use and the volume control is an absolute delight. I think it’s fantastic value. But with my ears and my speakers it just didn’t work out, and the NDX2 and SN3 are back in and doing their thing.
Hopefully someone may find this useful in some way, so I thought I’d share my findings, just in case.
