After some while of very much enjoying my TT again, I am just thinking about next update. Loudspeaker.
I have 52/135 passive setup and my great love is my 30 years old SBL mk1.
Very much love the sound and speed. Only downside is my room - 40qm all plasterboard under the roof. Lower frequencies are difficult as you might imagine.
Thinking about an alternative.
What about
kudos 606
neat 06
PMC
My favorite is kudos, but have not heared any of them.
Any ideas for my research?
Or SL2? Or even keeping SBL :o)
Thanks a lot for your help
Ps: have seen a tot topics here on kudos, but have not found an open one.
Having had a similar problem with lack off bass, due to wall construction from my active sbl’s, i finally found the pmc fact 12.
Fantastic speakers that work very well naim, so much better than the sbl’s even when they had a nice brick wall.
But speakers are very room dependent and the only way is to try yourself at home, once you get the right ones,mit will be plain to hear
Thanks a lot. Nice speaker.
The new speakers must be capable to be placed near the wall. Not SBL like, but no placement 50cm from rear wall. Must be around 25cm max.
I assume both kudos and pmc can be placed that way.
I think you will find that the pmc’s are fairly easy to place, as mine are nowhere near in the best position, but still sound fantastic without the dreaded bass boom
Speakers are a very personal choice and can be very room dependent.
I auditioned Kudos and B&W last year choosing the judos T606 as my preferred choice plus they work well in my room placed either side of a chimney breast and 26cm from the rear wall, they do not seem to be that fussy on room placement.
Ironically when I had my olive system using Epos ES14 speakers the dealer recommended that I upgrade to SBLs they just did not work in my room so a home demo is essential.
What about Neat Xplorers. I had Sbls for fiver years and enjoy the Neat Iota very much. It is Ambit warmer and more forgiving but have the same tight, deep bass. I think It can do with 20-25 cm.
Fred
I went from SBLs to SL2s and found a very nice improvement - and they like being up against the wall. I thought that 606s which I heard at a dealer event didn’t sound enough better than my SL2s to be worth considering - but really liked 707s (lots more bass). Also need to listen to 808s but getting carried away there. Trying to resist dealer offer to bring a pair of 808s here
SL2 is not that easy to get these days. Had an offer a while ago and hesitated. The lack of base is for SL2 as well. The 707 might be a bit too big and I assume to big do a bass jump when compared to SBL :o)
I have to Hear all of them and afterwards do a home testing.
How is the kudos 606 (or 707) in speed and dynamics comparecto SBL. That’s what I really like with the SBL.
In my L-shaped living room the PMC’s perform extremely well with my Naim-setup. Positioning is not that difficult and bass-issues aren’t heard of very often, due to its transmission-line concept.
I.m.o. a possible downside could be, what I would call, their ‘unforgiving’ characteristic: badly recorded/mastered albums are presented as is, and do sound bad! Luckily the opposite situation fully compensates this: well recorded albums do simply sound really superb. Why not give them a home-demo, and compare them with other favorites? Success
Having used SBLs since the late 80s I declare a certain bias. The fact is that if you like what they do they are really hard to replace. Speed and their natural way of handling voices is balanced by a fast tight and restrained bass performance. Modern replacements that I have heard are bright and not really my cuppa ( Kudos, Linn etc). How about a sub turned downto give the bass a subtle uplift while keeping the strengths of the Sibbles?
That’s exactly my dilemma. My ears are running SBL … since 1989…
Tried a lot with subs … have a sizemik in the Surround setup. But all efforts integrating the sup made the sound too slow.
On the other hand I do not know if my sbls became a little tired… I have to try a comparison to newer speakers…
Fair enough that you have tried subs. I find some recordings have so much bass it’s uncomfortable while others are so bass light, perhaps a majority, that you crave a little more bottom end. I am content that this, for me, is a good compromise. I would keep your Sibbles while you try some alternatives. You might just put them back in…
There’s no other speaker on the planet that does what SBL’s do. They have a unique magic. DBL’s are the same. But if you are looking to make a change be sure to listen to ProAc K series before making a decision. I’m so pleased with my K6 Sig’s. (former SBL/DBL/Titan owner)
