My funny experience with Allaes was they never worked in two different Living Rooms with odd layouts and suspended hardwood floors, playing from 552/500, but finally came beautifully on-song in my symmetrical rectangular basement Rec Room with carpeted concrete floors, snugged back to the wall, playing from my AV2/NAP-V175.
Loved the Allaes at the dealer’s, of course.
Nick
Exactly Nick, room matching is key, let’s face it most speakers when reviewed by the critics are 4 or 5 stars and I’m pretty sure if the dealers didn’t like them they wouldn’t order them in the first place - King here is getting speakers that work in your room.
Gary
And just to add to that this forum is great at recommending brands they have had success with to use as a starting point.
@Christopher_M The ATC’s are not ruled out. They just don’t fit the budget currently and thus i have decided to continue my some hwat opportunistic search.
With regards to the continuation of that search, I’ve had the oppurtunity to listen to the Ovator S-400 in a beautiful and very welcoming store and would like to reflect on the experience here.
I was invited yesterday morning to have a listen to a trade in pair of Zebrano Black S-400s at a Naim dealer. Not exactly the colour i want for my room, but they’re not off by much. After some very nice getting to know each other and swapping out a Supernait3+NDX2 that was warming up in the back listening room for my Supernait and CDX2 it was time to listen. I’ve done some reading online beforehand but still wasn’t quite sure what to expect from naim speakers with regards to balance and image so was pretty excited to experience what the fuzz was all about.
I started my usual routine with the intro and first track of the Unplugged Gentleman album and what unfolded before me was a very nice and focused stage with what i tought was great imaging for such large speakers. I certainly know the not quite holographic signature of my equipment by now and was evident here. But was way more lifelike and 3d than i had expected.
Speakers were tonally and dynamically very good and attack on leading edges were spot on. Only gripe here was that the plucking of the bass seemed to power the well but not overly damped and relative to speaker size small room a little. It was very powerfull and pronounced yet a little thick and it did mask definition. This is not the thickening of sound i normally associate with off balanced speakers for there was no obvious chestiness in male vocals present. So both me and the shopkeeper agreed it was room acoustics. This became more evident when playing some overly loud rock music like The Pretender by Foo Figthers. A lesser recorded track of a loudly mastered album. The room was very much overpowered and fatigue felt close, but never set in. With some heavier metal stuff from the Subliminal verses by slipknot (which is actually recorded very good but also quite loudly mastered) the speakers faired very well and propelled along just fine.
After some more musical genres and a little chat about the thickening of bass with regards to room acoustics and my space and positioning options in comparison to the demo room (approx 2~2.5times the volume) the shopkeeper offered me the speakers for an extended demo at home. We both felt the larger volume would suit the power of the low end a little better.
I got a little nostalgic and tried some of my favorite harder house tracks. This is where some magic happened to me. Never have i heard a HiFi speaker play these tracks this convicingly and hard hitting. Very nice indeed! 
These speakers are certainly fun and capable of keeping pace and the system felt very much at ease in doing so to very loud and physical levels. Though never did they have the hairs in my neck stand up, but to be honest, this is probably the Supernait more than anything else.
Very happy with the offer and also flexibility of the shop owner for reserving the speakers until next week when i’ll be picking them up. I’m excited to try them at home and curious if the construction of the plinth and decoupling of the cabinet would work in my appartment with, albeit multi playered and massive, laminate floor.
These speakers are maybe larger than i would normally consider but like quite their form factor and zebrano finish so if the visual aspect and the bass is ok within constraints of positioning options. These are keepers.
…good luck with the S-400’s, I had a pair and enjoyed them with my NDX 2 & SuperNait 2, a very lovely pair of speakers!
Fascinating and timely discussion for me. I will be reviewing Harbeth C7ES and M30.2XD next week, and on the taller side Spendor A4 and A7 's. My Naim system is similar to yours but with older components, just brought up to date at the factory. My Naim Credo speakers are 33 years old. I’ve loved them, but just like me they are bit tired
I have my current system components listed in my profile and can be viewed by performing a single mouse click on my user name.
I have been using a pair of ProAc D30RS speakers for the past 16 months which I first used with my SN 2 and now the 282/250 DR and love them. I first had the 282 running into the SN 2 and it was …“huge improvement?”. I planned on running with this configuration for several months before buying a 250 DR but a used 250 DR became available from my dealer and replaced the 250 DR which was another nice uplift over the power section of the SN 2.
Without getting into to much detail, i’ve also had the pleasure of listening briefly to the wonderfull Spendor D7.2s at the same dealer. These are speakers that have always tickled the imagination and couldn’t resist to ask. Stunningly big sound in the demo room, exceptional treble detail from the back of my equipment and beautiful to look at. Those have the understated form factor i like.
Like mentioned before, i’ve also listened to a pair of second hand Linn Ninka’s, from which by now i wasn’t expecting much. Sure enough they didn’t do anything of note to me after all the speakers that i’ve heard. I was even doubting if they would better my current set. Good looks though 
In that same moment ive also listened to PMC’s 25.23. Like the build and looks. Good sounding too, but a little much treble emphasis for my taste.
I’m eagerly counting down the days and am excited to try the Ovators. I’ve done some reading in the meanwhile and most, if not all reviews seem to favor and even rave the sound. I’m thrilled to experience the wide dispersion design of the BMR from where i’m seated whilst typing this.
The manual is also quite specific on how to get the best of them. With regards to positioning, i’m not to worried about the nasal issues caused by side boundaries, for the first wall on the right is >60cm’s away and has a thick curtain in the corner. The left speaker is free. The distance from eachother and relative to the back wall however is another story. The speakers would have to sit fairly close to the back wall and will have 193~237cm between their centerlines. I will be seated max 390cm-distance from wall from their faces. Not exactly as per manual, but they just can’t come in the room very much or i would be unable to open the (way too large) door to the terrace.
Anyone have any advice or tips for me to take into account when positioning?
I have a preference for the ‘full’ sound of the Spendors. Superb speakers but they do need a bit of room to breathe as it were. Happy with my D9,2’s on 252/scdr and 300dr in an open plan room with a large space and higher than average ceiling.
I also run my A5’s in a smaller study room and they wouldn’t sound so good turned up too loud in that smaller room. Of course they sound sublime at study listening levels.
Yesterday I listened to the Proms from the RAH.
I have a Nova and Harbeth P3ESR, they sounded very good for large parts of the day. Then it got to the organ from the RAH
I was hoping bass like this Ducati at full throttle
Instead it sounded like this Ducati
My search for replacements started today with an email to Audio T .
Short list Spendor A4, Dynaudio Evoke 20 0r 30 - prefer something with a pro background and not too much of a footprint
Space is limited and two incisional hernias mean I don’t want anything too heavy .
At the moment , these are early days or I might go SN3 /ND5XS2 . All depends on trade ins
I run Spendor A4’s with my Nova, good combination, nice speakers with small footprint.
If you like most of what your Nova/Harbeth setup gives but find deep bass lacking, might a sub be the answer, especially if you don’t want anything too heavy? Of course, I doubt if any domestic system is going to get anywhere near replicating the RAH organ, which can really set your insides wobbling. But a well set up sub might get you somewhat nearer.
Roger
Measure the distance between your speakers from the center point of each one. Then times that by 1.5. That should give you the minimum/optimum distance your ears should be in line with the tweeters. Toe in or out as appropriate to adjust. There are very few perfect room situations for most of us. Most important, try to avoid reflection of sound from side walls that are very close. Don’t box your speakers in to the corners of any room. That would screw the sound
This thread:
Good afternoon everybody. It’s time to reflect on some very turbulent days with the Ovator S400s.
Last tuesday i’ve been at the dealers to pick up the pair to demo at home. With some tips with regards to initial placement and a kind guesture to gift me a set of quite nice disks for the spikes to rest in and decouple i went on my way. Taking the rest of the day to fiddle around with placement. On the way back i’ve listened to a somewhat scientifical podcast by A British Audiophile with regards to direct and indirect sound perception by reflective surfaces and all that.
The dealer suggested to start with 50cm from the baffle to the rear wall and move forwards from there. So out came the measuring tape and level and that’s where i started, speakers placed free from other boundaries and 2m apart. I got some nasty room interaction so i started to move to 58cm (as per A british Audiophile). Better, but not yet. Then, at 60cm everything just fell in place. Effortless, well defined, tight, hard hitting bass. No boom or muddyness what so ever. The midrange was also very VERY good. Dare i say magical to the point of emotional. The best i have ever experienced. By this time is was seated about 3,5m from the baffle and when leaning a little forward, staging was also very good, so i left well alone and started to enjoy my music for the rest of the day. Over a period of three days it was very good with everything i threw at it. From casual listening while working at home or having guests and drinks to focused listening. I was quite certain if this was the baseline, these would be keepers.
Then disaster struck. On thursday, after 14weeks i finally took delivery of a very large kitchen cabinet and TV cabinet where my beloved equipment would be placed in. Until then, i was temporarily using cheap racks for both HiFi and tablewear and all was well, but after that all life was sucked out of the system. The speakers (not moved) sounded very restrained, stage and midrange was hollow, nasal and very thin and i felt i had to turn the volume way op to get some decent output. Naturally i’ve checked all connections, phases, left-right connections and all seemed ok. Tried to move the speakers out to give more room between them and the furniture but that only made it worse. In contrast to just before it sounded broken to the point of doubt so i contacted the dealer and ask for their advice.
Their hunch feeling was that the cabinet were acting like a big bass trap and sucking all body out of the music and that i might need to reposition the speakers.
From then, what i’ve tried so far:
Moved the TV furniture out of the room and put the old HiFi rack back and installed everything the way it was. This helped bring the bass and detail back, but there is still some noticable midrange nastyness.
What do you think could be wrong?
What would you do if you were in my shoes?
Personally I’d say you need some more soft furnishings. Maybe a rug, maybe some other furniture to the side that may scatter reflections. Yes the cabinet won’t help matters. I had this same issue and after building a small rack the bass was much more consistent.
Can you put this cabinet on a side wall? Most find the best performance with nothing between the speakers–regardless of mfgr. Also is the TV “Exactly” in the same place, or just approximately. That would affect the mids and highs more than the bass but this might affect the life.
Non carpeted floors can be quite reflective, worth trying a rug for sure……
Loads of stuff on the forum about placement of speakers but defo worth experimenting.
Is the issue with both speakers? just check with the balance and listen to each speaker individually to see if they both sound the same. It is odd that with one simple change the sound collapsed when logic says it shouldn’t have.
Also is that a JL cabinet? Not sure how ideal that is but if you swapped it back and still had issues unlikely to be the culprit. Still it maybe worth trying some vibropads under your equipment (c£10 on Amazon).
It’s worth engaging your dealer if no luck as stuff can break, I speak with experience on that front!
Gary
