Newbie: Atom + PMC DB1G =?

Yes easy to order online. It did make a difference for me, for the better. But I think In this case it’s not going to be the difference he is looking for.

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Having looked on the Naim website it seems the following is the distributor for Argentina

SOUND PAUL

Don Bosco 3532

Ciudad de Buenos Aires Capital Federal

Ciudad de Buenos Aires Buenos Aires

Argentina

(011) 5217-5850

https://www.sonidopaul.com.ar/naim

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Thank you
What is the reason for the 3 meters that several name?

Hola @Mark84
¿Sos de Argentina?
Donde compraste el NAC A5?

Yes. It is the vendor from whom I bought the Atom and PMCs

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I won’t pretend I understand what you said there but I’d go for NAC A5. The difference I experienced is that it just sounded right. It’s 4mm so it delivers alot of power too.

Someone said you are from Argentina
If so: how did you buy the NAC cable in Argentina?

Sorry not from Argentina. From Nottingham in the uk but live in Australia.

Just ask your Naim Dealer. I’m sure they can get it.

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I’d start with Sound Paul, if they aren’t being helpful you can always drop an inquiry direct to Naim HQ in the UK, they’ll get you sorted out one way or another.
NAC A5 is recommended by Naim and used by many owners, myself included, I’ve got PMC speakers and A5 cables in systems and more than satisfied.

The Naim support email address for reference:

support@naimaudio.com

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After isolating, redirecting, and listening, I have new information that may be important:
When the music is quiet, with few instruments: it can be heard well, at any volume, even at high volume.
When the music is loaded with instruments, heavy, tense: it sounds confusing and bad, at any volume, even low.
Which makes me think that it has nothing to do with acoustics directly.
Even in the same song. For example King Crimson’s Fracture, The quiet passages are heard very well, and when it explodes into musical force, everything becomes confusing, annoying to the ear.
Anyone with experience in this?

Playing the loud complex passages is a challenge for any system so it’s not unusual. In your case, having the speakers on the sideboard really is not helping. You need some stands or wall brackets.

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Are you sure the VDH hybrid you posted will work fine?

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Yea absolutely. They were recommended by a Naim dealer here in Aus. My friend purchased them with his Nova. Sounds fantastic to me.

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I was replying to French Rooster who was asking where you lived.

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After looking at mpaltadona’s latest remark on his impressions on high and low volume, I think I side with Mark84’s angle. I think it could well be that you are predominantly suffering from a sound signature change crisis. It’s only been 1.5 yrs since I came from a modest TEAC amp and standmount Missions that I had actually positioned as floorstanders, because well basically my wife would prefer hifi to be totally invisible if it were up to her, and certainly not on eye level. In hindsight, what I was missing the most that way is the high frequencies. But what that did nicely is indeed presenting that impactful ‘wall off sound’ that some symphonic rock song will throw at you. No details or much instrument separation, just ‘pure emotion’ in a subjective way.
I’ve now upgraded in stages to Uniti Star and PMC 25.21i, on stands (now in my own study!). Fiddled a lot with speaker placement. I already had a analytic approach to music, so I love the upgrade I got in separation and detail, also in “instrumentally congested” songs. The downside is that I can’t enjoy half of Marillion’s music anymore the way I did ’ in the old days’, especially Fish’s first solo album’s heavy passages sound awful. Instead of a wall of sound, I perceive a wall of ear-piercing mess.

So in short: try to see if you can get back to the (low end) dynamics of floorstanders without upsetting the missus too much, or look for bookshelves with reviews that talk of a more relaxed sound, or coloration in a warm way, or rolled off treble… but still having OK dynamics… Those kind of key words. I think you’ll get relatively little hits on PMC. There may be a couple of people that may argue that won’t do the Atom capabilities justice, but in the end it is about what sounds great to your ears.

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Is this your old speakers???

They are bloody huge. That’s your problem. You are used to a huge high efficiency 3 way. No comparison. That’s why it sounds messy. Because it is. A speaker like this will sound completely different. What you are hearing is distortion and the limitations of a small speaker.

Have you tried these on your Atom? It will drive then fine. They are 100db sensitivity and 8 ohm. Easy for the Atom.

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The PMC DB1s have exceptional bass for a speaker of that size - and well-defined at that, thanks to the transmission line. But you do have to set them up properly.
It’s not a matter of distortion - on a decent stand, you hear the top end as well as the bottom end, without any distortion.
You can play with cables as much as you like, but if the sound is not more or less right to start with, you won’t get much improvement by using different cables.
What the OP describes is what I hear from my DB1is, now that they are on shelves (second system, not properly set up, but the speakers had to be invisible…).

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I would expect units with values 6 times higher than my previous equipment to handle them without problems!
I will try to test with stands in the next few days

Your wife and mine could make a club!
What would you call a “signature change crisis”? I admit that listening on these brands is very different from listening on mid-range equipment. But those gave me more detail and separation of instruments with values ​​up to 10 times less!
With the uniti star, did you achieve more analytical sound, more detail, more separation? that encourages me because it is what I want. For example, my supplier allowed me for a short time to test a used gold note is-1000, and although it is an excellent equipment and a good economic opportunity, I decided not to keep it for its warm sound, and softness that files details (apart from other things that I did not like)
I bet on the greater brightness and detail of the Atom and accessed smaller cabinets for my wife’s taste.
From what you comment, you have managed to ensure that this “wall of sound” of the symphonic is not an amorphous mass of noise. I want that for myself.
What he says of Marillion that is lost, I do not want to resign.
In these days I recover my previous speakers and there I will be able to compare. I have also heard PMC twenty5, Canton reference, mcintosh xr, t + a talis
Have you ever had stand-up loudspeakers and shelves?
Then I comment on the new experiences of the next few days