Nova and Dynaudio Heritage Specials

Hi-Fi Corner
1

Currently using Special 40s with the Nova in my apartment on Anglesey where I work and am very happy :blush:. Have a pair of Linn Nexus (now looking and sounding 25 yrs old) attached to my NAC 42.5/SNAPS/NAP110 in my office at home on the Wirral. Despite what you may think, they sound alright but definitely time for a change. Plan is to transfer the special 40s to the Wirral and use the Heritage Specials with the Nova.

However, they are rated at 4 ohms (the s40s are rated at 6 ohms). The Nova is rated at 80 WPC into 8 ohms.

Yes, another query about amp and speaker impedance mismatches….sorry

Question: are they going to be safe to use with the Nova?? I do not want to damage the Nova, or the speakers.

2

Not an expert, but short of a really difficult load the nova should have no trouble with the HS. Impedence mis-matches are more likely to occur between some odd-ball designs. Tube equipment is probably more critical of any mis-match. It’s unlikely any modern transistor design and speakers rated at 4 ohms will not work well together

3

The Heritage is a very hi-end speaker that would reveal the limitations of a Nova.

I would keep enjoying the S40 with a Nova…

I remember audition the Confidence C2 with a Chord Dave vs Chord Hugo TT with a Nap 250.2 they were so revealing the Chord Dave superiority was so obvious I couldn’t go back to my Chord Hugo anymore.

4

Heritage Specials and a Nova is a risky prospect without a good home demo IMO, I’d agree with above. They’re not cheap so you’d wanna be 100% sure

5

The HS review on the ‘‘stevehuffphoto reviews’’ site is worth a read. He tried them with his own NOVA.

1 Like
6

Thanks. Will look it up.

7

Agree. But will be upgrading to Naim separates soon so grabbed them whilst I had the chance.

8

Thanks. I think it will be worth the experimentation in the short term. Love the Nova. But planning on an amp upgrade soon. Retirement looms! Do you think the special 40s will be ok with the NAC 42.5/SNAPS/NAP 110?

9

They’re ordered! Yes bit of a risk I agree, but they are a must in light of their limited production and I have been told they’ll be fine with the Nova. (Granted that was by Acoustica in Chester but they are IMHO a very reputable business)

10

A wise choice Swiftnick. The HS has the very best Dynaudio drivers so you will have the option to use them with a wide range of decent amplifiers. Using Naim amps it means from Nait5si to Statement…

11

I have Naim Nova and Dynaudio Heritage Special and is very satisfied. I do not think you will be disappointed.

1 Like
12

Me too. Used to run some S40’s from a Nova, recently swapped to HS. No regrets at all. More detail depth and clarity. I hope you will be delighted. PS they look much better too.

13

I recently got the HS with an Atom after demoing many different configurations. The Atom has no problem driving the HSs, at least at volume levels I listen to in my living room. There was a clear improvement in clarity, resolution, depth - everything really - going from the S40s to the HSs with the Atom, so probably the difference will be even greater with the Nova. I also tried out the HSs with the NDX 2 + Supernait 3. It really was great, and shows what the HSs are capable of, but at the same time could be described as “more of the same” compared to the Atom. Not worth the (big) additional outlay for me right now, but I might upgrade from the Atom at some point (I was considering the ND5 XS 2). Very happy with my new setup :slight_smile:

14

yes the HS is a nice speaker, and I am sure sounds great with a Nova, but it is really expensive.

Does it improve the enjoyment of music by the amount of money charged by Dynaudio? I am not sure, and in the end I did not buy the HS for myself.

By comparison the Chord Mscaler is absolutely worth the money being asked by Chord electronics and does really increase my enjoyment of music.

15

The Pass Labs INT-25 was preferred over Nova in the review.

The Heritage Specials were labelled as the best Dynaudio bookshelf speakers by Steve. Most of his reviews are usually stellar though. I bought the Luxman L-590AXII after reading his glowing review as if it’s the best sounding amp in the world. The Pass Labs INT-25 has taken the spot now. :laughing:

16

Yep, he labelled the HS as the best Dyn bookshelf but that’s probably because he had never hear the Special 25s! :wink:

The problem is that it’s not always possible to try everything at home and we sometimes have to trust what others have concluded. Isn’t that what everybody do on this forum?

Do you regret having bought your L-590AXII? How does it compare to your Naim separates?

17

Thanks for this. Very reassuring to know.

18

Thanks again for this information. Really looking forward to getting them in October.

19

Great. I am sure I will love them too. Listening to the s40s at a proper volume currently as the neighbours are still out enjoying Anglesey (I hope). What a superb sound they make. How can the HS possibly be any better??! But they are, aren’t they?

20

Yes, agreed on trusting someone’s review on the internet. No regrets with the Luxman. As a matter of fact it’s one of the best choices I’ve made as the Luxman is the best sounding integrated I’ve experienced so far. With Marten speakers the Luxman sounds better than the Naim separates whilst the tables are turned with Harbeth speakers (Naim better than Luxman).