For the source first aficionados: I’ve in the past referred to the Ovators as the best source upgrade we’ve had.
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As you can see from the replies, you have kicked a bit of a hornets nest. 
What deficiency in your current setup are you hoping to address with the change ?
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The 400s will sound way better than the 600s. I don’t think your beliefs support the decision to pair 600s with a Nova. I accept some folks like a mullet though and that’s fine.
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Following this with interest, I’ve long had a hankering to try the S600’s in active mode as a possible replacement for my Isobariks. They now look like a lot of speaker for the money on the market but I do have concerns about whether they will work as close to the wall as Mrs M would like to see them. I recall my old dealer saying he couldn’t get on with them, with the exception of one customer who had them active, which he described as exceptional. Even though they may look like good value, as has been pointed out, they won’t be easy to move on if they don’t work out, as can be evidenced by the length of time they remain on the auction sites. Now, if some S800’s came up I would be very tempted to thow caution to the wind.
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My beliefs don’t even come into it and should mean nothing to anyone.
The OP should audition and decide for himself.
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I as thinking along the same lines……but there was a thread about no speaker drivers being available……the BMR etc. I will stick with my S600 as passive.
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That’s another thing that put me off. But then I’ve never had a speaker cone fail in over 40 years. Maybe I’m not playing them loud enough!
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Tough one……the S600 active bits are not available, but my dealer could modify. But then snaxo etc would need to be found, more amps, so the trail went cold.
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As always.
Side or back, Mark?
Too close to the sidewall seems to be the issue, from what I’ve gleaned from Naim’s Ovator setup guide, on account of their wide dispersion from BMR.
C.
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Side wall isn’t really an issue Chris. Currently the Brik on the right, as I face them, is about 50cm from the wall, which then extends to 80cm where the bifold doors are. On the left it opens into an open plan kitchen area. Footprint wise they are very similar to Briks, just slightly taller. Although I always feel they look smaller due to the design.
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Out of curiosity, why do want to replace your Isobariks? Are they on their last legs or is it that you just fancy a change?
It’s just a hankering. Nothing wrong with the Briks but you never know until you try. I have heard Titan 808 with similar amplification to mine, albeit passive, and I didn’t think they sounded so much better that I would lay out the additional money. But that was in a dealers dem room so hardly a fair comparison. I still have a set of IBLs which I really enjoyed when they were in use, so there’s some brand love going on there as well I suppose.
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Understood. I used IBL’s for 17 years and loved them.
To those of us of a certain age the Briks are of course legendary. I hankered after them even though I’ve never heard them. I had Kans and I’ve read several times that the Briks sound just like very big Kans! If so they must be very special indeed.
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I think that could be said about them when active. Passive they don’t have the speed the Kans had. I’ve had Kans in the past too. They do share some aspects of their sound signature though. At least that’s what I think I recall 
It’s a long time since I heard Kans.
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The Briks were very special and I guess were the spiritual forerunners of the current Neat Ultimatums and Kudos Titans.
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Interesting that you say that. I recall many moons ago bemoaning to my dealer when I had Kans that I couldn’t afford the Briks. I recall him saying that some people who had upgraded to them from Kans actually ended up going back to the Kans because they were faster.
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I could see that. In the wrong room the Briks could boom terribly. My old front room for instance 
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Definetely, if he really likes 600s, my advice Is to grab them ASAP, Nova or not. These days you don’t find sh Ovators at every corner. On the hand, whenever he want to upgrade the amp, there Is quite a good pletora of preowned amps to choose from
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That prompts a thought for @Nickd: if S600s are indeed very rare, let alone at a good price, if you don’t at least hear them will you spend the rest of your life regretting?
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