So for the past 13 years until last summer I have used Kudos C10s which I owned from new. As I upgraded the electronics the speakers improved and I was always very happy with the immediacy and transparency of them - although some might say that this leans towards over-brightness. However I was always aware that as a small stand-mount I was missing something of the lower frequency spectrum and when last summer I had the chance to buy a ‘pre-loved’ pair of Neat Momentum SX7i floorstanders I decided to go for them.
Since then, whilst appreciating the more extended bass frequencies, I have found them - after the Kudos - rather sterile and un-involving. It wasn’t that there was anything wrong with them, rather that they just didn’t have that X-factor.
As I have already posted elsewhere, I recently acquired a 252 to replace my 282. I was slightly apprehensive about this bearing in mind the expressed view of some on here saying the 282 had more verve, the 252 being more restrained - this could have accentuated the lack of excitement I peceived with the Neats…
The reality is that the 252 has ‘awakened’ the Neats - they now have the vibrancy and drive I was missing - and in spades 
The point of all this is to highlight that a speaker can only reproduce the signal that it is fed - I had been blaming the Neats when in reality - even when driven by a 282/SCDR/300DR - they were not being given the chance to show what they are capable of. Or to put it in short-hand, ‘source first rules OK’ 
Hi,
glad you’re happy. The 252 is a somewhat controversial amp here, but I find it gorgeous. On the other hand, I’ve known Naim since 1983 and have never so far heard an ‘upper’ product that wasn’t globally, objectively better that a ‘lower’ one. Naim usually builds vertically, not sideways…
Best,
m.
It’s a magic art more than a science 
I’ve been messing for about a year with different Naim pre/amp/speaker combinations and I have found that I really need to match all of those to the room I am listening in. What works in one room sounds too thin or bright in another, or too boomy or bass heavy in yet another. Room synergy seems to be as important as matching the hardware to each other.
I can only agree thought that Naim kit improves as you go up the range. Whether the improvement justifies the cost if you have already matched the sweet spot with a ‘lesser’ kit combo in any given room is probably a discussion that doesn’t get aired much on here.
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