Ovator S-400 match for SN2 and ND5xs2?

There is a nice bargain on a set of Ovator S-400. I play with a Supernait 2 and only stream music. I prefer rock, alternative, metal, progressive and therefore like my current combo with powerful and precise ASW Genius 510 speakers. Anyone with relevant experience if it would be worth to change speakers? Listening is of the utmost importance of course but difficult times now so I do some online research first. Oh yeah my living room is quite big , 2 joint parts of approx 35 and 25 square meters in an L shape.

I have a owned the Ovator S-400 in the past with my SN2 and they are a very good match. I do not believe you will be disappointed at all. I have owned a ND5 XS, then NDX and currently a NDX 2 that were used with the Ovator speakers.

I traded in the Ovator speakers for a pair of ProAc D30RS speakers last March.

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If it’s a bargain, and you are tempted, they won’t disappoint. I would buy them again full price if I would have to choose now. The current bargain prices I see them listed for are very (very) low for what you get, so is the risk.

Thanks and nic picture!

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What about Ovator S-600?

Nice setup! And how do the D30RS compare with the S.400 then?

Nice setup. But it must take you about an hour of prep work when you want to light a fire, eh?

I have a pair of fully refurbed Kef R107s which sound great, but I’ve considered getting a pair of S-400’s as backups when I’ve seen a good price. So thanks for the opinion, I’m glad to hear they are a good match.

I spent a hour or so at a dealer demo night listening to the ProAc D30RS and loved them. Finally several months later he had a pair available that I could demo at home for a couple of weeks. I found I enjoyed the music more and felt they had a deeper bass then the Ovators. My room, my system with my ears. After a couple of weeks I called and the dealer came by and picked up the Ovators and a check…

I can say with certainty that the fireplace has not been used for the past 17 + years… and the system fits in the space very nicely!

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I thot that might be the case. Looks great, and it must sound excellent.

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Bit expensive these S-600 …

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It’s the one with ribbon tweeters, am I right?!
I do love proAcs, but never made an audition with ribbon.
Did you have the opportunity to compare dome/ribbon directly? If so, notice differences that you can kindly explain?
Thanks

These are ribbon models. I did not compare dome vs ribbon. I did have a pair of D2’s with the dome and loved them which is the reason I wanted to hear a pair of the ProAc floor standers. My dealer finally had a demo night where the US distributor brought a few models to the showroom including the D30RS. The first pair that arrived he gave out for a demo and the person bought them. It took a few more months before he had a second pair arrive which he offered to me to demo and they never returned to his shop either. I don’t believe the ProAc speakers are readily available in the US as they are in the UK and perhaps other areas of the world.

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Lot of reply’s on these ProAcs… does that say anything about the Ovator’s…makes me wonder…(only half joking :slight_smile: )

Speakers, it’s a question of taste.
If you know the Ovators, love them and have the possibility to make a great buy, I think it’s a no brainer.

If you’re having seconds thoughts, try to audition the greatest amount you can.
After all, you’re not buying a tshirt: a lot of investment

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Jan, I enjoyed the Ovator S-400’s and had them for about 18 months and traded them towards the new pair of speakers. I also recovered about 80% of the cost that I paid for them. They are a very nice sounding pair of speakers. As I mentioned I had owned a pair of ProAc D2’s previously and traded them in for the Ovator speakers. After hearing the D30RS’s and knowing I was going to be retiring I decided to purchase a new pair of speakers with the intent they last through my retirement years. Three plus years ago I started to build my retirement system and it includes four Naim boxes and the ProAc speakers. I’m retired now and with my income level I just may be done with new hi-fi purchases!

Good luck with your decision and hopefully you get a chance to listen to them!

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Going to be a risk if you can’t listen to them. It’s all a matter of opinion of course but neither the 400 or 600 impressed me. But more important than matching with the SN2 will they match your room.

Regards,

Lindsay

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Thanks. Useful info and background info!

FWIW, we seem to share the same musical taste (rock, alternative, metal, progressive). I’m using SN2 with S-400, I have had them for 8 years now and it works really good. However, I have recently added a subwoofer which IMO gives the system the “oomph” needed to some genres (same as mentioned above). My listening room is also quite big, approx 40m2. It is worth to mention that the S-400:s alone without the sub are great speakers, but sometimes, I switch on the sub when “needed”.
Good luck :blush:

I remember hosting a number Naim for Bentley events about 11 years ago with a CDX2, Supernait and S-400 system. I thought it all worked really rather well together and the S-400s in particular I preferred over the original S-600s. I had to set the system up in a number of very different rooms, from drawing rooms in stately homes, to a dining room in an 11th century castle, to a fairly small book-lined study, and in all cases I was able to get the S-400s suitably positioned to sound good.

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