Planning upgrade

Did what it said on the tin, and what my dealer said it would. Noticeable improvements in SQ and definition, but most importantly a more enjoyable listen :grinning:

KR, J

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Iā€™d strongly recommend you demo sub woofers, with whatever loudspeakers you audition. I just love what my Rel T9x have done for the sound in my system.

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If this reallly is the last chance to upgrade in a significant way Iā€™d be looking to maximise my return by buying pre-loved (or ex-demo).

XPS DR and speakers would seem to be reasonable - although a used 555DR and speakers would be better if you can stretch. I guess it depends what deals you can strike to trade your Neats for better speakers that suit your ears and room. A good dealer is going to be key here unless you are happy to trade on the well known auction site.

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Where does the hierarchy go?
555, xpsdr then 555dr?

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555dr would be really goodā€¦enjoyā€¦by the way make sure your jaw has a soft landingā€¦ this is an amazing upgrade from Naimā€¦and it will put you in a good place in the futureā€¦

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Thanks for all the advice. I think the first place to start is to hear what the xps and 555 can do at my dealers. I can then decide if they are worth the outlay. I have also drawn up a shortlist at of speakers to audition all of which my dealer stocks
Neat Majistra
Neat Ekstra
Proac D2
ATC scm19
PMC 22 and 23
That should keep me busy in April!

Decided to go for the 555ps dr. Should be installed within the next week or so. Will report findings.
There maybe a little budget left to upgrade speakers further down the line, but first things first!

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used ND5 XS 2
used NAC 282
used naim DAC

I made a mistake short term on speakers - they are really good but need the source and poweramp.

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In the end I picked up a used 555dr and had it hooked up for a week. There are some nice improvements but so far nothing sensational. I suspect that as some suggested the speakers maybe the weak link. I have therefore decided to push the boat out a little further and have a budget of 3-4k for new speakers.
I guess what Iā€™m after is a little more detail, refinement and not necessarily deeper bass but tighter more accurate bass. I would also prefer something that works better at lower to mid volume. I have spoken to my dealer and have a demo booked for tomorrow. On the list are proac D2r
Neat Ekstra, ATC 19 and 40 (which are not necessarily best for lower volume).
Also have the option of PMC, Harbeth, Scansonic, Sonus Faber oh and Maggies. Any additional thoughts would be very welcome.
There will some budget for a rack, havenā€™t decided in that yet. ?? Isoblue

I have ATC SCM40 and have no problems with with low to mid volumes, connected to a Nova I think my issue would be higher volumes but living in an apartment, higher volumes are not an option.

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Thanks Kend
Do you still get the details and dynamics at lower volume?
Can I ask the size of your listening space and by problems do you mean with bass at higher volume?

Details and dynamics are fine with the volumes I listen at.
The 40ā€™s present a relatively flat impedance but are not very sensitive, I think the Nova might run out of steam at higher volumes. Bass is very well controlled.
My listening space is 3.5m x 8m with vaulted ceilings of 3.5m + and the speakers have no trouble pressurising the space.

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The Harbeth SHL5 Plus get my vote too. Sublime.

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Iā€™m v v happy with the Dynaudio Special 40s I got recently. Very organic sound and incredible value. They would also give you some spare cash for other stuff.

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Unfortunately I think they maybe a little over budget and probably wonā€™t pass the WAF! Iā€™m sure they are amazing.

Ah thatā€™s a shame. To me they are a revelation and i thought my ATC SCM 19s were great; which they are, but the SHL5s are very special. They are not floorstanders but in a way they are more imposing than many floorstanders so i understand the issues re their home appeal.

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So after a couple of speaker demos at my dealers recently there was a clear winner by a country mile. I listened to Neat, Scansonic, proac, PMC and ATC.
The winner was ATC SCM 40. Everything I have wanted the ā€˜sound in my headā€™ to be. I had doubts that they would work in my lounge due to the extended bass but decided to take home a demo pair. After a few hours of listening last night I am astounded how good they sound on my room. Bass is superb with only occasional room mode excitation at certain frequencies on some songs at volume. They are no worse and in many ways an improvement in this respect over the tiny (in comparison) neat motive sx2. I wasnā€™t expecting the sealed box design to behave so differently.
They are superb and could be the final piece of the puzzle except for one significant problem - Mrs Stuw canā€™t accept the imposing size which is a huge shame. I have them for a week so she may grow to accept them particularly as I have been able to push them closer to the front wall compared to the neats. They are a used pair in cherry so perhaps black would seem less intrusive so I would have to buy new. Failing that it might have to be the 19s which were very good but to me not in the same ballpark. Hey ho - first world problems.
Letā€™s see what happens over the next week or so. She may grow to accept them :crossed_fingers::crossed_fingers:

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Good luck, I have a pair on demo in my 4x4.5m room and it took a lot of moving bass traps around to fix the excessive bass. Now that I have they are really good. They are big imposing boxes though! Thankfully I have a dedicated room so do not have to worry about looks

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Can I ask what electronics you are using. It doesnā€™t say in your profile,

Sorry, system is in a bit of flux so I did not list it. I have a 25odr on order and was using the dealerā€™s demo unit but he has now sold that.

Rega P10 and Aphelion 2 into allnic H5500/ Brinkman Nyquist DAC > 282/HiCap>NAD C298>TQ Ultra speaker cables.