I’m quite amazed that only 350 of these were made/sold.
I wonder how many owners are here and how many others have had one of the 350 pairs in their system at one stage?
0 voters
…sjb
I’ve got a pair of cherry SL2s. I’ve just replaced them with FinkTeam Kims, so will probably be trading them on. They’ve been really nice, and I’m pleased that I owned them for a few years. I managed to grab some of the final sets of tweeters, which should make them easier to move on…
I’m not sure if I’ll ever part with the SL2s they look and sound great… active ATC50s one day perhaps but that’s for another time.
An SL2
Those Fink Kim certainly look interesting.
How do they compare to the SL2?
What price point are they ?
Do you use the Roon filters mentioned in the Hifi Critic review?
.sjb
Shouldn’t we have a third option for those who have never owned one a pair and frankly couldn’t care a less. 
Indeed a cranky old codgers option was the one I forgot !
.sjb
if i didn’t care about this thread id keep my opinion to myself.
SL2 have a loyal following 
. nice near wall speaker, love and attention to setup, wife friendly. A little big speaker imo.
Friday evening at the pub i’d say.
That’s a great word. My comment was just in jest. I meant no harm.
BTW, I find it really sad when people use the word “cult”(the original post has been edited and the person changed it to “loyal”- attached to material things.
Signing off.
Sometimes I miss it but I did realise you were jesting as was my response.
You cranky old codger you 
.sjb
Never owned SL2s but wondered SJB, where numbers made can be found, for other Naim speakers?
i think that sl2 information has been posted in this forum, moreover because of the correct setup protocol is very precise, a lot of dealers back in the day either were ignorant or not interested to demo correctly. i’d suggest a lot more would of been sold if more dealers got on board. opinion piece of course
I don’t think it was solely an issue of getting dealers on board, although this was certainly a factor. The SL2s needed to be used in a suitable room and really needed a solid wall behind them, something that was fine in the UK but not so good in countries where all timber construction and stud walls were the norm. In particular in North America this was a problem, the SL2 sounding particularly forward and bass-light or bass-loose as a consequence.
I recall one so-called “solution” I was told about was to use them in the more US-favoured open space siting in the room and to use Allae PIPs between upper and lower box. This effectively turned the SL2 from a sealed box to a ported one. I can’t say I ever heard them like this, but I guess when you are desperate, anything is worth a go. Needless to say, the SL2 did not sell well (or even at all) in North America.
I do not think Naim produced any speakers in great quantity, especially in the US. SBLs, SL2s,NBLs, DBLs were quite rare back in the day. Definitely a niche product line but with many admirers.
About 15 years ago I spent a good 2 to 3 weeks with the SL2 in my California home, driven by CDS2/252/250. I wanted so much to love them, but despite my dealer coming multiple times and helping with various positions we could not make them sound listenable. On a variation of the theme, “even my wife” asked what they were because they sounded terrible. Tinny/thin, ear piercing. I’m sure it was a problem with my US room as Richard indicated above. I remember wondering if I could build a brick wall behind my drywall to get a UK style listening room. Ended up with quad 2905 which are great, but still sad I couldn’t make them work.
Steve
They’ve got a much more balanced sound - the bass is nicely balanced at all volumes. My SL2’s have a very defined (almost laser-accurate) centre of the soundstage, which I haven’t got yet with the Kims, but I would describe the SL2’s as a clear centre soundstage with some stuff that happens out at the edges, whereas the Kims are a broad soundstage that feels more realistic. It also sounds a lot wider than my room. I suspect that I could get them sounding even better if they were further in from the side walls (currently around 40cm), but room aesthetics precludes that at the moment.
Given that the frequency response is so flat, they don’t have the same slightly pushed presence with vocals that the SL2s do, but there are still times where it sounds as if the musician is in the room.
They handle loud volumes better in my room - this could be because of the horizontal dispersion from the AMT driver (they’re designed to limit bounce off the ceiling, which really helps in my case).
In NZ they are around $23,000 (which is around 11,300 pounds). Although the “non standard” finish that I’ve asked for is $26,000.
I’ve installed the filters in my Roon setup, but to be honest I’ve not given it a really close listen to see if I can hear the difference (I’ve mostly been playing from my Core to the ND555). It’s nice to know that there’s a little tweak available if I find myself running out of things to do in the day (not that likely at the moment, unfortunately).
Flat earth vs round earth?
A fast focused sound stage vs a large room filling sound stage?
Tiger vs a pussy cat 
As long as your feet are still tapping to the beat! Enjoy Jono!!!
22 current owners so far.
I’ve had mine since 2007 when Alastair and Andy from Signals filled up their van with 4 sets of speakers and once I heard the SL2 they weren’t going back with them!
The sneaks also happened to have a 300 in the van, so they left with my 250 and Spendor (A7s I think), leaving me with my still current setup. (Excepting DR).
.sjb
Dealers are very crafty like this, always trying to sell you more. Lol
