Ok, so I am sure as for some of you, especially if you are under quarantine still as Madrid currently is, I’ve been thinking about where next on the journey to a live performance in my living room.
I’ve got an NDX2 powered by XPS Dr and fed by a uniti core, Cyrus CDT signature and Amazon HD.
Into a NAC 282 with hi cap and a NAP300 DR.
This all goes down some Superlumina cables to some KEF blade 2.
It is fantastic, don’t get me wrong, especially when I took the time on speaker positioning and micro adjustments on the feet to get stability.
But I’m still missing that feeling of performers live in front of me…I listen to rock, pop, acoustic and some classical mainly.
Where would be your next recommended upgrade on the path to musical Nirvana…just in case I am let out the house one day to actually visit a dealer.
You could try a second hicap or super cap on the 282, but otherwise it seems pretty balanced to me. Or 555ps on the ndx2.
Anything else would be a fair bit more money.
An Uptone Etheregen switch or English Electric switch, both fed by a good quality linear ps.
It would be a box upgrade, specially if you use a cheap standard switch.
With £24,000 speakers you are running a mullet. I’d suggest an ND555/555PSDR and 552DR, and probably a 500DR. Alternatively you could try some speakers that actually match. My infinitely more modest speakers do the ‘performers are in the room’ thing perfectly.
When I saw your post I wondered just how long it would be before the dreaded mullet attack would start. Whilst I agree with the observation that your speakers outclass your electronics, I do wonder how you ended up with your current unbalanced system. And I am surprised by your comment on the performers not appearing in front of you. I get that in spades from my system, which probably runs to less than half of the cost your speakers and cables alone, so I don’t think you need to be spending huge amounts of extra money to achieve “musical nirvana”. (Always a false goal anyway.) There are lots of ways for you to move, including more appropriate speakers, but you really need to work with a dealer with good demo facilities or, even better, one who supports home auditions.
BTW if you do decide to move on speakers you might want to try ATCs if they’re available in Spain. I would suggest something is seriously wrong if they don’t present the performers there in front of you, it’s one of their strengths, but bear in mind that I might be just a tiny bit biased.
It’s possible that the Blades aren’t a good match. Maybe the Naim stuff isn’t a good match. It could be that your cables aren’t a good match. In the US the 282 is an $8000 preamp the 300DR is $14000 how is that a Mullet. Is it possible that a 300 DR isn’t enough to drive the Blades?
Actually it just might be a mullet … The Blade 2 are rather efficient @90db But they are 4ohm and drop to 3.2 ohms…I think that you would really benefit from a lot more power. a 500DR is $30,000 dollars in the US that’s nuts… But honestly I think a good 200wpc into 8ohms that doubles into 4 ohms is what you need. Pass Labs X250.8 would rock your world…
Maybe setup needs to be tweaked? Cables maybe a bad match? AC Mains power may need to be looked at.
Blade 2 are wonderful speakers… I’m guessing that you bought them After you had bought the Naim…
Well since it is a dream I would suggest a ND555 with two 555 PS DR power supplies and Super Lumina interconnect cable and replace the NAC 282 with the NAC 552 preamp.
Ok go make it reality…
In a few months time we can get back together and see how that worked out. Hey we might even be out of Quarantine by then. If not we can come up with another dream time scenario!
There is one way, though only choose if the style is to your liking, though would have to wait for the end of COVID-19 restrictions, and be warned that solo is different from the old band days…
Click on this: A fair day’s work for a fair day’s pay: a gig for whatever you earn.
Hello my halibut.
Actually I have the blade 2s which retailed at 16000 but I got an ex demo pair so the price was a little more affordable.
I came about owning them on the basis of a dealer visit I was blown away by their 3 d presentation. They are (imo) visually very striking and as the final piece of the chain, I thought they would never hold my system back.
In terms system matching considering only the cost, I believe it’s way more complex than just component x is way to expensive for component y to perform correctly. The relative costs involved in research and development, labour and material costs of speakers versus electronics must be completely different. There is also the profit margin etc to consider. So cost alone I do not place much emphasis when making comparisons.
Now if the point is that an ND555 provides a far superior input to the rest of the system to raise the overall system, then I can completely understand.
Many thanks.
Yes that was kind of where I was thinking.
Obviously many different views on this, so finding an opportunity for a demo will be essential.
No actual Naim dealers in Madrid ( come on Naim, sign up some outlets) I can find.
Hi, many thanks for the suggestions. I’ll do a bit of research on the pass labs.
Yes getting all elements in the system to “match” is probably less about absolute science or specs and more about trial and error, which is always difficult and hence we rely.om opinions and a great dealer.
I tend to read quite a lot of hi fi press where individual components are reviewed
But is there anything published regularly on system.matching? This appears the most difficult aspect and it’s an area left a bit to trial and error, which is either the fun part or the time/expense wasting part.