I’ve never found my Allae’s to be fatiguing, quite the opposite.
I see you have the grilles removed. Allaes I believe, along with other Naim speakers, are designed to be used with the grilles on. I have occasionally tried mine without but always reverted to back on.
Could listening to them nude be the cause of fatigue?
Now I have run them in I would now describe them as “a bit bright” more than excessively fatiguing. So maybe the tweeters were the problem. However having listened to a lot of other speakers as a part of this exercise I have decided I will be changing them. Favourates are the Focal Katana 1’s, which I have on home demo now. Really lovely presentation.
“Dread…” I always preferred them with the covers off to be honest. I don’t think, its the cause of the fatigue.
Its entirely possible my tastes have changed in the last few years.
I think you would find replacing the grilles will help to attenuate the brightness. Excessive brightness can be a cause of fatigue IMO.
Hi @Christopher_M and @haydj,
Correct, I used Naim Allae’s for many, many years and believe they are exceptional loudspeakers. The last set I used the Allae’s with was SuperNait2/HicCapDr and NDX. Since I wanted a bit more detail and especially imaging, I looked for alternatives. In the end I choose for the Focal Kanta 2. To my opinion, the Focals are a very good match to Naim and they are also an easy speaker “feed”. The Kanta’s are fast, very detailed and bring a solid bass. Imaging is brilliant. They are though very “in the face”.
I used the Kanta’s for over two years. In the meantime, my system grew with it to the current 252/SuperCapDr/300Dr/NDX2/555Dr.
Most recently I decided to upgrade the speakers and sell the Kanta’s. As mentioned, they are “in the face” which I sometimes experienced as fatiguing. I was looking for a softer and sweeter sound, and ended up with Sonus Faber which has a silky sound
Iver
Very useful post Iver.
I have the Kanta 1’s on dem which are book shelf speakers. Did you have the floor standers?
I agree they are very detailed, insightful and the imaging is excellent, vocals in particular are reproduced very convincingly. I certainly relate to the comment you make on “in yer face”, they are certainly not a speaker to provide background music.
I think the Allaes have a more pronounced trebble, particularly at the very top end, which is what I find the most fatiguing, within an hour or so I they become annoying. The Focal’s are more balanced to my ears, but they are certainly exciting. I have not found them fatiguing this weekend having spent almost the whole weekend listening to music. My wife finds the very highest treble on the Kanta’s to be annoying, but I cannot hear as high as she can. I have read a review which said the Kanta 1s to be more balanced than the 2’s but having not heard the 2’s back to back I cannot confirm this.
Additionally, I am finding the Focals to work very well at low volume, circa 40-50db. They seem to be very efficient speakers.
My Allaes have been with me for >15 years!!! I’ve only owned two pairs of speakers in 23 years and its hard to consider moving away from them, and I have not owned stand mounts before.
My only real concern about them is that they are located 50-60cm from a wall (behind them), and I am worried that being rear ported they won’t work as well as a speaker designed for being placed against a wall. They do sound great in their current location though.
@haydj, you know, if the loudspeakers work for you and your family, that is all what matters. The Kanta’s are a superb investment and very good value. The beryllium tweeter is somehow a little more sharp, but never over the top.
I never auditioned the Kanta 1 and can only judge the Kanta 2 but don’t expect a lot of difference between the two of them.
Regarding the distance to the back-wall: the Kanta’s indeed need some distance from the back-wall (I had no toe-in by the way). What I did was placing some small acoustice panels behing them on the back-wall. That very well helped controlling the bass.
Enjoy the Kanta’s: very good choice. As an alternative I could imagine you look into Harbeth or maybe Sonus Faber … up to you
Iver
Thanks Again Iver, I think I’ll be sticking with the Focals. Price has a lot to do with it, plus I am not one for continually demo-ing things. These are ex-dem and have a substantial discount as a result. Plus they have the added benefit of not needing a run in.
I have a slight toe in a the moment, but will try them without.
If you have got the grilles and still have the boxes, hopefully you will get a good price for the Allaes. (Don’t lose the pips!)
They are complete, grills, original boxes etc. Cosmetically they are excellent, no nicks or scratches etc.
I have no idea what they are worth.
Hi @haydj, if you can afford, you might want to consider to not sell the Allae’s when the Kanta’s come. I sold mine, and I regret it. The Allae’s are unique and could make an excellent choice in a second system especially since they can be placed against a wall. In terms of the market-value, I see various prices ranging from 750€ - 1300€.
Iver
Hi Iver. Might I conduct a small experiment with you please? It’s linked to the Use of English thread.
I’d like to ask why you add an apostrophe to Allaes and Kantas but not to prices. All three are simply plurals and none require an apostrophe. Are you offended if I point this out to you? If it does I apologise, and as I said it’s simply an experiment.
Thanks so much.
hahaha … no offense at all @anon4489532 … it is definitely due to my bad skills and probably also related to my native language where we do use apostrophe in more cases
You are very kind. Presumably Flemish is your native language then? It’s a language I find particularly tricky though luckily nearly everyone in Flemish speaking Belgium speaks English. I really like Belgium and had a great holiday in Antwerp in February. It’s somewhere I could happily live.
Well, why not combine you visiting Belgium with listening at some music at my place? I am not far from The Ardennes which you will love @anon4489532 
Iver
Thanks Iver, that’s a really nice idea. The Ardennes is on our list, once we are able to travel freely again.
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