Signals Kudos event

Yep, those Titan 808s are quite excellent, and are currently my number one choice to replace my trusty DBLs when SWMBO finally snaps and reduces them to matchsticks with my axe (sheā€™s not really much of a fan of DBLs. Likes the sound though).

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I just donā€™t think the relationship with Focal is as close as people think. Naim seem to have a business relationship with Focal but Focal have a brand relationship with Luxman.

It was just a bit of gentle leg pulling HH. :wink: Our SL2s are great speakers. :sunglasses:

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Active 808s Tony? :wink:

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Yes, I knew the spirit intended. I think itā€™s great to see decent speakers that donā€™t need to be a metre from the wall to work and which donā€™t look like aliens or pedal bins. And from a small British company too. Iā€™m clearly getting into the love-in mood.

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For my eye, the 606 iin a wood finish are very stylish for a small to medium size room, and sound as good as they look. Iā€™d go as far to say they would be worth listening to even if the amplifier was not quite in the same league to begin with and over time, improved. Each step would then be very big, and the speakers, an end game as others have said.

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Hoping to try some soon, maybe Neat Ultimatum XL6 as well.

I heard the XL6 I a dealer showroom and I just wanted that speaker. In my lounge they just failed.

Regards,

Lindsay

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Yes Lindsay, I wouldnā€™t purchase any speakers until trying them at home. As you discovered, they can sound quite different depending on the environment where they will be used.

I heard XL6 a few times and couldnā€™t understand the fuss. Nothing wrong with them at all but I expected more somehow (as is often the problem with ā€œexpectationsā€). I do enjoy the presentation of Ultimatums but there wasnā€™t enough in the XL6 to persuade me to upgrade from MFS.

My favourite system at the Signals event was the one system not shown in any of the pics above, which featured 606s being driven firstly by a single 250 DR and then subsequently by Snaxo/Hicap, 250 DR x 2. I was struck by the immense bass from a relatively small enclosure. Admittedly it was a fairly small room, but then again so is my own, and it was pleasing to see the speakers were perfectly happy sited close to the rear wall. And though the active setup was obviously the more impressive, I remember being perfectly happy with the sound presented by the passive version of the system.

As much as Iā€™d like to aspire to owning a pair of 606s though, Iā€™d have to break a long-held rule to own a pair.

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Good Morning All,

As I have posted elsewhere Iā€™ve recently returned to the world of ā€˜hi-fiā€™ as my system has languished over the last 20 years as family life took precedence. I have had all my Naim amplification serviced at Class A i.e. NAC82 c/w Supercap, SNAXO 3-6 c/w Hicap and 3off NAP250ā€™s. This is fed by a Karik/ Numerik and an LP12 (and most recently an Akurate DS/3). The speakers are Isobariks.

After much thought I ended up driving down to Sheffield/ Rearsby to get the Naim gear serviced and visit Cymbiosis.

I listened to various LP12 upgrades through the 808ā€™s in the Demo Room and have since listened to a Klimax DS/3 through the same speakers.

The 808ā€™s, on the end of the Naim system, are pretty good I have to say and I guess at Ā£21,000 they ought to be?

Iā€™m not qualified to comment on the capability of a modern passive system against an active one but I do recall that when I demoā€™d the active system through Isobariks at Audio Projects near 30 years ago my mind was made up. Active was the only way to go.

One of the things that was very clearly demonstrated to me at Cymbiosis relates to focusing my mind on what I was listening to (and this is the main point of this posting).

The first thing I heard when I returned to the shop was my improved LP12 (Akurate Radikal, Keel chassis and Krystal cartridge in my original Ekos arm). Phil then started demonstrating the Klimax DS/3 playing an identical track to one Iā€™d heard on the LP12.

The streamer version was pretty good but appeared to be lacking in bass by way of comparison. I commented on this and Phil advised that SO was in operation. I then listened to the same track with SO off and the same track sounded very close to how it sounded on the LP12.

I had never seen such a clear demonstration of ā€˜bass boomā€™ as created by the room resonances. This ā€˜boomā€™ is clearly, significantly, affecting the sound we actually hear and isnā€™t a true rendition.

To my mind this means two things.

Firstly the home demonstration is a must as the room is clearly going to have a significant impact.

Secondly should we all be looking at a means of dealing with the impact the room has on what we are hearing. I was a little sceptical of SO but am coming around to thinking it may not be such a bad thing.

I am so convinced that Iā€™m going to have an Urika II fitted to my LP12 rather than the Urika I as this will allow me to direct the LP12 through the streamer and apply SO.

There is a slight downside in that a number of LPā€™s now sound ā€˜bass lightā€™ compared to how I recall they sounded. Well recorded LPā€™s still sound good though, I am very impressed with Chris Jonesā€™s Roadhouses and Automobiles.

I need to get my head around this ā€˜newā€™ sound and I probably need to play some more with SO settings.

Back to the topic of this thread, the Kudos. Those 808ā€™s were very good but, IMHO, the Isobariks are still very, very good speakers and a good set can be bought for Ā£1000 or lessā€¦

Next upgrade will be replacing the NAC82 with a NAC52.

Regards

Richard

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@Gazza, have you got the new MusicWorks G3 Peek base plate yet from Signals yet, and if so, what do you think?

I take mine in tomorrow afternoon for a quick refit, will see if there is time to listen to SL versus and true signal speakers cable. Plus the new Focal chora range is in and Alistair is impressed, very Naim like. Will be in touchšŸ‘

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What about us mere mortals who could max out at Kudos Super 20A with SN3? Is this OK or far inferior to 808 with 500s?

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Of course notā€¦i heard the ndx2 with sn2 and Focal Kanta 2,s in quite a large room at Audio show eastā€¦it was a great system. There were other so called killer systems that did not really deliver for the money imo.I am sure the new SN3 and Kudos 20A is also a great system. It really only matters that it gives you pleasureā€¦there are plenty of happy 20A forum folks who love their speakers.

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I heard a Nova with Titan 505ā€™s at the Bristol Show in a crappy Hotel room and was amazed! So-called ā€˜humbleā€™ systems have the capability toā€¦errā€¦captivate.

I was at the same Show as Gazza, and agree with his comments above.

I agree with @NigelB and @Gazza!!

Whats the cost of the new unit? I see the old one (I assume its the old one) is Ā£999. About the cost of 2 powerlines and has got me interested due to the rave reviews here which I value above other reviews!!

What Mains cables are people using? Powerline? I have a Powerline in my Wireworld Matrix block alreadyā€¦

Hi Steve, with the new base its Ā£1300, Ā£300 for the new base to upgrade an older unit, which i will do later today. I am using a powerline. I upgraded from wireworld matrix 2, a surprisingly good upgrade as mentioned elsewhere in the thread. The new base is retrofiited and contains a compound called peek which is a sound dampener.

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