We can see very often this pairing at shows. So no problem, Nova and Kanta seem to work well together.
But as HH said, they are really too close to each other.
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Yes, I’m most aware they are a little squashed in the study at the moment. I’m currently building a new place so had to downsize in the meantime.
The picture is deceiving however, they’re actually 30cm away from the wall.
Despite the less than perfect placement, they still sound awesome and provide much enjoyment when working from home!
Hi @qba3d,
Coming back to your question, I think that you have two options if you want to improve things
I agree with all the comment here that most speakers will not work well (especially in stereo image and control of bass) too close to a side wall, and having what amounts to bass reinforcement on one side only will be a particular problem.
Having just been through this myself, with many speakers even an extra 10cm or 20cm away from a side wall can improve things sharply. Many speakers work well from around 50cm-60cm from a side wall. Could you shuffle across a bit, even if they end up 5-10cm closer together?
Whether that is possible or not, I’d agree with the Neat suggestion above. The current range has several great speakers that are happy, even when loud, at 20cm from a back wall and 50cm from a side wall. I know that both Alphas and Xplorers defy their size and sound great with Naim, though I’d probabl y say that that they major on fun over analaytical neutrality or romanticism per se. Considering floorstanders of any size may seem odd (and there are certainly stand-mounts worth considering), but Neats work surprisingly well despite non-ideal placement.
I have not heard enough of the current crop of stand-mounts to make too many suggestions, and hope others will chip in. However, a lot of people who say they want more romance in their music still swear by Harbeth.
Whatever you try, given that room layout, I would simply not consider paying a lot for speakers without hearing them in a proper demo at your house.
As a final off-the-wall suggestion, have you considered putting speakers either side of one corner and putting the sofa diagonally in the room?
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Thank You all!!
I got a surprising offer on Kanta 2, for about 55% of their price, new, and I pulled a trigger. They will not be romantic, buty at least they suppose to get a right synergy and balanced presentation. The price is equal to Spendor D7.2 here or Dynaudio Evoke 50, to it became more reasonable.
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I’m confused, the Aria were too big for the room and you wanted romantic, and now you have Kanta 2. I can only wish you the best of luck!
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The human mind is a fascinating thing… 
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The Kantas are wonderful speakers - I love mine. But their presentation is quite up front and they do need some room to breathe. If you can have them firing down the room lengthwise that may help quite a bit. I found them to be fussy about room placement - my advice is to try out many different options.
Also, with regard to cables, you really should get some Naim NAC A5, at least to start with.
I assume the Kantas are second hand and hopefully run in. But they can take a long time to settle. The beryllium tweeter will take a couple of hundred hours at least and maybe more to sound its best.
All the best - let us know how it goes.
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hahah You are all right! Focals 936 were too big visually, but we removed a shelf, my Wife finally realized how painful the process is for me, and agreed on big speakers. Aria 926 sounded worse than 936 for sure… I heard Sopras 2 I loved the sound… but felt its a tiny bit too aggressive. Kantas are somewhere in the middle.
And finally, I made a move because of the offer. These are NEW Kanta 2 from the distributor for the price of Evoke 50 plus 400 euro. So price totally changed my mind, its a 40-45% drop… and as they are for sure the right synergy, I own Focal Clear headphones, like the brand sound, liked Sopra, and so made a move. Sure, I would like to try Herbeth ( I also loved their presentation ) but somehow wife does not like speakers on the stands, can’t tell why. And yeah… so it did happen… also I am one of the 5% that really like the Kantas look.
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The Kantas are a beautiful looking speaker - I don’t think pictures do them justice. And they are soundly made and finished. I know their appearance divides forum members, but if you have the right space and furnishings they can really complement your room. Whenever people come over to our place, they always have good things to say about their looks, whether they are into hi-fi or not.
Anyway, as I said, enjoy the speakers and let us know how it goes. And do remember they take a very long time to run in - and not just the tweeter; I also found the bass tightened up considerably over time.
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I heard some speakers on Nova at my home. I myself have audio physic.
I think you might be satisfied with Linn Majik 140
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I have the Nova with Kanta No. 2s and NAC A5 cables and LOVE the setup. I also added Gaia II speaker feet to the Kantas and am searching for a used Powerline with a US plug. Very synergistic rig, with amazing clarity. I am thinking of trying out an REL sub as well. Good times!! Godspeed, my friend!!
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I use the Gaia IIs on my Kantas as well - I am also of the opinion that they are a very worthwhile addition.
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My wife wanted me to get bookshelf speakers, and put them on a bookshelf, until she saw the Kanta No. 2s. She actually said they look cool. Then she heard them. And so the purchase was approved! Focal did husbands a service with the striking good looks of the speakers.
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Ha! So glad it worked out like. The Kantas sound great in my place and they do look good. Enjoy and let us know how you get on with them.
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I am after around 16h of listening to Kanta 2 with Nova. I have a few thoughts right away… first of all, they look stunning in our room, the style fits the interior perfectly, and what’s funny every home member 12 years old Son, 21 years old Son and my Wife noticed their stellar look and fit independently right away… Regarding the sound, the first hour was unpleasant… as they sounded boxy and a tiny bit harsh, after 16h they are becoming more and more relaxed and effortless. I read a lot of reviews about them and… I read mentions that they are bright, dark, relaxed, aggressive… and its all true, as just like my Focal Clear headphones they are incredibly transparent to the source. I got two cables from the dealer, Naim A5 and Chord clearway. Guys knew their stuff giving me these two cables. The famous Naim cable is a … WOW maker but at a cost. Naim cable is very efficient and highlights some strengths of the Nova but also its weakness but also tweaks the presentation a bit. It makes the sub-base more exposed, and upper mid-tones lower treble pushed forward, at the same time it adds tremendous dynamics to the sound and energy. All that makes a shocking realistic presentation with infinite amounts of energy but also makes the speakers sound bright and with higher volumes a bit tireing. My wife loves it, the boy’s gang not so much. The Chord Clearway totally changes the speakers, it’s more linear, it does push lower mids a tiny bit forward, and pushes lower treble / upper mids a bit back, making a far more even sounding presentation, but also pushed dynamics a few steps back making the Kantas sound almost relaxing. The difference is striking actually. They still need a few days of constant playing at least to start making some choices, but I need to say that getting the right cable will be the factor that will make a fundamental impact on our final sound. I am not sure I will stay with any of the mentioned two cables yet, at the moment Naimcable is not the best as it’s too bright, and Chord is better in terms of frequency response but lacks dynamics a bit. Comparing the Kanta 2 to Aria K2 and Sopra 2, I would say Kanta’s sits between the two quality-wise, a bit closer to Sopra’s 2. Tweeter sounds very similar to my ears, it’s the mids and bass that differ a lot, missing the linearity and incredible detail Sopras present there. Considering I bought the Kanta’s for around 30% of the price of Sopra 2 I am very happy. Now the time and cable exploration are what I will focus on. I need to thank every single one of You for your support and opinions.
Good to read you seem to be happy with them.
But 16 hours is way too short to come up with any conclusion, let alone choices. Both the speakers and the cables need a lot more hours to come to any founded conclusion. The NACA5 takes ‘ages’ to run in.
(btw, an occasional blank line in the text would help readability a lot 
)
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Yup, that’s pretty much what I wrote. Yes you are right I see the need for those blank lines
I kind of like them, but I also see a seriousness of the cable decision. They make my wife super happy, I originally looked for more romantic Sonus faber like presentation but this one is also great, it’s a bit edgy to me and will have to balance it a tiny bit after the break-in
Glad to hear that you are enjoying the Kantas. As @RvL says, take your time before settling on cables. Those beryllium tweeters take at least 200 hours of running in, during which time they smooth out considerably. The bass tightens up a lot over that time as well. I wouldn’t do anything but run them in right now. Just enjoy the process!
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Thank You Mike_S! Currently, my perception is that Nova produces really dry music, it’s energetic, has proper balance, but it’s a sad and almost bitter sound to me. Takes all the magic out and leaves the barebones on some tracks.
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I have a Nova with P3ESR speakers, a Powerline and Witch Hat Phantom speaker cable and it is incredibly musical, with superb timbre and delicacy.
Not masses of bass , but these are small speakers
It took a little tweaking, i.e The Powerline but I am very happy with it .
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