Hello,
I’ve just moved from bigger house to a smaller one.
i’ve sold all Naim’s things - 152xs/155xs/cd5xs/flatcapxs/spendor a6
i was really happy with this set, but it took too much space.
so, now i have only turntable with pre, and trying to make decission what would fit my room better, but also what will give best SQ in small room 3mx4m.
i think about xs2 or sn2 - but don’t know if sn2 is not triumph of form over content for this room.
i consider these options:
xs2/sn2 - nd5xs - atc scm7/11
xs2/sn2 - nd5xs - pmc 21/22
xs2/sn2 - streamer - speakers as above
nac 272 - nap 200 - speakers as above.
what is important for me except fitting the small room - is to have sound a bit brighter and more clear on sopranos than from A6, and good control on low level.
i’m not conidering all-in-one because it converts analogue signal to digital -my first source is phono.
I don’t think you should discount the Nova - the A-D is good, and it does give you the Naim sound in a neat small footprint, with plenty of power for that room. If you want brighter, look at B&W speakers too…
Indeed don’t worry about the A/D - D/A conversion: digital in itself doesn’t damage the sound, and the character of vinyl if that is what you like will be preserved.
Speakers, however are very hard for anyone to recommend other than what suits their own personal taste: of all system components they are most responsible for the overall character of the sound, and you may hate something someone else loves and vice versa. All people can do is suggest possibilities for you to audition. The difficulty in a small room is greater room effects, while reproducing low bass is limited if you go for small speakers, unless you use a sub, though at least your room is neither tiny nor square. If it were me I’d try transmission lines like PMC, as good as I could afford, and judge in the room if they work. I have heard old IMF transmission line speakers probably akin to something a little above the twenty-24 perform surprisingly well in a room only a little bigger.
thanks for advices.
i’d rather choose some of “traditional” equipment, not all-in-one.
main problem for me are the speakers now.
after 10 years i was a little bored with Spendors, so i’m looking for something more “alive”.
but i really don’t want to have knives flying in my room - and i’v read that with PMC it is possible
I use a Nova with PMC twenty5.21’s in a room only a bit bigger than yours and it is a brilliant pairing. No knives flying! But only way to tell is home demo
You have to hear the speakers for yourself: no harm in hearing PMC to see if they make knives fly as you put it - you might love them or hate them, regardless of what anyone else says.
To my ears transmission lines produces the best bass of any designs I have heard - the disadvantage is that because of their complexity to design and build they tend to cost more than other speakers of otherwise similar quality.
transmission line is what i like in PMC.
my first choice was Dynaudio special 40 - i’ve heard a demo. but i think that the bass will not fit my room.
as for now no chance for demo - i’m continuosly out of home.
my idea is to buy xs2 or sn2 and then put some speakers for demo
What about Neat Iota Alphas? They have a very nice bass and won’t overload the room.
By the way, dimensions of the room is one aspect, but the construction is another. I have an home office which is a bit bigger than your room and I have large Ovators there. I found that the floor and wall construction has a very significant impact too.
I love the flying knives concept and understand exactly what you mean. I could never get on with dual concentric/“point source” speakers. They never sounded right in my room, even with valve amps. My mate had a pair of 15 inch Tannoys in his bedroom that sounded brilliant with Leak TL 10.
Where this is leading, What was the last bit of gear you bought? I have heard these twice, different rooms, different sources. If I was not happy with my current set up they would be on my audition list. Sort of a grown up lively LS3/5a which may or may not have a similarity to your current speakers.
I don’t think the room size should be a major factor dictating choice of SN2 or XS2. If budget allows and you’re choosing amp first, I’d go for the SuperNait as it will allow a greater choice of speakers. I don’t take amplifier power recommendations too seriously, but as an example ATC recommend 75-300 Watts for SCM 7s and 11s and this range includes SN but not XS.
On speakers: with their closed-box construction, ATC 11s can be less sensitive to positioning than traditionally ported models which could be helpful in arranging your room. ATC also sell a wall mounted version of the 7 and 11 (HTS7 and HTS11, I think) which might also help in your smaller room.
I use PMC25.23 speakers with a Nova in a room a little bigger than yours, 4.3m by 4m, they work really well. It’s a fairly bright room with French doors and a picture window in one wall, a rug the only soft furnishings (glass table and leather suite) and the treble is fine for me. They need to be about 30cm from the wall, so can work well in smaller rooms, it might be worth trying them as well as the standmounts.
Shame you’ve sold it already, all you needed was a change of speakers and a nice compact rack like isoblue. I had a full 500 series system with a turntable in a living room not much bigger than that, with Naim NBLs. The latter did need that last half metre though. If your walls are solid rather than dry lined you could aim for speakers designed to go back against them like old style Naim speakers or those Jern 12 series. The latter might look like a joke but could be a good solution. Can you get home demos where you are? Maybe with a supernait, though personally I’d prefer separates.
I have a similar sized room to yourself. If you have solid walls I would suggest SBLs …no chance to demo, but they will be reasonably priced, and you will probably only lose money on transport if you decide they are not for you.
Not sure what you mean by “traditionally ported”? As far as ports are concerned, as opposed to bass extension, a front port will not be any worse for positioning no port. Rear ports and possibly bottom ports may be affected by close wall proximity, but they are less “traditional” than front ports…
“Traditional” as in not transmission line PMC-style. I had bottom ported Kudos speakers and could not make them work in my room where ATC SCM40s are fine.
Transmission lines like the PMCs have been around at least since 1960s as commercial designs! l’m not sure that bottom or rear ported reflex speakers go that far back… Anyway, we’re agreed.
