Indeed so. Have gone through many speakers but these connected with me on a different level so I will work on finding their best partner
In terms of volume level I play mostly between 8-10 too because if I go higher I feel lack of headroom and compression kicks in and I donāt like that sound at all.
I barely hit 9 o clock for the majority of my listeningā¦ donāt wanna lose my hearing!!! Tried cranking it to 12 earlierā¦ madness Guess depends how big the room is, speakers etcā¦ again
Interesting 8 in my setup is extremely low. Iāve had Audio physic and Dynaudio in the past and even if they are also low sensitive the Harbeth still requires more power for me. Maybe itās also due to the fact them being very neutral compared to the other speakers which themselves were more powerful sounding.
Also very much dependent on the album played. Some I need to push to nearly 11 to get same loudness level as some others at 9. Like āOn every streetā with Dire Straits. There my SN3 really need to work hard to bring out the details and dynamics.
Iāll bet your 3 hasnāt got many hours playtimeā¦at least, going by my experience with mine.
Itāll be interesting to see how yours develops. You may have a different experience in a week or two.
But, Iām no expertā¦can only go by my earsā¦which arenāt maybe audiophile ones!
Well, Iām sorry, but itās my honest perception and opinion. And being both quite different, I will not be able to say that neither is a bad device, but quite the opposite, both excellent; although neither of both actually works properly in my setup.
Anyway, your approach and point is not positive eitherā¦
Just measured the output difference with white noise between SN2 and SN3. SN3 at 9 o clock shows 72dB average. SN3 shows 95-96dB average. So at the same position on the volume pot the SN2 will have a higher output. If that means that it in general is more powerful or whatever I donāt know but at least it confirms that SN2 seems louder to my ears using same settings.
The presence on the SN3 is outdoing SN2 by far by the way. Still doing AB tests but for every swap I tend to enjoy SN3 more and more.
I cranked up my SN2 today to see how it went. I have a large open plan room, around 90 sqm, with a regular ceiling height. Played some rock (Glass Hammer) very loud at 11 oāclock. The sound was pretty immense, deep firm bass guitar and sparkly cymbals, quite ballsy stuff. The SN2 didnāt even sweat or warm up, quite impressed by it all to be honest, though slightly disappointed that I couldnāt trip the cut off.
In my experience, itās much easier to trip the cut off on the SN3 than on the SN2. With the SN2, my experience was how you aim, it was able to run at 11 oāclock without getting scybed, without getting too hot and without trip the cut off, though starting to show the clipping; with the SN3, it was very problematic to exceed 10 oāclock (around 80 dB in my set up) without firing the cut off, either by excess current or by thermal protection.
It sounds very strange that it cuts out so easily, especially as the SN2 doesnāt do that. I wonder if itās faulty. Maybe your dealer could lend you another one to try.
Yes, I find it quite strange. My dealer accepts the unit return back, as it has not been installed even 8 days, but, as I mentioned in the Biamp thread, the Naim integrateds are not for me, at least in this set up, and I will try to resolve the set up in another vein.
Mike, I only did it once and my memory of the event was I came home on a Friday afternoon after a long and stressful week at work and put on a Bryan Adams then Tom Petty album and kept on cracking up the music over a period of time and Iām sure it was past 12 oāclock when everything went silent. I felt the box and it was very warm, shut things down and called the dealer who told me I most likely tripped a safety shutdown and to let it cool down to room temperature then start it back up. I did that and everything was OK.
Iām still quite happy with the SN2 and normally listen in the 9 to 10 oāclock range with a few occasions moving up to 10:30/11 when the need arises!