Speaker audition today for Supernait 2

Had a super day listening to a variety of speakers at the HiFi Lounge. Source was Naim NDX2 into a bare Supernait 3. Thanks to Paul for the demos!

PMC twenty five.24i - midrange and vocals a little thin, treble quite present, forward sound. Bass sounded a bit disconnected at times but very controlled. Not particularly engaging and left me cold.

Spendor A7. Big sound, wide soundstage, deep too. Bass was powerful but not over blown. Rich but natural midrange, very detailed and atmospheric, but not analytical like the PMCs. Made me want to listen to them all afternoon and loud! Fun!

Spendor D7.2. Similar to A7 but more forward midrange and treble, less punchy and dare I say a little dull?! Enjoyable but wanted to go back to the A7s! Reminded me of the PMC twenty 24s.

Fyne Audio F501SP. Lovely looking speaker with a very controlled bottom end which was nice and punchy, midrange sounded a little nasely after the D7.2s. Soundstage not as broad or deep, separation of complex music not quite there for me, sounded muddled at times.

Sonus Faber Sonetto V. Maybe a little too large for my lounge but great sounding speakers. Realistic, engaging, great detail without being over analytical. Slightly smaller and narrower soundstage. Speakers didn’t vanish like the A7s did initially but after a couple more tracks, I wanted to keep listening due in part to a similar presentation to the A7s.

PMC twentyfive 23i. Different animal to the 24 and I suspect the amp better controlled them. Very enjoyable, detailed with a lovely midrange but at the loss of some low end grunt and scale which I did miss. I thought to myself, wouldn’t these be nice with more low end… so we added a small REL sub in the mix. 25.23i plus sub was really nice!

PMC Twenty 22i plus sub. Similar to the 23s but more snap and warmth in the mid range. Really enjoyable set up!

Next steps - go back with fresh ears and play with the PMCs plus sub and the A7s whilst I sort out some more demos for the following -

ProAc D20s and D30s
Neat Ekstra.
Some Audio Physics higher up the range (classic 22s)

Anything else worth checking out? Speakers need to be able to sit relatively close to a wall and a good match for a SN2/3 to power. Not interested in going through pre/power route. Thanks in advance!

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I had exactly the same experience as you comparing the PMC with the A7.
Thought the A7’s were fantastic except my next speaker comparison followed up with some Totem Sky Towers and that’s what I went home with.
Huge soundstage and not necessarily the most accurate and definitely slightly coloured compared with the other two but by far the most musical and engaging.

Cut a long story short and a child accident, they have gone and PMC Twenty5.26’s have replaced and they are obviously not comparable but neither are they to the other PMCs that I didn’t like at all.

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Thanks Popeye, I did read about your journey and pleased you found your match so quickly! I found the bigger PMCs a little forward sounding compared to a A7s with the smaller PMCs being a little more forgiving. The 25.26i are a little too big and a bit over budget for me so the search (only due to curiosity) continues before committing to some home demos.

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Dunno if there are any Totem dealers near you but if there are, I highly recommend that they are worthy of a listen. :+1:

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Thanks, consider Totem added to the research list!

The Neat Extra should do it…

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Loved the Motive range when I heard them before buying the Audiophysics so keen to hear the latest from Neat.

Maybe throw the Kudos S20 in as a wild card especially if they need to be close to the wall.

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Good call, they seem to meet the brief, thanks’

Following this closely. Have you considered Dynaudio HS or S40s, or Focal Aria/Kanta? I’m a bit surprised by the difference between the PMC 24/23/22 i, especially with the 24i. I haven’t heard the new 24i but the 24 (old model) sounded full and rich and tight.

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I would consider adding ATC SCM19 to your list. Haven’t heard the SCM11 but, if you want something smaller, I would think they would also be well worth a listen.

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I’d suggest if demoing the ProAc’s that you listen to D20R and D30RS. In most people’s opinions the Ribbon is superior to the Dome tweeter.

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I’ve had my Totem Forest Signatures on a NDX2/SN2 setup and very much liked it. Great soundstage and a natural presentation.

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Thanks James, appreciate the input and will check out the Dynaudio but most of the ones I have seen (not heard) are rear ported which doesn’t really work here sadly.

I would like to listen to the Kanta 1s but again, having a rear port maybe an issue. The others in the range are a little too large for my cottage!

Each of the PMCs certainly sounded different which I suspect was down to the grip of the amp. I might actually take my SN2 and hicap and give them another go but the Spendors are on top at the moment!

I must admit, I am erring more towards a simple floorstander solution rather than backing up standmounts with subs but let’s see what the next auditions bring.

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Thanks, I really like ATC stuff and would love the scm40s but they are massive! The 11s were on the shortlist a few years ago with the Neat Motives and the Audiophysics I now have but struggled a bit with low end.

Thanks Mike. Struggling to find a dealer close enough who stocks these along side Naim and Spendor so I can compare but I guess there are bigger things to concern myself with!

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Thanks Opus. It will likely be down to what the dealers stock but appreciate the heads up!

Keep in mind the possibility that some very obvious tonality and presentation differences between the speakers could be further affected by being installed in your listening room/space.
What sounds dull in the demo could sound lively at home.

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Very much so! Trying to whittle down the shortlist before commiting to home demos. My room shouldn’t sound good but weirdly it does, even without proper treatment but all speakers interact differently as you mentioned.

Also added to the list after some research this morning are the Acoustic Energy AE520 and Russell K 120s