Hi first posting so please be generous with your insight and advice.
After some 20 years of multi channel audio I’ve decided to make the move to a more room friendly two channel audio system after auditioning a Nova, Focal Aria Evo X No 3 system.
My original intent was to be spontaneous and make the purchase however my perfectionist nature took hold and once again sent me down the rabbit hole of reviewing and researching other speaker options.
I have now settled on two options to pair with the Nova.
Acoustic Energy Corinium
Focal Kanta no 2.
I’m aware that there are previous posts on the forum regarding the Focals however the internet seems bereft of any real life user experience of the Coriniums other than the usual review websites.
It goes without saying that an audition in person is a must, but I was also rather hopeful of some further insight.
I ran a hugely enjoyable combination of a Nova and a pair of PMC 25.21’s. If you are after floorstanders than I would strongly advise you to audition your Nova with a pair of PMC 25.23i’s. Quite a few of us have used or are currently using either of these speakers with a Nova
I’ve read favourable reports of the Kanta 2 with the Nova, but know nothing of the Corinium, which of course are made by Acoustic Energy rather than Acoustic Research, who made very popular speakers back in the day.
I have a Nova with PMC twenty5.21i, but whether they’d work for you depends to some extent on your room size. I suspect that it’s quite large, as you are looking at large speakers. The 23 may be a better fit.
One slightly off beat suggestion would be to try active PMCs, with either an Atom HE or the NCS222.
Which is best depends entirely on what works in your room, so do try to get a home demonstration for a good few days.
I would advise you to listen to as many different speakers as you can. Take your time and talk to a few different dealers about what they have to offer. Matching speakers to your room and to your personal preferences is arguably the most important thing to get right when building a system, and a shortlist of just a couple of different models isn’t really enough.
Hi @Blaise and welcome. You’ve made a good choice, the Nova is an excellent piece of kit. I initially paired mine with the Kanta 2. These speakers are sensitive and respond well to the Nova. The sound is solid, fun, clear, all you’d expect. As I’m sure you are aware the Kanta benefit hugely from going up the Naim chain. Where I felt the Nova couldn’t quite excel was in the bass area. It was present but not controlled. However, I then put the Nova on a pair of Neat Iota Alpha and, whilst the sound stage was smaller and obviously a significant loss of heft and room filling sound that a floorstander will give, the Nova controlled the bass much better and it was a better overall match.
I was just re-reading your OP and if you are really keen on those 2 floorstanders, I was wondering whether a Nova PE might be worth a listen to as well for the improved grip and bass control?
You will see that all people here will recommend their own speakers … at the time I’ve owned a Nova, the Dynaudio Special Forty’s were a very nice match!
As said above take your time and audition in your own home. What sounds good at a dealer will sound different at home.
Dealers rooms are tuned for best performance.
I’ve been reading up on the Coriniums, or Corinia. They are named after the Roman name for Cirencester, where Acoustic Energy are based, which is a nice touch. There is a very good review on Stereonet. They are a nice looking speaker and the British Racing Green is very fetching.
Testing them at home is really important. While they are easy to drive, as are the Focal Kanta 2s, I’d be slightly hesitant over the Nova’s ability to fully control them. While they will no doubt fill the room, it’s important that they do it with control, in order to give the dynamics that music requires.
So I got around to auditioning the Coriniums yesterday with the standard Nova at a dealers and after about 40 minutes unfortunately I was somewhat underwhelmed, that is in comparison to the Nova / Focal Aria Evo X no 3 pairing I auditioned a fortnight ago.
Whilst in the demo room somewhat conveniently there just happened to be a Rega Aethos lying around, curiosity obviously got the better of me so the dealer hooked it up to a CD player and Wow the tingling feeling returned.
After comparing the Nova/Aethos connected to the same source my initial concerns were confirmed, the Nova just couldn’t do the speakers justice.
So on that note I have now opened another conundrum.
Rega Aethos and as yet to be decided Streamer? ND5 XS 2/ Audiolab 9000N or other?
Or
Supernait 3 / ND5 XS 2 (as yet not demoed)
A couple of observation’s the remote on the Aethos doesn’t do justice to the Amp in comparison to the Nova, worlds apart.
Secondly I’m still holding onto the hope that I can connect up either system to my TV as I’ll be doing away with my incumbent 5.1 AV system.
Thirdly I know the NDX can control the Supernait which makes for a slicker family friendly option, pardon my ignorance but would anyone know if this would be possible with the Aethos in anyway?
So for some feedback eventually I opted for a Supernait 3 , NDX2 combo paired with the Coriniums and I have to say after two weeks of playing some of my favourite tunes I’m back in love with hifi.
Today I experimented with dusting of my old Oppo DVD player and hooked it up to the NDX via a coax cable to play some old DVD audios in my possession and wow. I was so impressed I even went and bought my first piece of physical media in an age.
Nb. My early posts implied I would be getting rid of my old av system, integrating the SN into it via Av bypass mode has done away with thought, much to the better half’s dissatisfaction
