Speaker Choice

[Bake10]

Hi Everyone,

Currently own Naim Atom but likely to upgrade to SN3. Trying to decide amongst Spatial Audio,
Spender, Borresen, Harbeth and maybe Tri Art open baffle.

Room is average size and I love female jazz.

Thank you!

[feeling_zen]

Do you have access to a dealer that stocks all those?

[novadave]

I auditioned Spendors and Harbeths among others in my speaker search. Audition as many as you can with similar electronics to narrow down the field. Try the final one or two choices in your room with your amplification. Enjoy the process and make a choice when you know it’s the correct one for you.

[Entilzha]

I have a SN3 (+HCDR) driving Spendor A7s and they are a really good combo, so definitely audition them if you can.

I can’t help you with the other brands though. Best of luck!

[marcusman]

Similar to what @Entilzha says above, but substitute Proac’s(D20r or D2R) for Spendors.

[What_Are_You_To_Me]

Focal Sopra No.1’s are a good choice. They are what I have and you get a lot of detail and separation which would be good for jazz. I know a lot of people do not like Focal, but I am very impressed. Steve Huff gives them a very good review which is worth a read (edit - it is actually his review of the Diablo Utopia to read, but in there he compares and contrasts them and says they are some of the best stand mounts he has ever heard).

[Blythe]

If you have a dealer stocking them in your area, you might try Neat and, Kudos speakers.

[dmu]

Yeah you should definitely narrow it down but you may find you need to change direction once you hear them in your space I had some surprises where speakers I thought would work well didn’t.

Luckily I fell in love with the Harbeth sound so then I just had to try the models I could afford in my room. Even then the c7’s had a weird reaction that led to them overdoing background parts of music but the p3’s m30’s were both beautiful. Now that the Nelson sub stands are an option I’d probably see if the p3’s on those outperform the bigger speakers. I got a graded pair of m30.2xds so they were significantly cheaper and I honestly can’t see what microscopic defect on the cabinets got them graded status.

[Dugby]

Once you leave the Atom you’ll be looking for a separate streamer (hint - ND5xs2) if you go SN3, but to me the sweet spot for “female jazz” is:

Naim ND5xs2 with nDAC into a Naim Nait 2 / Harbeth SHL5plus

(I have first hand experience with this combo and female jazz is my go-to genre - Jacintha/ Laura Fygi/ Jheena Lodwick)

Both the Nait 2 and nDAC can only be purchased ‘pre-loved’ but the shock of how good this combination will sound with ‘female jazz’ will surprise all with alternative devices.

[Innocent_Bystander]

Your maximum budget would be useful, as would actual room dimensions as average means different things to different people.

[Bake10]

For sure…

Room is 13x15 with two five foot openings.
Budget is 12k.

Thank you.

[Innocent_Bystander]

And what is beyond the openings?