Hello all
I am looking to upgrade the speakers for my Nova and was hoping you could come up with some suggestions for speakers that I should shortlist for audition.
I guess the biggest factor is that the room is small at only 12x11 feet.
I would love some kind of compact floorstander, if that was possible, but I know realistically I need standmounts or maybe bookshelf speakers with a sub?
I listen to a wide range of music and generally at lower to mid volume.
I don’t have a particular budget just looking for a speaker that will get the most out of the Nova.
Any suggestions gratefully received.
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I have Totem Hawks with a Nova in a slightly larger room (5m x 3.5m) and they are a delight - very natural sound. Their new Sky towers are also well rated. Have fun with the search.
Probably some of the smaller Atc stand mounts or proac. Pmc twenty5-21 or 22 would be a good place to start. Neat motive sx3 standmout or the motive sx2 could work as a small floorstander if the bass doesn’t overpower your room.
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I have just bought PMC twenty5.21’s to go with Nova in medium sized room. I suspect twenty5.22’s would be too bass heavy. For a Roman that size I would also add Proac Tablette 10’s as they can be placed right up against the wall
Room not Roman!
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Some good recommendations already for standmount speakers, Proac, Neat, PMC all would be a good match, depending on what you listen to small Harbeth’s may be worth a listen.
In terms of compact floor standers Spendor A2 or Neat SX2 might be good candidates.
That size of room, I would definitely look at some nice standmounts.
The choice is endless, just try to listen to something’s. 
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A bit leftfield perhaps but I would suggest a pair of Guru Juniors which I thought were very impressive despite their small size.
James at TomTom has a pre-loved pair on their website. If you are within an acceptable distance of St Albans you may be able to check them out once shops are allowed to reopen.
You may be pleasantly surprised by what will work in your room, however. I am using my Usher speakers in a room 12’x10’, and they are a hefty reflex design.
I use Naim N-sats with an active sub with my Nova in my 5m square room. Very happy.
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I was going to suggest the Spendor A2 as well but you beat me to it!
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As an ex owner of Neat Motive SX2s/Nova I can recommend them as being vey compatible. I used them for around 4 years, partly with Nova and with a SU before that. The Neats are very compact and easy to place, in my room were placed some 10 cms from the wall. The floor facing port worked well. Only reason I moved mine on is that I managed to move to separates and changed the speakers at the same time. I did have them connected to the separates whilst waiting for different speakers and the SX2s certainly did not disgrace themselves. Obviously you will want to try them first to ensure they work for you.
Thanks for your suggestions. I will look into them all.
Currently using Dynaudio Audience 62 so hoping for a noticeable improvement on those.
Like the look of the Spendor A2 (and sound hopefully!!)
Anyone got any thoughts for or against the Dynaudio Special 40 or maybe the Evoke range?
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Have a look at the Neat Iota, Alphas and Xplorers. I’ve got the latter the big ones that are only 74cmhigh. Very impressive sound with my Star. The Alphas are even smaller at 45cm high.
My room is similar to yours at around 3.6m x 4m and I spent several happy years with n-Sats and various Naim Amp combinations and latterly with a Nova and 250DR (I’ve been waiting 2 years to trade the Nova in for a 372 or whatever the 272 replacement is called).
About 18 months ago I decided to upgrade my speakers and listened to a range of different speakers at dealers and also some at home. I have had Neats in the past and wanted to go there again but neither Motives nor Alphas sounded right in my room to me nor did PMCs. I did like Dynaudio Special 40s and Kudos Super 10s but finally tried ATC 11s and 19s and finally chose the 11s - great little speaker for small rooms with no ports to worry about and a very reasonable price, particularly secondhand or ex/dem.
Ultimately it is your ears and room that count so that when you have whittled down your choice by dealer demos it’s time to try them at home. Several Naim dealers, and others, will ship you speakers to try at home
Bob
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Dynaudio special 40’s will generate a lot of bass for room that size plus they need some distance from rear wall due to rear porting
I use PMC Twenty5.23s on the end of a Nova in a room that is about 14x13. They sound excellent, fast responsive bass and enjoyable music. They’re really tasteful looking floorstanders.
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I just changed my speakers from PCM Twenty.22 to Dynaudio Special 40’s which has been a great improvement for my 4 x 4,5 room. I still like the PMC’s a lot and I was considering the Twenty5.23’s but the Dyn’s have something magical and I love their design. However as your room is so small, I would not recommend the Dyn’s as they need their space. A few years back I also used the Guru Juniors, recommended by BigAl that were indeed very special, but only in a small room.
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Thanks everyone.
The Neat Alpha and SX2 are definitely going on the list.
Very intrigued by the Alpha.
Looks like the Special 40’s will have to wait.
along the totem line of thinking – take a look at the tribe tower. its footprint is only 7" x 8". i’ve heard them work well with an atom – a nova should make them sing.
Totem Sky’s not the towers would be on my list if a dealer within a reasonable distance.