Speaker short list

[AndyR]

@jsaudio

Truthfully after upgrading to NAP500 I find that I’m not engaged as long as I used to be with the 300.

Put a NAP300 back in?

[MrUnderhill]

Hi @jsaudio ,

How long has the 500 been in? 500 or 500DR?
I am thinking from your posts that the 500 isn’t new? i.e. No burn-in required?

Have you tried repositioning your Sopras?

M

[Yeti]

I had this when replacing my 250-2 with a 500. Initially the 500 and its ps were on the bottom shelves with the Burndys on the floor. Moving the ps up the brawn stack helped a little but still not that engaging.
The 500 went off for a service and DRing, the 250 went at the bottom of the brains stack because I couldn’t be bothered to adjust the lay of the speaker cable again, the engagement came back.
500 back from Salisbury and back in the stack at the bottom with its ps fourth ps up. The Burndys mostly off the floor but the engagement was gone again. At this point the CDX2 was above the 552 and had been all along ever since it replaced my 282 but this placed it half a shelf lower than the 500ps and half a shelf higher than my 555ps on the brawn stack, moving it up a shelf was the answer bringing engagement back to the system at last and now the 500 seemed worth it.
Speakers throughout were my NBLs.
Since then I’ve added an extra lite shelf to the brains stack getting the 552 even further from the 500ps and lifting the 500 so no Burndys touched the floor but that coincided with a room change so hard to gauge the effect except that it wasn’t negative.

[Crispy]

I would go for the Audiovector R6 Arrete. A smallish footprint for the class you are looking at. An amazing all rounder and some nice touches that elevate beyond most.

[jsaudio]

The 500 was a new DR now about 2 years old
I have tried repositioning several times
Thanks

[jsaudio]

Very interesting. The 500PS is at the top of the brawn stack with the 552 top of the brains stack at the same level as the 500PS.
Something to consider.

[TOBYJUG]

I would definitely include a stand mount in the list.
Something like the TAD Compact Evolution One.

[Yeti]

Assuming a medium shelf to clear the 500 but only standard shelves on the brawn side your 552 at the top should have the same relation to the 500ps that mine did hen the engagement came back. If however you’ve gone for a medium shelf on the brawn side to balance the look than you can try rearranging so the two mediums are on the brains side.

[Elfer]

I auditioned Sasha DAW and Magico S3mk2 for for a 20ft x 25ft (partitioned length, 37ft full length) room and much preferred the low end of the Magicos. The mids and highs were different but equally engaging but I preferred the tighter, more controlled low frequencies of the sealed Magico enclosure. The Wilsons seemed to impart more of their own character whereas the Magicos seemed more neutral. I can easily understand why many prefer the Wilsons, especially for specific genres but for me, the Magico neutrality made them a better all rounder.

My ceiling is low behind the speakers and quite high at my listening position and I wanted to avoid floor to ceiling standing waves behind the speakers, though the ceiling angles do mitigate that to an extent. I seriously considered the S5 and if I wasn’t concerned about the ceiling height, I would probably have gone for them. The M2 are objectively a better speaker but they don’t have the weight of the S3 and especially the S5 and are perhaps better suited to small to medium rather than large rooms.

I would love a chance to hear the new S3

[richardjpaterson]

Wow, that’s some serious cash on speakers. Having kudos 606s and reading reviews on 808s I’m sure they are fantastic. However, also reading about some of the Magicos, they do sound pretty special. Solid block aluminim frames and all that. I can but dream…

[jsaudio]

You have a wonderfully balanced system which I’m sure sounds fantastic. Beyond that the law of diminishing returns starts playing a major role.

[sailorck]

Considering standmounts Børresen O1 could be an option.

[NO-QUARTER]

Have you considered Kharma speakers? I am biased because I use them, not with Naim though.
There is a dealer in Florida that carries them, he happens to use them in his home with a full 500 system.
He started with DB9’s, moved up to 11’s, and now I think he runs the MIDI Exquisite 3.0 with Naim.
I have a few photos of his room with the 9’s saved on my phone… I will post.

I think these photos were taken before he had all his Naim gear in place, so he was using Boulder gear.