How were just (without the Solution Dac) the Wilson against your SL2. Did you had the chance to compare those two?
Oh Jim please tell us more a group of us don’t get out much these days. So please how, why, when and most importantly describe set up, venue and performance please ATB Peter
No, I just heard the Yvettes in a shop.
There were no Naim speakers there.
Ah, I missunderstood. I thought you had them home for a demo
Hi Peter
I just returned from a trip to a large European city, where I heard those speakers with those electronics.
(The purpose of the trip had nothing to do with hifi.)
Unfortunately, the set up in the shop was seriously sub-optimal in two ways, which compromised any conclusions that could be reached on the speakers (or the dac and amp and cables).
So not really worth telling the gory details as they lead only to dusty answers and unanswerable questions.
Also, on my return my wife and son have contracted covid, but my daughters and I have not - and I’m wildly busy at work too!
Hi James, sorry to hear about your misfortune with Covid on your return. Should the rest of the household go down with it, at least it is a much milder illness inducing virus now. I have myself enjoyed both Alpha and Delta.
Thank you for your underwhelming response Good luck with everything Best Peter
hope things improve, and the Covid has the milder symptoms
Yes, thank you - at the moment my wife and son are both almost without symptoms.
Hello all, first time posting here. I find myself in a similar situation; looking for the best speakers (to suit my tastes) for a newly gifted Uniti Nova. The dealer we got the Nova from set us up with home demo pairs of Focal Kanta 2 and Sonus Fabre Sonetto 5s, both pairs were basically brand new so are/have been wearing them in. I’ve been super impressed with how fast and energetic the Kantas are with only about 50-60 hours playing time on them. The SFs just arrived yesterday, so don’t have enough signal through them to even begin critically listening yet. Still though, they are already a much more holographic sound than the Focals, and I’m really eager to see how they develop. The boss has already decreed that she prefers the look of the SF’s, so that will definitely weigh in on the final decision. Anyhow, just wanted to jump into the conversation and see where things take us.
Cheers!
Welcome Ben to this mad old place and good luck with choosing the right pair for you ATB Peter
Which harbeth , what do think on sh5 super plus for SN3
I advise you to see the Harbeth threads. There are a lot. I think to remember @ryder had them before with an SN2 or 3.
Not sure of the pairing, because Harbeth need some power to open.
I only tried Nait XS, 202/200 and 282/250 on the Harbeth SHL5s. To be more specific, Nait XS and 202/200 on SHL5, 202/200 and 282/250DR on SHL5+.
In short, I haven’t tried SN3 with SHL5+ but avoid anything below it. The SHL5 sounds lacklustre and underwhelming with Nait XS. The 202/200 was OK, much better than Nait XS with the SHL5. 282/250DR a lot better but I understand you are asking on the SN3.
Personally I think the sn3 will be fine. It may not be the best for the SHL5+ but it won’t be too shabby. Just avoid the Nait XS. (I’m not sure if the XS2 or XS3 will be a lot better / much improved)
ps. I think @Blackbird tried the 272/250DR and 272/300DR with the SHL5+ and found the latter to sound significantly better. This may suggest that the higher you go up the ladder in terms of power, the better the SHL5+ will sound.
Neutrality vs. emotion - highly subjective of course. What is it to me? My ideal listening situation is with the original sheets, following one or more instruments note by note. And if I can identify each and every instrument properly, and see how it (or the player) reflects the notes, this is what I call neutral. And it makes me happy, which is what I call emotional.
So, no contradiction to me. And obviously not being able to listen to all speakers, my Harbeths with my SuperUniti are just perfect for me.
Best
Matthias.
I’ll probably get shot down in flames for this, but what I want from a speaker is neutrality and accuracy.
I want to hear what the artist recorded
The worst demo I ever heard was (I think ) Opera speakers and (if my memory is correct) Audio Physic , one was lush and warm, the other highly detailed and analytic.
The difference went off the page , and in doing so it destroyed my faith in the dealer and loudspeakers as a whole. What was I listening to , the artist’s recording or bias from the speaker ?
Since then (last twenty years) I have had PMC and Harbeth speakers, both chosen because of their pro background and the knowledge that the speaker was trying to represent what had been recorded .
I will go and stand on The Naughty Boy’s Step now
Regarding Audio Physic, depends a lot on the model. When the original designer was still there, they were not overly analytical at all, but what one might call musical (i know it’s a loaded term). Then the designer left and they became super analytical for a while - my dealer then dropped them. Recently they have reversed course and the new models have dialed it back.
Hi, that’s why I am very keen to qualify my comments - I have no wish to leave an incorrect comment, it was just the contrast between the very warm Opera speakers and the other speakers.
I could scarcely believe it was the same material , my view is that if I want to listen to Eva Cassidy I want to listen to her and not the loudspeaker’s designer’s interpretation of what she should sound like.
(I listen to a lot of acoustic music (yes I know all music is acoustic) with a minimum of electric .)
I had some Opera Secondas (early sealed box version) at home for a week or so. They were excellent at low level but went all soft when turned up with a Rega Maia powering them. I do wonder if a 250 would have done better but suspect it would have sounded a bit thick.
I enjoyed a lot the Audio Physics Virgo with Gamut electronics. Natural and dynamic sound, organic too. Not cold and too neutral.
No worries, I just thought I’d add this info because I had this discussion with my dealer during my recent speaker acquisition, and they had been totally keen on AP 10 years ago and now don’t carry them. (I listened to the new Codex model in another place and it wasn’t annoying and entered my shortlist, but I found better)
Also seems that this had a lot to do with target markets where the money is nowadays, they had focused on China for a long time. (If you look at their website, many photos are clearly from China still)