Circumstances forced me to put my music system and collection into storage for several years, and I am now in the process of getting it all back.
I have a Naim Nait 3 amp and a Rega Planar 2 turntable, both purchased in the early 2000s, - the turntable new and the amp was 2nd hand - but had been serviced by Naim prior to my purchase. I also have a Marantz 6000 Ki Sig cd player, but I have a very large record collection compared to cds so vinyl will be the main playing source. I already have the turntable and amp out of storage but not the speakers or records yet, both seem to be working fine but without speakers I haven’t been able to test them yet.
My current speakers are Mission 760s which I bought about 1989 - they were initially paired with a Dual turntable and Denon receiver. I know I will need to replace the speakers and have been thinking about some of speakers listed below. I wont be able to test anything as I now live in very small town Ireland and all bar the Regas will need to be purchased online, the Regas can be bought locally but HiFi is only a side offer in the shop and there are no listening facitities. My room size is about 3m x 4.4m
Rega Kytes €469.
Mission QX2s €449
Monitor Audio Bronze 100s €449
Dali Oberon 1s €449
Wharfedales 12.2s for €339
Provided they’re in good shape and have a decent pair stands to sit on, those Mission 760s could sound pretty good considering their small size and low cost, especially with a good front end and an amp likely the Naim. The speakers you list would probably be their current modern equivalents, but how much better would they really be…?
We had Monitor Audio Bronze 2 for a while on end of SuperUniti. They’re sitting in a spare room unused now.
Perfectly capable budget standmount speakers, albeit with the standard modern MA sound signature. Benefitted from good stands.
Bettered by a swap for our old MA Studios (which we still have in office). Possibly a poor comparison standmounts via floorstanders filled with sand
You could probably get better MA for the price used or by shopping around. At the 3-400 quid price point they’re very good value. Bronze 2 had just been discontinued when we bought ours, from memory 200 quid.
If you decide not to keep the Mission 760s, have a listen (if you are away on a trip…) to the Acoustic Energy 100 (Mark 2) and the Q Acoustics 3030i. A quick web search will reveal a decent comparison review. Otherwise, stick with the speakers you have for a while…
If you can do secondhand I’d highly recommend a good set of Epos ES11 with stands.
They are getting on but it is possible to find a good set.
Also it is possible to get the woofer rubber replaced, apparently the original woofer rubber gets depleted/eaten by ozone which is why so many are cracked and rotten these days.
Giving the Nait 3a holiday to Naim service department could only bring more joy btw.
Historically, a Nait 3 worked great with Mission 752s and Linn Tukans and similar era entry level KEFs.
Given how good current entry level Naim amps work with Qacoustics, KEF, and JBL, I might be tempted to pair it some 3020i or a lower range JBL studio mini monitor.
Nait 3 was always very special and is oft overlooked but it was the heart of so many fun systems.
Seconded - I ran one very happily for over 20 years.
@Wagtail - I did have mine serviced, probably long after it was due. If yours hasn’t been touched in 20 odd years of your ownership then a service is worth thinking about.
Loved my Nait3, very underrated amp, superbly musical. Used mine for years with Rega Ela’s which I still can’t bear to part with despite not using for years!
A quick update, to where I’m at. I got all my stuff out of storage, and now have my system set up, although my speakers (Mission 760s) are just on the floor and windowsill, I still haven’t found the stands in the jumble of boxes!
As suggested here, I did indeed need a new turntable belt, as the Rega Planar 2 was running slow and a new belt (the Rega EBLT, €21 + €7.50pp) sorted it straight away. Just hearing proper HiFi sounds is blowing me away for now, - I have The Gloaming blaring now, so I’ve decided to wait before buying new speakers and leave everything settle in. I will probably buy a cheap streamer/internet radio hifi separate first, and then think about the speakers again in a couple of months.
I was and still am a vinyl person, but listening to my Marantz 6000ki sig, while waiting for the new Rega belt to arrive really made me appreciate my CDs as well, after years of tinny sounds.
Anyway thanks to you all for the advice generously provided.
I have used the Ruark Icon speaker with my nait 3. The front end is a Marantz CD 63 ki, sounded great. Used Chord Carnival speaker cable (original) and Chord cobra 2. I have spent many happy times listening to it. I still have the system, i think its time to set it up and have a reminder how good it sounded.
Back in the day I used my Nait 3 with some Rega Kytes (the original) and then some Rega Ela 2s. As others have said other popular choices were Royds and Epos ES11. I suppose you could look for some of these models used but they would be getting on a bit now.
I think if I was going to buy some speakers to go with that system now used Neat Motives would be at the top of my list.
I had a Marantz cd player also for a while but never liked it much. Replaced it with a Rega Planet 2000 and then a Naim CD5 both of which which were much better.
I am using Rega Ela Mk2 in my second system and a pair of early Rega Kytes as surrounds in my main system. Both second hand, bargain prices. Needed new foam grilles for Kytes, otherwise all fine.
Sorry I should have mentioned that I did try the Nait 3 with some Naim speakers (Intro and Credo) although I think the source was a Micromega Stage cd player and not a Marantz. Anyway i didn’t like them much and thought the Elas were much better.
