Study system

Currently have nova into nSats on wall brackets and not wild about the sound. (Regret trading in the ndx1 and sn3 that I had for a while before I last traded in for main system upgrade)

Probably going to trade all of that in towards upgrades for the main system - and my nephew is giving back to me my unitiqute 1 and mission 70 speakers that when I tried just before donating them to him sounded brilliantly nippy

I quite fancy giving a supernait another try so as to utilise the hicap that I have - but not sure whether or not it’s worth saving up for a SN3 (best price around £2200), Sn2 (best price around 1500-1600) or SN1 (seen one at £900)

If I got SN2 for 1600 or so I could probably add ndx1 for under a grand and still come out ahead of trade in on nova - would maybe keep the nSats if I did this

But saving more and getting sn1 has some appeal too - but have only ever heard sn3 so don’t know how it compares with 2 or 1

Any thoughts? Or maybe I should flog the uq and mission speakers and just get a power line for the nova?

If it were me, I’d go for the SN2. I’ve not heard any of them to be honest but from what I’ve read the SN1 was disappointing to some and the SN3 doesn’t really offer much in a SQ increase over the SN2 for the money.

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So @Stephen_Tate’s enthusiasm for the n-Sats doesn’t translate to up you?

Hi Tim,
If you are looking at a study system, another option may be something like the “Main System” shown in my profile. It’s like a having a giant pair of headphones, yet considerably more comfortable.

It isn’t as resolving as the “Back-up” system, yet it is ridiculously musical and emotionally engaging.

This may be another way of achieving your desired end result, without breaking the bank.

Best regards, BF

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2nd hand SN2, great sound per ÂŁ.

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What speakers are you using? Your profile stops before I can see!

Xs2 plus hicap works for me in to Kans.

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I think the sn2 is the best value in the whole Naim line at this point in time.

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I have sometimes heard some stuff sound great (Pink Floyd the wall) but most stuff is a bit meh to my ears. Though I haven’t optimised the Nova (no powerline) and I recall the SN3 and NDX sounding better - an SN3 with a HC plus NDX should perhaps be expected to sound a bit better - but it’s a couple of years ago so my memory may be playing tricks

It is possible the brackets aren’t in the best location on the wall either

I use a pair of Spendor SR5s (wall brackets) mounted a couple of feet above seated head height and a couple of feet away. Backed up by a Naim SUB under the desk (serves as a space heater and foot massager as a bonus…). All run of a Unitiqute2. The latter is such a fantastic one box solution IMO. Using the SUB lets the power amp of the Qute drive the SR5s above 80Hz. Sounds great to my ears.

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Hi Tim,
Wall mounted PMC DB1i. PMC make the wall brackets, so the speakers are about 8cm off the back wall.

Here’s a photo which may help:
Naim/PMC Office music system, driven by a mac mini

Best regards, BF

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thanks, that’s helpful - my nSats are to the side away from the desk

My desk has two 27 inch screens and a couple of Bose (I know!) speakers linked to my Mac. There isn’t really the space to have a set up like you have

I think the answer in the short term is to trade in the nova and nSats (I kind of want to try some different speakers at some point in there anyway) and recover the uq from my nephew with the mission 70s, plonk them on my AE1 finned stands and take it from there. May try to get naughty Pete to have a listen to the nova and nSats before taking them out and get some advice from him. Will be speaking to him and Ross at the show on Saturday I expect so will bounce ideas off them too

With that behemoth I bet your back up system doesn’t see much usage :wink:

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Hi @TimOopNorth ,

Whether they will work with your system a pair of speakers I enjoyed recently were the Sonus faber Lumina I. Dinky but good.

M

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I’m wondering if it’s the positioning of your nSats that’s a big issue.

Can you try moving them off the wall and see if different positioning is more satisfying? I’d think that the Nova should not be significantly disappointing in that use case!

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Slight thread hi-jack - sorry.

I use my old AE1 finned stands under my PMC’s. Couldn’t bear to replace them. They do the job splendidly and look great. They also get a big thumbs up from the missus too, which is extremely rare when it comes to Hi-Fi. :grin:

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It’s possible though I remember them sounding better with the SN3/NDX - but since I had them the main system has added a nap500 to the mix (from nap300).

It’s a very good idea to try them in different position, thanks (why didn’t I think of that!) - although I am a bit restricted by a radiator. I do also remember Mr Halibut saying he thought the brackets didn’t do the sound any favours - though others have had different experiences

If the arrangement works in your study, the wall-mount redesigns of ATC’s SCM 11s might be worth considering. I think they’re labelled HTS 11 and there are forum members who use them IIRC. They ought to work OK with a Nova and sing with a SN2.

Roger

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I think the wall brackets are great, it’s just that like any speaker, the bass will reflect off the rear wall more when they are close to it. I’d say that is down to the laws of physics rather than a shortcoming of any particular speaker.

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Had a helpful chat with Jason from Naim and also Naughty Pete - I think the sn2 with hc (I already have the hc) is looking good, so maybe the nSats are staying…

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