Swapping systems between rooms

I’ve starting wondering whether to swap my systems around between rooms - nothing definite but mulling over the pro’s and cons. Basically, the main system (SN2/HiCaP/NDX2/XPS DR with Totem Forest Signatures and Heed headphone system) is in the large family lounge and performs really well. Benefits are the large room and view for listening, a great sound with the TV and You-Tube music videos and a nice place for late night headphone sessions. But, as it’s the family lounge, I only get serious listening sessions when my wife and daughter are out of the house. Also lots of glass and a wooden floor.

My second system is the combined downstairs office and movie room (Nova, Totem Hawks and Storm sub, Cambridge Audio CX UHD player and 65" OLED TV). Benefits are a dedicated listening room (= more dedicated listening with the higher-end system), matching with the better Bluray source for music videos etc and potentially better room acoustics, though the room is much smaller at 3.7m x 5.1m - listening across the room. Being a basement it has concrete walls on 3 sides (with false timber and plaster walls) and a floating plywood floor over concrete with carpet, but a low ceiling (2.05m). I would need to replace the desk at the left for a smaller one to make room for the larger speakers and put a rack where the sub is.

The possibility is to basically swap the systems between the rooms. I know that the answer is to try it, but, of course, it’s a bit of a faff to dismantle the main system and move it. The Nova and Hawks used to be in the lounge, so I know how that will perform. I guess I could start by just swapping the speakers around and hear how the larger Forests work in the smaller room? If they work, adding the better source and SN2 should be safe, in theory at least? Any other thoughts?

Have you a sofa etc in the office room to relax and seriously listen. Not sure i could relax myself and seriously listen on an office chair?

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Yes, we have a 3 seat sofa for watching movies. I usually move it forward from the back wall to get on the sweet spot.

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No other way other than to try and determine if the sound quality of the Totem Forest Signatures will sound better in the downstairs office. 3.7m x 5.2m is a good size but the ceiling is a bit low. If you intend to try the Forest Sigs in the office and movie room, it may be worthwhile to try removing the TV in the middle to see if it sounds better or worse.

Your plan of trying the Forest Sigs in the room is surely worth exploring. Apart from the room, placement of speakers will be important too. The sound quality may improve if the speakers are placed further out into the room although it may not be too practical.

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To my mind, speaker/room interaction trumps many other considerations, and if the bigger Forests are more at home in the larger room, perhaps that’s the way it should stay. You could, though, squeeze a good bit more performance out of your Hawks by swapping the electronics over.
Obviously the Forests would then take a step down in performance, but I reckon the Nova would still drive them, as they are not, I believe, particularly demanding.
If nothing else, it would be easier to move a few black boxes than a couple of big pairs of speakers.

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Yes, I had thought of swapping just the electronics as a option as well. I have actually run the Nova on the Forests in the lounge for quite a while before I got the SN2, as it was fine as a combination, though the better electronics give more. The same would be true with the Hawks off course.

Moving all the electronics is a bit of a fuss due to the cabinet set up. One thing I could try is the SN2 on the Hawks using the Heed DAC I have in the office connected to the Core and that would test the power side of the equation.

It’s a good point about the room/speaker interaction.

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What do you think @frenchrooster?

I didn’t understood what will change with the Heed dac / Core. It’s to be used with the Nova?
And which system you want to improve ? The main system with SN2/ Ndx2…or the other one with the Nova?
I feel generally that you would want more bass, it’s that ?

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I second the speaker first approach…then amp. Ive had experience where amp and speakers were too much for a small room. I had another lesser powered amp but only the one pair of speakers so I changed the amp and things were improved. Although having said that, I 'm talking 150w power amp vs 65w integrated so the SN2 may not be an issue and your office space is larger than the room I had. Happy New Year Mike.

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Sorry, the thread is about swapping the systems between the rooms, or maybe swapping just the electronics and not the speakers.

The bit about the DAC was a side discussion about testing just the SN2 and speakers in place of the Nova using the DAC and Core to see how the amplification and speakers work in the smaller room. If that worked, then the Nova would go the lounge and the NDX2 etc would join the SN2 in the office ‘ movie room.

So the question is if the Nova, as integrated amp only, is on the similar level as the SN2?
If it’s the question, I had the same question recently on one thread. So don’t know sorry.

No, sorry, the question is simply about swapping the electronics and/or speakers around between the two rooms. First system goes to the smaller room, and the second system goes to the larger lounge. Is it a good idea and how can it be tested without moving everything at once?

…my only comment Mike is I love your upstairs room with the windows and view. I would leave the headphone amp and headphones up top for late night listening to be able to enjoy that beautiful view out over the water.

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Indeed, lots of considerations! And I do love the view too. I actually have two headphone amps, so if I had the Core in the lounge, I can plug my Heed DAC into it and run the Canalot from there as well. I’ll actually compare that, as I already have that setup already in the office. The Heed DAC isn’t a NDX2/XPS DR though…

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Fantastic, a win-win situation! You have it covered either way…

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Well, another option is to upgrade the Nova in the second system…

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…are you thinking about leaving the SN 2 upstairs and upgrading the Nova to a streamer with preamp/power configuration or perhaps a SN 3? …or something outside the Naim domain since the cost and availability in NZ?

Sorry, can’t respond. But personally I would just swap and see how the sound is better or different. Because there is theory and experience…and a lot of different characteristics as how the different room will interfere with a different system, which is difficult to predict.
Even if some know how to calculate , using a microphone…but i don’t believe in that.

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Yes. I guess I’m hesitant to change the main system in the lounge as I’ve invested so much time getting the setup working nicely.

With the Nova, there are a couple of options. I could grab a used ND5 XS2 and a new integrated amp, trading in the Nova. I think the Heed Lagrange has the edge over the SN3, but haven’t compared them. There aren’t any SN3’s here anyway. That would be quite cost effective and wouldn’t require a rack and it frees up a phono stage and DAC for trade in too. So quite a tidy solution and the Naim streamer keeps the functionality. Another option is an Aurelic transport through my Heed DAC into an integrated for a similar cost, but loses multiroom functionality. Going streamer/pre and power amps starts to get quite pricy.

I have to read the thread from the beginning, it may help too.

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