Statement STs
Only if he has supersonic ears
5 Likes
Coins, or washers�
You may mock, but these things can significantly change the sound. Naim put metal feet on the CDS for a reason.
5 Likes
Hi @MikeN
I am interested in the Grahams.
Did you listen to any other speakers from the Graham range; if so what stood out about the ones you chose over all the others?
Thank you
Regards
Roger
Hi Roger,
I listened to many speakers, before buying these. A long time ago, I promised myself to never change two things in my audio set. The Harbeths and the Thorens.
But at a certain moment I felt that the many upgrades, where relative upgrading on the Harbeths. Big quality of these speakers is that they are not to demanding to deliver a nice open sound with a great mid.
First I thought about going to something completely different. But most of the speakers sounded very technical correct, and less musical. And the ones I really liked where extremely expensive, like some Børresen speakers. I also liked the Diesis speakers, but not with Naim.
Finally I found, I am really drawn to the BBC monitor kind of sound. And I thought about the Harbeths 40.3. I had them in for a demo. But it was all to much. And I had to move the speakers to far from the wall, to get the bass towards an acceptable level.
Since I was looking for an upgrade, and thought about possibilities of a Graham speaker, my eye fel on ls 5/8.
But it had a lot of similarities with the Harbeths 40.3 concerning bass control.
When I say the somehow strange looking LS5/5, I wandered about the strange slots. And I went for a demo in the listening room of a Graham dealer. They made a setup with exactly the measurements of my own living room. And as they are a Naim dealer also, they used the same gear. It turned out that these speakers, other than the LS 5/8, do not need a lot of space from the wall. And the slots bring focus, so the big sounding speaker, do not give problems in a relative average sized room. I was so impressed, and had the speakers for a home demo. And I loved it. But, strange enough, I had a few issues, when the ordered speakers (different color) were delivered. Some songs were kind of booming. But luckily it all had to do with a lot of little things in positioning the speakers. I am extremely happy, as these speakers are a real upgrade. They have these great mids, with beautiful vocals. But, different to the far less expensive Harbeths, they have an enormous sound stage. Every instrument plays apart. It is as a live music experience. The bass control is very good etc.
The best thing of the speakers, is that they are also very nice, when playing on a very low volume.
I you are someone who likes the BBC monitor sound, it is very difficult. Harbeths, Rogers, Grahams, Spendor etc. For me, in my room, with the search for upgrade, without getting to much bass, the LS5/5 were the solution, mainly due to the slots. This will be my end game. However, when I win the lottery, I will think about the 50 K Børresen speakers. Eh, and maybe not.
8 Likes
Gorgeous system. Loving the Olive and Focal Kantas.
Lovely looking speaker, simple and attractive.
15 Likes
Made a few tweaks to the 552 active system:
- Phonosophie reinstalled
- Supercap for Prefix and Hiline 4 to 5
- Klimax DS got a Chord Sarum RCA to DIN
- CDS2 got moved
- Didnât touch the SNAXO and NAT01
- Tried the IBLs active instead or the SL2 active, that did not last long, SL2 are far superior and full range. IBLs have a superb top end but SL2 is more even handed.
- Some of you may spot the Sony Pro Walkman powered by a Naim SNAPS, and Naim DAC V1 for TV sound only.
Ensured that all cables hang freely and nothing touches anything. Since this system lives in a cupboard itâs a complete faff to set it up with precision but lots of rewards when done right.
37 Likes
Nice to see one of your setups Devraj. Dont recall seeing any before. Some serious plugage (if thats even a real word) and quite a challange to get it all in that space.
2 Likes
Hi Dr Mark, frequency range (-6dB) is given as 38 Hz - 50 kHz whilst frequency response (+ - 3dB) is stated at 58 Hz - 28 kHz. My listening room is about 6.7m x 5.4m x 2.4m. Having given the speakers a couple of days without the sub Iâve come to the conclusion that to my taste they deliver sufficient bass making a sub an optional extra as opposed to an essential extra. Hope this helps.
I found glass under the CDS2 improves sound quality, I used an appropriate sized Franke chopping board.
No need to put anything under the glass, place straight onto the wooden cabinet.
1 Like
Thanks so much for the update penllyn; those might need to be on a shortlist for me!
I just listened to the Graham LS5/5 sent in from California from (only) US distributor.
Mid & highs very (very) nice. Low end was good but not great. Iâll pull trigger on floor standing model when it arrives in US.
To me they sounded best when places 24â from front wall with minimal toe in.
Floor standers have same footprint so worth the wait for better low frequency.
Tshark
Dallas Texas USA.
1 Like
Congrats, Same here. Curious how it compares to a N10/1 with seperate power supply. Not sure which N10 model you are comparing to.
Liking those Sabrinaâs, very nice 
2 Likes
Nice to see another Norma Revo 140 owner. Iâve had mine for about a year now and absolutely love it. I need to take some photos and post my system as it has changed quite a but since my last pic.
1 Like
Please do Ants
Would love to see more Norma pics
Cheers
1 Like