Well, I recently bought some KEF LSX for my office. Active speakers with Tidal built in (other inputs available), essentially a no box solution. Amps matched to drivers, an element of DSP for placement correction. They sound way better than their price tag suggests, way better and I would be really interested in hearing some higher end active solution. These solutions definitely have the ability to drastically change at least some parts of hifi and make it more accessible.
5 Likes
Hi Roger
I only have a 3 box system so certainly not what I ment.
I am not sure why some seem to be annoyed from what I have said.
1 box or 6, footprint is the same and speakers are still the most dominating aspect in the room and generally the least accommodating aspect given that most need room around them to work there best.
I am not going anywhere with a preach or an insult I am just stating a point.
As am I 
But back to the boxcount / HiFi rack discussion, just look at the system pics thread. Notice how plenty of people donāt have an actual rack, but use āregularā furniture that would have been there anyway even without the HiFi, taking up not additional floorspace. Plenty of those wonāt fit more than one or perhaps a couple of boxes.
Personally one of the reasons I ended up with Naim was because the Uniti series allowed me to reduce the boxcount without compromising (too much) on quality. Reducing the boxcount in turn gave me a greater choice of furniture, which in turn allowed me to select ābetterā furniture to place the HiFi on.
You mention speakers, but there as well people will make aesthetic compromises. I for example didnāt even listen to the well rated q acoustic 500 because they just wouldnāt look acceptable in the living room. Also if you have to compromise somewhere, I think the return on better speakers far outweighs the return on a better rack, so I would have to choose, I would choose the speakers.
4 Likes
For me, it doesnāt work that way. Speakers can fit in with the room decor, for example, by being covered in nice, well finished wood veneer, or shiny lacquer if thatās your preference. A rack full of boxes can look kind of neat if they match, but the taller the stack, the more visible the mess of cables becomes, and that completely destroys the aesthetics of a rack, with its otherwise clean lines. Add a wall shelf for your turntable, and that takes the conspicuous mess of cables to a whole new level.
Itās taken me a considerable amount of head scratching and listening to find a way to improve the sound of my system without creating such a mess, and Iāve broken a couple of Naim system building rules along the way, but I need the top shelf of my rack for my coffee/wine/beer glass, so thatās the way itās going to stay.
There are clearly plenty who donāt mind all this stuff in their houses, and even some who actually like it. I would hazard a guess that there are a disproportionately high number of bachelors and divorcees amongst them 
5 Likes
The SuperUniti with the Focal Diablo Utopia was a surprise discovery when I was still in the business. This happened in the showroom: No sane person wouldāve done this given the price differential then. But now, with pre-owned units availableā¦
Hereās how: The speakers gave the SU the speed it lacked, the SU gave the speakers the drive of bigger amps that it craved, the dull top of the SU was offset by the speakers beryllium tweeters, and I used the standard mains lead and 5.5m long A5 cables.
It was good in that you didnāt feel like substituting SU for a 282/250 solution.
Outside this NDX1/Nait Xs2 is lovely lovely lovely.
8 Likes
A lot of younger folk now are renting rather than buying property, changing jobs more often and relocating more often as a consequence. Thereās a limit to how much system and speaker youāll fit into many apartments (in Ireland anyway, I imagine in the U.K. too) My current main system of SU, Rega RP1 and P3ESRs would easily fit in a car.
3 Likes
Even on the system thread Iāve seen few speakers which ādominateā a room other than in those rooms designated for the sole purpose of enjoying music. Equally few people here with 6/7 boxes (and Iām one of them) have 1 stack so footprint is a consideration.
With extra boxes comes the complexity of cable arrangements; keeping track of servicing/recaps and with less boxes comes the additional complexity of devices like an SN3 or a Nova/NDX2. Nothing comes for free and no one route is objectively better than the other.
1 Like
Box count isnāt all about footprint. Looking at pictures in the System Pics thread Iām not at all keen on boxes piled high, they look ungainly and like others have said the cables start to become a bit ratās nest. So itās not just footprint - too tall isnāt a good look. And the more boxes there are, the more it costs. Iād rather not spend a fortune to live in what looks like a dealerās demo room, when a more civilised system at a more sensible cost can give something close to the same end result. Everyone makes compromises or weād all have a Statement. For me thatās the compromise.
4 Likes
Thought Iād join in
Iām a minimalist the TT is my only source
I have a mere 13 boxes not including TT and speakers
Yep, Iām threadbare
Lyndon
4 Likes
I have a mate who is allowed to buy as many boxes as he likes with two strict rules:
- No rack! Not ever. Not up for debate.
- Electronics must be in champagne gold.
This isnāt all that unusual. People would often come into the shop with their partners and get an ever evolving rule set of things not allowed. I never ceased to be amazed how little say most blokes have in their own home (like nil). And itās not like all significant others who make these rules are bastians of good taste and style. If weāre being brutally honest.
3 Likes
I am lucky enough to have a dedicated listening room and the rule there is that SWMBO can make suggestions but the final word remains mine (thatās the only room of the house where the rule applies!)
To me concentrating on the number of boxes is putting the cart in front of the horse. I determine what kind of sound / music I can get for my budget, and the number of boxes is the result.
I recently home demoed a Gryphon Diablo 120 because I wanted to see how a praised integrated compared to my 552/300, not to reduce the number of boxes from 4 to 1. Turns out the 120 couldnāt get close to my system (which is normal based on the MSRPs) and the Naim stays.
Claude
1 Like
I look at systems ( and rooms ) like Lintonās and that is when I have a drool.
I think you can increase the box count or you can get synergy , which after 30 years or so , I really understood for the first time in February .
I do appreciate that these mega box systems sound superb but it is a function v form debate especially in the context of size of the room.
There is a lovely system at the moment in System Pics from a member in Andora , it is big but in proportion to the room.
Itās a personal thing of course but Iāve always disliked the piles of black boxes, no matter how carefully theyāve been racked and placed. Iāve recently managed to reduce my box count considerably, with no obvious reduction in listening pleasure.
Hereās the thing - when you get your first genuinely hi-fi Naim (other makes are available) system, it sounds pretty wonderful, and you spend a great deal of time deriving great pleasure from it. You then start upgrading, and each change brings added improvements in sound quality. But even if youāve maxed out on the very best feasible system, do you really think you cannot go back and recapture your previous levels of enjoyment? Does your super-duper system really give you a great deal more pleasure than the original one?
12 Likes
I have 9 boxes plus the turntable on two stacks of full fraim and large floor standing speakers.
They take up alot of room for sure. Personally I really like the boxes, with a mix of black, olive and chrome bumper.
I was up to 11 boxes temporarily then sold the CDS2 and XPS!
Might buy another to go back to 11 again.
A very personal preference. I have had a minimalist lounge before with all boxes and cables hidden.
It depends on the look that you want and the sound.
I could downsize to a smaller box count but Iām not prepared to make that compromise right now.
1 Like
Spendor provided a custom finish to match my furniture so fit in nicely. The LP12 plinth almost matches too. I doubt if a visitorās attention would be drawn to the HiFi.
Upstairs is a bit different and Magnepan speakers do draw attention themselves. They are incredible value for money speakers as you are not paying for woodworking. The cabinet takes up a fair bit of the speaker cost - so no cabinet means less cost. They are light enough to move back against the wall when not in use.
I feel another thread coming on related to Box Count
Show us yer remotes !!!
Strictly for masochists only ā¦
1 Like
I love the āchampagneā criteria, thatās gonna limit choice quite a bit!
1 Like
Accuphase. DAC, pre and power. Side by side on a sideboard.
Replaced champagne gold Yamaha.
I guess the answer to that lies in the fact that pleasure derived out of listening to ones favourite music cannot be measured and is independent if the number of boxes or hardwareā¦
Sometimes there is a tendency to think an increased capacity to peer into or resolve the music ( demonstrated by increased hardware investment ) should automatically lead to higher levels of enjoyment which isā¦
To each his / her ownā¦
I decided to explore one/fewer box options, the issue I found is that the vast majority of high end integrated amps are super deepā¦ which present new challenges, eg. Really deep rack requirements.
I concluded that Naimās approach is to use separate boxes, others is to use really big boxesā¦ Naim won for convenience for me!