It’s very tempting…It might upset the nice balance I have on my rack, Nait 2 for quiet and 250/hicap/32.5 for loud!
This new interloper might upset the old timers.
Buying a Nait 50 for my 50th does have a nice symmetry to it though…we could grow old together
Ok update, no I decided Dynaudio Evokes and the Super40s were not for me… all sounded nice… but mids lacking for my tastes and ultimately not grabbing my attention which grated after extended home demoing… and possibly smothered some of the sonic goodness from the DAVE.
I miss my ATC sound, just would like a smidge more musical warmth, and more noticeable bass extension compared to the 19s, but still want that ATC style beautiful smooth and extended highs and super fast mids … so listening to the diminutive Russell K Red 50 22… liked them at the dealer’s, now trying at home, they are quite surprising for their size… yeah they seem to tick more boxes than the Dynaudios, they image remarkably well and sonically disappear as well as really groove and rock at reasonable volume levels… let’s see if I still enjoy them in 7 days time.
could you not value engineer it in a way that it turns a profit if you mfg (and sell), say…1,973 units?
Be interested to hear how you get on. I have always liked Russell K speakers, but felt i would not be able to live with them for long. Just a bit too much up front and attention grabbing for the long haul.
My local dealer had it on Black Friday offer with 20% off.
I wonder why they are not sold out long ago - even the hamper price level,
given the excellent reviews it received, likely one of the best Naits ever it seems.
Gazza, indeed that is how I remembered the Russell K RED 100, but the 50s seem different at least with the Nait50… there is no forwardness what so ever with the Nait50… whether it’s a system matching thing or what I don’t know… they really are sounding beguiling… right now… listening to my favourite cathedral chorister albums… I used to be a chorister in my youth and that emotional hair tingling feeling of singing in a cathedral has never left me … to me one of the acid test of a replay system…for super fast mids and pristine treble… get it wrong and it can be distant, un involving, unintelligible and with smeary sibilance every where…
Well i have to say-not tried the 50,s or any at home, which is the litmus test. I like Russell Kaufman had many good chats with him and would liked to have bought one of his products👍
When I auditioned the Russell K 50s quite a while ago I remember thinking they were fun and good value for money. In the end I went for some ProAc DB1s as I thought they had similar qualities but were more refined. They are well worth a listen although presumably your dealer is Signals and unfortunately they don’t stock them.
Yes enjoying the refinement of the 50s whilst still having bite but no grit… yes if I wind the wick really high… not only am I amazed small speakers can sound so good so loud, but I do notice a bit of congestion in the upper mids…but at normal loud levels everything seems clear and dynamic…
It’s the balanced bass extension that has me scratching my head, as well as the imaging… that is phenomenal … wasn’t expecting that at all… voices sound so natural and sublime with the Nait50… Alastair @ Signals popped his head around the door surprised at how good voices were sounding… ‘sounding rather agreeable’ was his description…with a smile on his face and that was with a TT2 (they had just sold their demo DAVE), with my DAVE at home it’s even more ‘agreeable’
Same here, his demos at the Signals show were always a highlight as was the informative talks Rob Watts gave.
Will have to go to a hifi show again one day. Be interesting to see if Maurice Tryner is still playing Public Service Broadcasting and Rega still have a nice selection of biscuits in there demo room.
Mo is always good to chat to as well.
Not sure I have ever chatted with him. Who does he represent?
Is Dave……no more?. I know there is an Ultima dac coming next-year with even more “taps”
Same as Maurice Tryner……Mo or Moz
Sorry misunderstood.
Anyway am going off topic so better leave it there.
No I think DAVE is still DAVE, they were ordering a new demo I believe and had sold the current demo one to a punter as it was 12 months old or similar…
Yes DAVE hasn’t a huge number of filter kernel values (taps) compared to some but uses its specific windowing function.
FIR filters use a relationship balance between taps and windowing function… ie more taps isn’t automatically better beyond a certain size for a given windowing function, and the windowing function is tuned to the number of taps… to some extent.
I spoke to 2 Naim dealers at the weekend. Both had doubts that a smaller series (under 200 series as a successor to the XS series) will be coming next year. In this price range it is becoming increasingly difficult for individual components because the Unit series sells well and sounds good. Nevertheless, there is a gap between the Nova and the new Classic 200, but in the end it’s all speculation. Even dealers only hear about new devices at very short notice. Atom Headphone Edition saw both primarily as a headphone device and only secondarily as a preamp. A matching small Naim power amplifier would be a surprise and the NC 250 is a great power amplifier, but the overall price would be too much for the Atom HE. I took note of this, even though there are many positive experiences with the Atom HE as a preamp here in the forum.
I then had a demo of the Nait50 with ND5XS2 and with Tannoy Turnberry loudspeakers and standard cables. The Nait50 sounded very open, high resolution and powerful (definitely more than my Uniti Atom) with better control. We then switched to the NDX2. The difference was not night and day, more in the detail. However, the longer I listened, the more it became clear that everything faded out better, that the resolution of details was improved and that the overall sound was calmer and much more relaxed than with the ND5XS2. However, we can discuss whether the significantly higher price is justified. NDX2 demo units are hardly available for less than 5k. Then at the weekend I saw an ND5XS2 from a private seller at a favourable price. So I couldn’t resist and bought it. I also ordered a Nait50 from the dealer, which should be delivered next week. So it was an eventful weekend and I’m curious to see how it will sound in my listening room.
You’ve not wasted the weekend it seems!: )
Should be a great combination and a safe bet, I’ve noticed a few members here already using the ND5XS2 + the Nait 50 and rating it highly.
But I would imagine you are excited to find out how the Nait 50 and your speakers will hit it off at first play! Have fun and tell us how good it sounds!
Yes, I’m very curious to see how the interaction with the speakers and the room will be. I have my own listening room with GIK Room Acoustic treatment. My speakers are Vienna Acoustics Haydn, which are not so common in the forum. I bought them 3 years ago together with the Atom. I had compared them with Sonus Faber Sonetto 2 and B&W 706 and they sounded the best to my ears. But they are speakers in the 2.5k class. Now I will start with the Viennas that I have. Maybe an upgrade will come later. But I will only buy speakers if I have heard them in my system and my room beforehand. The differences and dependencies are greatest with speakers.
Enjoy, I am sure you will love your Nait50… I haven’t heard your speakers, but if you heard your system demoed already it sounds like on sound footings.
The Nait50 really is quite a remarkable amp… it ranks right up there as one of my all time favourites… and if you later upgrade your source, the Nait50 will relish it.