Any of the Franco Serblin speakers would be exotic. They would look incredible and sound great.
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A very high end or ‘exotic’ speaker can and will reveal lots of detail in the supplied signal chain. In my experience with the Nova, good as it is, it has its limitations particularly in detail resolution and bass reproduction and these issues can be exposed by a very revealing speaker, so yes, you can indeed have a speaker that is too ‘good’. A transistor radio feeding a high end speaker is never going to work satisfactorily. Match the speaker well as HH has done is his setup and you can have a very enjoyable system. It’s all about synergy.
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I’ve been auditioning a pair of Wilson Benesch Precision P.2 (from The Audiobarn) for the last couple of weeks and have been very, very impressed with them.
The stereo imaging and soundstage are so realistic.
I get the impression they deliver exactly what goes into them without any colouration whatsoever.
They also look really good and weigh in at 110lbs each!
I’d previously had Kudos Titan 606 for a couple of weeks and I fell in love with them - so that’s what I’ve ordered - being delivered and installed next week.
But it was a very close call.
I felt the Kudos had some similar characteristics to my old KEF 104.2 which I’ve had for 35 yrs and I think I was drawn to that similarity.
If that hadn’t been the case, there’s no doubt I’d have gone for the Wilson Benesch.
Listening to Tchaikovsky Symphony 6, 1st movement the violins seemed ethereal with the Kudos, the sound was floating in the air exactly where it should be.
I found the WB a little harsh in the upper mid-range.
Good luck with your search.
I remember reading that if you wanted to get a pair of Tannoy Westminsters going the original Nait would do the job, at the cost of some hiss, until you could afford something better with valves. Not sure how true that was and Tannoy are not a known good match for Naim generally, though, I believe someone here has Cheviots.
A Westminster is pretty exotic and the Nova is quiet so add that to your long list.
You haven’t given a budget, nor physical constraints. How about Tannoy Westminster Royals?
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I’d agree with @HungryHalibut -try your speakers first and see what your ears say.
I know a Nova works well with Linn Keilidhs and brilliantly with Neat Iota Alphas in a vaguely suitable room. It also works surprisingly well with Shahinian Compasses.
In a different room, with a different listener, the right answer may well be different.
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In my honest opinion Reference 3A Dulcet.
A good fairly well designed standmount that has a good record with valve powered low wattage amps.
A coherent design with no crossover that should make good use of the Nova.
Exotic in the sense that you would definitely have to make some considerable effort to actually get your hands on a pair.
Exotic in that you may well be the only person on the planet to have this pairing.
To me that wouldn’t hold me back, but something to get excited about.
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These are not “exotic” speakers, simply expensive (by most standards). Given their specifications, the Nova should have no problem driving them. I doubt very much if you would hear much or any difference driving them with a more powerful amplifier.
I demo’d the 3A Dulcet a few years back, they sound great, but severely lack bass (4 inch driver).You would need a sub with them. I also owned Taksim Reference 3A’s, which definitely do not need a sub… wish I could get my hands on another pair of those.
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I don’t want to turn this into the 'what are you listening to" thread but I currently have this on at loud volume behind me
and played through my my Neat’s
and NAC N-172
it sounds fantastic
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“Exotic” and “High End” are useless undefined words often used here and there.
It makes no sense to me.
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True, and given the ability of a Nova, probably best not to spend too much. KEF LSX??
I had to downsize from a full-fat 500DR system to a Nova, but could not part with my PMC Fact 12 speakers. The Nova drives them ok, even though they are not an easy load. Do they sound as good as with the 500 system - no. Do they present a sound stage with balanced sound, good bass and accurate vocals, so acceptable sound - yes.
As others have said, try your existing speakers with the Nova to see if they sound “good enough”. If they do, problem solved. If not, you have some options to choose from.
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Whilst I suggested Tannoy Westminster Royal, it does of course depend where you live, as exotic means from far away. So if you live in Germany (going by your user name) or UK, search out New Zealand speakers for the most exotic (furthest).
Ascend Acoustics $1500 Sierra LX sounds great on a Naim Star at my son’s house. They have a mild bass hump and sound great in his big room… These are available factory direct with a 30 day return period from a California factory. You might get extended dating in the UK; surely they don’t have many over there. I bet they would rock on a Nova. My Proac Tab 10 Signatures sound much more polite off the Nait 50 in my small room at home.
I don’t know the Nova, but I am using Falcon LS3/5As with my new NAIT50, and it’s a great combination.
The BBC got it right with the spec for those speakers 50-odd years ago.
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And I still don’t know what less means. I wouldn’t want B&W for free, but taste is taste. I would pair a Nova with some Harbeth, preferably the SHL5.
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Any 3-way Harbeth I’ve heard, had difficulties performing the basnotes without smear and sort of slowness boom.
They won’t work very well in Europe mid-sized rooms, as distance to rear wall and furnitures need to be stupid long.
Having loudspeakers 1.5 meter out would be impossible for most average families.
Harbeth’s mids are fine, hence I prefer their 2-way choices if not Graham loudspeakers.
It’s perhaps worth reiterating that the OP’s question is ‘is the Nova good enough for my B&W 805 D4 speakers?’ To which the answer is obviously ‘try it and decide’. The Nova will get noise out of most speakers out there, it’s finding a copacetic combination that’s important.
I thought the OP’s question was ‘What’s the most exotic speaker I could use with a Nova?’
Hence my suggestion of Harbeth.
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