Morning, who’s still using IBL’s in 2026 as their main speaker ?
I’ve just purchased a really clean example in cherry and i’m looking to build a system around them, My father had a pair back in the day and they sounded superb…. i’ve been up and down the Naim heirarchy over the years and this is my last run at it !!
What system are you partnering them with and how do they continue to earn their place in your system when they are clearly getting on a little and ‘new kids’ are on the block ?
How are you keeping them running - what servicing and repair options exist (drivers / Crossovers)
I’m not expecting DBL bass clearly but are they completely bass shy to the extent where by modern speaker standards they’re not viable for music with a driving bass.
I have the obligatory solid wall to place them right in front of a room is 5x4.5m (high ceilings and carpeted suspended wooden floors)
Proposed system currently sits at Rega Saturn Mk3 / 83/HC/either 250 or 135’s / IBL’s
would the 135’s be hugely beneficial ?
Is this just romantical nonsense….. or am I building a great system for years to come
Not me these days but I have tried a couple of pairs in the past.
First, I don’t think your project is romantic nonsense. Second, people tend to go on about amplifier power with IBLs, but I think this is a misdirection. IMO it is very much worth considering source quality, and bearing in mind that when IBLs were designed, from what I gather the source in vogue at the factory was a Valhalla LP12 with Supex MC. I don’t know your Rega Saturn, but I suspect it could be very good.
Hope the IBLs work out. I was going to say nice speakers. They are, but probably better to say uncompromising. Imagine someone who doesn’t suffer fools gladly. If IBLs were people, they’d be the same.
With speakers you absolutely have to hear for yourself. What one person may think is wonderful another may find so bad as to be unlistenable, and reviews other than rare comparative reviews tell you nothing unless you know you know that the particular reviewers always feel the same as you about every speaker they review, including finding poor speakers poor.
Also do not presume more modern speakers are necessarily better - they simply may be, or they may not be. And in general speakers happily for decades unless something happens to damage the driver or crossover, like a switch-on thump from wronful power up order or connecting incorrectly, and fortunately any such damage is almost always clearly audible. Capacitors in crossovers can deteriorate - or potentially could be upgraded, but depending on type it is entirely possible to still perform correctly after 30 years or more.- and whilst I don’t know about the IBL, if the crossover is accessible, whether via the terminal panel or through a speaker hole etc, recapping of most speakers is a simple job for anyone handy with a soldering iron.
As for the IBL’s bass, it depends what you want/expect/are accustomed to: My brother in law had a pair when I first knew him, and when he proudly played his system to me I disappointed him by being rather unimpressed (where’s the bass?). But then I came from using IMF TLS50ii full range transmission line speakers. (He later heard my system, and when I upgraded to IMF’s top model he grabbed my TLS50s.)
I love IBLs and the 135s would be worthwhile if you can swing it, although 82-52 might ultimately be a more rewarding way to dole out the budget. I made both upgrades with IBLs when I owned them, although the best was then they were on the end of a 552DR/500DR whilst I awaited new speakers - no one who heard that would say they cannot do bass!
FWIW however, I am not sure that yours are cherry. I seem to recall being told that they came in walnut, black and piano black - I have always fancied a pair of the latter. This was however when they were a current speaker, so memory may well be playing me false here! Certainly however, the mkII pair I had were walnut and a very pale walnut at that.
I think you’re right about the cherry… Walnut is probably more likely, they’ve matured to a lovely shade whatever they are ! from a little bit of digging it would appear they’re from 1990 so Mk1 but they’ve been upgraded to the Mk2 spec - when I don’t know but the drivers appear to be in perfect condition (I was able to hear them prior to purchase - albeit very sub-optimally) so i’m confident all is as it should be… the overall condition is unbelievably good and the drivers look absolutly pristine so i’m hoping they were a very late update to MK2 spec and I can enjoy them for many years to come ! I’d love to hear them on the end of a 500 system or active 300 system that would be a fun listen i’d imagine, for now i’ll have to make do with the 82/HC/250
Owned for 35 years, and still sounding very enjoyable used with NC332 / NPX300 / NAP350 x 2. Updated to Mk2 by naim in the early nineties, I replaced the tweeters 3 years ago with the same Scanspeak model.
Changed the spikes to Stack Audio AUVA 50 Isolators last year, which has been an excellent improvement, adding to the musical enjoyment.
The higher power amplifiers benefit them greatly, though when I was only using a NAC332 with a NAP250DR the extra information and deeper soundstage was already remarkable.
thanks Jeff…. which drivers are they ? Early Mk2 or the later in-house drivers ? It would appear mine may have been updated to Mk2 spec but my drivers look different to yours sir ! Wonderful system you have there, what were you using before the move to the new stuff ?
it’s magical to think that with that system you’re still using these old girls and happy with them above all the newer stuff you could be using !
I really don’t know which Mk2 bass drivers they are → I took them to the factory in Salisbury to be updated in the middle of the day and they were ready to be collected later the same afternoon! Though I do recall this was quite a while after the upgrade was introduced.
My recent system history can be found here →
Before all that, I did have an olive naim system, and I started with chrome bumper of course!
I’ve had IBL’s in the past, many years ago now. I used them for 17 years with various Naim CD players, starting with a CD3 and going right up to a CDS3, via CDX and CDX/XPS. Amplification started with slimline 92/90 and ended up at 252/Supercap/olive 250.
They are superb speakers and better than the SBL’s IMO. Extremely fast and musically engaging. Just a few observations based on my experiences. Firstly they sounded absolutely fine with the 92/90, which is basically a Nait 3 in two boxes, but they sounded so much better with the 252/250. The bigger amp really fills out the bass and adds weight and drive. I would say use them with the best Naim amps you can. It’s impossibe to overdo it. They are good enough to reveal the benefits of top class Naim amps.
The bass is lightweight but extremely fast, agile, musically informative and much deeper than you would expect from their size. They don’t produce a very large scale sound, certainly not as large as SBL’s. But they are faster IMO.
They need to be hard up against a solid wall or they just won’t sound right. About source. They were really designed to sound best with the Linn LP12 - they hail very much from the analogue era. They sounded great with my Naim CD players, but I’m sure they would have sounded much better with the Linn. I don’t know about your Rega Saturn. I’ve no experience of it but I suspect it won’t be a match made in heaven. I would want a Naim CD player if I wasn’t using the LP12.
So I would say that your proposed system is a good one for amplification but I would get a Naim CD player if you can. There are still some new CD5si’s available. They sounded fine with my CD3 so it should be OK. I use a CD5si with JBL 4309’s and a Nait 50 and it’s an excellent player.
Thanks for your post, it’s great to hear your experiences with the IBL’s
The Rega Saturn is a warm and analogue soynding CD player that I know reasonably well, it’s entirely possible I’ll pick up a CDS3/XPS2DR at some stage but the Saturn appealed as it has a dac I can ‘up-scale’ my streaming until I decide on the direction of travel with my source…. I may go with LP12 yet
I’ve heard SBL’s a few times at shows and a dealers. Both times they sounded slow and ponderous to me compared to my IBL’s. They certainly do scale a lot better though and obviously have more bass weight and depth. But to me they just lack the IBL’s speed and agility, which I had fallen in love wth. I’ve never heard DBL’s but apparently they sound like IBL’s that have serious bass and scale, rather than like larger SBL’s.
Slow and ponderous is not how I would describe SBLs IME, not even when compared to the IBL.
I have heard the DBLs and, to my ears, they sound like the SBLs only bigger (in a good way). For me though, the extra scale that of the DBLs was always a nice to have rather than a must have.
I still own IBL’s MK1 in a second system with CDX2 -2/Xps Dr/202/HC/200 but i also tried in other rooms with CB and 500 amps, not so extrovert like nSat or Linn Kan, but still among the best today.
It reminds me of the time I was at DevB’s place and we compared IBLs against Kans and N-Sats. In short, the Kans won the day fronted by the LP12 and the n-Sats won when fronted by the digital front end. The IBLs were somewhere in the middle whether lp12 or digital, but I did feel they preferred the former.
