Yes. 300dr to Sonus Faber Olympica Nova 2s. Very happy.
Preferred to Phantoms. Morganas for everything else signal.
KS-1 have been described by some as a genuine audio bargain.
Interested to hear feedback on the Spectres when deliveries start.
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I have read this thread with some interest as I have been considering WH Phantoms to connect my Nait XS2 & Flatcap combination to a pair of Proac D20Rs. The D20s are prone to a bit of bass boom, which has been partially cured by the addition of some Isoacoustic feet. I considered the N2 but presumed that the Phantom would be a step up. Does anyone have a view on this?
I cannot comment on the WH Phantoms but I did have a Nait XS 2 with ProAc D2D speakers using Iain NAC A5 cables and thought the music was fantastic!
Kudos KS-1 to Spendor D7.2s in my system. Phantoms are a great cable but seem to have a congested midrange in my set-up compared to the KS-1.
Across this topic it seems like the Phantoms have a lot of supporters and others who haven’t had success with it. Like much hifi gear the outcome seems to depend on the equipment, room, and your own ears and I’m afraid none of us can guarantee it will work for you.
I believe WH offers a 28 day money back guarantee, but you should check that.
Personally I’m very happy with mine.
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Hi Harleyandy,
We have pretty much similar systems.
From my experience what you have identified is your room’s influence on your system.
Changes in cables, power, electronics, isolation, even room treatments etc. unfortunately will not fully totally cure this but there is a solution…
For example, in my room I too have a strong peak frequency in sub bass at c38hz (room 4.6m at longest).
I used a UMIK1 (c£130) and free REW (Room Equalisation Wizard) software to measure then followed some completely free instructions on Youtube to “correct” from an extremely knowledgeable chap known as OCA (Obsessive Compulsive Audiophile) you can google this to look at process, feedback etc.
Before spending anymore money trying to address your identified issue I’d have a look at this.
Best of luck on your journey whatever way you decide to go. KRs,
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Thanks for that. You are very probably right about the room influence, it is all hard floors and unforgiving walls. I will check out your suggestions, because if nothing else it will be a useful exercise. The irritating thing of course, is that it doesn’t affect all music equally. I just moved the speakers fractionally and am listening to Pink Floyd´s The Wall and it sounds fantastic, nice deep bass, solid soundstage, etc. However, Max Richter´s Sleep is still plagued by bass boom.
I think that a cable upgrade is needed as I am still using the Chord Rumour2 cables that were running my Epos ES11s. Not a bad cable but I think they probably don’t do the ProAcs justice.
Some sympathetic room treatment should make a considerable difference. Transformed my listening experience.
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I now have a 500 system that has sorted out the bass boom that plagued me for years. Basically the NAP 500 was a game changer!
Maybe The KS-1 is an option. Originally I had NAC5 cable as my default speaker cable. A re-arrangement of the room required a 7.5m run of cable and a new run of cable. Enter WH N2 and it’s flexibility. The difference was immediate and pleasant Naimness (new word). The NAC5 sounding thick and warm compared with the N2. The N2 stayed.
The Phantom arrived two years later plus an additional length of 1m. Greater detail and depth of sound stage. All the benefits of N2 but including that extra Naimness. The Phantoms stayed.
I don’t recognise the description of darker than the N2s, they seem richer and detailed without any extra brightness. That appealed to me.
I must say when I auditioned Kudos speakers, I was less than impressed by their pesentation. Exciting, dynamic but way too bright and, to my ears, lacking the midrange flesh on-the-bone I like with vocals. Clearly I’m not a Kudos customer.
Love the WH Phantoms however.
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I guess having had a nice Christmas break, WH will have to review some of their range with Naim cables now?
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Hi Harleyandy,
Yes agree “bass boom” is not present on all tracks.
I have employed virtual bass array and inverted convolution filters only (not rephase and excess phase) as these directly deal with sub bass/bass peaks and help smooth the frequency response.
Without sounding like a Naim fanboy I use 2x5m NACA5 and find it works well, keeps Nait very cool and presents frequency range without edge so ideal for long listening sessions.
I’m not familiar with Max Richter but listened to first couple of tracks on Sleep with and without the REW filters above and according to my ears do highlight the benefits of this sort of DSP. To be clear there was still boom with NACA5 without filter but not when filters engaged.
I have passive bass traps but they do nothing for sub bass peaks - actives traps would be the ideal solution but at around £2k a pop are not that feasible for entry level gear.
If you have a UMIK1/REW already and have a convolution engine i.e Roon trying the DSP filters is no brainer providing you have some time to spare.
Good luck and give me a shout if you have any further questions.
Hi Dalmatian, I am surprised at your sound findings as mine replaced Nordost Red Dawn, which at the time were considered bright speaker cables. I found the WitchHat were even more extended at the frequency extremes but in a more natural and controlled way.
Have you tried moving the speakers a bit, I moved them a little and altered the toe in which made better use of the the extended frequency range - especially at the bass end.
I also use WitchHat Morgana interconnects which I found a revelation after the standard Naim ones. I changed the interconnects first.
Best wishes Amer
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As a supplement to what @Tapp suggests above - i.e. using convolution filters through Roon, if you use Roon - you can use the excellent services provided by Thierry at Home Audio Fidelity. Using a USB mic, you take measurements in your room with the software he provides, send the result to Theirry, and he provides you with custom convolution filters which he can further customize with your input. If you search HAF or Home Audio Fidelity you will find several of us are very happy users of his filters. An amazing result for a very modest cost.
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Naca5 is indeed a fat sounding cable. I’m curious about the KS-1 which based on what I read could be a great match in my room and system. Cannot buy it on trial where I live though but could be worth taking a chance. Compared to naca5 I would like some less bass. Some better definition on bass and bit more air and details in mids and highs. Or I change speakers which today adds to that sound signature (Warmish Tannoys). It never easy is it 
Recently gone back to naca5 after phantom and the fat bass suits my atc SCM11s better. Not noticed and faults with mid and highs other then the treble is slightly less explicit than the phantom which again suits the atc voicing
Thanks for your reply, I did try a bit of repositioning of the speakers but it made little difference, the sound was so far off.
I have moved the Phantoms on and bought another pair of N2s and they are superb, I was never unhappy with them it’s just the Phantoms reviews promised so much more. I’m really disappointed they didn’t work for me as I love the N2s, but it shows the importance of having a home trial as not all “upgrades” work.
From what I’ve read the PMC 24 can be rather bass heavy so I understand if Phantom can be bit too much there. It’s as most often a matter of synergy between many parts, room and taste. Everyone is right, everyone is wrong 
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Even though I enjoyed the NACA5 for decades to me the Phantoms offered so much more over the Naim cable, the Phantom is a fit and forget cable I own two pairs one on the end of a Nait2 the other a NAP300
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Maybe try a dealer further away and seeing if they would post them? Hopefully wouldn’t cost too much in postage and you could maybe offer a refundable security deposit or something. Cymbiosis makes up ks1 cable and has a demo set they posted to me.
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