HI-FI is a strange hobby. As there is a lot passion involved it happens more often than not that entrants into this world do not listen to the more experienced lads but rather spend a lot of money and learn the hard (more expensive way)...
Unfortunately I'm one of those...
Two years ago I've got a pair of Dynaudio Focus 140 because I liked them so much and started building the system around the speakers. After a lot (actually 6 different amps - all mid-fi with Rega Mira 3 being the best) my latest try is Nait 5i .
As much as most of you will argue that the 5i is not man enough for the Focus 140 I have to say that this is actually the first time for me to actually listen to my speakers play music. The current setup plays waaaay better than anything else I had so far.
The setup is :
Naim Nait 5i NACA5 Focus 140
ROTEL RCD 1072 Kimber PBJ (before you say anything about the source just to let you know that Naim CD5i is already on the way so the Rotel goes away and the Kimber inteconects as well will be replaced with Naim DIN interconects)
So that's it, I have quite a lot fidelity at home now but as you may imagine the fact that this could/should be better bothers me a lot.
Therefore the question, where to go from here ?
1. As I'm sick of changing amplifiers the only possible option will be to maybe somehow upgrade the Nait with a power amp. Can it be used with let's say NAP 250 ?
2. Once again as I'm sick of changing amps so this time maybe the speakers will go away as much as I like them ! In my town I only have the possibility to demo the B&W (I can bring it home from the dealer). What B&W 's ? - probably I will get more synergy but ...
*Will lets say CM1 be a good match for the Nait 5i and what will I get/loose comparing to my current speakers ? *Will there be a significant lost in the details , resolution etc as Focus 140 is a better speakers than the CM series ? *Any other (tried) B&W suggestions ?
In a wider area where I live I can also get Totems and ProAc's but unfortunately I can not listen to them in my home as demo.
Any advice from you guys will be highly welcomed. Thanks god for this forum !
Friendly regards from Macedonia !
P.S My music taste is very eclectic and I enjoy wide variety of stuff, however most of the preference goes to jazz (swing and bebop era) as well as the timeless classics recordings (such as RCA Red seal editions) and new recordings of some baroque music (Linn records editions for example).
Speakers to look at with your setup that are popular with Naim gear are the Totem, PMC, Audio Physic and Sonus Faber lines. Frank will be along soon (probably next work week) to help answer your questions. He has by far the most experience working with your gear. Meanwhile I'm not sure I read why you are looking for speakers. Didn't you say you like what the Nait is doing with your Dyn's?
It's difficult to tell someone where to go if you don't know where they want to be headed. I once took a trip where I just drove until it stopped raining. It was a quite enjoyable trip in the end but that's probably not how you want to go about this whole affair.
Where do you want to get to, ZL? And why isn't your current system taking you there?
"Where do you want to get to, ZL? And why isn't your current system taking you there? "
Good point Jan! I never said that I really know what my system should be.
The fact is that I like my current setup a lot, but it bothers me that it might be better because of the fact that my amp is not quite a match for the speakers.
What I look forward is an optimal match between the amp and the speakers, a sound which I will enjoy, and a situation when I will know that the next step to better sound is a change of the whole setup and not a single component. I think that I will be happy enough at that point.
To summarize, I'm looking for either a "perfect" speakers for the electronics I own, or a "perfect" amplification for the speakers I own (in the Naim range, because I like the Naim presentation more than anything else I've heard so far)
Then I would assume the most logical choice would be to buy Naim speakers. Otherwise, the Dynaudios are going to require large amounts of current from any amplifier. Large amounts of current and good sound in one package doesn't come cheap. Alternatively, you could opt for a speaker that is easier to drive by any amplifier, then your electronics choices broaden to virtually any truly good amplifier.
You've made your selection in speakers but I, for one, have never understood the idea of speakers that demand so much from an amplifier that most amplifiers cannot succeed at the task. It seems illogical to me to force an amplifier to be capable of arc welding just to enjoy music.
ZL, have you looked into a sub N sat from Naim? That might be worth looking into. I have not heard them, I don't know if they are on this side of the pond, but again...drum roll...Frank A will be along here tonight, see what he thinks. Fine chap.
You like what the system is doing but you want to change it. I think you're suffering from 'butwhatifis?'. If you like it, that should be good enough. Yes, it's true a Nait5i is not really man enough to drive such difficult speakers, but if you're lucky enough that in your environment, the combination works, then enjoy.
Certainly whatever you do, do NOTHING until your CD5i has arrived and has run in completely. This means taking a few weeks of just enjoying the music. At the end of that, if you find that the system lets you down or just doesn't press your buttons, then reconsider, but if you find that you're really enjoying the system then just enjoy...!
Now you were asking about amplification for such a difficult speaker. The minimum Naim amplifier that drives 140s well is the 200. In order to match up to a 200, you 'should' be in the 202 preamp and CD5x (or preferable CDX2) level. This is the problem with going with speakers first. In this case, the restriction is based on the difficulty of the speaker load rather than the quality of the speaker itself. for example a CDX2/202/200 is more naturally associated with speakers like Dynaudio's 220, Naim's Allae or Totem's Hawk.
So the alternative is a different speaker, but I don't think you want to 'go there' since you really like what the Dynaudios do well, and changing speakers is difficult since it means a change in the voice of the system.
You've helped me a lot for settling my mind a little bit
I will wait for the CD player and give it a good listen to. If it sounds substantially better than now (and it should hopefully) than I will stay with Focus 140 and the current amp. It seems that I'm lucky enough (as Frank noted) that the combination works well in my environment.
I have only tried the 68x series. In my opinion the B&Ws all have too much bass. I just don't like the presentation and I accept that there are many people who would prefer the B&Ws over other solutions precisely because of that bass.
I have not tried the B&W 805S. Not sure how that would sound, but if the B&Ws continue with their 'warmth over articulation' presentation, then I can't see how it would work well. Naim amps drive the bass along strongly so it's not a natural match in my view.
I would look at things like the Totems (Arros are particularly good combination) and ProAcs and if available how about Naim's own N-Sat? The n-Sat is one of the most engaging speakers on the market. Yes, they do not have 'a lot of' bass but what they have is very fast, very tight and in my opinion the bass goes nicely deep. In the future, you could look at the Naim n-Sub as an addition using the high level connections and this will give most speakers a real run for their money, irrespective of price.
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