Advice sought on speaker upgrade for Naim entry system

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I am currently running a Naim cd5i and 5i amp with B&W CM1 speakers. This is in a room approx 5 x 7m. The speakers are placed either side of a fireplace which projects into the room. approx 15cm to the near fireplace side wall , 1 m+ to the room side walls with approx 70 cm to rear wall.

I tend to listen to jazz, accoustic type music,female vocalist, and some rock, (very little classical). At the time of purchase the CM1 wereex demo a good buy and kept the total purchase cost within budget.

Is there any rule of thumb on how much one should spend on speakers relative to the amp /cd ?

I am tempted to look for a nice pair of discreet fllorstanders, in the £1000 to £1,500 range, but is this overspend relative to the rest? and will I hear a significant improvement in sound quality (the CM1 are not shabby)? Clearly I will demo speakers fist before this cash outlay, but would be keen to here your experience and our advice.

Reading all the notes on the form here, I see lots of good reviews on Spendor 5 series and the Neat Motives2 and or SE edition.

Regards Neil
 

roger06

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I use (stand mount) Dynaudio Audience 52SEs with my Naim pairing. These were the most expensive of the trio £950 vs about £700 - £800 ish for each Naim box.

Given that you want floor standers I'd say your budget is spot on - even at the top end. In addition, if your speakers are 'above' your source it allows future flexibility if you want to upgrade the Naim boxes (replacing them I mean).

If I was looking to upgrade to floorstanders - I'd probably look at something like a Spendor A5 or, as I love the Dyaudio sound, I'd look at the Excite X32s - although these may be too expensive?

And are you using Naim speaker cable?
 
Depending on your budget, PMC DB1s sound very nice with Naim. However, if your budget is limited then - according to Andrew Everard and one or two others - the EB Acoustics EB1s match very well too. The EBs are online only but they grant a 30 day money back guarantee.

Hope this helps.
 
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Anonymous

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The Spendor's are great speakers. If you like the sound then go for it!
 

Frank Harvey

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Beadleneilm:Is there any rule of thumb on how much one should spend on speakers relative to the amp /cd ? There is no rule of thumb here. It's all down to whether the Nait can drive and control the speakers properly. It's all very well moving up to a better quality speaker, but if the amp can't get the job done properly with those speakers, the upgrade is null and void, and you could end up with a sound that's not as good as you originally had. You may find some speakers in the £500/600 proce point that are hard to drive, and some speakers around £2000 that might be easy to drive, and vice versa.

I am tempted to look for a nice pair of discreet fllorstanders, in the £1000 to £1,500 range, but is this overspend relative to the rest? and will I hear a significant improvement in sound quality (the CM1 are not shabby)? Clearly I will demo speakers fist before this cash outlay, but would be keen to here your experience and our advice.The Neat Motives are great speakers, and as some have said they get a little edgy at higher volumes, if you listen at average volumes, they should work a treat. The Motive 2se's are supposedly more refined than the 2's. The Spendor A5's are harder to drive, so again, would only recommend them if you don't listen too loudly, otherwise you'll find yourself reaching max output faily quickly (max output is around the 12 o'clock position on your volume control). The KEF XQ30's are a nice compact speaker that don't try and overdo things. They'll be great for your jazz/acoustic/female vocals, and perform very well with rock. These are easier to drive than the Spendors. The PMC GB1i's are also a good little floorstander for the money, but do lack in a few areas for my requirements.

What sort of volume do you normally listen to your system at?
 
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Anonymous

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Thanks for the reply,

Typically volume control is set at 9 o clock , turned up to 10/11 o clock when wife is out!

Regards Neil.
 

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