Looking for suggestions please. Presently listening (mostly 60's and 70's folk and rock) on a Naim Muso2 and a pair of Sonos Play1 speakers. I like both of the systems for their convenience. I like the sound of the Muso2 but to my (not young, 67 year old) ears the music never really leaves the box and that's disappointing. I like live music very much and the reproduction from the Muso2 just doesn't cut it. I think I can do better. I don't have a huge budget but it's flexible-ish. Listening room is 3m x 3m so I don't need massive amounts of power through large speakers. Quite the opposite really. If I could buy new Linn Kan speakers, they'd be ideal for me on stands. Open to suggestions. Currently I'm thinking a Naim Uniti Atom fits the bill at the front end, but no idea at all really about modern small speakers. My only interest is streaming, so not looking for anything beyond the Atom and a pair of small but lively speakers. Ideally the budget is around £2500 to 2600. Thanks for the interest.
Question Beyond Muso2 and Sonos Play1?
- Thread starter JoeSoap
- Start date
Fandango Andy
Well-known member
Top of the budget, but would fit the bill both for size, and your intended use: Harbeth Monitor P3ESR, or for around £1,000 less Spendor A1.
Sorry, I wasn't clear. The stated budget is to buy the Uniti Atom and the speakers. I think the Uniti Atom is about £2200 so I'm ideally looking around the ~£300 mark for speakers. Give or take. Thanks.
Al ears
Well-known member
Fandango Andy
Well-known member
Sorry, misunderstood your price. For around £400 Triangle Borea BR03.
No, not presently. I can either make or buy them. Probably better to make them myself to suit from some 1" box section steel. Then I get exactly what I need.
Amormusic
Well-known member
A couple of comments from me as I also have a Muso. Whilst the Naim Uniti Atom is great, to really jump ahead of the Muso I think you will need to spend a little more on the speakers.
If size is the main attraction (as I know Kans are quite small) then you couldn't go wrong with a pair of Alchris Booki speakers. I heard these at the hifi show today and they are absolutely tiny. Really really small. Yet the sound they put out is just ridiculous. A wall of sound. Full fleshed out bass too. I thought the person had the big speakers on at first as they are nothing short of astonishing for the size of them. They were so good I'm tempted to get a pair myself.
alchrisaudio.co.uk
If size is the main attraction (as I know Kans are quite small) then you couldn't go wrong with a pair of Alchris Booki speakers. I heard these at the hifi show today and they are absolutely tiny. Really really small. Yet the sound they put out is just ridiculous. A wall of sound. Full fleshed out bass too. I thought the person had the big speakers on at first as they are nothing short of astonishing for the size of them. They were so good I'm tempted to get a pair myself.
Booki Compact Bookshelf Speakers
Let us introduce to you our brand new TX booki, pretty much like any other small speaker I hear you say, well not quite! The Booki is designed to excel in a quality audio system where space is limited and a bookshelf is used to stand them on. Of course you could sit other small speakers on a...
alchrisaudio.co.uk
Thanks very much. As a Muso listener, do you feel the same way I do? That the sound is fine but there is no soundstage at all from the Muso? The sound never seems to leave the box. On the other hand, my Sonos Play1 pair present a very convincing 3d sound stage. But not as good a sound overall as the Muso.A couple of comments from me as I also have a Muso. Whilst the Naim Uniti Atom is great, to really jump ahead of the Muso I think you will need to spend a little more on the speakers.
If size is the main attraction (as I know Kans are quite small) then you couldn't go wrong with a pair of Alchris Booki speakers. I heard these at the hifi show today and they are absolutely tiny. Really really small. Yet the sound they put out is just ridiculous. A wall of sound. Full fleshed out bass too. I thought the person had the big speakers on at first as they are nothing short of astonishing for the size of them. They were so good I'm tempted to get a pair myself.
Booki Compact Bookshelf Speakers
Let us introduce to you our brand new TX booki, pretty much like any other small speaker I hear you say, well not quite! The Booki is designed to excel in a quality audio system where space is limited and a bookshelf is used to stand them on. Of course you could sit other small speakers on a...
Unsurprisingly, given my complete lack of knowledge regarding modern loudspeakers, I've never heard of those. But I will take a look at them and try to hear them for myself.
Edited to say - Took a look at the link above. Yes, they look a similar size to the old Linn Kan speakers. Ideal really apart from the price. There used to be lots of speakers based on the BBC LS3/5A monitor, the Kan amongst them. Perhaps though that's a design that has now fallen by the wayside in the intervening 40 odd years.
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Amormusic
Well-known member
There are still LS3/5A speakers being produced now, and ones that share the lineage - my Graham Audio LS6f follow similar design priciples. For actual LS3/5A Stirling are exceptional value at the moment as they are closing. But they are even more than the Booki speakers I posted the link for.
To give you an idea of the size of the Booki, they are tiny. Just 9 inches in height. But they have a passive bass radiator on the back and are designed to be almost directly next to the wall on stands as they need bass reinforcement. But there was no clue at all in the room that I was listening to tiny little speakers. Absolutely fantastic little things. I loved them!
These would definitely be worth adding to your "must listen" list.
To give you an idea of the size of the Booki, they are tiny. Just 9 inches in height. But they have a passive bass radiator on the back and are designed to be almost directly next to the wall on stands as they need bass reinforcement. But there was no clue at all in the room that I was listening to tiny little speakers. Absolutely fantastic little things. I loved them!
These would definitely be worth adding to your "must listen" list.
Fandango Andy
Well-known member
Both excellent speakers, but like my suggestion of Harbeth P3ESR, or Spendor A1 way over budget.
Thanks again. More research required on my part, clearly. Though I can't help thinking that ~£2500 for a pair of speakers to pair with a £2300 Uniti Atom streamer isn't the most effective way to spend the money. Given a £5k budget, I wouldn't be buying a Uniti Atom. I always believed the bulk of the budget should be spent at the front end of the system?
I am minded to add here, experience from a long time ago. I remember back in the day when I had the classic Sondek/Grace/Supex front end. When I was shopping for a set of speakers the killer affordable speaker was the ARC101 at around £200 (which was obviously worth a lot more than it is today). But to get a better speaker back then you had to spend 6x that amount and buy Linn Isobariks at around £1200. After a couple of years I replaced the ARCs with Linn Sara speakers. They're all long gone. I don't have the spare cash that I had back then.
I need to do my research to understand if there's an equivalent budget option that punches way above it's weight in the market today. Thanks for the suggestions.
I need to do my research to understand if there's an equivalent budget option that punches way above it's weight in the market today. Thanks for the suggestions.
Amormusic
Well-known member
If your budget is fixed, I'd personally be changing the front end for a lower value item. Lots of excellent stuff can be picked up preloved, which then allows more to pick up a better set of speakers. As the speakers are the window to your system these should be of sufficient quality to make it really shine.
2.5k is a healthy budget to really get a nice system. You just need to alter the money split on amp and speakers.
Best of luck.
2.5k is a healthy budget to really get a nice system. You just need to alter the money split on amp and speakers.
Best of luck.
Fandango Andy
Well-known member
That's a tricky one. The speakers you choose will have the largest impact on your sound.
For a long time conventional thinking was 30% of budget on speakers (and stands if needed) and 30% each of Amp and sources. This is somewhat complicated as your chosen setup has amp and source in one, and the only cables you need is speaker wire.
The you have to consider as technology develops the cost of components relative to each other changes. With DACs and streamers going down in price.
Personally if I had about £2,600 I wouldn't be spending 85% of it on an all in one system. But you seem set in the Naim, so I only recommend speakers.
Always remember most publications rate of sound v price, so a £300 five star product doesn't necessarily sound better than a three star £2,000 one!
Thank you for the comments it's really helpful. Regarding the Uniti Atom, I only thought of that because I like the sound of the Muso2. But I don't like the "stuck in the box" sound stage of it. The Sonos Play1 pair that I have present the kind of sound stage very impressively for small boxes. But I prefer the overall sound of the Muso2 apart from the lack of any sound stage.
I take the point about the streamer cost. I think I'll start another thread in that part of the forum and ask for suggestions of alternatives at a bit lower price point. I'm not against a streamer and amplifier pair if that offers a better solution.
Regarding pre owned kit, that's something I had thought about. But I would buy pre owned speakers rather than electronics. I think.
I take the point about the streamer cost. I think I'll start another thread in that part of the forum and ask for suggestions of alternatives at a bit lower price point. I'm not against a streamer and amplifier pair if that offers a better solution.
Regarding pre owned kit, that's something I had thought about. But I would buy pre owned speakers rather than electronics. I think.
Amormusic
Well-known member
With your budget here's what I'd do:
Preloved Hegel H190. Amp, DAC, Streamer unit. Sold price £1650-1750 for last couple on ebay.
Amphion Argon 1 speakers. Small but sound amazing. Couple of pairs on ebay now around £750.
I've heard this Hegel and Amphion combo at two shows and the Argon 1 speakers on the end of a Hegel are deeply impressive. I preferred this system to many substantially more expensive systems. The speakers are fantastic. Also easy to position and happy near a wall if you haven't got room to pull them out.
Amphion use Hegel to demo at their shows. Both pair very well together. Additionally, the H190 is very well regarded in its own right.
Preloved Hegel H190. Amp, DAC, Streamer unit. Sold price £1650-1750 for last couple on ebay.
Amphion Argon 1 speakers. Small but sound amazing. Couple of pairs on ebay now around £750.
I've heard this Hegel and Amphion combo at two shows and the Argon 1 speakers on the end of a Hegel are deeply impressive. I preferred this system to many substantially more expensive systems. The speakers are fantastic. Also easy to position and happy near a wall if you haven't got room to pull them out.
Amphion use Hegel to demo at their shows. Both pair very well together. Additionally, the H190 is very well regarded in its own right.
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