Bookshelf circa 2k

pete.g

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Hi. I've a budget of circa 2k to upgrade my bookshelf speakers. currently using ATC SCM7, Naimuniti and mostly play vinyl through Rega P2. top of the list so far are B+W 705S2 and PMC twenty5 21. i've seen B+W 700 series with 20% off which is music to my ears. all suggestions welcome. thanks all
 
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Gray

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Hi. I've a budget of circa 2k to upgrade my bookshelf speakers. currently using ATC SCM7, Naimuniti and mostly play vinyl through Rega P2. top of the list so far are B+W 705S2 and PMC twenty5 21. i've seen B+W 700 series with 20% off which is music to my ears. all suggestions welcome. thanks all
Amongst (too many) other 2-way standmounts, I've owned B&W CDM1NT.
I currently use PMC twenty21 so no prizes for guessing my (biased) choice from your list Pete.
Presumably it's the twenty5 21i version you're considering - on a stand and not actually a bookshelf hopefully.
Not so easy at the best of times, but ideally you'd get to hear your options, driven by your Naim, in your listening room.
 
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Have a look at the Ophidian P1 standmount, and the Amphion Argon 3S. Both work well nearer walls than some speakers. and are also relatively easy to drive, which your Uniti will thank you for.

And ignore the What HiFi review of the P1, which is far from representative - just read the other excellent reviews.
 
If you insist on upgrading the speakers, then I’d agree with Rick that larger ATCs will do the trick. The tweeters are all the same in the 7, 11, 19 and 40 ranges, afaik. If you just want something different, then PMC and Neat seem to match Naim well.
You mention playing vinyl mostly with your P2. That’s an obvious upgrade potential too, with various Rega, Michell and Project models amongst the best.
 
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Hi. I've a budget of circa 2k to upgrade my bookshelf speakers. currently using ATC SCM7, Naimuniti and mostly play vinyl through Rega P2. top of the list so far are B+W 705S2 and PMC twenty5 21. i've seen B+W 700 series with 20% off which is music to my ears. all suggestions welcome. thanks all
The 705S2 are good and now available for £1479, I am guessing your 2k is pounds.
 

pete.g

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Thanks all for the input. i have not yet purchased speakers. however, i swapped the ATC SCM7s for B&W 684 floor standers that i had upstairs and upgraded the cartridge to the Rega Elys2. Also got an Atacama HiFi rack. Sound quality has jumped considerably with these upgrades. i will still upgrade the speakers but will now stick with floor standers. keen on the B&W 704S2 but open to ideas at a similar price (£2k)
 

rainsoothe

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Thanks all for the input. i have not yet purchased speakers. however, i swapped the ATC SCM7s for B&W 684 floor standers that i had upstairs and upgraded the cartridge to the Rega Elys2. Also got an Atacama HiFi rack. Sound quality has jumped considerably with these upgrades. i will still upgrade the speakers but will now stick with floor standers. keen on the B&W 704S2 but open to ideas at a similar price (£2k)
Be careful with the speakers, 684 were a special case (for BW)- in that their bass output was limited, so most other models will need more room around them - think close to 1m away from the back wall. Now if you can accommodate that, it should be no problem.
 

slavo86

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i demoed lots of speakers with the same budget as you (kef, PMC, B&W etc) and decided on pair of proac d2's. this was about 3/4 years ago tho.
very musical speaker. As they're front ported they're not too fussy about being closer to a wall but do sound better if brought out a bit. naim and proac also work well together. You will need some good heavy stands as well for the proacs. if you want a smaller speaker then maybe look at the proac db3, I also listened to them and they were great.
 
D

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Stay away from ATC on naim lifeless IMO especially on the uniti series no were near the grunt needed to get them going. The 19s where awful even with my nap 200Dr driving them. That's why your sound quality has jumped when swapping speakers they are easier to drive thats what it boils down too. The uniti series like an easy life.

In my experience speakers with pep that work well with naim

Revel m106 match really well
russel k match well
neat alpha series work really well
Newer focal designs
B+W 705S2 sound alot like the revels but the revels have much better build and use better drivers but do go well.

That's what id start with and as a fellow past naim uniti user-id think you'd be happy with any one of those depending on your room size

And the revels are on top of that list for a reason the rest areas they come.
 
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Jez l

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I have pmc 20.21s. Really like them, they are paired with marantz amps.

I've done home demos of naim amps with my speakers and the naim /pmc synergy is good. Powerful controlled bassy sound which I quite liked. I guess another vote for pmc 21s here then!
 

rainsoothe

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Stay away from ATC on naim lifeless IMO especially on the uniti series no were near the grunt needed to get them going. The 19s where awful even with my nap 200Dr driving them. That's why your sound quality has jumped when swapping speakers they are easier to drive thats what it boils down too. The uniti series like an easy life.

In my experience speakers with pep that work well with naim

Revel m106 match really well
russel k match well
neat alpha series work really well
Newer focal designs
B+W 705S2 sound alot like the revels but the revels have much better build and use better drivers but do go well.

That's what id start with and as a fellow past naim uniti user-id think you'd be happy with any one of those depending on your room size

And the revels are on top of that list for a reason the rest areas they come.
Love the Revels, heard them with Cyrus One HD, Linn Majik DSM and Selekt DSM and giving them serious consideration, unless they need a lot of room from back wall (I have nac n172xs and nap 200dr). Atm I swapped my B&W PM1 with my mother's Piega Premium 5.2, which I like a lot, but I don't know, there's just something about standmounts. On the other hand, I'm wondering if I should just upgrade the pre section to a 202 with NAPSC instead (although I'm not a huge fan of lots of boxes). How do Russell K 50 or 100 compare to the Revels?

Sorry for slightly detailing the thread, OP.
 
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Love the Revels, heard them with Cyrus One HD, Linn Majik DSM and Selekt DSM and giving them serious consideration, unless they need a lot of room from back wall (I have nac n172xs and nap 200dr). Atm I swapped my B&W PM1 with my mother's Piega Premium 5.2, which I like a lot, but I don't know, there's just something about standmounts. On the other hand, I'm wondering if I should just upgrade the pre section to a 202 with NAPSC instead (although I'm not a huge fan of lots of boxes). How do Russell K 50 or 100 compare to the Revels?

Sorry for slightly detailing the thread, OP.

Russel k 100 I listened to and demoed at home. They are what I call tone speaker’s loads of life and soul and get the foot tapping.

They are an unusual design which is good and bad. They are designed to use there full extension and they really do deliver it. But there is a down side. If your like me and listen to a little of everything and some of it has a lot and I mean a lot of bass. And they can be pushed into producing port noise and it’s very apparent and it’s not at high volumes either.

In comparison the revels might not go quite as low but they are clean through out there range and I was never able to push them into distortion at all.

The revel’s can go some what close to the wall but they are very potent for standmounts. Floor stander like and can really excite the room. So it can be a little difficult to get them just so.

Revels have been some of my favourite speakers and I’ve had quite a few, the only speakers that I’ve come across that “better” them are my Klipsch heresy 3s which I required due to an amp change as the amp is class A.

Get the 202 it’s what the nap needs as long as you have the budget. It’s certainly life long equipment.

Hope that helps a little
 

rainsoothe

Well-known member
Russel k 100 I listened to and demoed at home. They are what I call tone speaker’s loads of life and soul and get the foot tapping.

They are an unusual design which is good and bad. They are designed to use there full extension and they really do deliver it. But there is a down side. If your like me and listen to a little of everything and some of it has a lot and I mean a lot of bass. And they can be pushed into producing port noise and it’s very apparent and it’s not at high volumes either.

In comparison the revels might not go quite as low but they are clean through out there range and I was never able to push them into distortion at all.

The revel’s can go some what close to the wall but they are very potent for standmounts. Floor stander like and can really excite the room. So it can be a little difficult to get them just so.

Revels have been some of my favourite speakers and I’ve had quite a few, the only speakers that I’ve come across that “better” them are my Klipsch heresy 3s which I required due to an amp change as the amp is class A.

Get the 202 it’s what the nap needs as long as you have the budget. It’s certainly life long equipment.

Hope that helps a little
It's not a little, it's quite a lot, actually. Thank you very much indeed.
 

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