New Speakers £1000 - £2000

[shooter]

Please do.

Regarding the Tannoy, by all means audition but they are bright sounding and i'm 100% sure how they will sound. You may like them though!

 

[Singslinger]

jawnee:
I use a 5i with ProAc 140's which sound great, so a pair of these or the D18's would go well.

Yes I agree, especially with the D18s, they sound fantastic driven by a Uniti so there should be no problem with a Nait 5i - provided of course, you're prepared to stretch your budget to 2k.

 

[rocketride]

What about Neat Motive 2 or perhaps Motive 2 SE? I think Neat is almost the perfect match for Naim.

I support the idea to try your 5i with Spendor A5 too. Good luck!

 

[eternaloptimist]

Re: the Spendor A5s.... When looking into speakers recently, auditioned the big brother - the Spendor A6 - with Naim... was not impressed. The sound was very "boring" - very good sound stage, nice mid range but limited base extension.
PMC FB1i were great - very clean sound.
I think you would struggle with ATCs which I am told love power!
But.. found and then left with my Audiovectors Would you consider Audiovectors? A lot of people considering the Spendor / PMC / ATC / Proac group also look at Audiovectors. I am of course hopelessly biased!

 

[Anonymous]

There are just too many options!

I have not even considered any Audiovectors, Are there any models you would point out?

 

[ESP2009]

In all likelihood your auditioning experience will be different from mine, given the different amp, but certainly based on my listenings on Saturday just gone I suggest the following within your price range:-

ProAc Studio 140 Mk2

Neat Motive 1

KEF XQ30

Dynaudio Excite X32

Enjoy!

 

[AEJim]

eternaloptimist:Re: the Spendor A5s.... When looking into speakers recently, auditioned the big brother - the Spendor A6 - with Naim... was not impressed. The sound was very "boring" - very good sound stage, nice mid range but limited base extension.PMC FB1i were great - very clean sound. I think you would struggle with ATCs which I am told love power!But.. found and then left with my Audiovectors Would you consider Audiovectors? A lot of people considering the Spendor / PMC / ATC / Proac group also look at Audiovectors. I am of course hopelessly biased!

I was very impressed with the rather "ordinary" looking Audiovector floorstanders at Munich this year, I think they were around £5-6k though. They were producing the best sound amongst a plethora of weird and wonderful wardrobe-sized exotica. Not heard the cheaper models...

 

[seasiders rock]

Another vote for the Audiovectors, if you can find the M3i Super second hand dont hesitate just buy them.

I have owned some speakers over 35 years, these are possible the best that have ever graced my living room.

Easy to drive, finish and build is supurb and they sound sublime. Possible It,s the Danish synergy with the Lyngdorf.

Current model at £2000 is the S3 with improved cabinet and drivers.Straight to the bottom of the page they blew my Dali Suite 2.8 clear out of the water.

Recommended.

 

[the record spot]

NickD2544:
Sorry yeah Sensitivity i mean, So use to saying DB.

I do like to drive them to a high volume sometimes when i get carried away a bit. The room is about 6x4m not a massive space but lots of room around them.

Want to give it a bit of welly? You could try auditioning a pair of these if you can find them: RRR FS100s, apparently good sturdy construction from an (I think) Slovenian company. Hi Fi World raved about them a while back and still rate them now in their recommended contemporary kit list. £1000 or so in £2007. Might be worth looking over as they've a 91db sensitivity and, according to HFW, have a huge soundstage, so they could be what floats your boat.
http://www.rrr.lv/en/products/acoustic-systems/giant-fs-100/18

And of course, I haven't heard these - and I know some folk find it pointless recommending something they haven't heard; we can all quote names after all - but these tick some of your boxes and are on budget. How they'd pair up with your amp and source is another matter of course.

 

[eternaloptimist]

Excellent suggestion. In the Audiovectors, the S3 series has recently replaced the M3 series so there may be a number of M3s going around. The M3i Super is an excellent speaker!

 

[Anonymous]

Love these suggestions the RRR FS100s look very big and dare i say it very nice. I have found them for about £500 are they really this cheap?

 

[Naxos]

If you ARE thinking of spending to the top of your budget and looking at Neat, do try the Elite SX as well with your Naim - not quite as easy to drive, perhaps, but I absolutely love mine, although they rarely seem to make it into anyone's short list.

 

[the record spot]

NickD2544:Love these suggestions the RRR FS100s look very big and dare i say it very nice. I have found them for about £500 are they really this cheap?

Hi Nick, I couldn't say for sure; the retail price was listed in HFW for £1000 back in 2007, that might have risen since then. Also, you might not find them in too many dealers (the brand is Latvian and the company goes back to the 1920s). That said, they seemed like a good shout, but how they match (or might match) with your other gear is another issue!

EDIT: check out the link below from the British Audio Journal (trade publication) - Paul Messenger's thoughts on these very speakers are on Page 13. BY the bye - they clock in at 43.5kgs each. Mind your backs!

http://www.thebaj.com/pdf/baj_issue49.pdf

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Guys,

Thanks very much again for your suggestions i am going to hunt around to audition some Neats but there FS-100 are intriguing, Something about them makes me want to see and listen to them.

 

[Andy H]

Another vote for the ProAcs, great speakers though I am a bit biased.

 

[Macspur]

Here here for the ProAcs!

Was lucky enough to lay my hands on an ex demo pair of studio 130's and they are perfect, for me that is and that was after trying loads of others such as PMC, ATC SCM11, Usher, Rega RS7(very nice) ProAc DB1 and 2 and Mark&Daniel maximus.

Sugden A21L amp, Rega Saturn CDP, ProAc Studio 130 speakers, Chord Cobra 3 IC.

 

[Frank Harvey]

Hi Nick

I keep seeing this thread title, and for some reason thought I'd already replied earlier in the thread! But I notice I haven't. So here goes...

The Nait 5i (i or i?) is a cracking little amp, and as much as I love it, it does have limitations. Many speakers already mentioned just aren't going to be controlled properly with the 5i, which will lead to a dull, lifeless sound. Seeing as you like to drive things hard every now and again, I'd stick to higher sensitivity speakers, and preferably easier loads as far as impedance are concerned. The Neats, which are designed on Naim equipment, would be the first port of call. A nice lively sounding speaker that isn't going to demand too much from the amplifier. The new Motive 2se would be the ideal model here, especially if higher volumes are called for.

KEF's new Q900 will also be a contender. I've been trying out the Q300's on the Nait and they're fabulous. The only drawback here is that Q900's are going to be a couple of weeks away.

B&W's and Dynaudios need a bit of space to work well, and need more bass control than the average speaker, partly because their tonal balance is shifted more towards bass. It's not that these speakers outclass the Nait, it's just that the Nait, and many other amplifiers in the Nait's price bracket just don't have enough control for them.

ATC need more than the Nait 5i can provide. Their low sensitivity means the volume control will be up a couple of extra notches, so if you already listen close to 12 o'clock, the Nait will run out of steam. ATC's ideally need at least an XS to start getting what's required from them.

ProAc Studio 140.2's wil be worth trying - a nice energetic sounding speaker that should work fine with the Nait 5i. The Response D18 ideally needs a Nait pre/power or a SuperNait to start getting the best from them.

We felt that when Tannoy raised their prices, the Revolution series sort of priced itself out of the market, as it brought the DC6T up to the KEF XQ30 price point. The little KEF's are an amazing speaker, and if you like their revealing, 'not scared to give it to you' nature, you may love them, so they'll be worth a try. They're not hard to drive, so should work well with a Nait 5i.

All of the above I've commented on (other than the Q900, and the Motive 2se's - only heard Motive 2's) I've heard with various amps here, including the Nait 5i.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi David,

Thanks very much for your advice there! Was great to hear your views in such detail. I was considering the KEF Q900 as they match my Mezzo 8s in ways and i also quite like the styling of them. Just need to wait until i can hear them and start auditioning a few. If only your store was closer to Liverpool!

Thanks again

Nick

 

[chebby]

Don't forget the EB Acoustics EB1s or EB2s (£469 & £667 respectively).

Here is the latest EB Acoustics EB2 & Nait 5i owner. He seems very happy.

There are plenty of other Nait (and NaimUniti) owners dotted around the forum who have reported great results with EB speakers.

 

[Anonymous]

Just a bit too small im after floor standers really, Would be quite a step down from the towers of power i have at the minute scale wise as well as size.

 

[Frank Harvey]

NickD2544:If only your store was closer to Liverpool!

We get that a lot

Why not make a day of it? We're about an hour and a half away - I'll happily knock off some petrol money/parking off any purchase - we've got plenty to listen to!

 

[Anonymous]

I might just do that! Shame you dont do anything on finance well probably good i would end up with a whole new system then!

 

[Kevin Stephens]

I'm sure Frank Harvey would give excellent service, a bit closer to your home I've always found Doug Brady in Warrington very good - a Naim dealer and has lot's of the speakers you are considering

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks very much Kevin i shall look into that

My new Russ andrews Wattgates arrived today so for the mean time these are keeping my mind of my new speakers haha