I've currently got an old NAD C340 amp and a pair of Mission 780SE speakers that I'm planning on replacing. I guess the speakers were purchased about 1995 and the amp about 2000
I'm using a Music Fidelity M1 DAC driven from a linux server via a Music Fidelity V-Link192. This weekend I tried a Naim Nait XS with a pair Rega RS5s. When I first plugged the Naim into my Missions it was clear the NAD amp is the weak point in the system. I was quite blown away with the sound quality from my old speakers.
The Regas presented me with more of a problem, I think it's to do with placement. Some of the music I played was outstanding, the separation of instruments was excellent and vocals were beautifully rendered. However, the orchestral music was a bit lean.
My current layout may be the problem. I have L shaped room and the speaker are firing across the L. The bad bit is there is a bookshelf in between the speakers and so I had to pull the Regas out by about 1m so their side firing drivers cleared the shelves. The guy in the hifi shop thought that they needed to be nearer the wall and this maybe was causing the bass problem.
Since I can't change the room layout (her indoors ) I think this might rule out the Regas. This brings me to my two questions
Would bookshelf speakers on stands be better in this case? I don't really want to move the speakers every time I want to play music unless I have to.
I did like the Naim, would I be making a mistake to buying the amp now and trying to match speakers latter? Most advice I got suggested speakers first, then amp.
I'm using a Music Fidelity M1 DAC driven from a linux server via a Music Fidelity V-Link192. This weekend I tried a Naim Nait XS with a pair Rega RS5s. When I first plugged the Naim into my Missions it was clear the NAD amp is the weak point in the system. I was quite blown away with the sound quality from my old speakers.
The Regas presented me with more of a problem, I think it's to do with placement. Some of the music I played was outstanding, the separation of instruments was excellent and vocals were beautifully rendered. However, the orchestral music was a bit lean.
My current layout may be the problem. I have L shaped room and the speaker are firing across the L. The bad bit is there is a bookshelf in between the speakers and so I had to pull the Regas out by about 1m so their side firing drivers cleared the shelves. The guy in the hifi shop thought that they needed to be nearer the wall and this maybe was causing the bass problem.
Since I can't change the room layout (her indoors ) I think this might rule out the Regas. This brings me to my two questions
Would bookshelf speakers on stands be better in this case? I don't really want to move the speakers every time I want to play music unless I have to.
I did like the Naim, would I be making a mistake to buying the amp now and trying to match speakers latter? Most advice I got suggested speakers first, then amp.