Will this Naim amp power these B&W Speakers?

[admin_exported]

I am considering upgrading my Hi Fi.

Current System

Naim CD5i / Nait 5i / B&W 685's

Considering

Naim CD5XS / Naim Nac 152XS / Naim Nap 155XS / Flatcap XS with B&W CM9's

will the naim amps power the B&W's well enough?, because the Naim power amp only does 60w per channel and the CM9's need 200w in total (according to the spec in the B&W Catalogue)

 

[chebby]

Your Naim upgrades are to equipment that costs just over double the (new) price of your existing Naim amp and CD player. (Not counting the Flatcap.)

Your speaker upgrade is to speakers that cost five times the cost of your present speakers! (Approximately.)

Maybe you need to 'level' things out a bit. (CM7s?)

What other speakers have you considered to go with the new kit?

Have you heard anything from Neat, Spendor, Kudos, PMC or even ATC?

You seem to have an £1800 speaker budget. If you add another £500 (leave the Flatcap for another time) then I have read quite a few Naim owners (on Naim and Harbeth's official user forums) speak very highly of the Harbeth Super HL5s.

They might be the last speaker upgrade you will need to make for a very long time. A timeless classic with superlative build and very high resale values over a very long period. (I mean decades.)

 

[Anonymous]

the reason for the big upgrade is im getting a lot of money

I've heard neat and naim speakers on with my nait 5i, and i love the sound of B&W.

thought i might stick with them again.

 

[Andrew Everard]

Yes, it will work fine, but please listen before spending all that money.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks Andrew!

I will, im also looking into a Densen system at a similar price (a friend told me it sounds more musical than naim, but lacks the drive the naim equipment gives you)

My brother in law has the older Naim CD5X and 112 Pre 150 Power Flatcap setup with the old B&W 704's, and it sounds fantastic!

i will definatley ask my dealer for other options.

 

[jockey.wilson]

aj_vader:

will the naim amps power the B&W's well enough?, because the Naim power amp only does 60w per channel and the CM9's need 200w in total (according to the spec in the B&W Catalogue)

Easily...

Naim amps provide plenty of current, so should have enough grip to drive the B&W's easily.

 

[Frank Harvey]

If you're considering £2,000 speakers, I'd consider going for the NAP200 instead of the NAP 155xs. It's not that the 155xs won't drive them, it will, but the NAP200 is a more capable power amplifier that will do a better job with the majority of speakers in this price bracket. To offset the extra cost, leave the power supply as an upgrade for a later date.

Also, I wouldn't consider B&W to be a good match with Naim. There are other speakers that match so much better, like Neat, ATC, ProAc, Spendor, and KEF for example. You can use the speakers to tailor the end sound of the system to suit your tastes. As already mentioned, an audition is a must at this price point.

 

[shooter]

Totem and Naim sound wonderful together. IMO.

Just another for the list.

 

[Anonymous]

thanks for all the help and advice, i will make sure i look at many other speaker brands before i do.

so will the NAP 200 work with the naim xs preamp?

 

[Frank Harvey]

Yes, it will work fine

 

[Singslinger]

I'd agree with Frank Harvey - Naim amps work better with ProAc, Neat and Spendor speakers. If your budget is 2,000 quid and you don't mind floorstanders, I reckon you have to audition the ProAc D18s. Good luck!

 

[Anonymous]

http://whathifi.com/Review/Neat-Momentum-3i/

 

[Anonymous]

Have you considered the xs amp / flatcap instead? Agree with shooter69. Rainmaker with the thunder sub does wonders for my naim totem combination.