Maxbertola
pfm Member
Good afternoon.
My latest system is composed of an Esoteric K-07Xs CDP, a PrimaLuna EVO 100 integrated and Naim n-Sats speakers on their stands. Our living room is largish (35 sq mt or so), T-shaped and the speakers are placed by necessity on one of the shorter T stems, firing across the longer size. I hate this placement, but.
This room favours the wide central range and somehow eats some deep bass and top end; usually smaller monitors work better than floor standers here, and sealed boxes better than ported ones. This setup also prevents the speakers from being placed into the room, hence a decent 3D soundstage from appearing.
I have chosen the n-Sats because their known unripeness and lack of lower extension, plus their 'clarity', help creating a detailed presentation which I sometimes favor over big sound and effects. I mostly like to replay piano, small jazz combos and classical, acoustic songwriters like Randy Newman or Joni Mitchell.
I have had, or demoed, a number of speakers here:
Marten Design Miles II (very fine, but needing important amps)
Naim SBLs (very satisfying with certain amps and music)
Naim Arivas (either my samples had been tweaked or they were excessively dark and boomy)
Naim Credos (mildly uninteresting)
rega R7s (surprisingly enough, boomy and with uncontrolled bass)
Naim Ovator S-400s (big and somehow uninteresting unless driven by a thin sounding, dynamic amp)
Klipsch Heresy IIIs - very good with my amp, but too large visually and not refined in the treble.
Plus forgotten others.
Now, I cannot only listen to those few things that sound good with the Sats; I need to be able to replay a symphonic piece with some degree of body (I am not after deep bass or seismic dynamics) without hearing a nasal, thin voice. I like the PrimaLuna so it's going to stay.
I have also come to the twofold conclusion that:
a) one should choose some speakers that more or less honestly sound ok with anything, without looking for special sonic features or expecting miracles that cannot - and perhaps shouldn't - be obtained at home;
b) perhaps the single most 'convincing' trait of a speaker in order to enjoy the illusion of some immersion into the recording is good soundstage and ambience retrieval. These the Sats cannot honestly do.
So, before I resign myself to the implied suggestion by fate that home audio is a silly game from which no real satisfaction can be had and that only some people actually manage to get musical involvement from hifi, to which group I don't belong, can someone give opinions/suggestions on speakers that tick most of these boxes please?
- Small size (not more than LS5/9s)
- A regular impedance pattern that won't disturb my innocent, lovely amp
- Sealed box (or, if a port is absolutely unavoidable, a front one)
- Decent sensitivity (at least 88 dB/1W)
- Can be placed close to the wall
- Do not require more than a 40W amp to be audible
- No particular sound signature and a honest approach to all kinds of acoustic music.
Thanks for all opinions that will help me not selling everything and being content with Internet Radio.
M.
(P.S. Opinions on the Sats are unnecessary..)
My latest system is composed of an Esoteric K-07Xs CDP, a PrimaLuna EVO 100 integrated and Naim n-Sats speakers on their stands. Our living room is largish (35 sq mt or so), T-shaped and the speakers are placed by necessity on one of the shorter T stems, firing across the longer size. I hate this placement, but.
This room favours the wide central range and somehow eats some deep bass and top end; usually smaller monitors work better than floor standers here, and sealed boxes better than ported ones. This setup also prevents the speakers from being placed into the room, hence a decent 3D soundstage from appearing.
I have chosen the n-Sats because their known unripeness and lack of lower extension, plus their 'clarity', help creating a detailed presentation which I sometimes favor over big sound and effects. I mostly like to replay piano, small jazz combos and classical, acoustic songwriters like Randy Newman or Joni Mitchell.
I have had, or demoed, a number of speakers here:
Marten Design Miles II (very fine, but needing important amps)
Naim SBLs (very satisfying with certain amps and music)
Naim Arivas (either my samples had been tweaked or they were excessively dark and boomy)
Naim Credos (mildly uninteresting)
rega R7s (surprisingly enough, boomy and with uncontrolled bass)
Naim Ovator S-400s (big and somehow uninteresting unless driven by a thin sounding, dynamic amp)
Klipsch Heresy IIIs - very good with my amp, but too large visually and not refined in the treble.
Plus forgotten others.
Now, I cannot only listen to those few things that sound good with the Sats; I need to be able to replay a symphonic piece with some degree of body (I am not after deep bass or seismic dynamics) without hearing a nasal, thin voice. I like the PrimaLuna so it's going to stay.
I have also come to the twofold conclusion that:
a) one should choose some speakers that more or less honestly sound ok with anything, without looking for special sonic features or expecting miracles that cannot - and perhaps shouldn't - be obtained at home;
b) perhaps the single most 'convincing' trait of a speaker in order to enjoy the illusion of some immersion into the recording is good soundstage and ambience retrieval. These the Sats cannot honestly do.
So, before I resign myself to the implied suggestion by fate that home audio is a silly game from which no real satisfaction can be had and that only some people actually manage to get musical involvement from hifi, to which group I don't belong, can someone give opinions/suggestions on speakers that tick most of these boxes please?
- Small size (not more than LS5/9s)
- A regular impedance pattern that won't disturb my innocent, lovely amp
- Sealed box (or, if a port is absolutely unavoidable, a front one)
- Decent sensitivity (at least 88 dB/1W)
- Can be placed close to the wall
- Do not require more than a 40W amp to be audible
- No particular sound signature and a honest approach to all kinds of acoustic music.
Thanks for all opinions that will help me not selling everything and being content with Internet Radio.
M.
(P.S. Opinions on the Sats are unnecessary..)