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Naim BD160 and quad 57ESL

Fitnessed

pfm Member
Have a bd160 and hicap and 32.5,need to pull my finger out and get them up and running.
Have not heard the Naims for over 20 years....


Anyone ? running a similar set up,intrigued as to what it will sound like,especially through esl57?
Running 33/303x2
 
Not sure how helpful this is but ten years or so back I ran a BD160 into a pair of 63s. Tried the 160 with hi-cap/32.5 and then a 72. Preferred the 72, sounded great, fast and bouncy, semed especially suited to listening to Can on vinyl. But became uncomfortable getting drawn into the world of swapping cards, upgrading cables etc and sold my Naim gear. Now run them with Exposure 21/18s which also sounds great albeit maybe a little warmer and slightly more detailed.
 
A freshly restored 33 with modern caps will sound excellent along with a 303 only. Less so with a 405.
Better than a 34 or a 44 if you need to know. But then no MCs.
 
Not sure how helpful this is but ten years or so back I ran a BD160 into a pair of 63s. Tried the 160 with hi-cap/32.5 and then a 72. Preferred the 72, sounded great, fast and bouncy, semed especially suited to listening to Can on vinyl. But became uncomfortable getting drawn into the world of swapping cards, upgrading cables etc and sold my Naim gear. Now run them with Exposure 21/18s which also sounds great albeit maybe a little warmer and slightly more detailed.

Thanks robn useful and relevant for sure.
Heard as with quad and naim stuff all hand built,that there were errors on circuit diagrams and human errors with component polarity etc....
Combine these variables with our hearing and tastes and the age of our kit and service due components arethey still in spec?
its a complex audio spiders web.....
 
For over 10 years I had a 12/160 combo driving ESL 57s.

I listen to a wide range of music, prog rock, early music, classical orchestral etc. I loved this setup but changes in domestic arrangements meant I couldn't find room for the ESLs and replaced them with Linn Saras.
 
Not sure how helpful this is but ten years or so back I ran a BD160 into a pair of 63s. Tried the 160 with hi-cap/32.5 and then a 72. Preferred the 72, sounded great, fast and bouncy, semed especially suited to listening to Can on vinyl. But became uncomfortable getting drawn into the world of swapping cards, upgrading cables etc and sold my Naim gear. Now run them with Exposure 21/18s which also sounds great albeit maybe a little warmer and slightly more detailed.
That's my experience with Naim and Exposure, albeit not with Quads. I find Naim fast and bouncy but edging into harsh, Exposure keeps most of the bounce but loses the harshness. Quad sounded better than either into my then Linn Keilidhs, which I loved.

Quad 303 sounds great, I prefer paired up 405s (they were dirt cheap in the 90s) but I know they don't like low impedance loads. 44 is less noisy than a 33, but maybe the 33 needed a service.
 
For over 10 years I had a 12/160 combo driving ESL 57s.

I listen to a wide range of music, prog rock, early music, classical orchestral etc. I loved this setup but changes in domestic arrangements meant I couldn't find room for the ESLs and replaced them with Linn Saras.

Similar to myself, not quite 10 years changed amp rather than speakers, bought a 250 to replace the 160, had to have the 250 turned down in output, never sounded the same as the 160.

The 12/160 with ELS57's was really special, one of those systems that I should have stuck with.
 


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