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Naim IBL

Bob McC said:
why thread crap, especially with the dog’s breakfast of a set up you own?
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It’ll be the usual shite of how Naim’s marketing is evil and made him at some point lose trust in his ears and buy a Naim product he didn’t like. This of course is all Naim’s fault :rolleyes:
 
Unfortunately I never had the opportunity to do a 'like for like' comparison, as I never had both pairs at the same time. In my experience the mark 1s sounded very good indeed, the improvement between mark 1s and 2s was not light and day, but to my ears the mark 2 did seem to give a little more of what the 1s already provided.

I personally wouldn't lose too much sleep choosing between mrk 1s or 2s. It's probably more important finding a pair in decent condition and thinking about their suitablility to the room size and positioning them correctly to get optimum performance out of them.
 
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As the IBL relies on the properties of it drivers to be what it is (and the cabinet, stand etc...) I'd be a bit worried about investing too much in a pair for fear the drivers may need repair or replacement and the availability of genuine drivers. So, for me, at the moment, spending £300 on a pair that I don't need and can't actually accommodate may be a bit silly... but then again...
 
I think that's a very fair conclusion to come to!

Given their age now, and the relatively complex design of the speaker, finding a pair in really good condition both mechanically and cosmetically is not straightforward :(
 
Bob McC said:
why thread crap, especially with the dog’s breakfast of a set up you own?
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How exactly was I thread crapping? I was stating an opinion. In my opinion Naim speakers are awful.

Thank you for making it personal with your comment about my system, as I presume you have heard every component before and the collective system so must know exactly what you are talking about.
 
tiggers said:
It’ll be the usual shite of how Naim’s marketing is evil and made him at some point lose trust in his ears and buy a Naim product he didn’t like. This of course is all Naim’s fault :rolleyes:
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LOL you do have a real bug bear about Naim don't you Tiggers. No I just don't like Naim speakers, but believe whatever you like.
 
lagavullin10y said:
Is there a big difference between the mk1 and mk2's?
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I suspect however that the advice given above in relation to upkeep is very sensible - like elderly cars, you would be better buying on condition rather than spec. I've no idea what the availability of the main drivers is now, but when I had the ones in my mkIIs replaced after one was damaged, I seem to recall being told that there were not too many left. They look the same as the ones in the NBLs, but whether this is correct or indeed helpful, I've no idea. My memory might be playing tricks on me however - this would have been at least 15yrs ago now.

Back to your question - yes, IIRC there is a fair difference. I did once own a both a black pair of mk Is and a pair of walnut mkIIs at the same time and so could try them back to back as it were. I had one pair or the other for the best part of 10yrs and recall them well. I absolutely loved them both.

Over time, I tried them with a number of amps/sources and recall that the mkIIs were definitely better - fuller sounding without losing anything of the many fine qualities of the original and were better able to show the differences on better sources or amplication. Not night and day by any means, but if you can find a pair of mkIIs, they are the ones to go for and I would personally be prepared to pay a fair bit more for them if I were after another pair.

You may have to wait however, whilst I have no idea of the figures, the mkIIs have always been much harder to get hold of and there have never seemed to be too many of them around. At one time, you could have them upgraded at the factory, but this would not I am sure be economic now. I am almost certain I recall being told that there was more to the difference than just the drivers. I think it had something to do with the soft "insulation" material in them changing, but from what to what I could not now say. They may also have been a change to the crossovers, but I might equally have got even more confused and thinking about NBLs here.
 
pjdowns said:
How exactly was I thread crapping? I was stating an opinion. In my opinion Naim speakers are awful.
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pjdowns said:
No I just don't like Naim speakers, but believe whatever you like.
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We know you don't like Naim speakers, you've told us before.. why keep telling us? FWIW I was never overly impressed by IBLs, but each to their own and I certainly feel no no need to tell people on a thread where others are enthusing about them. Like what you like and leave others to do likewise.
 
tiggers said:
We know you don't like Naim speakers, you've told us before.. why keep telling us? FWIW I was never overly impressed by IBLs, but each to their own and I certainly feel no no need to tell people on a thread where others are enthusing about them. Like what you like and leave others to do likewise.
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Fair and good point, Tiggers.
 
We have SBLs: IBLs: Shahinian Compasses. SBLs are the best of all. IBLs are excellent but not as refined as the SBLs. Compasses are excellent too.
 
Wonderful speakers and a different viewpoint here. I've owned IBLs, SBLs and DBLs. The IBLs sound more like the DBLs than the SBLs. In fact they sound like DBLs without the low bass.

It's worth emphasizing again that it's important to get the amplification and room right. I've tried mine with tube amps, a push pull Audionote OTO and now a Nait 2. They all sound fine but I've heard them sound horrible with a Nait3. Just don't expect them to have low bass or to perform well in a biggish space.

It's little wonder that Julian Vereker had multiple pairs around his house (yes IBLs, not SBLs).
 
Well as a difference of opinion I never got IBLs at all, had them in my house and everything, I suppose if you listen to 'hifi show music' most of the time then they are fine, but all I ever heard was an overly toppy, very light weight sound with very little depth to it.
 
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