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Will Naim IBL's work in my system?

M

mark121211

pfm Member
I'm looking for a set of small floor standers and the Naim IBL's have always been of interest to me.

My room is 3.5 X 6m and the speakers will be on one of the longer walls. They will have to mount hard up against the wall.

They will be used in a vinyl only system with either Technics SL110 with SME 3009 or modified Lenco GL55 in a slate plinth, heavy platter and Decca International tonearm.

Amplification will be either NCC200's (yet to be built) or Woodside Valve Integrated.

I'm used to the sound of small monitors (LS3's / JR149's etc).

Any advice appreciated.
 
I hardly believe IBL will work very well with valve amplication even Woodside are very nice I would choose some Royd or Rega shoeboxes for such installation.

nSats are fine too f you like them, not IBL's but maybe more universal, they need a bit more space from wall.

IBL's can be stunning but this I have heard only from a LP12 based/CB setup way back, sold them on because they were horrible on most cd replay.
 
IBL's are not a difficult load so should work fine with valve amplification. They do have quite limited power handling though and are very dry in the bass. In fact they may well suit a slightly fruity valve amp.
 
I use them in my office, 3.5x2.5mtr with a Uniti Qute2 and they can be great with the right material. The best i've had them was with a CDS3/Supernait2 combo and it was a stunningly good system. They are exceptionally revealing of source material and do not paper over cracks, but they are involving like few others when the stars align.
 
As luck would have it a pair have come up for sale that are local to me so i'm off tomorrow to see them.

Having lived for years with JR149's and LS3's the bass does not bother me. I've a couple of REL subs that I can introduce if it really is that bad.
 
Tips:

1. Make sure they are Mk2s - better bass driver.

2. Feed them with a good signal.

3. Run them active.

They are well worth trying and I'm sure you'd get your money back if it turned out that they don't suit your room/system. New foam grills are available online.

PS- they work a treat with NCC 200s
 
Thanks Jo. I purchased a pair of MK1's yesterday finished in black (my preference).

They came with new grills but I actually prefer the look without.

I gave them a quick listen to last night driven by my Woodside Valve integrated and i'm impressed.

They'll be great for late night sessions without waking up the rest of the house.
 
Personally i'd not worry too much about mk1 or 2 bass driver. I've had both, and i'm back with a pair of the originals and they are both good. One thing i did do however was replace the tweeters with a new pair from Naim a few months back, not cheap, but in the grand scheme of things well worth the outlay. It even improved the bass performance, and generally made them sound close to my previous SL2s in the top end.
 
They should work fine, however the balance is very different to an LS3/5 or 149.
Much leaner and cooler. When I had a pair they made Kan 2s sound full, so make sure you like them first!
 
Robert said:
They should work fine, however the balance is very different to an LS3/5 or 149.
Much leaner and cooler. When I had a pair they made Kan 2s sound full, so make sure you like them first!
Click to expand...

I'm not surprised by that Robert, IBLs are much more like Kan1, which do indeed make Kan2 sound full in the bass. I prefer Kan1 to the 2, and IBL to either (just).
 
Robert said:
They should work fine, however the balance is very different to an LS3/5 or 149.
Much leaner and cooler. When I had a pair they made Kan 2s sound full, so make sure you like them first!
Click to expand...

The're going in the living room and so far the wife is not impressed by their looks.

The cabinets are in very good condition (no veneer damage) but there are lots of marks in the black finish where the light wood veneer is visible and the velco strip have started to peel away. So they are going to get a light resto.

The rubber surrounds on the bass drivers have started to lift around the fixing holes so will need gluing back down. I'll made up a fixture to do this at the weekend.

When i'm finished I intend to compare them to my LS3's.

Does anyone know what Naim used to seal the bass driver into the cabinet. It looks similar to blue hylomar.
 
IBLs can work with lesser amps, but as a minimum if you're not a volume freak is Nait 2 or a UnitiQute. The source is really important.

Best with a 72/250 and good digital.

In your system I would go for something like Rega Kyte with Target R4 stands. They are better than IBL in that sort of set up, but not better than IBL in absolute terms (not that far behind). Also Regas can work a bit away from the wall.

Thanks

Thanks
 
Dark Lord said:
IBLs can work with lesser amps, but as a minimum if you're not a volume freak is Nait 2 or a UnitiQute. The source is really important.

Best with a 72/250 and good digital.

In your system I would go for something like Rega Kyte with Target R4 stands. They are better than IBL in that sort of set up, but not better than IBL in absolute terms (not that far behind). Also Regas can work a bit away from the wall.

Thanks

Thanks
Click to expand...

This system is not being built for volume. More late night listening. I have a system with Genelec Actives & REL subs if I feel the need to crank it up!

I'm not really a big fan of Naim amps; that said i'm building NCC200 monos with VBE front ends.

I'm not doing stand mounts any more; I've retired the LS3's from that role and I needed a speaker that is happy with it's back against a solid brick wall hence the IBL's.
 
IBL is not the best for low level listening. Not much bass and needs volume. Not a good choice but it's your money. Good luck.
 
mark121211 said:
The're going in the living room and so far the wife is not impressed by their looks.
(...)
Click to expand...

You could always try to have them painted white.

White seems to be good for the WAF of any speaker. Although white paint couldn't have made the set of Magnepan 1.7s that I had in the house once upon a while ago stay.:D
 
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