Surely, the main benefit of going active is the removal of the x-over between the amps and speakers.

That owners of other amps beside the 500 can benefit is a bonus.

Bob

A good reading:
http://www.naim-audio.com/download/HFC_review.pdf

quote:

Originally posted by Mick Parry:
Chaps

I am quite prepared to be shot down on this, but I really think that since the introduction of the 500, going active on other power amps is a bit out dated.

...

Regards, Mick

Dear Mick,

I think that leaves out the 300 wrongly, possibly. Some people [including me] rather like the 300, without wanting to get into the comparison with the 500, of course. I am prepared to bet that two 300s active onto SL2s or SBLs might well be prefered to a single 500.

Kindest regards from George [Fredrik Fiske Johnson: for explanation see Vodka Thread]

quote:

Originally posted by GFFJ:
I am prepared to bet that two 300s active onto SL2s or SBLs might well be prefered to a single 500.

This does seem to be the lingering question, which people have danced around for quite a while. Can anyone report with recent experience? Rodborough appears to have an opinion, but of course as a dealer, his comments are somewhat equivocal...

quote:

A few years ago, going active with six 135s was considered the ultimate and then to everyones amazement, a passive 500 eclipsed it.

Mick,

Maybe so.
But I won't be so sure till you hear an active 300 Briks.

FWIW, I prefer an active 300 SL2 over a passive 500.

A passive 500 on the Briks is better than a single 300. but I have a nagging feeling that it can be so much better bypassing their *antique* xovers.

But if one wanted a system simplicity and pretty good sound, a passive 500 is excellent especially when used in conjunction with a 552.

quote:

Originally posted by kuma:
...But if one wanted a system simplicity and pretty good sound, a passive 500 is excellent especially when used in conjunction with a 552.

I completely agree with you Kuma; For a while I settled on a single 500/552/555, which to my ears was a superb combination. I tried the 300 for a while and was generally impressed with it, but in my room it wasn't quite what I was looking for.

I suppose in retrospect I should then have tried active SL2s/300s but for various reasons mostly connected with a vague promise not to increase the box count unduly, I went for the single 500 instead.

After some negotiations with SWMBO I decided to home-trial the 500s/active SL2s combination, and without banging on too much about it I can confirm it's a sublime combination. "Signals" had set the system up for what I originally thought would be an extensive home trial which turned out to be a very short one with a pretty inevitable outcome!

Hi Tonym,
I appreciated your first posting. Now that you have lived with the active set-up for a while can you provide an update?

Hans

Hi Hans.
The new system's now set up on Fraim, and is settling back down. (I'll post a picture on the System pics thread at some stage.)

There's not much more to add to my previous posting regarding the sound; totally unforced, wide soundstage, terrific pace, profound bass levels, extra detail, goes unfeasibly load without strain.

I can't stop playing it!

Gianluigi,

http://www.naim-audio.com/download/HFC_review.pdf
thank you for the Colloms review, it’s really a good reading in the sense it gives clear evidence why it is totally useless to read papers of this kind.

Once upon a time... 1979-1992 I was Editor of our humble (you’d say miserable) Hungarian Hifi Magazin. Martin Colloms was one of our heros who helped us out of that awful German thinking, starter’s main fault in Hi-Fi, we had consulted him, published interview with him, tried to reproduce all his measurements and to follow his listening methods.

Today, in this review, I can see absolutely nothing but the superfluous words that convay nothing. It‘s really pathetic to see this promising man in such a situation.

And I’m really happy I’ve been active in the recent 15 years in DTP, instead of audio.

graphoman

quote:

I can see absolutely nothing but the superfluous words that convay nothing.

And there I was merely thinking that the active / passive argument was undermined by the use of 2 x 250 vs 1 x 300. You are absolutely right graphoman, these reviews are increasingly pointless. Ironic that this is in a supposedly brave and outspoken publication unsullied by commercial interests.

I wonder if Martin Colloms actually reads the forum? What does he have to say? Maybe he is here already. What is his pseudonym ? . . . hell, let's start a witch hunt.


Alastair

quote:

Originally posted by graphoman:
Gianluigi,

http://www.naim-audio.com/download/HFC_review.pdf
thank you for the Colloms review, it’s really a good reading in the sense it gives clear evidence why it is totally useless to read papers of this kind.

Once upon a time... 1979-1992 I was Editor of our humble (you’d say miserable) Hungarian Hifi Magazin. Martin Colloms was one of our heros who helped us out of that awful German thinking, starter’s main fault in Hi-Fi, we had consulted him, published interview with him, tried to reproduce all his measurements and to follow his listening methods.

Today, in this review, I can see absolutely nothing but the superfluous words that convay nothing. It‘s really pathetic to see this promising man in such a situation.

And I’m really happy I’ve been active in the recent 15 years in DTP, instead of audio.

graphoman

I should be grateful that my piece in the same issue on DBLs is not available for you to download.

quote:

Originally posted by graphoman:
it’s really a good reading in the sense it gives clear evidence why it is totally useless to read papers of this kind.

You're probably right.
I don't buy hi-fi magazines anymore as i think that some reviews (not the reviewers) can sometimes fall into advertise.
But the main reason is that i don't have enough experience to agree or to criticize.

quote:

Once upon a time... 1979-1992 I was Editor of our humble (you’d say miserable) Hungarian Hifi Magazin.

I'd say nothing.

quote:

It‘s really pathetic to see this promising man in such a situation.

I don't know the man so i keep myself free.
Opinions are sometimes a double bladed knife.
Btw if we consider all the words spent on audio like a waste of time this forum could get closed now and we would not feel the shame.
I don't think that Colloms' words are the truth but i do take them like experience.
Just like all the rest.

quote:

And I’m really happy I’ve been active in the recent 15 years in DTP, instead of audio.

Instead i wish i could spend a part of my free time auditioning machines, making my own ideas and sharing.
(yes, my system is the best because is the only one i can listen to)

Gianluigi,

“Instead i wish i could spend a part of my free time auditioning machines, making my own ideas and sharing.”

Instead I wish I could spend a part of my free time listening to music:-)

graphoman

quote:

Originally posted by graphoman:
Gianluigi,

“Instead i wish i could spend a part of my free time auditioning machines, making my own ideas and sharing.”

Instead I wish I could spend a part of my free time listening to music:-)

graphoman

Yes.
My grumpy character is growing following the general decline of the body so today, more than before, no popular sports like women, cycling or cars daydreaming can affect or disturb my ancient inclination to spend hours with records.
Btw shaking head left to right is not brain disease but rock'n'roll.

Gianluigi,

“following the general decline of the body...”
you’ve told it at the wrong place, since 1959 I’ve doing sport semi-professionally (somewhere on the proletarian side: table tennis) and with 66 I’m still active.

“Instead I wish I could spend a part of my free time listening to music:-)” My remark has not been made just to make fun.

In the past, I kept looking for different machines and “better sound”. The result was positiv inasmuch Hi-Fi friends if visiting me were fascinated. Not so the outsider visitors: they were polite but refused to listen too long.

In the recent 8-10 years I stopped looking for different makes and sticked to a rather closed system instead. (You guess the name.) Since then, visiting audiophiles keep pointing out dozens of faults in my system (they are really existent, possibly Mr. Colloms would show the most knowledge on them) but everyday people if coming to me do find more and more pleasure in music listening and tell me they want to come again.

IMHO Hi-Fi is nothing but a change from German to British thinking. I’m on my way while Martin Colloms may be somewhere halfway, in the opposite direction.

graphoman

quote:

Originally posted by graphoman:
I’m on my way while Martin Colloms may be somewhere halfway, in the opposite direction.

graphoman

I can't understand this hang-up.
Does he own you money?

Gianluigi,

what I mean is that Colloms’s reviews show less and less signs of British but more and more signs of German kind of thinking. Basis of his judgement is no more real music listening but superfluous rapid tests (or, alternatively, complicated artificial methods you can play the objectivity game with), completed with meaningless measurements.

graphoman

Hi Kuma,

What a pity, I only have my SBLs with active 300s. Pretty damn good to my ears, IMO they have a poise that even a 500 does not eclipse!! You did however hear SBLs with a 300 and a 500, did the owner try two 300s??

Frank

graphoman said:

quote:

completed with meaningless measurements.

They are only meaningless to those who don't have the engineering knowledge and experience to interpret them. After all, Naim use measurements.

Bob

And i thought i was only underlining an article about Naim.............................