Stefan, Mark, Geoff,

It's great you could post the music we listened to
and posting the CD's covers was even greater, very cool actually!
Thanks

27C° in Paris today!
Regards;
Edouard

quote:

Yet, despite trying all the positioning options (including having the Naim dealer round) it was impossible to get an even half decent had sound.

Doc,

I have been always happy with the sound in my room. When he first came to my place back in 2005, Peter (User34), got very impressed with the CDS3/252/250.2/KEF Reference I had then, he is fancying since then the purchase of a CDS3!

Mark (mtuttleb) came twice last year, and listened to the 552 system both time with the KEF, I still had the 250.2 the first time he came, 300 was in the system the second time, the comment he made was that the lively room was more a plus rather than a minus:
Quoting Mark:

quote:

Overall, the KEFs are enjoyable and showed their strengths with large scale classics (Karajan - Beethoven 1960s and Mahler 2 - Klemperer - Schwarzkopf. Lovely and very involving performances. A result that I rarely achieve at home with large scale pieces like this.
After the weekend, I felt that Edouard's lively room was a plus rather than minus. I think if things were more controlled, the result overall would be less enjoyable, especially with the large scale stuff.

I also had a SBL home demo in 2006, the system was then CDS3/252/250.2/KEF Reference, I listened before to SBL's a few times in UK and in Seattle at a friend, but I can tell you that what I heard at my place with the 552 was the best sounding SBL I ever heard, extremely enjoyable and involving sound, everyone who were here that night agreed that the system sounded fantastic

Actually I have yet to hear a pair of speaker that don't work in my room, IMO the Totem Mani-2 were sounding fantastic as well, except for a few modern loudy tracks, which sounded bad on the KEF as well during the weekend, but as you can see on the pics Geoff posted, it was a lousy set up, with the CDS3 sitting on a flimsy coffee table, and the speakers were installed where we could find some room, the KEF were not even levelled and were swinging on their feet.
After Geoff left, I reset the system completely and got a fantastic result again.

In July 2006, Manu from Dimex, the Naim distributor in Canada, was in Paris, he visited me and we had an great evening at my place, Manu always told me that the KEF were not his cup of tea, but he got quite impressed listening to the system that night, he even told me I would have to purchase a much more expensive high end pair of speakers to better the sound I had at home with the KEF.

...The Amati's were the ones

Therefore there must be some differences between our rooms and I am not sure a different pair of speakers will solve all the problems you seem to have with the sound, because in my case, I didn't buy the Amati's to solve a room problem as I didn't really had one, or if I had one I still have it, the Amati's are just better speakers, definitely in a different league I must say!

I really hope you'll be able to solve the problem in order to be able to enjoy the music in your living room downstairs.
However it would be good if you could have a home demo with the SONUS FABER Amatis Anniversario and see if they are the answer to your problem.

Good luck,
Edouard

Hi Edouard,

Great pics!! I see you have the Amantis tipped back. Presumably this lifts the sound stage.

Is this how SF recommend setting them up? Or is it something you've settled on?

I'm wondering if I should do something similar with my floor standing Audio Vectors.

Thanks,
Graham.

quote:

Edouard,can i have a clearer picture of what appears to be a boudoir grand piano? What make is it? Who Plays?

Hello Andy!

It was good to get some news from you with Geoff.
The piano is a Yamaha C2, my daughter is the one who plays, althought she is been at UBC (University of British Columbia) since August 2007, therefore the piano has been quiet lately. My wife took 10 years of piano lessons but doesn't play anymore.
I may start taking lesson one day!

The girl playing the piano in the pic is my son's friend.




Regards,
Edouard

quote:

I see you have the Amati's tipped back. Presumably this lifts the sound stage.
Is this how SF recommend setting them up? Or is it something you've settled on?

Hi Graham,

The very heavy metal Amati's bases are design to have the Amati's Anniversario tipped back, the rear spikes are shorter than the front ones, the spikes are adjustable in order to have the right tilting, SONUS FABER recommends to have the mid driver at ears's level when listening in the listening chair.
Actually I noticed that the sound is pretty good anywhere you sit, I personally don't find the Amati's picky in my room, they just sound awesome, you never question the way they sound, the music just flows in a way you have only and always been dreaming about BEFORE having those speakers installed in your system.
I got an Italian Goddess at home!

Regards,
Edouard

Edouard,

They look fantastic in your lovely room.

You must be very pleased. Finding full range speakers that work in your room is very satisfying.

Steve

quote:

....Actually I have yet to hear a pair of speaker that don't work in my room, IMO the Totem Mani-2 were sounding fantastic as well, except for a few modern loudy tracks, which sounded bad on the KEF as well during the weekend, but as you can see on the pics Geoff posted, it was a lousy set up, with the CDS3 sitting on a flimsy coffee table, and the speakers were installed where we could find some room, the KEF were not even levelled and were swinging on their feet.
After Geoff left, I reset the system completely and got a fantastic result again.

.....Edouard I agree with your comments but the bit in bold type is the key that may or may not be the cause of Rockingdoc's problem. It does depend on the types of music played. Classical, Jazz, solo vocal, and acoustic music are often more easy to portray in a sensitive room than heavy beat , rock and dance music.

I do agree that the Amati's should sound magical in the vast majority of rooms but the 'wrong' piece of music can produce an edgy result under the best of circumstances ....anywhere.

regards
Geoff

Hi Edouard - thanks for the image's of the C2 - very nice tone! i went for a Zimmermann Z1 upright due to space - but at over £6200 it's not at the cheap end of piano's!

With a piano like that freely available, why not start to learn?

quote:

I see you have the Amatis tipped back.

The very heavy metal Amati's bases are design to have the Amati's Anniversario tipped back, the rear spikes are shorter than the front ones, the spikes are adjustable in order to have the right tilting.

Great story.

Dianne and Edouard are terrific hosts (I can attest!) and I'm sure that the SF Amati Annivarsario are doing wonders in their system.

BTW Edouard yes, the Elipsas are also performing beautifully in my system!

Listening to music is nice

Listening to music on a Naim system is great

Listening to music on a Naim system with fellow Forum members is an experience that simply can't be matched!

Claude

Edouardo,

Ever since Ive seen your postage pictures, Ive been extremely envious of your system!!

Ive also been curious to ask how your system compares in sound quality to your grand piano??

Look forward to your reply!

Jon

Edouard,

I have to apologise for mis-typing your name before!! I had to add this, as people often spell my name 'John', so my sincere apologies!!

Regards,
Jon

quote:

Listening to music on a Naim system with fellow Forum members is an experience that simply can't be matched!

Dear Claude,

Thanks for the kind words
Hope you'll come again to Pqris with Martine, it was very enjoyable to have you both here!
I'm glad the Elipsa's are performing beautifully in your system!
Naim + SF is such a great match!
Enjoy the music!

Amitiés,
Edouard

quote:

I've also been curious to ask how your system compares in sound quality to your grand piano??

Jon,

I don't think you can compare the sound of the Yamaha grand piano in my living room and the Naim/SF.Amati's system...

Listening to the Yamaha grand piano in the living room is like being seated by the piano at a live concert which is never the case, moreover the sound reflect the acoustic of my living room and also the voicing of the Yamaha's piano, however the sound can be very loud, it's a different experience.

On the other hand, the hifi system will reflect the acoustic of the place where the music was recorded therefore each piano recording will sound different, the voicing of the piano manufacturer will also be quite noticeable, Steinway & Son, Beichtein, Yamaha...each have different sounds, moreover none of the top piano performers have ever plaid on my grand piano

People usually get mixed up with the sound when listening just outside of the living room, they always think it's my daughter playing the piano where as it's a piano recording on the system.

I thnk that the sound you get when listening to the piano on the system is more comparable to what you get when being seated in the 10-15th row at the concert.

Regards,
Edouard

Edouard,

Thanks for the reply - to be honest I hadnt realised that! Now you mention it, it makes complete sense as there are different manufacturers for different musical instrument and each one has its own characteristics.

I asked the comparison question as I was curious how the 16 bit 44.1kHz CD sampling compared to the real thing - a grand piano at that - but I see what you mean by the Piano producing sound as though 'youre there'.

Oh well keep enjoying audio nirvana!!!

(My own system is slowly climbing the ladder!)

Jon

Good friends, good wine and good music...Nirvana!

Gordon

Gordon,

With the German and the English here I had to put some beers in the fridge as well

I very much enjoyed visiting Edouard in the beginning of May. We had a relaxing weekend with tasty food, wonderful vine, interesting conversation, a lovely evening walk in the suburb of Paris and a lot of beautiful music. Packing my clothes into the suitcase after the three days, walking through the bedroom and looking into the fabulous garden I thought Edourds house was the right place for a three weeks holiday once a year. And besides this I noticed something even more interesting, maybe interesting for you too.

I liked the Amatis from the fist view on. And I liked the music the Amatis were playing. And for about two or three times during the weekend I went into my bedroom giving my ears a little break by reading a bit. And whenever I did so I realized some sound of the Amatis that draw me back into the listening room where I was really impressed, every time. And no matter of the instruments or the music the Amatis were playing. Nevertheless something was different.

I tried to remember my impression when I first listened to a 552 connected to Shahinians Diapason. I loved listening to this combination and I wondered how the Naims managed to give the music so many details. Please don’t misunderstand me. What I realized was far from being analytical. Driving the Diapason by a 552 impressed me by its richness of detail which let me easily understand the music. I then compared this impression to others I have with Naim. And I found some technical reason very often strengthens my impression. And I remember our discussion on music and Naim very often revolves around technical matters.

And I don’t remember discussing any technical matters when visiting concerts at any time. I like some concert-halls, yes, and I dislike others and the same with certain rows and seats in these concert-halls. But I never thought about noticing more or less details while listening to music in a concert-hall, never. And so I didn't with the Amatis. I just enjoyed the music they were playing. And they play 552-music. And they show every detail. But while listening to them the music plays the main role. It’s just the music that impresses me. Yes there is something different. Thank you for this interesting weekend, Edouard.

Best regards
Felix

Felix doesn't appears often on the forum, but when he finally shows up, he writes so consistently.
Thanks for sharing your impressions with us Felix, you summed up things in such a nice way.
Thank so much for the compliments and the really nice words, it was a pleasure to have you in Paris

Best wishes from Paris,
Edouad

Hi! Edouard,
Re your lovely system, Do you test other speaker cable on that, such as Yter or Siltech?