I will be demoing a pair of Arivas this week. Are there any owners you would like to share their reaons/impressions for picking this speaker?

Thanks in advance for sharing.

Ed

Fancy that, Ed - so am I.

I have a pair on "home demo" now; I've had 'em hooked up for about two days. Not sure how well broken-in they are, so I'm reserving judgement. See my remarks in my "...Intro's, Credo's?" thread.

Hi Ed

I picked up the last new pair of Ariva's in cherry here in NZ about 18 months back to replace my B&W 603's. At that stage I was running a CD5i & Nait 5i. I chose them for their sound being more real, price point and of course being Naim and a floor stander. They are still working fine in my system which is now XPS2, CD2x, Hiline, 202, Hicap & 200.

It would take a few more $ to bet them in my view, although SBL's secondhand would be nice - but they are rarely available here. I am thinking of trying some Allae's in the near future.

Enjoy your demo, that is half the fun.

Regards

Don

bhazen

I may have spoken to the gents in Washington about the exact pair you have. It appears they're making a good impression on you.

Don

Thanks. My kit is now CD5i.2 & Nait 5i.2 and I envision going to CD5X & FC2X in the future. I'm sure the sound improved as you upgraded.

Ed

Yes, the sound does improve considerably as you go up in the Naim range. I went from what you have to CD5X FC2X & 150X on my way to the 200 series. The CD5x with Fc is a nice player.

regards

Don

I have the Arivas with Cd5x/FC2x, Nait 5i-2.

I truly love their sound.
They have a very FAT bass, so try moving them away from the wall.

When I come near the 20 cm-border they start getting "boomy".
Right now I have them about 30cm away from the rear wall.

Excellent presentation. Wonderful voices, nice big soundstage.

They are amazing little speakers and outperform so many choices that are more money. I think there is a really difference between our impressions of this speaker because of the constructions of our houses. If you are using them in an American house, they will sound excellent with very nice controlled bass. When they are used in the traditional European brick walls, then you need to move them away from the wall because they have too much bass. I only had mine a couple of inches away from the wall. I think they have some very special features that are missing in the Allaes. I prefer them over several of the Naim speakers because they have a more musical feel . . .

Ed - how are you getting on with your Ariva's?

quote:

Originally posted by Visprashyana:
They are amazing little speakers and outperform so many choices that are more money. I think there is a really difference between our impressions of this speaker because of the constructions of our houses. If you are using them in an American house, they will sound excellent with very nice controlled bass. When they are used in the traditional European brick walls, then you need to move them away from the wall because they have too much bass. I only had mine a couple of inches away from the wall. I think they have some very special features that are missing in the Allaes. I prefer them over several of the Naim speakers because they have a more musical feel . . .

Hello Visprashyana,

What I'm finding, with my flat's "drywall" construction, is that proximity to the wall is crucial and demanding. I had 'em about 11" away on day one, and decided they were dark and tubby - but very musical all the same. Out to 12-1/2", and they were bright, light and more than a little aggressive! I have 'em at 11-1/4" now, and I'm thinking that might be the spot. Actually, positioning them here can be a proxy tone control: bright, nasty CD, move 'em closer; dark, muddy CD, move 'em away from the wall!

I think these are keepers, though; the general sound I'm getting here now reminds me of the relaxed effect you get with a sorted LP-12 as source. I'm really warming up to the Ariva's. My "Naim System One" (well, 5X'd) sounds rather organic now - although I didn't know it, it's just what I was missing before. Tomorrow: NACA5 to possibly replace the Chord.

However..."amazing little speakers"? Didn't seem that way when I wrestled them out the boot of my car and lugged 'em up three flights of stairs - it felt like they were carved from a solid block of wood!!

Cheers,
Bruce

Definitely NOT "little" speakers...

They are really very musical and I know two NAIM-dealers who prefer them over the Allae´s and they are sad because the Arivas are no longer produced.

I prefer them over the Allae's also - that's why I "downsized" to them vs. buying anything else. I spoke with Naim's mastering engineer and he suggested a few inches from the wall also. I know this won't be accepted here very well, but I am still liking the tonal quality of the Ariva's over the NBL's. There's a lot more information in the NBL's and they are certainly tons more sophisticated, but but but there's some special magic about the Ariva's that is missing.

I guess they are little speakers to our traditional hifi speakers in North America. I downsized from Vandersteeen 3A Sig's, so they were much smaller. The NBL's are getting back up to that size again. It's tough at the moment because I don't know if I want to keep the Ariva's for the rear channels or sell the n-sat's??? It doesn't look like we will be getting a 7.1 anytime soon.

Bruce,

I have listened to the Arivas and n-SATS in store only. On Thursday I will getting a pair to home demo for a few days.

If they do what they did in store, its almost a safe bet to say they will be staying. I can give you a better idea this weekend.

Ed

Hi folks,

I'd audition Arivas against n-SATS. Personally, I prefer the latter. But a good pair of s/h Credos would probably beat both of them for sound quality.

Enjoy your music,

Engelbert

quote:

Originally posted by Scorpio1:
Bruce,

I have listened to the Arivas and n-SATS in store only. On Thursday I will getting a pair to home demo for a few days.

If they do what they did in store, its almost a safe bet to say they will be staying. I can give you a better idea this weekend.

Ed

Well, I can state one thing emphatically - with Arivas, setup and placement is key. Getting the right balance is literally a matter of centimeters in my room; they are sensitive to cabling too - the NACA5 seems to have made an audible difference. With the NACA5 installed, I now have the Arivas exactly 11" from the wall; before, that would've been tubby and dark-sounding.

Thanks for the guidelines to start with Bruce. I already have the NACA5 in place from day one with my setup.

I prefer the simpler approach an all Naim kit provides, right down to the cabling. Is there better, possibly, but why aggravate myself trying to find someting when they work so well as intended.

quote:

Originally posted by Scorpio1:

I prefer the simpler approach an all Naim kit provides, right down to the cabling.

At the risk of sounding like a full-on "Naim cult" member, spot on.

Many people do not like the Arivas because of not driving them through NACA5.

I think Arivas in an all-NAIM-system are bound to sound good.

Yep, 11 inches are like 28 cm...I too found the best spot around 30cm.

There seems to be a distinct split between those who appreciate the Ariva and those who do not.

The Ariva is said to sound distinctly different from what other Naim speaker usually present.

Some people do not like Naim speakers in the least. Those individuals seem to really enjoy the Ariva.

Those who really do like what Naim speakers do, usually find the Ariva to be not to their liking.

The bridge seems to be the Nsats, which don't get much negative press and are respected by most. Ironically, they utilize the same drivers and tweeter as the Ariva, but to much different results it seems.

They are a bit like Marmite.
You love then or you hate them.
I think the amount of time they were on the market speaks volumes.

quote:

Originally posted by munch:
You love then or you hate them.

I think this is how most feel about Naim speakers in general. At least those who I personally know that have Naim, or have had it in the past.

I dont think the Ariva was discontinued because it is a subpar speaker. I seriously doubt that Naim would have developed it and sold it if it was a shitty speaker.

Of course it cannot be entirely due to the cabinet mfg stopping production on them either.

Who knows....

I do know that I personally love them.

quote:

I do know that I personally love them.

Dito.