Those nice folk at Signals are descending on us on Thursday to help us decide what (if any!) will be a suitable replacement for our venerable active SBLs.

Why change? One of the main reasons is aesthetic, but unlike SWMBO I'm reluctant to move away from my old faithfuls for purely appearance reasons. Nevertheless, in our rather large room I do admit there are times when the SBLs lack a bit of something, so I'll be interested to discover how the speakers we'll be auditioning will compare.

It's complicated because I've also finally acknowledged my CD source, a TAG McLaren 32R DVD player, although very good at CD replay, might be part of the problem. Not sure what the chaps will bring along in this department but an interesting time's ahead I suspect!

I'd be very interested to learn if anyone else has been down a similar road & what they've concluded!

Incidentally, the rest of the kit is: 2xNAP 250s, NAC52, Active X-over, plus various surround sound stuff...

Tony,

there is only one way to find out and that is to try all threee at home, however I will be very surprised if you go for anything other than the SL2's.

I think they will provide you with everything you think you are missing from the SBL's,

Regards

PB

tonym, your back end is/was similar to mine if you pardon the expression. The SBLs have loads more to offer if you go for the new 250-2 and SNAXO242. the major benefits of the new 250 are far better bass and authority and a much more open and engaging sound. I used to think the SBL was a limiting factor, putting an occasional brittle and shouty sound down to its tweeters, but now, no way, fan for life.

I would be interested to hear what you think of the SL2.

Gary

I'd be thinking of a CDS3 before even contemplating new speakers. The 52, active 250s and SBLs are an ideal combination. That said, the SL2s are a lot better, but having had SL2s and now SBLs, I can think of far better ways of spending nearly £5k.

Nigel

SL2's are bloody lovely but i agree with Nigel, front end is where i would start.

Gary.

quote:

front end is where i would start.

Absolutely! Recordings included!

Craig

Have you considerd that a subwoofer or two may help the SBL's in much larger rooms.

I have augmented my active SBL's with REL STORM/s subs in the past to great effect and musicality, realy reinforcing the bottom end and gaining a sense of ease in larger rooms.

You actualy end up turning the volume control down for the same desired(improved) spl

Hi Tony;

I made a journey from SBLs via Allaes to SL2s (from 'Signals'). I went off my (passive) SBLs, but it transpired that the x-overs were knackered. They now have new ones, and sound great in a second system.

The SL2s build on the strengths of the SBLs as far as I'm concerned, with additional positive attributes.

The 1027s are another very capable speaker in a complimentary environment, but a totally different kettle of fish.

You're welcome to contact and visit me if you wish (just south of Norwich). System details and e-mail address in my forum profile.

Good luck.

John.

Thanks for all the excellent feedback chaps!

SciDoctor, I've a pair of Velodyne DD15s and I must admit they do add a considerable amount of extra but quite subtle oomph, but I guess I'm a bit of a purist at heart & are curious to see what result I'll get from the two alternatives.

Because the weather's going to be dodgy tomorrow, the "Signals" crew are on their way today. As they'll be leaving a pair of speakers for home trial I'll have time to give them a proper evaluation.

Thanks for your very kind offer J.N., might take you up on it!

If you want real weight, poise, speed and resolution, you need a Chord DAC64 and a Chord Digital Signature between the DVD32R and DAC64. This combination is one of the finest I've had the pleasure of enjoying.

Will be interested to read about how the focals cop positioning-wise in your room, as you will probably have had the sbl fairly close up to a wall...

Tony,

I have a friend who moved from SBL to Focal 1027BE and he is absolutely delighted, I haven't heard his system though, his system is 72/HC/250.
Are you forgetting about sticking to active?
How about upgrading your source? A CDS3 would give you a lot!

Regards,
Edouard

quote:

Will be interested to read about how the focals cop positioning-wise in your room, as you will probably have had the sbl fairly close up to a wall...

Well...here's where they ended up in my room whilst on demo , as set by the Cymbiosis maestro.

The JM Focals can sound stunning with the right equipment, not so sure they are a good match with Naim gear,

Regards

PB

The chaps have just packed everything away and headed home after an extremely interesting but frustrating day for us all!

Alastair & Andy brought along the SL2s, the Focals and a 555 CD player(Naughty people!). After listening to a couple of tracks on the Linn & the TAG through my current set-up we swapped to the SL2s and settled back to what we were all convinced would be a worthwhile improvement, having overcome the first hurdle, that of SWMBO's approval regarding their appearance!

The first few bars of a "Yello" vinyl track were promising. There was added weight and refinement in comparison to the SBLs, but alas as the track progressed it was clear the life and drive of the SBLs was missing, the SL2s sounding lifeless and uninteresting in comparison. This was completely unexpected and although matters improved when Andy corrected the phase connections to one of the speakers (my fault, I hasten to add!) it was still distinctly underwhelming. A significantly higher volume setting was required to even begin to inject some life into the SL2s.

A call to Naim didn't help identify the problem and we tried again with the speakers moved closer to the rear wall. Unfortunately this did nothing much to help. Due to the shape of the room it's not possible to site the right speaker close to the wall.

We agreed the next thing to try was a better source, so the 555 was wired in. After a couple of tracks it was clear this was a significant step up in sound quality from the TAG (and so it should be!) but nevertheless failed to cure the lifeless sound we were getting from the SL2s.

Back then to the SBLs which sounded so much more full of life and drive, a much better sound but lacking the extra weight and refinement of the SL2s.

Time for a discussion regarding what to do next. We agreed there was no real point in trying the Focals driven by a single 250 at this stage and concluded the next logical step should be to try the SL2s driven by a single NAP300. No point either in keeping the 555 for an extended home trial at this stage, much as I was sorely tempted! Alastair intends giving some more thought about why the results were so unexpected. A significant factor must be the size of the room, which is 45'x 14'

Despite the frustrations of the day I've realised two things; how much I enjoy the Naim sound, and how much better the system will sound with a higher-quality source. Many thanks to Alastair and Andy for their thoughtful and professional approach and I do hope the wife's Lentil soup doesn't have the usual repercussions!

Shows what effect room positioning etc has, but I'd counter my 250 drives my SL2' just fine. Sure I'd like to hear em drven by a 300, but also the sl2 as a step up from my sbl's, too.

I also got chance to do my sbl/sl2 comparison over 14 days, which proved very useful...

Were the Sl2s new?

If memory serves Michael, didn't you discover a problem with Peter's demo sl2's when he installed the brand new ones?

I wondered if there could have been any similarities.

Peter

Tony;

You may wish to e-mail me to discuss today's experiences in detail. My new SL2s sounded somewhat better than the older dem pair.

That said, I was happy with the sound produced by the dem pair. SL2s do seem to be more room and position sensitive than SBLs.

John.

Thanks John, I've P.M.'d you.

Reading through my previous posting I realised I made a mistake in stating the SL2s didn't sound much better with the 555. In fact we only tried the 555 with the SBLs. Damn this age thing!