Well some masochists suggested I let you know how I get on with my speaker auditions so here goes.

Firstly apologies to those in another thread who suggested Fraim first - I just 'cannae dae it' before speakers.

What follows is a bit of a mixed & (windy) bag but I had to eliminate many of the possibilities to narrow it down to the real contenders.

Room is about 7m x 4m. The rest of the system is CDX2/202/NAPSC/200 and LP12/LVX/stageline.

Music tastes are varied: female vocals/Jazz piano/classic Rock/Celtic and a little classical. ( i.e. anything I or Riitta likes !)

Current speakers are 25 year old Mission 770's and budget is 2.5K pounds


Auditions at dealer A:

Long session (with same source & amp as mine ) and

Proac D15 : Good textured bass, accurate, slightly veiled mid/upper range put me off.

Living Voice Auditoriums : pretty good all-round - worth another listen in round 2!

Sonus Faber Auditors: I love stroking these speakers - but they did not do it for me sonically. Lovely for vocals and piano but didn't paint the whole picture.

I realise at this point that I'm going to end up 'diss-ing half the forum but the usual 'my ears only' riders apply doubly to speakers.


Martin-Logan Clarity: Hybrid Electrostatic/conventional. I've always had a soft spot for Quad ESLs so was interested to hear these. All the expected ES sparkle
was there as was the signal from the other drive units. Not too sure how
intergrated they were. Interesting idea tho'. Riitta is unlikely to tolerate their tall ES grilles anyhow.

That was enough for one day and I went away not having had my sock blown off by any of them really.


Today's Auditions at dealer B:

Unfortunately not a Naim dealer so used an Exposure CDplayer/amp to weed out the home dem candidates.

Spendor s8e: I liked these, very neutral and composed. Perhaps a little polite on rock music.

PMC OB1's : funny these - my brain told me they were rather good in all departments - my gut told me to get the next pair of speakers in! They just didn't get me involved. Perhaps showing up the Exposure ?? Dunno, dealer claimed they were a good match to Naim and I should try them at home.

Elac (somethings) - sorry I didn't write the model number down ( 1600 pounds, ribbon tweeter,) I found these rather bright and in-my face - "GOOD HIFI, 'INNIT", if you get my drift. Not for me but I'm sure they measure great in a lab test.

Harbeth Compact 7ES2, - These speaker are very good at what they seem designed for - midrange vocals, very engaging for that type of music.I just felt I was listening through a filter chopping off the top and bottom.

Next tried to break the bank and listened to the

Spendor s9e : these are better than the s8e's but whether they are a grand (=a new hicap) better I remain to be convinced. However both Spendors remain definite maybes.

So the outcome of that is that I liked (both) the Spendors enough to try them at home sometime soon.

I wonder if the PMC's would fit well with my Naim kit (anyone wanna encourage me to bring these home too ??)

There is a third dealer here in town who stocks Neat and ATC speakers but is keener on home demos than shop demos so right now I'm listening to some Neat Mystiques here at home. I really wanted to hear the Elite SE's, but he didn't have any in the shop so I have the Mystiques to see if is worth him ordering some in. I have to say I'm impressed with these little babes, very cohesive and musical. They
suffer a little from being a small box (I'll try them against the back wall later). They remind me a little of Kans (which I last heard over 25 years ago so I could be well off) - but they just follow the tunes so well. I think I'll be trying to hear what the Elites can do. Their size is excellent for our layout too.

Sitting in the Kitchen I have a pair of ATC 35's from the same dealer. I've resisted putting them in until the Mystiques have has a good workout. But that is my fun for tomorrow night.


And before anyone suggests Allaes thay are on my list too - but the dealer in Edinburgh doesn't have any at the moment - perhaps a trip to Glasgow is on the cards.


Whew ... time to give the ears a rest and watch the footy.

Ian

Ian
Thanks for the very nice read!

Gregg

Ian,

Thanks!

Interesting read on your Neat Mystique as I have been listening to the Elites.

I am curious to see if your 200 can drive the SCM35... As it seems struggling with the Elites in my room.

Even if somebody calls me a nagger: Can you extend a bit more on what kept you from keeping the Auditors on the short list ? What music was used ?

Stefan
PS: Very enjoyable post, Ian !

I'm very interested to hear how you get on with the ATC SCM35s, particularly with the bass interaction with your room. Is your room normally susceptible to bass problems ? I'm particularly interested in how tuneable the bass response is by moving the speakers closer too or further from the wall.

It's not too often that we see many sealed-box designs that are not critically dependendent on being close to the rear wall.

Allan

Kuma - yes it was your post that drove me the extra mile to search out a Neat dealer, which may turn out to have been a good move.

Of course I coudn't resist plugging the ATC's in tonight 'just for a wee listen'. They are not optimally placed etc etc AND I cannot play music too loud at this time of night as my (good) neighbours have to get up early. But my initial reactions are very positive, lots of good detail, clearly better than the mystiques but that is no surprise.

I'm not exactly sure how to identify if the 200 is struggling, it is hard to disentangle the amp from the speakers without a 250 or 300 to compare with.

Would you care to comment on the SCM35 vs the Elite SE's??

Stefan - I played a selection of music -

Prokofiev - Romeo & Juliet (opening)
Richard Bona,('african music' & vocals)
Ian Dury (punk),
Pink Floyd,
Tord Gustavsen (jazz piano)
Karen Matheson ( Celtic vocals )
Verdi La Traviata (opening)

The Fabers didn't convince me on the rock-ier material. Classical was fine and vocals were excellent. I think it is simply down to physics, the small cabinet effect.
Hope that helps to explain my ears!

cheers

Ian

PS The more I listen the more I like the ATC's - it took ages to type this since I was continually distracted!

Ian,

What about Shahinian? I love the Compass, which are in your price range. I couldn't afford them at the time I was buying speakers, otherwise I'd have a pair now.

Cheers,

Brian

quote:

Spendor s9e : these are better than the s8e's but whether they are a grand (=a new hicap) better I remain to be convinced. However both Spendors remain definite maybes.

Ian that's what I felt about the Spendors when I auditioned them, but I did end up buying the S8e's and haven't regretted my decision. They are fantastic speakers, I've only had them a couple of weeks, but they are improving daily.

They do work very well with Naim equipment, I don't think you'll go far wrong if you bought them.

Regards
Clive

Brian,
I have nothing either way for or against shahinian, I just haven't come across them in my travels. Maybe they will appear somewhere.

Clive,

Yep, I need to get the Spendors home for a listen once some of the current gear goes back.

regards,

Ian

Hi Ian,

Do you have a chance to listen to Bose 901? I was told it has something to offer for people who likes the naim sound. I also like the retro styling of the 901 with the pesestral.

An interesting read, Ian.

I conducted a speaker journey of my own late last year which was documented here so to an extent I can identify with your experience!

However your budget is a lot bigger than mine was so of course that gives you lots more possibilities to choose from. And of course that can be a curse as well as a blessing because there are so many different speakers to choose from that it can get confusing, so it's really good that you're trying out different dealers because that'll give you a more balanced idea of what you're looking for.

As it happens I went for the Spendors' smaller sibling, the S5e's. They are an unusual Spendor design, being 2-and-a-half way speakers, but like the ones you heard they are very neutral sounding and the biggest thing for was their tonal neutrality - this for me really made them stand out from the rest.

Not sure about listening to the Neat Mystiques - they seem to me to be a bit out of place given the price range of the rest of the speakers you are listening to. Like you I didn't get the chance to listen to Elite SEs but as I said in the Neat thread if I had my final choice might well have been different! See if you can get to listen to the Elite SEs if you can - I'd be very interested to see how they compare to the rest of what you listen to. Especially as I have similar amplification to you - NAC202/NAP200 (though no NAPSC2 or Hicap!) and I also have a CDX2 (though powered by an XPS2).

Good luck in your search and keep us posted on developments.

Cheers,

Jon

I have no idea how they sound, but wouldn't the Rega R9's be in your price range. Worth a listen. Flat earth and all that.

Judd

quote:

Do you have a chance to listen to Bose 901? I was told it has something to offer for people who likes the naim sound. I also like the retro styling of the 901 with the pesestral.

How about some big Cerwin-Vegas? They are seriously rightous dude!

quote:

I'm not exactly sure how to identify if the 200 is struggling, it is hard to disentangle the amp from the speakers without a 250 or 300 to compare with.

Would you care to comment on the SCM35 vs the Elite SE's??

Ian,

I am glad you are having a better time than me on the Neats.

As I just wrote on my original thread, the pair I have appears not to be the SE veresion. Apparently, I was misinformed by a dealer and found out, accidentaly , while checking out the specs on the Neat's website.

I haven't driven the SCM35 with Naim amps.
But knowing the 200 gets stressed on frequency extremes even with my speakers in this room at high level, it *might* struggle with the 35. Are those newer taller version of the 35s?

You've got the 35 for a home demo. Let us know how the 200 copes with 'em.
But the ATCs are hard to beat when driven properly.

The only failing I could see on the ATC over the Neats is that the latter retains dynamics better at the low level. You can play the Neats at the whisper level yet they do not fall asleep.

BTW, you will know when the 200 is gasping for air. The music loses control and life.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: kuma,

IanGtoo

....you should make sure you include Shahinians (Compass or Arcs) on your audition listtoo and prepare for that sock to be blown off!!!

PS.

....my Obelisks are just about broken in & its costing me a fortune in socks (stockings if its a Saturday night)!!!!

PS

Do you happen to know if there is a shahinain dealer in Scotland or a decent website where I might find out ?

Google has failed me for the first time in some years!

ian

http://www.whathifi.com/Links.asp?char=S

Good links to hi-fi manufacturers site, but don't have the speaker make you are after - are they distributed by another firm that is listed?

andy c!

Pear Audio are the Shahinian distributor in the UK -

Pear Audio,
7 Prospect Place,
Alnmouth,
Northumberland
NE66-2RL
Tel. (44)(0)1665-830862
Fax. (44)(0)1665-830051

They don't appear to have a website (for the UK). The Shahinian website has an e-mail address for them under contact info.

quote:

Do you happen to know if there is a shahinain dealer in Scotland or a decent website where I might find out ?

....beaten too it by PAAS. I would call Pear Audio, a very helpful chap called John Burns (I think), I am sure will be able to help you....I have had a number of conversations with Pear and they have been very enthusiastic in their responses....