Have your say & ask the experts

I am looking to spend £2000 on an amp/speaker combination. It will probably be sourced with apple lossless files (pobably via sonos). I want to find out what sound i like best. People talk of sytems sounding bright, forward, smooth, relaxed etc. I realise that someone's neutral is anothers bright but.......

1) Can someone suggest two contrasting systems at opposite ends of spectrum and maybe one in the middle. From there i can then make finer adjustments by listening to different combinations. Lets not go down the interconnects and speaker cable route yet!! I just need some starting points. My gut feeling if that i like a neutral to smooth sound. I like a wide range of music including rock, jazz, blues, and vocal artists (not a classical fan).

I liked the Naim XS amp/rega RS5 combination but havent heard in relative to other set ups.

Thanks

DAN

nice budget ... would you buy 2nd hand older equipment?

try audio analogue and sonus faber then cyrus with monitor audio youll certainly hear a difference there

Naim/Neat

Cyrus/Monitor Audio or B&W

Unison Research/ProAc or PMC

Arcam/Spendor

 

That will give you a few pointers on all levels 

I can tell you that I'm surrounded with NAD and Rotel gear right now and there's a big difference in sound. The NAD is warm and smooth with good bass punch, where as the Rotel is lean and bright without the bass punch. I got so used to the NAD sound that it's made the Rotel hard for me to listen to. I'm also struggling a bit with three way floorstanders, as I was used to listening to 2 way standmounts. The difference in speakers is however easier for me to handle than the difference in the amps. Be very careful and try and listen to the difference in sound in the same shop, so you can easily determine what sound you're looking for, then take it from there.

Thanks all.

Joel what sound do you think each of your set ups will bring.

For some reason ive got a thing for naim. Never owned one, but since a young lad always fancied one, and listened to many niam amps (friends and dealers) over the years. Assuming i go for the naim XS amp, what speakers would bring about different results.

naim and whf both frequently highlight Neat Motive as perfect partners for their products but it depends on your budget

i personally found Neat a great product which pairs really well with Arcam so worth shortlisting - i would describe as pretty smooth, great vocals and midrange with good punchy bass but this is on the back of an Arcam system - these are quite dynamic speakers so with Naim will be a fast and punchy but maybe not quite so smooth

i would also add PMC models which rated very highly in my own demos and offer deep bass on their standmounts (not really clearer than Neat but great depth) and good overall balance - i felt Neat had a smoother balance overall but the PMC may work for you and are highly rated all round

and for something a little more forward try Proac - model dependent these are slightly more agile, forward presenting and brighter but again a great brand

the thing is you probably need to really decide whether you prefer a smooth system with great vocals or whether lean, fast and dynamic is your thing - given your first statement i wouldnt be so sure Naim is the right one for you

With that budget I'd be trying the Sugden Mystro with a pair of Focal Chorus 8xxV series speakers, a Naim/Neat combination, and a Unison Research or Audio Analogue amp with Opera loudspeakers. All very musical but in quite different ways.

Dan.m:

Thanks all.

Joel what sound do you think each of your set ups will bring.

For some reason ive got a thing for naim. Never owned one, but since a young lad always fancied one, and listened to many niam amps (friends and dealers) over the years. Assuming i go for the naim XS amp, what speakers would bring about different results.

I would suggest:

Top down, agile and lean ranging to warm and smooth roughly although each set-up will have its own character. It would be better for you to test without us colouring your views.

 

Moon amp with Sonus Faber Speakers ........... heaven!