Which speaker is best with Naim


I have a Naim AV2 pre-pro and a (gain-matched) Naim Nait5i as my electronics and I'm totally sold on them. I'm also ninety percent sold on my Linn Ninkas, which have great agility and can handle jazz as well as a big movie soundtrack. The one thing they could do better is soundstage.

Recently I started asking around about speakers under $2k (new or used) that were good at soundstage, and I got many impressive recommendations, but most of them were tricky loads and wouldn't sound good with my scrappy little Nait. Nevertheless, I seem to have winnowed the field down to a set of five or six finalists to try up against my Ninkas (some of which *are* tricky loads, anyway), and so now I'm looking for the best prospective match with my Naim gear.

The nominees are:

Reference 3A De Capo
Salk Song Tower
Joseph Audio RM7si-mkII or RM-22si
Something by Totem
Something by Meadowlark

...a dark horse is the Audio Physic Virgo-II's, which come very highly recommended, but I am not impressed with the highs from the Spark-IIII's, which makes me gun-shy about getting another pair of A-P's.

The musical range begins with Jazz and stays there for a long time, but the winning speakers should also be able to rock from time to time and will remain part of an eventual 5.1 HT system.

My front end is an Arcam FMJ-CD23, the interconnects are Belden 95259 coax with Cardas plugs, made by Blue Jeans, the speaker wire is cross-connected coaxial made by Element, the room is 8 feet across by 15-6 long, poured concrete and cindar block. The available footprint for each speaker is no bigger than the Ninkas, about seven inches across by twelve or fourteen inches deep.

Any reactions are greatly appreciated.
dog_or_man

Showing 4 responses by dog_or_man

Robdoorack, what about the Neat Motive-I's or Motive-II's, any experience there? I have no preference when it comes to floorstanding vs. sub/sat, but I've been told in other forums to check out the Motives and there's a pair for sale right here in the 'gon right now.
Yes, great point Birdies -- I definitely wouldn't want to sacrifice the PRAT for better sound stage. I guess what I should have said is, "Which of these, or some other, will sound like Naim electronics *and* do a slightly better job of soundstage than what I have now?"

I'm thrilled with all the responses, by the way, both in here and elsewhere: I'm getting my first glimpse at any number of brands I've never heard of before, including DeVore, Triangle, Meadowlark, Joseph Audio, and Reference 3A.

Trianglezerius, which pair of Triangles should I be listening to in my price point with my musical palette?
Theraiguy, have your Motive-2's ever bottomed? Because of an earlier experience I am *totally* paranoid about investing a lot of time and energy into choosing a new pair of speakers, and then compromising their sonic integrity -- permanently -- in the first listening session. The Neats seem to have a relatively low max-spl, and I do like to rock-out from time to time.
I've had a flood of responses about my terrible room -- and how I should fix that before I drop a bunch of dough on speakers. So, here's the thing: a fellow audiogon member has a set of four bass traps, sixteen inches in diameter by forty-eight inches tall, for which he wants 580 total. He says he built them to Jon Risch specifications, and that they'd cost 640 each if you bought them new. What does everyone think?