I'm very happy with my Naim Nait XS3/ND5 XS2 through Neat Motive SX3's for streaming music. I also have a Bluesound Node 2i which I was using before the Nait. It's a fab bit of kit and punches well above it's weight for the price.
Your friend may have a similar amplifier but the gain structure may be different.
I totally appreciate what you're saying, but I'm afraid you're barking up the wrong tree. The amplifiers are almost identical, so nothing to do with the 'gain structure'. It is purely down to the lower sensitivity of the Bose speakers. He's used the amp with other, more sensitive speakers and the volume knob wasn't up nearly as high. With my own set-up, the Focals are more sensitive than the speakers they replaced, so I've been able to actually turn the volume knob down to achieve the same loudness (from 10 o'clock to 9). With my little Castles connected to the main system, I have to turn the volume up a bit more to approach the levels I have the Focals at. Again; lower sensitivity. Nothing to do with gain.
I’m looking at amplification that offers high current output to give absolute grip over the speakers..
I’m swithering between the NAIM XS3 , CYRUS I7XR or the I9XR
I like the dynamics of them all……
Again, I am happy and open to persuasion and real world experience….
Personally, I preferred the NAIM sound to that of Cyrus, but that's entirely subjective. Both have more than ample power for your room (30-40Wpc RMS/8Ω is usually more than adequate). <br /><br />Re speakers once again; consider the physical attributes of your room when thinking about speakers. By your dimensions, your room fits the common size and shape for a living room, a 3:2 rectangle. It is usual for speakers to be at one end of the 'length' rather than the 'width', if that makes sense. So some larger floorstanders might actually want to be further apart, or need more room between themselves and a wall, to really work to their optimum. So you might get unwanted soundwaves bouncing off a wall and colouring the sound too much. This is where smaller speakers can actually be better, as they may be designed for the size of space you're playing your music in. Plus, the average living room may be too 'cluttered' for larger speakers to operate properly in. They need space to 'breath'. You don't want to be sitting on top of them. Look up manufacturer's specs for ideal set up and listening positions. Good speaker manufacturers tend to do a range of similar speakers in varying sizes/configurations, to suit various room sizes. For example; my speakers are 'bookshelf' types, but they are perfect for the listening environment. Good stands are essential, but don't be tricked into buying stupid money things; you just need to isolate the speaker from the floor well, spikes can help on carpets/wooden floors. I've found that 30mm granite plinths are perfect for helping deal with a wooden floor; mine were offcuts from a local worktop machining place.
Personally, I preferred the NAIM sound to that of Cyrus
When it comes to amps, I can't think of any companies that sound less like real music than these two.
Books will be written on the cult of bullshit perpetuated by NAIM.
Cyrus, (the early ones, up to the 7?) are the sound of cocaine - relentlessly detailed and hard. A sound that would reach it's logical conclusion in the Pioneer A400.
What would you recommend the OP has a listen to Rustyspanner?
@somafunk - how is your Cambridge system at accessing the hard drive? I have a Synology NAS and its incredibly slow using the iPhone app to navigate the music folders (>500gb music).
Is yours a drive directly connected to the Cambridge?
I have a samsung 2tb ssd drive connected to my iMac (for convenience of ripping my cd collection and adding to library - only another 600 or so cd's to work through so I'll need a bigger hard ssd drive) running Roon as the CXN v2 is Roon ready, or I could just as easy connect the hard drive direct to the CXN v2 which can read it.
CXNv2 is connected by USB to iMac and would work fine without Roon but I like the Roon interface as I also have a subscription to Tidal
When it comes to amps, I can’t think of any companies that sound less like real music than these two.
Books will be written on the cult of bullshit perpetuated by NAIM.
Cyrus, (the early ones, up to the 7?) are the sound of cocaine – relentlessly detailed and hard. A sound that would reach it’s logical conclusion in the Pioneer A400.
That's quite an opinionated rant. And not, I believe, at all valid. Our ears are all different, our perception of sound, and emotional response to it, even more so. Hence why 'audiophillia' is such a contentious topic. We can only ever express our own subjective view of such things, there can never be any true consensus unless scientific methods of analysis are involved. And statements like 'Cyrus are the sound of cocaine' are as pretentious as any other pseudo-intellectual waffle commonly found in the world of Hi-fi.
@somafunk – how is your Cambridge system at accessing the hard drive? I have a Synology NAS and its incredibly slow using the iPhone app to navigate the music folders (>500gb music).
Are you using HDDs or SSDs? I use the former for large NAS storage, but it can be slow to access at times. Problem is that large capacity SSDs are astronomically expensive right now. I recently bought a 2Tb NVME SSD to use in an external USB3 enclosure, and it's lightening quick by comparison. Not cheap though.
I use Sandisk 2TB extreme ssd drives (not Samsung as I previously mentioned), guess ill be getting the 4tb soon.
Hs anyone got Roon on a raspberry Pi with DAC board and USB storage? I’d like to be able play stored files rather than iplayer/spotify, but don’t want to run a PC or NAS box 24/7.
I think theres a few folk on a hifi forum I browse that use it, no idea how it works though, this might help
It's a 3TB HDD, WD RED I think. 8 years old.
Might do a swap for an SSD and see if that improves things.
Will also try and link it to my Sonos app to see if that is faster.
I'm running a Roon free trial at the moment. Interface is great but it won't recognise the NAS yet - I'm still working out how to do the various IP address troubleshooting tips. Wish it was plug and play!
Thought Roon ARC might be an answer to access all my music while on the go but does need the NAS to be connected!
It’s a 3TB HDD, WD RED I think. 8 years old.
Might do a swap for an SSD and see if that improves things.
Ah yes. The WD Reds are great HDDs, very reliable, but not fast. A SSD should speed things up if the drive speed is in fact the issue. It might not be; it could be something to do with your network, so check that also. My Bluesound Node currently has an old portable HDD connected via USB, and that works fine even though the drive is just a 2.5" 5200 rpm laptop thing.
listened to the XS3 ND5 and the SuperNait3 ND5 combo yesterday through various speakers.
planning on listening to the Cyrus I7 XR + I9 XR plus Stream XR next week, same speakers to see if I can cut the budget a bit [I7 still available and price cut]....
Not too sure they are over-hyped or BS ridden opinions....sounded incredible to me on various speakers......
nils lofgren acoustic live; epic....
Have you managed to try anything at home or in a similar environment yet? What might sound great in a specially designed listening room might not sound so good in your average front room. What speakers have you tried so far?
Aging ears and none treated listening environment dictate I have no need to spend oudles of money on HIFI kit
I have a small audio interface feeding some smaller genelecs which are more than I will ever need to enjoy my synth, guitar, music, film streams.
Sonos in 2 downstairs roams which are easy and convenient
Check out an ifi zen blue streamer.
Runs via bluetooth in my case with a tidal subscription via phone.
Also upgraded my 20+ musical fideilty amp about £500 the time to a Fosi Audio bt20 pro quality about the same but loads more bass. Unbeatable for less than a £100 power floorstanding missons with ease and no heat from the amp ap or seperate transformer.
Main: Bluesound Node 2i (with LPS) into Chord Qutest DAC, Hegel H120 amp, Neat Petite Classics, and a REL sub.
Workshop: Node 2, digital out into Yamaha R-N803D, Tannoy 611, twin BK subs.
I use Tidal, but prefer the BluOS app to Tidal Connect most days. Both systems have HDDs plugged into them with my file/FLAC storage. I've made my own diffusors and stands too.
Desk hifi is two laptops and a CD player into a Cambridge DacMagic 100 then to a ChiFi fosun Class D, then into vintage Rogers JR49’s on isolation stands on the desk. Streaming Radio 3 and Tidal, when not in a Teams meeting.
Small Class D amps have been a revelation, but I’d like a small Leak to match the Rogers. I bought those speakers as I couldn’t justify LS3/5a’s for the desk, and they have the same drivers and crossover (in a round aluminium case).
Main is a receiver into Sonus Faber 5.1 with a Rel sub. Also streaming lossless.
I don't get why people buy DACs (digital to analog converters).
Just get a decent little mini amp
https://www.avforums.com/reviews/tangent-ampster-bt-ii-integrated-amp-review.16025/
I guess because not all D/A are created equal. <br /><br />
Having said that chip technology has come a long way. I listen to most of my stuff out the headphones out of my Mac into my stereo . I also have a Motu interface (prosumer) and an Apogee symphony, pretty expensive
Theres far less difference than you’d expect tbh.
I have three digital inputs and I want to switch between them on the desk. Find me a mini amp that will take sp/diff (CD player), optical (old MacBook) and usb (work laptop) and I’d have bought one!
BTW I also have a tangent ampster BT for Son1. It can’t handle those inputs. Sounded great on the desk though. But I had a use case that needed digital switching. Hence a separate DAC and a very small desktop amp (with large power supply tucked away).
I've no idea what you're doing with USB, but something that takes both (presumably coaxial?) SP/DIF and TOSlink surely shouldn't be difficult?
surely shouldn’t be difficult<br /><br />
I looked hard. Needs to fit on a desk. The DAC is really for switching. Not audio quality. Ampster didn’t have usb for work laptop. 💻
SMSL have several (AO 200, AL300,AD18) which would do the job
Ayima have some steam punk tube thing as well called the T9 Pro which gets reasonable reviews.
I considered these but ended up with the new Fosi Audio ZA3 and a separate ‘switcher DAC’ (SMSL M300) as it has a better headphone amp chip. The ZA3 is unbelievable for the price and honestly sounds as good as many old school amps at hundreds and hundreds more. I got it on the pre order run with 48v psu for £135!! It’s bonkers what the ‘fun fi sector are doing these days - it can even be linked to another one and run in mono mode for a mini monoblock system. They really need to be heard to be believed but I suspect the trade off is longevity - it may sound as good as a £1000 Marantz amp but it won’t last 20 years
As far as trad makes go, the new Mission 778 looks interesting with all the digital inputs you need in a medium form factor for not much money - slightly to big for desktop though but still compact.
I don’t get why people buy DACs
I mean, there's a tonne of reasons I'm sure you can figure it out.
Personally, system two has an older amp with no digital inputs. I have my computer feeding my DAC via usb, my CD player into coax and my Wiim Mini into the optical. ($70 SMSL SU-1 Dac - really well reviewed budget DAC).
Can I hear a difference? Heck yes. Would a DAC costing 4x the price sound better? Dunno. I've not listened to a DAC costing 4x the price.
