I am indeed! …although my current deck is by the guys at Loud and Clear Glasgow - I’m a big fan of the Audio Origami arms, and frankly nobody does it better than they.
The 808s are great speakers - both my wife and I fell in love with them in the Cymbiosis room at a HiFi show before they were released. Got myself the pair in the photos during lockdown, but never got to hear them consistently perform as I wanted them to - they need volume and power to get the Isobariks going, and so sounded very flat at the low to medium volumes we tend to have on (we play music all day every day) so I grew frustrated with them and moved them on to go back to my first love of B&W.
Kudos fill the huge gap that Linn (not made a decent speaker since the Komri) and Naim (arguably never made a decent speaker!) leave in the market. People like me who were bewitched by the Isobariks and the Sara’s. More power to them!
Derek told me way back then that he’s working on a true statement speaker - you may know more than me about if that is still on the cards!
Unfortunately nothing known on my end. Once I decided to fully leave the Naim fold I fully stepped away from that world.
I started with dCS in 2020, Rossini+clock (replacing my Klimax DS which I owned since 2011), and last year moved to a Vivaldi stack. The black boxes left the premises in 2023 replaced with DarTZeel, and the Titans left in the summer of 2024 replaced by Stenheim. I’m all Swiss now. The only thing left from my Naim days is the LP12 which Peter brought back to Klimax spec in June 2024 ( only non Linn being Aro and Karmen top plate).
This photo is in the “show us your dCS” thread however it might not be easy to find.
I think Dunc and I abandoned the green ship around the same time
So this question is directed to Matt and Duncan…what speaker cable did you, or are you using with your 808s? At present am using Kudos KS-1 with my 606s. Every single dealer I’ve spoken to, has fallen off their chair! ALL saying that using that cable (£30 a metre) is totally holding back the 606s.
I used Naim SuperLumina cable (still do - although swapping is on my list) and found the upgrade over “standard” Naim NAC-A5 cable to the be huge. The SuperLumina speaker cable in particular is really good value - and there always seems to be plenty sloshing around the pre-loved market. I can recommend it.
Incidentally I swapped the jumpers on the back of my speakers to ChordMusic - not cheap (hundreds not thousands though) and that made a massive positive difference. So my plan is to eventually do that for the speaker cable too - although I need 7m lengths - so it’s an expensive undertaking! (I keep an eye on eBay)
Don’t know much about the Speakers (I’m planning a pair of Wilson Alexia V next) but I love the DartZeel and the rack works so well.
…anybody that needs not just one but two ladders for their record collection is ok by me …can read the posters - but unusually don’t recognise a single box set of record spine - is the Artwork representative of your tastes?
I was given some KS1 with my 808’s when I got them, and found it to be fine, after all the speakers are wired with it inside, after a certain date in production. I no longer use them as I made myself some speaker cable using 4 separate twisted wires on each cable.
But just because the KS1 is cheap, well cheap as far as some speaker cable goes, don’t let that put you off, as I guess a certain dealer is trying to pushing his much more expensive cables on you, by all means try them, but don’t just go in blind, especially on the say so, as next will be you need the full loom to hear it as it should be, as that’s why the speaker cables aren’t bringing all they can.
I’ve just managed to source two Quadraspire X-Reference frames with shelves which I am going to use as power amp stands for the ‘new to me’ Chord Ultima 2 Monobloc’s. The orientation would be narrow side at the front (i.e turned round 90 deg to fit the extra long monoblocs profile). I am thinking about using stainless steel bolts as feet in the interim prior to experimenting with the height as well buying time for fund accumulation.
Nice one, I would probably end up putting some sort of isolation feet on the shelf between it and the floor. Maybe something like the gaia, rather than spikes. Hopefully help to stop unwanted vibrations getting in ?
Gorgeous - and that’s precisely the colour I too have in mind
I think they’re the sweeetspot of the Wilson Range. Expensive but not HIDEOUSLY expensive, big but not dedicated listening room big, striking looking but not “I’m divorcing you” striking.
How do you find them? …I’ve never heard them - only have the older Sasha DAW as my most recent reference point - but have an offer of a home demo.
Given the short lengths that we use domestically it is not likely to make any audible difference . I am overlooking earlier Naim amplifier units which used cable inductance to provide stability and needed a minimum length for each channel ( I think it was 3m with NAC5).
The problem would arise if you wanted to sell the cables on. A mixed length pair would attract less interest.
While I have your attention this time of the evening:grinning_face: A dealer has suggested that a short length of RCA unbalanced Interconnect is superior to XLR balanced. I always thought it was the other way around?
He is just trying to sell you something. I don’t hold that against him, he’s just doing his job . Yes it is very late and I do not have access to a full sized computer or I would post a a link as Andrew posted a great piece in the last couple of days on what the various inputs are capable of supporting.
Balanced just means an interface that has superior rejection of parasitic noise. It doesn’t guarantee SQ otherwise though the noise rejection is a good thing to have.However what type of connection was he proposing where RCA is preferable? That is, connecting what to your Bartók?
Connecting the Bartók Apex to a Vitus Amplifier. Either their SS-025 Power Amp, or SIA-025 Integrated Amplifier. The jury is still out on which one.
I was reading a post from a while ago, where you said you preferred Sommer Vintage XLR cables from Designacable, for £18. Is that still the case?
Every single dealer that I have ever dealt with, (recently about four of them) are all trying to flog me expensive cables. Power cables, speaker cables, Interconnects etc…One of them suggests that I start with Siltech Classic XLR for £1,100 with a view to upgrading to Siltech Classic Legend XLR £3,100.
Another dealer sells Hemingway from £4,000 to £18,000 for XLRs. Hemingway speaker cable is £2,000 per foot! So for my set up, that would be over £20,000😲 Personally I think it’s LOB!
As I said on an earlier post, I knew it. The profit on cables the dealer makes are huge, plus they are much easier to deal with than say a 70 kg amp.
My advice is don’t get hung up on cables right now, get your system all in place first, and then if you want go looking for so called better cables. But again my advice is demo the ones you are looking at, at the same time. Plus if you then decide you like, I personally would then look for secondhand or x demo, at big discounted prices on new, as they normally lose about 50% the moment you pay for them, and some much more.
I liked the hemingway cable i tried, but selling it on in the UK would be very hard, and costly, as no one really knows of them and so aren’t going to buy, especially when they are extremely expensive. My advice is stick with the brands that sell, like chord, shunyata, transparent, if you do indeed buy.
As for xlr’s or rca’s, then that depends on how each piece of gear has been made, and how good the balanced area in say the amp has been designed and made.
dCS having both give you option to use both, you can even both at the same time as I do. But as said some manufacturers state that, one or the other should give you better results, but again probably best to try for yourself and see how it goes.
But for reference I use balanced xlr’s into my vitus, again balanced xlr’s from my phono stage into the vitus. Then the rca’s from the dCS go to my tape and reel 2 reel. This for me works best, plus I did prefer the balanced out better, but again I didn’t have the same make cables in both xlr’s and rca’s to try together at the time, so this could have made the difference?
That was along time ago and as you know no longer recommend cables.
A lot of my opinion on cables in general is contained in the excellent posts from Duncan, such as:
I fact most dealers don’t even take the risk of stocking the more expensive ones.
Ask and they will “get then in for you”.
IMO this is a market that depends upon the lack of consumer’s technical knowledge resulting in a lack of confidence in buying. So it is so often just “my dealer recommends”. coupled with a sense that if it cost so much it must be good. However the dealer’s motivation is whether it fits with his business plan rather then with any inherent merits it may or may not have ( and which may be difficult to define).
@AndrewS posted a great link a couple of years ago to a big article or series in a magazine ( Alpha Audio?). The writer performed technical and listening tests on a large number of products. Aside from an outlier with unusually high capacitance his overall conclusion was simply that they all work.
Did I mention when I investigated a certain well known high end brand with a number of ranges I found that the actual difference between one cable and its sister in a more expensive line at several times the price was basically the same cable in a different colour sheath and a 1 awg increase in conductor ?
You know what I use myself from a previous PM. However whilst that suits me it may not suit you. So just be as sceptical as you can manage. As a well known dealer said to me on hearing the cables I use " Great but I can’t make any money from them". Full marks for honesty.
MattC
…can read the posters - but unusually don’t recognise a single box set of record spine - is the Artwork representative of your tastes?
