Gromit's music centre...

[Gromit]

Interesssting ! I must admit, I wouldn't expect a Nait 2 to outperform a 42/110 even without Hicap ... Had the Nait been serviced at all ? No accounting for taste of course

Looks like that Expo has turned has out to be a good buy !

Hi James - the Nait was serviced at Salisbury about 3 months ago so will have been on tip-top form. It did sound very, very good I have to admit. Will be extremely interested to hear what the service does for the HiCap tomorrow.

[istari_knight]

Will be extremely interested to hear what the service does for the HiCap tomorrow.

I predict great things

Naim recommend leaving everything turned on 24/7 [or at least they used to ?] and I think most owners did follow this so any unserviced examples really are on their last legs.

[Gromit]

I predict great things

Here's hoping your predictions will ring true.

[istari_knight]

Here's hoping your predictions will ring true.

I just saw your thread on PFM...

Told 'ya !

[Gromit]

Playing with my new lens...

DSCF0865 by Boxertrixter, on Flickr

DSCF0879 by Boxertrixter, on Flickr

DSCF0877 by Boxertrixter, on Flickr

[Theo]

Great photos as usual Richard: that's possibly the most photographed cartridge here (I took a fair few too)

[Gromit]

Great photos as usual Richard: that's possibly the most photographed cartridge here (I took a fair few too)

Thanks Theo.

Indeed re the Benz - as my Mum would say 'It's such a lovely colour'

[istari_knight]

Do update us when you get a chance to compare those Royds Richard... Though I think I know the outcome already

[Gromit]

Do update us when you get a chance to compare those Royds Richard... Though I think I know the outcome already

Will do James - been a busy day today but I did manage to grab a little bit of time. The comparison is an insteresting one (ie Edens vs Sapphire 1's) and definitely swings/roundabouts with one side - the Edens - winning out overall as one would probably expect.

The Edens are a neater, more couth sounding speaker which do a better job at portraying inner details. Their top end doesn't dominate the proceedings in the way the Saff's does, although in true Royd tradition they're still not what you'd call shrinking violets. Vs the Sapphires they do need a bit more power to wake them up.

The Sapphires by comparison sound more open, less damped, much fuller in the bass and are just whip-crack fast. It's hard to overstate the speed of these little things and they're just a riot on the right material. They're more adept rhythmically too, in a similar vein to my old Merlins.

Positioning, the 2 speakers seem to require different approaches. The Edens - in my room - like to be approx 10cm from the back wall, firing straight out. This opens them up nicely, adding impact to transient edge without increasing bass. Toeing in softens their edge and (hard to describe I'm sorry!) just makes them sound slightly lazy (this is lazy in Royd terms - they're still bloody fast!).

The Saffs need about 30-40cm behind them, set wide as possible and toed-in so the apex of the triangle crosses well in front of the listener. This has the added bonus of diffusing their top end sting.

Bottom line is they're both adorable speakers, and I just think I'm going to keep both of them.

Edens in-situ...

DSCF9675 by Boxertrixter, on Flickr

[istari_knight]

Very interesting

Agree re the toe in, I recall reading a hifi mag review of the Edens where members of the listening panel that weren't keen preferred them once toed in... Says it all really