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.
Printable View
Playing with my new lens...
https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5521/...090db36f_b.jpgDSCF0865 by Boxertrixter, on Flickr
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7211/...425df160_b.jpgDSCF0879 by Boxertrixter, on Flickr
https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2904/...254ba70a_b.jpgDSCF0877 by Boxertrixter, on Flickr
Great photos as usual Richard: that's possibly the most photographed cartridge here (I took a fair few too) :)
Do update us when you get a chance to compare those Royds Richard... Though I think I know the outcome already :eyebrows:
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...
https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2929/...f7261ce8_b.jpgDSCF9675 by Boxertrixter, on Flickr
Very interesting :thumbsup:
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 :D