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Thread: Naim SBLs any good?

  1. #11
    Join Date: Jan 2008

    Location: gone

    Posts: 11,519
    I'm gone.

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    Naim speakers.
    Gosh.
    Wouldn't touch 'em with a barge pole!
    Put me down as not-a-fan.
    .

  2. #12
    Join Date: Sep 2012

    Location: Derbyshire

    Posts: 542
    I'm mark.

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    I've had a couple of pairs, bought black ones cheap to try, then burnt the budget to a minty pair of Walnut beauties.

    No other speaker has such fast and controlled bass, true, there's not huge amounts, but the punch is addictive.

    I had a go active, but won a foo filled Audio42 passive crossover which I thought was better. There's a thread on Pinkfish about DIY crossover build.

    Bit of triggers brush, I changed the tweeters to Scanspeak D2905/7000, they needed some woodwork to fit, but Hiquphon OW1's are a drop in replacement and upgrade.

    They like an upgrade, they'll play with a Nait 1, but sang on my Naim/Avondale pre/power

  3. #13
    Join Date: Apr 2009

    Location: Near Saffron Walden, Essex

    Posts: 7,087
    I'm Dave.

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    Known in the trade as ssssssBL because of their bright sibilant presentation. Put them with Naim Olive and you will not need to visit the Dental Hygienist anymore because they will remove the plaque from your teeth right there.

  4. #14
    Join Date: Oct 2015

    Location: Woodmancote, West Sussex

    Posts: 1,629
    I'm Ian.

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    Quote Originally Posted by hifi_dave View Post
    Known in the trade as ssssssBL because of their bright sibilant presentation. Put them with Naim Olive and you will not need to visit the Dental Hygienist anymore because they will remove the plaque from your teeth right there.
    I never tried my first pair with the Olive series, I had the Chrome bumper set up then and didn't feel it was tooooooooooooooo bright lol. Know what you mean about that piercing treble though, the second pair were nasty until I swapped the tweeters for a used pair.
    Turntable
    Toshiba SR-370/Mission 774/Van Damme cable with MS Starline plugs/Ortofon Quintet Black
    CD
    Cambridge CXC transport/modified Musical Fidelity X-DAC/modified Musical Fidelity X-10 V3 tube buffer
    Network Player
    Cambridge NP30
    Amplifier
    Denon HA-500 head amp/Nakamichi CA-5E pre-amp/Chinese passive RVC/Proton AA-1150 DMC power amp
    Speakers
    Mordaunt Short Signifer on original factory stands
    Cables
    Mogami with Rean Neutrik plugs/NVA LS5
    Headphones
    Sennheiser HD600/Sennheiser HD650/Koss Pro4 AA

  5. #15
    Join Date: Jan 2009

    Location: Deleted

    Posts: 6,585
    I'm Deleted.

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    When I was in retail we used SBL's as our day-to day speakers and I've set them up loads of times and listened to them for many, many hours (all of this was with Chrome and Olive Naim gear, but also amps from other manufacturers). They aren't really bright in the way Dave's description suggests but they certainly can sound a bit hard and edgy. The bass is quick and dry sounding but the problem with the treble is more where the mid and the tweeter meet. It helps if you have a very well behaved source and smooth sounding amplification may help (though not so much in the bass perhaps). What I did find, in my view anyway, was that NacA5 speaker cable was a step too far and result could be very hard and 'clangy'. When partnered sympathetically they can sound quite remarkable - really good rhythm and expression. They can sound bloody awful too . Oh, they also seem quite room variable which you don't really know until you install them.
    Account Deleted

  6. #16
    Join Date: Nov 2017

    Location: Northern Ireland

    Posts: 73
    I'm James.

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    I'm not too worried about getting them and hating them as they're quite easy to move on and get your money back, but if this is the case I'll be sure to try or check everything such as positioning, cables and gaskets etc before I make my final verdict 🙂
    MY SYSTEM
    SOURCES: Marantz cd63 mk2 ki, Marantz cd6000ose
    AMPLIFICATION: Albarry m408s mono blocs with ap3 pre
    CABLES: Chord company c-line, Monster interlink 400, QED silver speaker cable, Tacima cs947 mains conditioner
    SPEAKERS: Mission 752 freedoms, AKG K550 mk2 headphones

  7. #17
    Join Date: Dec 2018

    Location: Neath, Wales

    Posts: 1,515
    I'm Shane.

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    Heard a pair of mark 2 SBL's a couple months back. They sound good. But do have a rather 'forward' kind of presentation.

    Idiosyncratic speakers, so not for everyone.

    S.
    Shane Lonergan.

  8. #18
    Join Date: Nov 2019

    Location: London

    Posts: 2
    I'm Anthony.

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    Hi Mark,

    I love my SBL's too...

    Did the Scanspeak 'upgrade' make an appreciable difference?

    How did you get the tweeters out? Mine seem stuck fast...

    Anthony

    p.s. Loving my Avondale mods. What do you have?

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