The large object on the right is a Naim Ovator S-600 loudspeaker. A pair of them are priced at around £6500 and a lot of people know this. Quite a few will have heard them too. At least they think they have.
Over the course of the summer, Naim held the Summer Sounds Roadshow. We played our part in this by having the Signals ʻBashʼ. This was an opportunity to demonstrate new and (then) forthcoming products such as the DAC and the CDX2-2. All these demonstrations were conducted through Naim systems feeding pre-production samples of the Naim Ovator loudspeakers. What we heard was good too. Natural, open, clear, dynamically free and very ʻfull rangeʼ.
Careful records were kept of how the speakers performed in the various locations, right down to how far away from boundaries they were being placed. Ongoing tweaking was also taking place and, once the ʻsummer seriesʼ was over, Roy George (chief designer) set about the final degree of fettling.
Having explained this, I had better tell you a little more about this very radical speaker which will be part of a wider range, comprising larger and smaller sibling models, all using the same technology.
Designed in conjunction with German speaker guru Dr Karl-Heinz Fink, the Ovator uses a flat diaphragm driver that covers a vast proportion of the audio spectrum. This Balanced Mode Radiator goes from 380 Hz to 35 kHz, leaving the twin conventional bass drivers to deal with frequencies below this point.
The BMR is housed in an aluminium assembly which is isolated via suspension from the main cabinet. The crossover is located within the cast alloy base and the cabinet isolated on leaf springs. Even the speaker connections are decoupled in the modern Naim manner. Active operation is an option - with the crossover duties performed between pre and power amplifiers. The whole structure is extremely heavy at 61 kilos, itʼs beautifully finished and curiously tactile.
So far, this has been cut and pasted from our 2010 newsletter. As of very late December 2009, we actually have our demonstration samples. Out of the box and (literally) ice cold on 23rd December, hooked up to our reference Naim 500 system they sounded interesting. Tighter in the bass and happy closer to boundaries than we feared (currently 51 cm into the room), they had a slightly glassy aspect to mid-range but terrific composure, resolution and sheer scale. They sounded (and still do sound) HUGE, imaging wide and deep, placing instruments solidly well beyond the speakers on all planes. After a few days of warm-up and running in, they are transforming themselves into something mesmerisingly good.
The glass might have gone but they don't offer a fulsome sophisticated tailored honeyed 'high-end' 'hi-fi sound either. Their style is to offer a remarkably realistic portrayal of real live musicians. Far more recognisably 'Naim' than many will have expected in the sense that they major in getting the music out of the boxes and into the room. They are nevertheless rather more uncoloured than, say, the SL2. Personally, I think the S-600s really do represent progress.
And we've been playing them. A lot. Initial reactions have been that they are particularly good at guitar, oh and drums, in fact, any percussion, really. And basses (all kinds). Massed strings are great too, as are solo ones. And piano, trumpets and sax. Every time you hear something handled particularly well you have this sense that you've found their special ability. As time goes on, the even-handedness sinks in. And, yes, voices are indeed superb too.
Thinking about it, voice can be an issue in that they are so revealing of echo, background noises and and artefacts in general that you can often hear the fake reverbs and echos etc on more processed recordings far more clearly than I suspect was intended. On good recordings, and quite a lot are, they are sublime. On bad ones, the music usually holds together just fine. You just might find yourself being patronising about their production values. Super-compressed stuff, Coldplay's X+Y for example, remains compressed if less terrible than it can be.
Basic 'raw' recordings, as has always been the case, are the most rewarding. And some old ones do very nicely. Playing 'Kind of Blue', the trumpet and sax have a vigour that is initially shocking. Shocking, vibrant and powerful yet not at all fatiguing. The intonation, interplays, even just the gorgeous sound of the bass on the opening bars of 'so what' hook you in (and I'm not really all that keen on Jazz!). It all maintains itself as exciting and compelling from start to finish.
This lack of listener fatigue is impressive, especially when you consider that they have been played loud for long periods. The only ache I have is to play some more music.
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There are currently two loudspeakers in the Ovator range. More is to come. The smaller model, Ovator 400 was launched about a year after the 600.
Designed in conjunction with German speaker guru Dr Karl-Heinz Fink, the Ovator uses a flat diaphragm driver that covers a vast proportion of the audio spectrum. In the case of the 600, this Balanced Mode Radiator goes from 380 Hz to 35 kHz, leaving the twin conventional bass drivers to deal with frequencies below this point.
The BMR is housed in an aluminium assembly which is isolated via suspension from the main cabinet. The crossover is located within the cast alloy base and the cabinet isolated on leaf springs. Even the speaker connections are decoupled in the modern Naim manner. Active operation is an option - with the crossover duties performed between pre and power amplifiers. The whole structure is extremely heavy at 61 kilos, itʼs beautifully finished and curiously tactile.
Th 600s are particularly good in active operation and are capable of outstanding results but they are sensitive wee souls and do require careful set-up to get them performing well.
Even the large, chunky 600 is very easy to drive and excellent results can be achieved from a relatively modest amplifier, the Nait XS, for example. They are valid right up to the top of the Naim system range, so this ease of driving should not be confused with lack of discrimination. System set-up, source and pre-amp quality are paramount and it is worth noting that the combination of NDX / PSU / DAC / 282 / Supercap / 200 has been very successful.
Mainly because of their respective sizes, we have seen considerably more succes in selling the 400 than the 600 but the 600 is the better speaker.
The 400 is a simpler, smaller and lighter product - still heavy by any reasonable measure, though. Placement within around 20-25 cm of a wall is normal and a very small amount of toe-in and pehaps a couple of degrees of vertical tilt has proved advantageous.
The 400s retain the suspension in the cast alloy base assembly but forego the suspension for the BMR.
Compared to conventional speakers, the Ovator series has a very lively almost un-speakerly sound that can seem a little dull on first impression. Living with them, customers have shown a marked reluctance to go off them, indicating that they are made of the right sonic stuff.
Nevertheless, rooms, personal taste and other matching requirements make all loudspeaker choices something that should really be finalised in the intended room.
Both models are carried on demonstration. We expect to be able to play the Ovator 400 actively during 2012.
