Naim 5i powerful enough for KEF LS50?

Yes, OD, please do tell us again why like ADMs.

Ok, I'll endulge you.

ADM9s for me, are the best system for the money, period.

You are being a bit of a nununana if you ask me.

 

I would say OD's post was entirely reasonable given the OP's wishes and subsequent posts.

 

I would say to the OP. Forget the ADMs for now. You can't easily try them, and you don't want to risk a punt. NO worries.

At the very least, find a pro-audio shop. Go and ask if you can demo in shop some pro-monitors for around the same overall outlay as you would be spending. In fact I would say halve it, then add around 150-200 for a preamp/DAC. I am 100% certain that for three quarters what you are willing to splash out on Hi-fi gear, you will acheive a much more precise and clear High Fidelity sound than you would with your passives. OD is right, the clarity and detail is not for everyone. But I would definitely recommend you at least give it a whirl. It will cost nothing and you may just have an epiphany...which is exactly why people who go active irritate the hell out of stuck-in-the-mud die hards who reply with the likes of "oh no, not again" to a piece of perfectly valid advice. 

 

 

You didn't. A link to a relevant thread would've been fine, of which there are several.  The ADMs are unsuitable for reasons of the OP can't readily access any and if they turned out to be unsuitable, returning them is going to be expensive.  I wouldn't do it and I live in the UK, never mind the additional burden of international postage and insurance to the value of the speaker cost plus the postage itself (to cover the full outlay).  Not viable, IMO.

To the OP, You probably don't need to go the Nait XS.  Find a well specced amp that's powerful enough to drive and grip your LS50.  Something like a Harman HK990, or secondhand AVI Lab Series amp, HK6850 or HK6950 amongst others.  See also some of Sony's higher end ES amps like the 630, 670, 770.  They'll all be more than capable.  

Oh, and while they're the flavour of the month and hyped to high heaven just now, other speakers do exist beyond the KEF LS50....some may be worth your attention...!

They have less quantity and depth of bass than the 685s, although they do produce a lot for such a little box.

Apologies, it's just that you said more punch rather than more balanced/better quality/more detailed or anything along those lines.

I think the main question, which can only be answered with an audition, is do they go deep enough, because I think the quality of the bass they have is good.

Hi Audiofoolius,

I swapped my PMC Twenty 22 for the AVI ADM 9.1 RS speakers, no regrets. I like the ADM more then the expensive PMC's. I live in Holland by the way, Rotterdam.

Maybe you could ask the AVI dealer in Holland if you can send them back if you don't like them?

 

If he wanted to try them, he could buy them direct. Legally they fall under distance selling regulations and Avi would have no choice but to accept them back. That's why I risked it at the time.

It's different for the 40s as they are "made to order".

If you bothered to read the thread rather than try find a reason to fault the ADMs9 (which seems to be a fixation of yours for some reason), you'd find that my recommendation came before the OP mentioned his inability to be able to demo them. The recommendation was not for your benefit or your ilk anyway, so as suggested, why not just try some sort of constructive response to the benfefit of the OP? 

You are starting to come across as a little bit obsessive and dare I say it, irrational in this regard.

 

OD: If you'd bothered to read my post, you'd have seen that I snipped all but the first two lines of yours.  I stand by it.  

And to point out, for the nth time, I've said on many occasions what my views are on the products both current and past of AVI and it's a matter of record on here.  If you can find where I've decried them (the ADM9), am biased against them for the product they are, or suchlike, then please point it out.  If you do, can you also point out the many times where I have talked them up.  Balance and all.

I'm not obsessive about the product at all, far from it in fact, so again you're shy of the mark.  And as for not commenting on a post, well, you put it up on an open forum.  My comment was based on your feeling "the need" to qualify why you like them.  You didn't need to.  Rather straightforward.  

And I'll reserve the right to respond to a post where I see fit against your right to post whatever you choose in the first place.  That's freedom of speech, sorry if it rains on your parade.  

The ADMs are ust one of the active speakers now available, they no longer have the market to themselves. Also bear in mind that all active speakers do not sound the same, so one person's accurate is another person's unlistenable

I'd have a listen to the Dynaudio Xeos range if I were you. They're active, and wireless to boot, plus Dynaudio are well supported by local agents in many countries. Alternatively, they also make active monitors if you don't like the idea of wireless. There's also the ATC actives, which are pricy, and the Linn Majik 109s, which have the advantage you can start off using them as passives and add the amplifiers later. Price is around the £900 mark as passives.

You do witter on don't you?

If need be OD, if need be.  

Hmm.

Well, to answer the original question. I don't think a Nait 5i will have any problem powering the KEF's. I've heard the Nait 5i on a full size monitor gold speaker and it could get it to painful volumes.

It's always nice to talk about combo's with speakers but always try to hear the match first. 

Things can seem perfect in your head while the actual execution may leave much to be desired for.