Thoughts on Rega R3 Speakers with Naim Uniti Nova


My Rega R3s have been with me for a decade or so. Originally paired with a Rega Brio and CD player. I recently fell in love with Naim gear, and bought the Nova. I have always thought the speakers quite OK...but I am not an audiophile, although I really like my music to sound good. I kept the speakers when the sales rep said that I should first concentrate on ‘the source’. But am I doing the Nova a disservice? I almost certainly do not have your ears...and I do not aspire to the ultimate system, but I would like to keep the gear at a roughly comparable level. So should I keep the R3s, or upgrade...and to what? All help gratefully received...
westsidejoff
All Rega speakers are under-rated .  Many think them "flat"  .What they are is VERY natural and few are used to that on a speaker.
A decade or more ago I heard the original supernait into some dynaudios and found it irritating where the NAC202/NAP200 wasn’t. I later heard that same supernait into RS3 or 5, I’m not sure which and the combination just worked. Speakers can be too revealing sometimes. The RS3s won’t be asking any embarrassing questions of the Nova and will give you a bassis for comparison when you try replacing them.

Listen to your sales rep and wait

There is going to be a long break-in period on your new NAIM before it settles down and opens up and performs at its max. 
by comparison, my REGA OSIRIS integrated amp / REGA ISIS cdp/ dac driving my REGA R9s  and NORDOST FREY loom cables took over  300 hours before they final bloomed at their max. It was also  a non-linear pathway more like a series of step transactions.

Similarly my ARCAM SOLO NEO unibox driving my REGA RX1 stand mounts took over 200 hours to settle in.

Patience rules cuz this will be a common breakin journey and not a fast n dirty aha moment .