Cube Audio Nenuphar Single Driver Speaker (10 inch) TQWT Enclosure

grannyring

Although I think I'm the newest Nenuphar owner on the block--just at 2 weeks--I'll chime in with my answer to your question regarding the speakers resolution making "below average sounding recordings sound less enjoyable or possibly bad?"

My answer, yes and no.  Yes, their resolution reveals more about the recording space/method than any speaker I've owned.  But not in a tipped up, etchy way.  It's just a natural openness that brings me deeper into the recording.  But that resolution doesn't necessarily make below average recordings sound worse.  In most cases it made them more interesting, because at the same time the speakers are revealing the recordings quirks it's also revealing the strength (or weakness) of the music.  For instance, a lot of Billie Holiday's work is poorly recorded.  The speaker doesn't shy away from that but it also brings such tonality and nuance to her voice that you quickly forget the recording quality and are absorbed by what you've never heard before in her singing.  

On decently to well recorded material the Nenuphars bring you into the recording space like no other.  Listening to well recorded live albums can cause a virtual reality experience.  On the Marian McPartland album 85 Candles (Live in New York) you not only feel like you're in the audience at Birland but you can hear the patrons clapping on either side of your listening chair!  How's that for sound staging!

BTW, I just purchased your Acoustic BBQ Dueland 12ga IC for my system.  Looking forward to the audition.  

Steve

@david_ten
And, yes, thanks David for pointing out Srajan's latest (which is now finished).  I now have the term for what I'm hearing from the Nenuphars driven by the SIT-3: Tuscan sunshine!

Great points Steve. Thanks so much.  

Charles, the output impedance is not ideal, but all other aspects are. I need to do more research as I think I can add a nice resistor to fix that issue.  

@grannyring What follows may come across as apostasizing speaker first thinking....it is not.

To begin, I’d like to recognize @stephendunn ’s excellent post.

would you say these these speakers are fussy or finicky of the recording quality?

The Nenuphars are speakers that "step aside." Simply put, they express "more."

The question to ask is whether your system and the components and cabling ahead of your speakers are "fussy" or "finicky?" I’ve found what’s ahead of the Nenuphars to be far more important. In other words, I don’t think about the Nenuphars... which I think is saying a whole lot.

In contrast, I have spent a ton of time thinking through my components and critically evaluating them.

An aspect which may help answer your concerns (by example) is how incredibly good mainstream popular music sounds. The genre, as you know, is oft derided here for various reasons...however, I’ve been enjoying a wide swath of the genre like never before. Similarly, Stephen and Charles have shared their take on older recordings and how incredibly amazing they can be, notwithstanding their faults.

Recordings are far better (especially the ones labelled as not being so) than the critical ’discredit’ heaped upon them. It’s our systems and the way we implement them that (I believe) are responsible to a far greater degree than the recording.

does this speaker have good mid bass response avoiding the tendency to sound lean or thin at times?

Page 7 of Srajan Ebaen’s review of the Nenuphar Mini Basis addresses your question head on. (Link a few posts prior)

I experience mid-bass response to be stellar in tone, timbre, color, texture, impact, naturalness, aliveness, etc. AND variable depending on what is in the chain... recently highlighted and expressed while using two different amps, as well as front end components.

Great to hear your Interior Designer spouse approves!!! I believe Cube is now offering custom finishes, by special request.