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

charles1dad7,779 posts12-21-2020 6:18pmHi Mike,
Thanks for sharing your fabulous outcome, sincere congratulations. People who look at the Nenuphar as merely a single driver speaker and question its value just simply miss the point. A speaker doesn’t require multiple drivers, weigh 300-400 pounds with measured bass to 20 HZ in order to be considered superb. There are alternative paths to achieving sonic excellence.
Charles

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Yes
Folks worrying over capturing the 20-40hz zone may be going down a  wrong path.
I wanted to add a single sub to my Thor speakers,,so I ordered a sub amp + 10 inch woofer, , a  local tech urged me not to go that route. He said why do you want to add something that will lower the quality of bass the Thors already have. Further research on Troel Gravensens page, where he entions his dual per cabinet Nextel W18003s (Titanium voice coils, which Troels helped Seas to design) gave a  **seemingly rich deep bass as if 20-40hz*** = due to dual 6 inch cone material for bass.
IOW dual W18's provided sonic bass which sounded so rock solid, , to 40hz, as if 20hz were being voiced.
There  is so  little music in the 20-40hz zone in my classical collection where i feel there is no loss missing these few  rare notations. 
Caveat here is employing high quality Mundorf caps to acheive this extra punch from the W18E001 Excel. These caps are not cheap. 
Troels also mentions, high quality speakers deserve high quality caps. 

charles1dad7,779 posts06-01-2021 11:56am

"There are trade-offs with either approach. Matching YOUR needs and preferences should take priority".

Agree 100% David.
With this speaker I'd prefer tubes (I just like what tubes do). However no question that there has been much success reported by those who have chosen solid state amplifiers. Superb outcomes are possible with either.
Charles

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I can agree with this assessment. 
But as with you, I prefer employing tubes. 
a High quality tube amp , on the used market can be had for under $1500, I just don't think there are ss amps under $1500 that can compete. 
I see tubes as the wave of the future. 

ricevs673 posts06-01-2021 3:04pmThe standard Cube Nenuphar retails for $15.9K......as far as I can see. The drivers list for 6690 Euros ($8176 USD) the pair plus shipping and duty. The mini retails for $12.0K.

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OK so we have  some vital important info, which i could not find on the Inet.
I would say the speaker/driver looks interesting, but not when I compare Cube to my 1st choice in **Full* Range* which is the Voxativ line.
Should be September when i add the Vox AC1A's. 
I will build the cabinet , using sanded ply from HD, cost of material,,,,under $100. Will take me 6 hours/or less to build. 
Weight each cabinet = 30 lbs +/- 5 lbs. 
The Vox will be for entire midrange, Seas W18 Excel as bass, some type of AMT/horn for ultra highs 10k+hz range. 
Basically it will be a  3 way. 
xover points will overlap. I have no idea how low/high the Vox voices. 
That is to say, if it does roll off either end of the spectrum, no big deal, as i have  both end spectrum handled by other speakers. 

Following are my impressions of my audition of Cube Nenuphars:

Please note only digital source was used to keep everything simple and quick switching of tracks. My dealer had all the Cube models on the floor but I only focused on the Nenuphars.

Gear used for audition at dealer:

Preamp: Miyajima EC-5 Full function preamp

Amp: Pass Labs XA25, Bakoon 13R (used as an amp)

Sources: 432 Evo server streaming Tidal / DAC: Aqua La Voce

Cables: Swiss Cables

As soon as I entered some background music was being played at very low levels to warm up the system. I settled down in the seating chair and thought some music was played maybe in the room using some other small speakers (radio or something?)

I jumped and put my ears close to the speakers and was surprised that the Cubes were on. So initial impressions were, wow, even at very low levels the speakers completely disappeared!

First the the XA25 amp was used. My dealer suggested he play few tracks of his own and then I can suggest any songs I like. He played 3-4 songs and it was very good. Speakers disappearing act, black background, good instrument separation, great midrange. After 3-4 tracks my dealer played, I was like “damn, do I pull my wallet out now or what?”

Then…

I started requesting songs I know inside out and have been listening for few days in preparation for the audition. Before I get into that, my current system is as follows:

Speaker: Coincident Super Victory III (introduced as mk3 from mk 2 just over a year back)

Preamp: EAR Yoshino 868PL

Amp: Simaudio 330A

Sources: Acoustic Solid Metal 111 TT with Jelco TK-850S tonearm, Hana SL Cart; Chord Qutest DAC with Sbooter LPS.

Cabling: OCC Silver and Copper full loom from the same brand. I use a power conditioner and run dedicated 15A lines.

Various room treatment and isolation tweaks..such as Nordost Kones, Vibrapods etc.

I found the Cubes were very good. However, I found that (leaving different room and different gear aside) my current Coincident to have more bass slam and the high were a tad bit “airier”. Maybe due to the 12’ woofer and the ribbon tweeter? Overall, very similar to my current gear’s presentation but without the bass slam and tad bit less air. The Cubes were superior in instrument separation though but that could be due to my current amp. I think the Coincident deserve better amplification, maybe Class A or tubes.

Next dealer switched to Bakoon amp. Wow! I am VERY impressed with this amp. Small footprint and it can be run as an intergrated. No idea how they did it in such a small unit! While I enjoyed the Pass XA25 presentation, the Bakoon was cleaner and faster. I thought the bass would have slam, the bass was more or less like that of the XA25 presentation. I mentioned it to my dealer and he said it might be achieved putting the speakers closer to the wall (like Peter Bruninger has it in his listening room). At the dealer, the speakers were pulled front (maybe 3 feet?) from the front wall.

The cubes over all had good soundstage (between the speakers, the soundstage did not extend beyond the speakers), good front to back depth, VERY good instrument separation, GREAT “disappearing” act. I didn’t find the bass slam that I currently get with my Coincidents. I am not a bass freak and more of a midrange person..but…bass is important :)

After the audition, my dealer and I spoke about amplification. Bakoon is a bit out of my reach financially (more so if I go for the Cubes). He suggested a few good options (all tubes). I may consider those amp options first to try out with my Coincidents first...

Apologies, I don’t think I went into details but if anyone has any questions I would be happy to answer if I can.