Naim or Octave with Dynaudio Confidence C1

Hi, Thanks for your responses. I guessed right that you had heard the supernait. I'm not a fan of that amp -- it is too forward for me and not very refined. The separates are more laid back and much more refined but still with the Naim pace and oomph. How would you describe the Octave amp sonically? Enjoy your system. I'm sure it is great. I think the C1s are incredibly special speakers. What cd player did you choose to go with this set up?

I have the meridian G08 cd player. The Naim stuff has incredible prat. I personally think the Octave has just as much prat but a little more oomph. Sonically the KT88's are very warm sounding with a little extra in the bottom end (it's amazing how much bass the C1's have with those tubes). The 6550's are more linear with a tighter bass - a little less warmth in the mids and a little more in the highs. The EL34's just have a magical mid range and highs but do lack the lower end. The EL34's do make the mids and high seem more forward (which I too am not a big fan of) but oh how nice they sound. I do use a Rel B3 sub.

I also have Nordost Frey speaker cables and soon Ic's (doing a Nordost in home demo presently) with Fusion Audio power cords. The Nordost cabling bring out the 'air' between the instruments and vocals very nicely and with great speed.

I can't see replacing any of my current system unless something dies.

Handsomeck - Where are you located? Your Dyn dealer could contact Dynaudio and ask for an Octave demo. They have been known for doing that. If I'm not mistaken Octave has only been in the USA for about 2 years. I also have the V70SE which I got just before the RMAF where it was introduced. I never heard the V70.

Don't know about the Octave, but a nap 200 can't drive the C1 properly. ( it was even struggling with a nap 300 )

I would think that you want a bit more power with the C-1's than a Supernait will provide - 150 good solid-state watts. I'm absolutely not advocating running them with a high-powered amp (I think most high powered amps sound like shit), but a really good solid-state amp putting out around 150 watts would seem to be helpful with Dyns, which unfortunately require power (I think the C-1's are less efficient than my 3.3's were, and it's not just efficiency - power makes Dynaudios come alive).

Nothing against the Supernait - it's a super little piece - just not with this speaker, I wouldn't think.