Naim or Octave with Dynaudio Confidence C1

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.

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.

Thanks everyone. I haved nagged the Dynaudio guys about getting an Octave demo in my area. They haven't been able to do it yet. I have heard before that the C1s need a lot of power (and I'm not interested in the supernait -- it is too forward and not refined enough for me) but I have heard the Naim separates on more than one occasion in a room that is similar to mine in size and the power seemed adequate and the dynamics not compressed. Maybe it's my ears. Also, I tend to listen to music that is not bombastic. I'm also told that the Naim's high voltage amps are more meaningful than amps in a cheap power amp. I don't know if that's true or bs. I am going to try to listen to the Octave if I get a chance.