Naim Audio Ovator S-600 Loudspeaker Review
New Speakers from Salisbury with Innovative Balanced Mode Radiator
Jul 26, 2009
Naim are not in the habit of introducing a new speaker range every year, but when they do the results are usually worth listening to.
The Ovator is quite a large loudspeaker (see picture) which will be the middle of the company's range of loudspeakers. It uses a new kind of high-frequency driver that covers six octaves up to 35kHz, handling much of the critical range of musical content with a single drive unit.
A recent Naim Audio Presentation at demo, as well as the Ovator S-600 brochure lead to some interesting insights.
Listening to the Ovator S-600
At the Naim Summer Sounds show in July 2009, the company demonstrated a pair of Ovator S-600 loudspeakers driven by the Naim reference system of flagship products. A Naim CD555 with dual power supplies fed a Naim 552 pre-amplifier. A NAP-500 power amplifier drove the speakers in passive mode.
First impressions were an excellent smoothness on classical music, while on pop and rock music Naim's signature dedication to pace, rhythm and timing was not compromised. Unlike most of Naim's previous loudspeaker models, the Ovator S-600s are not designed as boundary speakers to be used hard up against a wall. The system was set up by Naim's engineers and they brought the speakers out from the wall about two feet.
The exceptional clarity in the mid-range and high frequencies was still there listening off-axis, and as listeners swapped seats to allow more people to hear the sound in the typical listening position, it was notable that even listening in the far field, closer to the rear wall than to the loudspeakers the sound was still clearer than usual.
Many loudspeakers get very directional at high frequencies, sounding excellent in the stereo sweet spot, but listening further away, or not sitting in the middle clarity is lost. The Ovator S-600s were much better with this than expected.
There was a hint of low-frequency boominess, but the room had features that would make this worse than in a normal domestic setting - two alcoves behind and to the side of the left-hand speaker, so a listen in a true domestic setting is recommended for audio equipment of this level.
NXT Balanced-Mode Radiator High-Frequency Drivers
Naim are using a BMR high-frequency drive unit to cover six octaves, operating from about 380Hz to above the limit of human hearing. In this way a single sound source per speaker handles most of the musical information from the lower voice band upwards.
Unlike typical tweeters, the NXT design operates as a piston with a reducing surface area as the operating frequency rises, which minimises the usual increasing directionality at high frequencies. This drive unit is mechanically suspended in an aluminium cylinder with a wall nearly half an inch thick forming its own chamber, to minimise the vibration from the bass units.
Ovator S-600 Loudspeakers - Conclusion
How well a loudspeaker sounds in a combination of many factors, no single design element will make all the difference. However, Naim is a well established British company with three decades of making audio equipment behind them, including a number of successful loudspeaker designs.
Naim have always tried to isolate vibration between their loudspeaker drivers, and the Naim Ovator S-600 does sound like it will be well worth a listen for its exceptional clarity and wide stereo listening area. The S-600 is expected to retail at about £6000; available from Naim Audio dealers.
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