British hi-fi specialist Naim Audio were unveiled it’s long-awaited flagship loudspeaker, the Ovator S-800, at the Hong Kong High-End Audio Visual Show. It took 5 years research a new technology called Balanced Mode Radiator (BMR), and introducing their own Naim BMR drive unit, which eliminates the need for a separate tweeter because it is able to handle both high and low frequency levels, so no wonder that a pair of these unique loudspeakers will cost you a whopping £30,000 ($47,000).
The speaker cabinet is a 40-liter, set firmly on an aluminium die-cast plinth to house a huge 280mm flat-panel bass drive units and a 82mm flat-panel BMR. The bass unit on the Ovator S-800 has been given a flat-diaphragm shape which is unlike to be found in normal speakers that have cone-shaped bass design, which leaves more space behind the unit. This in turn helps create a better sound quality. The loudspeaker walls are comprised of nine constrained layer damped layers of MDF bonded under heat and pressure and formed into a curve that reportedly contributes significantly to the speakers overall structural performance.
Ovator S-800 loudspeakers has an enviable 93.5kg and stands 1,393mm tall and 520mm wide, so you must be sure to have enough space to accommodate these expensive speakers. It also comes in a choice of colours starting with Gloss Rosewood and would be ideally paired with a Naim music system comprising a Naim NDS, NAC 252, NAP 300 and upwards.
Naim Ovator S-800 will be available in both configuration – active and passive. Active configuration will be available from December, and that means, each drive unit is connected to a different amplifier and the crossover is electronic between the power amplifiers and the pre amplifier, resulting in the finest performance, while passive configuration will follow it in January with a cross over built into the die-cast aluminium plinth then connected to one amplifier. According to Naim, “customers often start with the passive version and then upgrade to an active system later.”
