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

I recently purchased the Nenuphar V2 speakers. WOW what an amazing speaker. I only have about 30 hrs of play on them but I am very impressed with the sound I am hearing. When I first hooked them up, they sounded dry and flat, not very musical. Soundstage was not that great, kinda small. I am thinking to myself, what have I done, this purchase was a big mistake! Now I know better....all speakers need some break-in time before you start any critical listening so lets not get crazy yet. To top it off the amp I am using is a First Watt SIT-3 that I purchase and the original owner told me it had maybe 50 hrs of play on it, so it is like brand new also. So I put a break-in CD in and let the system play all day while I was out.

I played a couple of albums after 10 hrs of break-in and what a difference. These things started to come to life. The richness and detail of the music was beginning to blossom. The soundstage was wider and deeper. After every listening session the speakers and amp continue to improve. Now after 30 hrs the speakers are really stating to come into their own. I have never experienced this level of realism in recorded music. The bass is shocking. I never expected this level of sound from a 10 in driver. I have a copy of Dark Side of the Moon (UHQR) that I just played and I feel like I am hearing this album for the first time. The detail and separation of the instruments is mind blowing. When all of the clocks start to chime, the room is enveloped in the sound, the soundstage is wider and deeper than the room. It is one of those things you have to hear because words can not accurately describe it.

All of this is happening with only 30 hrs of play. I can't wait to hear how they evolve after 100 or 200 hrs on them. And I have not even started to adjust toe-in or change spikes and footers or distance from the wall. I can say that everything I have read and videos that I have watched on youtube are true. I have a feeling this is going to be a fun journey with these speakers !!!

@doni

The rest of the system is Pass Labs XP-30 preamp XP-25 phono amp TTW Momentus copper platter turntable with Graham Phantom II Supreme tonearm and Ortofon Anna cartridge PS Audio DSD transport and DAC Bryston BDP-2 and Technics RS1500 reel to reel. Cables are High Fidelity Cables. Puritan Labs 156 power conditioner and Ground System.

Last night I played some tapes and they sounded just amazing with this amp and speaker combination. The highlight of the night was when I played a copy of the Beatles Abbey Road reel to reel. I purchased this copy from a recording engineer who had passed away some years ago. He worked all over the record industry so I have no idea what the source for this tape was. All I can say is that I have been listening to this album for over 50 yrs, I have owned almost every pressing of this album and last night I experienced something like never before. The deep solid bass, the separation of the instruments, the width and depth of the soundstage, the air around the recording just spectacular. I felt that I could get up from my listening chair, walk up and stand in front of each band member, it was like they were in the room with me. Whenever friends and family want me to show off my system, I am going right for the Abbey Road tape.

Just want to follow up on the speaker progress now that I have about 150 hrs of play on them. I feel that the speakers have settled in and are about 99% broken in. The sound is amazing across the spectrum. The soundstage is wide and deep. The detail that is heard is stunning. Strong deep bass, very impressive. If you want to hear how good the bass is with the Nenuphars play this track, the sound pressure it creates in the room is an attention getter. After listening to this track, I kind of wondered why someone would feel the need for a subwoofer with these speakers.

My speaker placement is about 1 ft from the wall with about 5 degrees of toe-in. The speakers are on 1 inch rock maple platforms to make it easier to move the speakers around. I am not using the spikes that come with the speakers, they are 1.5 inches tall and I feel that from my listening position, which is about 12 ft away, the speaker is angled kind of over my head. I replaced the spikes with Eden Sound HemiSpikes, they are 1 inch tall. Using them dropped the front of the speaker down where it is pointing more towards my ears and that small drop did not effect the bass in any way that I can detect.

@charles1dad 

Charles I took your advise and tried a tube amp with the Nenuphars. I have a Will Vincent custom built Dynaco ST with Gold Lyon KT-66 tubes. WOW the tube amp is an excellent match with these speakers. The soundstage is a little wider and deeper when compared to the SIT-3. The air around the instruments is a little more defined and the overall richness of the music is just great. This is how I like music to sound in my room. I am not complaining about the performance of the First Watt SIT-3, it is and amazing sounding amp and Nelson Pass did a great job designing a SS amp to sound like a tube amp, mission accomplished. But there is nothing like the genuine article, a real tube amp. I would recommend going with a tube amp if someone was going to purchase the Nenuphar speakers. It just seems that they were designed for a tube amp. There are many reviews and youtube videos out there using all different amps with great success, the tube amp is just my opinion.

I am very happy with my purchase and am looking forward to many hours of listening pleasure. I can't say anything bad about these speakers, they have checked all the boxes for me. Like I said above, these speakers are going to be a lot of fun !!!