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

I have taken great pleasure in building a system around the Nenuphars, first concentrating, like most new owners, on optimal pairings of pre amp and amp--optimal to my taste of course.  I never thought I'd be one to indulge more than one "taste" but I find myself with a "stable" of three units that I use singly or in combination.  I change them out periodically and enjoy their individual strengths. They are the Vinnie Rossie L2iSE, the Enleum 23R and the Decware Zen Triode Anniversary Edition.  But all along I knew once I had the power and pre questions answered, I would next have to address my digital front end.  For years I've been listening to the very musical Totaldac D-1 Dual.  Despite my enjoyment I knew it was not the last word on detail, bass, imaging and tonal accuracy.  A long search and many auditions has ended up with my replacing it with a Playback Designs MPD 8 Dream DAC.  After 500 hours of break in I can report extreme satisfaction, beyond in fact anything I was anticipating.  The Nenuphars soak up every iota of this upgrade, sounding like new and better speakers in every way.  They keep revealing themselves as true transducers of what goes before them. The magic they now create with the MPD 8 makes each recording unique, hearing the essence of music like I've never heard it before. 

@stephendunn Congrats Stephen, great to hear.  Do you have a thread up where you discuss your DAC auditions?  I'd love to read more about the competitors and decision making. Have heard many good things about those PD dacs.

@cal3713 Thanks. I haven’t put up a thread about my DAC search and probably won’t because it was less than comprehensive. Meaning I auditioned a number of DACs--Aqua, Denafrips, Lampizator, to name a few--that were quite a bit less expensive than the MPD 8. Once I heard it, I knew I didn’t have to look any further. I haven’t touched vinyl since I got it.

@stephendunn 

Congratulations!

Charles 

@stephendunn  Congratulations on the results you have achieved by adding the Playback Designs DAC to your system.

+1 regarding...

The Nenuphars soak up every iota of this upgrade, sounding like new and better speakers in every way.  They keep revealing themselves as true transducers of what goes before them.

I’ve been meaning to add system photos for a long time now. Here are two I just took via my phone.

NOLA Built

Click on each photo to get an enlarged image. Second is a close-up of the components. Scott Sheaffer’s left / right signal chassis monos are in the foreground. His left / right power supply chassis monos are immediately behind them in the rack.

[Note: components in the foreground appear much larger than those behind them]

@david_ten 

I like the placement of your Nenuphars well into the room. It provides them plenty of room to breathe and perform at their best. The amplifiers have an attractive understated elegance. 

Charles 

@charles1dad Thank you.

@david_ten  Thank you, as well, and what a clean and striking set up you've put together.  As Charles mentions, it looks like your Nens have room to throw an enveloping wall of sound with great depth.  I'm always amazed at the speakers' ability to do this, sound stage like dipole electrostatics, creating a boxless, free floating sound, further enhanced now by my new DAC which renders some recordings--Beck's Morning for instance--in virtual surround sound.  My speakers are closer to the front wall than yours, so I installed half round diffusers which help with image focus but not as much with depth as I was hoping.  Maybe quadratic diffusors help create depth better?  (Or jellyfish?)  Anyway, congrats to you on a great set up.

Speaking of electrostatics, a audiophile friend is bringing over the new Magnepan LRS+ (when he gets them) in a shoot out against the Nens.  He thinks they'll compete despite the 15X difference in price.  Vegas is working up the odds on that right now.  The speakers I would really like to hear against the Nenuphars are the Fleetwood Deville SQ Speakers made by OMA.  Love to hear if anyone has impressions of them vs the Nens.  From what I read they have a lot in common despite being very different designs.

creating a boxless, free floating sound

+1

@charles1dad  @stephendunn   Thank you.

I need to take photos early in the morning (before reflections are dominant). The wood looks so much better in natural light. The American cherry sides of the amps and power supplies have darkened and go well with the American walnut of the rack.

Stephen, the jellyfish image is actually black and white...the phone camera creates the blue effect (the blue light from some of the components doesn't help). 

@stephendunn Thanks, even that little bit helps.  Appreciate it.

I like the placement of your Nenuphars well into the room. It provides them plenty of room to breathe and perform at their best.

@charles1dad   Charles, for reference: the drivers are 6 feet from the TV screen and 9 feet from the front wall.

@stephendunn 

Had you ever tried the DAC2 module in your VR L2iSE?

I was on the hunt for an external DAC upgrade thinking I was missing something with the VR DAC 2 in my own L2iSE. The recently referenced review on Audiophile Style comparing the Rossi L2iSE (DAC2) with the likes of Chord Dave convinced me to end my search. Seems that there may be limited or minimal improvement by throwing multiples of the cost of the VR DAC2 for an external solution. 

I agree with the review that the combination of the internal DAC2 with DHT tubes and internal Mosfet amp creates a synergistic solution that eliminates costly additional peripheral interconnect and power cabling. I'm feeding my L2SEi DAC2 via USB from the Antipodes K30 server. I did find, however a noticeable improvement upon the addition of a Shunyata Omega USB cable. Also, I do have a costly power system consisting of Ansuz C2 level power distibutor and cables.

At this moment I'm enjoying and appreciating this system as the Nenuphars (with additional run time) continue to reveal more and more musical nuances. I would be interested in trying some Silversmith Fidellium cables. Anyone experience these on the Nenuphars?

Dave

@dspringham Hi Dave.  Yes, the DAC2 module for the VR L2iSE was one of the first I compared to my Totaldac D-1 Dual.  I found it to be surprisingly close in sound (especially for the $$--the Totaldac being about twice as much), but the Totaldac was noticeably more open and alive.  They're are some other notes I have on the comparison if you want to PM me.

Sablon Elite USB I can recommend.

@toetapaudio The powered version?  The Reserva version?

My current favorite is NE Eno series. They bettered the Sablon in my system. The NE has a new reference model Muon which is more costly but I have not heard it.

Short write-up and photos courtesy of Jason Victor Serinus / Stereophile re. Refined Audio's Cube Audio / Pass / Lampizator room at Axpona.

Refined Audio Axpona

Indeed David this set is all about immersion into music....

Just another perspective but the Cube at Axpona didn't get my foot tapping, it was ok but nothing special IMO but again this was show conditions. 

Pass/Cube Audio room was deemed “Best of Show” by this guy. FF to 10 minutes in…

@stephendunn I have the 2020 version unpowered into the Bakoon dac. I see Mark Coles has now introduced an even higher model called the Evo, not tried yet. His LAN cable was the best I tried as well.

@debjit_g Network Acoustics is new to me, thanks for the heads up. 

@toetapaudio NA is near to you and they have a 30 days hassle free in-home audition. I am using their Eno series streaming filter/cable, along with their Eno usb to great effect.

@dlcockrum  Dave, welcome to the thread. Thanks for sharing the video.

Advance congratulations on being a  Nenuphar V2 owner (soon)!!!

@rsf507 Thanks for sharing your impressions of the Refined Audio room. As you know, show impressions run the gamut and what is "best" for one is not necessarily so for another. Your impressions are valid...if you have thoughts on how Jon may have improved his room, shoot him an email.

Some audio friends of mine were not at all impressed by the 2019 Axpona room and seriously questioned my choice in the Nenuphars way back then. : )

And I much preferred the 2019 Refined Audio room to their room this year.

Different setup perhaps? They weren't using a SIT-3 this year.

@rwpollock  Robert, has your move to tubes (Shindo and Aric Audio, etc.) changed your perspective on what's 'musically' achievable with the Nenuphars in the system chain? Thanks.

Fairaudio (Germany) review of the Nenuphar Mini:

Nenuphar Mini Review by fairaudio-de

[The link is to page 3 / conclusions; in English via Google Translate]

HiFi and LP Magazines (Germany) review of the Nenuphar Mini:

Nenuphar Mini Review by HiFi and LP Magazines

[The link is to the PDF translated English version]

<<Robert, has your move to tubes (Shindo and Aric Audio, etc.) changed your perspective on what's 'musically' achievable with the Nenuphars in the system chain?>>

Surprisingly to me, no. I have learned that the Nenuphars are sensitive to the quality of what's upstream, but then it comes down to personal preferences. Perhaps not unlike Stephen with his stable of different horses, I can listen quite happily using either a 300b or SIT-2 amp. If I do use the SIT, then I will pair it with a tube preamp. That said, I ended up here because I heard the Nens at AXPONA with an all solid state amplification chain....

@rwpollock   Thanks.  +1  Quality throughout the chain...rewards in spades

I have learned that the Nenuphars are sensitive to the quality of what's upstream

Btw, I’m using the older bakoon amp, AMP-51R with fleetwood devilles and they are a GORGEOUS pairing imo. Low DF, paired with stiff paper cone woofer, not flabby excursion drivers are when the magic starts to happen - it’s easily missed or mistaken. I think a SS amp with high DF with said woofers aren’t necessary and over control the woofers, potentially robbing natural rolloff. I’ve done this to the devilles - no go, imo.

Lots of info around the net, bakoons pair well with horns, SET sounding, drive ultra wide banners well, yada yada….but again, whatever your ears tell you is the real ticket.

Refined Audio Room / AXPONA 2022 write-up and photos via pta / Graig Neville

Refined Audio / Axpona / Part Time Audiophile

Still enjoying the Nenuphars but missing the rich, full bottom end of my previous Harbeth 40.1. Looking at subs here in Canada, the Cube Sub 10 lists for CAN$7400. Gulpl!!! They must perform extraordinarily for that sticker price.

I’m sure there are lower cost alternatives, however as an experiment I pulled out a pair of Anthony Gallo TR-1 subs. The experiment lasted around five minutes as they simply muddied the bottom end and became an unblended distraction. I realize these Gallos’ are not the last word in high performance but I assumed they would be fast as they are in sealed enclosures. It makes me wonder about the feasibility of trying to integrate "off brand" subs with the Nens.

Anyone have direct experience comparing the Cube subs to other brands. Do the Cube subs performance justify the entry fee?

@dspringham 

I have Nenuphar minis with a pair of REL S/510’s. Last subs I’ll probably ever buy. I used to think I’d never want subs with my 2-channel system but I originally got a pair of REL T5i’s to use with some standmount speakers and couldn’t go back. Loved how the little RELs integrated and disappeared. When I moved into a bigger room they were a bit too small. I initially went with a JL F110. It was also pretty nice sounding but I couldn’t quite get the integration as good as the RELs. I was looking to add a second JL but then a great deal on a pair of S/510’s came up and I went for it. My room is about 14x18 and open on one end. I have more headroom than I need and the subs sound great. I’d also recommend Rythmik and almost went with a pair of F12’s but the RELs were too good a deal to pass up. Highly recommended

@dspringham Charles ( @charles1dad ) and I were, by pure coincidence, discussing the very issue yesterday. : )

A number of Nenuphar owners use subs effectively (for their needs). Larry ( @larryi ) has posted his preference for the Nenuphars with the Basis subs.

+1 to @abd1 ’s post and his recommendation for Rythmik Audio subs. A friend of mine is very satisfied with the results achieved by pairing his subs with the Nenuphars.

@david_ten No affiliation, but I would point basically everyone to audio kinesis’ swarm solution. It fixes issues in a scientifically proven method. I truly believe that multiple sources of sub80hz bass spread around the room fixes a problem that can only be solved by that approach or an absolutely perfect room.

@cal3713  +1   I'll add that Duke is wonderful to work with.

It would make such an interesting comparison,  Audio kinesisis swarm and Cube Audio's  own well thought out subwoofer product. For those who seek Nenuphar bass augmentation I strongly suspect that either would be excellent choices. Given my taste I'd still find the stand alone Nenuphar highly desirable. In light of yesterday's Kentucky derby,  horses for courses.

Charles 

@charles1dad I suspect the Cube Audio solution is of higher quality (17,000 euros for the two Cube subs vs $3200 for the Swarm), but at the end of the day you've still only got two sources of bass and all the standing wave issues that that brings. 

Obviously many people can obtain sufficient bass performance in this manner by adjusting speaker and listening position, but four (or more) sources of bass spread around the room is really the only way besides room modifications to truly smooth out those inevitable peaks and valleys. 

Imagine a rectangular wave pool with actuators on only one end vs one with actuators on all four sides. If I worked with Duke/AudioKinesis, I would construct a small countertop model and allow people to see the different standing wave patterns created as you add actuators around the space.  You'll move from large standing waves to more of an even chop with smaller peaks and valleys as you do so.

In any case, like you said, it would make an interesting comparison.  And agreed, horses for courses.  

Hi @cal3713 

Your explanation and reasoning is exactly what prompted my curiosity.  Yes, no question that the Cube Audio bass system is more expensive and surely well thought out and implemented  . Yet one has to acknowledge the pure application of acoustic science that supports why the swarm distributed subwoofer array is so effective and less costly. 

Charles  

@charles1dad Would be fun to combine the best of both worlds with four Cube subwoofers!

Just popped up on YT

@dlcockrum   Nice. Thanks for posting the above.

Nenuphars are very impressive indeed. Was concerned about how my large tube monoblocks would pair with them but they sound fantastic. 

Continuing my explorations of tube amplifiers with the Nenuphars, I purchased a David Berning ZH-230 amp from Rick at Hi-Fi One in California. A splendid amp and a good match with the Cubes. A couple of years ago I had used an LTA L10 integrated which is also a ZOTL design. As my mother used to say, it didn't send me anywhere I couldn't get back from.

The Berning amp, however, is like drinking spring water. It has the detail of the Bakoon/Enleum amps but without any sharpness. Definitely recommended for an audition if you get the chance.

Interesting enough, Rick also sent along a passive preamp that he and Steve McCormack had put together some years ago. Surprisingly (to me) it is a very good combination -- that transparency thing.

- Robert

@eric5kim  They are, aren't they. : )

Which "large tube monoblocks" are you driving your Nenuphar speakers with? Thanks.

@rwpollock  Robert, thanks for sharing. Great to hear you are 'drinking in' the results. 

The list of excellent amplifier - Nenuphar pairings is growing!!!

@david_ten I am using Raven Audio Silhouette MK2 monoblocks. 6550WC quads 120W each side. 

They did beautifully with not so easy to drive Raidho C3 and another half a dozen speakers. 

Also had a rotation of SS amps but the Ravens were so good I sold them all because I was not listening to them.