I’ve had some time with the three amps this evening and had lots of fun comparing them. Worth noting that I kept to the LP12 for source and just used the A7s. The D7.2s are back in their boxes. Good speakers just not as well matched with either the Arcam or Naim amps.
I started with the Supernait 3 and some jazz, classical and acoustic, swapped in the XS3 and then finished with the Arcam SA20, before working my way back up with some dance music. I have no idea if this is good practise or not, but it seemed to allow for a decent side by side comparison.
First up the Supernait 3 is clearly the best amp of the three and so it should be considering the comparative prices. It’s all round more musical, detailed and generally more engaging. It also seems to pair extremely well with the A7s with a well balanced and muscular sound. The bass is very present and very detailed, music moves along at pace and is a lot of fun. There really isn’t anything to dislike here. Even at high volume it drove the A7s effortlessly and without the harsh high end produced with the D7.2s.
The XS3 looses some of the detail and life of the Supernait 3. The bass is there and has a lovely punch to it, but for example with double bass you can’t hear the “pinging” of the strings that are evident with its big brother. The mid-range also feels a bit more constrained with jazz/classical, the instruments are all there but they just seem a bit more packed in and have less clarity. That said piano or lead guitars seem to present themselves really well with a natural and neutral tone.
With dance Music the XS3 really rocks out! It seems very well suited to this style of music where a narrower soundstage and less detail isn’t massively detrimental The bass is possibly more dynamic than with the Supernait 3 if a little “forced” at times.
The Arcam certainly has a different house sound to the Naims but it’s less pronounced than I was expecting. The Arcam and Kefs sounded like musical clotted cream, whereas the Arcam and A7s have just a touch of creamy goodness, but allow the original flavour of the music through in a more organic way. Lovely, rich pianos and vocals with more relaxed music styles. Classical sounds good with a wide soundstage and good separation, but it certainly has a lot less detail and clarity compared to the Naims (especially the SN3). It’s a very enjoyable combination nonetheless. With dance music it’s good, but the contrast as you move on to the XS3 is significant. If I only ever listened to dance music I’d probably go with the XS3! The SN3 is just a touch more refined and this means it carries less impact with high energy dance.
I don’t think you’d be disappointed with the SA20 and A7 combination and you’d know that the speakers have a lot more potential to reveal should you decide to upgrade your amp in future.
If I only listened to jazz/classical/acoustic then I’d be pretty happy with this set up. If I was only into dance or electronic then I could certainly justify double the price for the XS3, otherwise it’s less of a jump. The SN3 is the best all rounder and benefits from a really good internal phono stage that is leaps ahead of the other two amps equivalents.
In summary all great amps. All work well with the A7s. Depending on how you approach the whole system budget ratio question it might be seen as rather imbalanced to use an SA20 with speakers three times the cost. I think it’s probably best just to try the combination and if you like how it sounds go for it!
Hope that helps!