naim...load of tosh??

I am really a bat. I'm inert before midnight. I'm still recovering from the vision of some exotic blue speaker cable with a weight and girth which would dumbfound Austin Powers. I'm slowly regaining my strength - forgive my indiscretion.

 

Er no Mike I don't. The public service I am providing is that of offering counterpoint to the Naim fanatics who start all of this. It's just a way of saying, "hey, looky here, there's another world out there you might wanna try"

All those of us blessed with balance do is point out that Naim ain't the only game in town. The SS take that as archetypal Naim Bashing and it's game on! Julian offers expert advice on Naim gear, he is probably one of the most balanced Naimee's on the forum comes across well..... But have you met him....he's only twelve for christ's sake!

And to turn your question around, if you don't try to stop someone buying something you don't like, do you not feel guilty and responsible for that poor individuals impending misery? Surely anyone with a concsience would do their utmost to steer the innocent onto the right path?

 

Merlin,
you pose a very good counter question, But as a Naim owner I don't ram my opinions down other peoples throats, I usually just sit and listen to music on a system I like, and fully appreciate that others will be doing the same thing on other makes of system.

I can fully see why some people don't like Naim, but thats their choice...

Just the same as it's my choice what I choose to buy. And I have listened to Wadia, Linn, Krell, Theta, Levinson, primaire etc...
U pays your money.....

 

Utterly agree Andy, and I would never try to stop a user as he has made his choice. I just feel the best form of medicine is preventative medicine, and if I can stop people before they take up the habit, by warning them of the dangers, then perhaps I am helping in some small way. I also do what I can to avoid the potential for newbies coming into contact and bonding with the pushers who frequent public places. That makes me feel good about myself.

 

I again take your point, Merlin.
For example re upgrading I wouldn't take a dealers word for it - I'd listen for myself. The narrowing down process I'd possibly take advice over, but at the end of the day I'm sure you'd agree the decision is left with one person...

And for the record I don't totally subscribe to the Naim way - i do use differant cables than they recommend as I've found a sonic benefit etc... oops a ***** in the Naim armour!

 

Michael,

Don't you think you're being a little melodramatic by called it a "danger"?
After all, I wouldn't say that buying an MF piece of kit is life endangering, yet I really don't rate it.

Wouldn't it be better to simply suggest some alternative options and dealers that could be used?

 

Mike, as any good surgeon will tell you, there are varying degrees of anaesthesia, and obviously some of them are life threatening in terms of being unable to bring the patient around from a comatose state.

 

mike,
i think as long as there are differing points of view and that none are presented as the one true way then things are ok. before you go off on one i don;t think anyone here has actually said that naim is the be all and end all of hi-fi just that from their experience they like the music with a naim system (or not). this should hold true for all kit be it naim, wadia, moon whatever and i think on ZG it does - that's what makes these things fun.
as for your comments about my age, i shall rise above them therefore demonstrating that though i may be of only tender years i can exhibit an amazing maturity.
cheers



julian

 

Julian,

Enough Naim calling for one day. Do excuse the funny mood this week, must be male hormones.

What is a "Grand Ooom of Nang" by the way?

 

merlin,
this thread passed beyond the realms of the serious a few pages back so the entirety of my argument has been a totally fence sitting - try it out for yourself . as for the 'funny mood' stuff, hey it was funny, so who cares. i would like to come round and hear your sim moon stuff though and you're more than welcome to come and have a listen to the dirge my kit makes too.

if i told you what a grand oom of nang is i'd have to ritually disembowell you so the least said the better
cheers


julian

 

Tell him! Tell him!



-- Ian

 

its interesting what people say, there is so much discord and controversy over naim....if it was not any good, no-one would really bother...I have heard a lot of stuff, and it really is an excellent cd...funny how people say it doesn't image, or doesn't do tonal accuracy...it does have a soundstage, and does tonal accuracy superbly, strings are particularly difficult, and they are nearer than most on the naim, it does bass depth and drive as good as anything, it has that rhythmic drive, and it is far from harsh or tiring, if anything, the treble is a little laid back. So naim isn't all about prat, its got everything...I recall hearing a cheapish denon amp and cd in a shop once, then he put on the naim system, and it WAS music, ebb and flow, detail, nuances, drama, captivating...I suppose we all have different ideas...it was my kind of sound..trouble is, it IS expensive, but its a long road auditioning everything. I can see why they are popular...like above, they do keep their value, but that makes it harder to buy, too. Maybe liken to a mercedes?
I think now though they are getting greedy and pushing prices through the roof, now they have their loyal followers...phwew..if its THAT pricy, it must be good sort of thing, coupled with the 'I must have the best' attitude...lots of companies are now going that way, Tom Evans is getting greedy, musical fidelity, too.

 

As a mercedes owner, I must protest most strongly about this comparison. MB cars are high tech and are at the cutting edge of car technology. You could hardly say that about Naim products

 

I think the mis-perception is that naim are selling the expensive kit to naim owners. Surely its not always that way.

heaven forfend perhaps people that have not owned naim consider the 552/500 a real goer in that price band?

The way I see it is this, people that spend 22 grand on a pre-power arn't exactly saving for it are they? And more over this is not the only kit availble from naim, they have a whole structure with all different prices from the slightly expensive to the ouch expensive

Anyhoo now that I have finaly finshed my assignemtn work for this year so weekends are looking sparce, anyone is welcome over for a listen.

Julien, you need to come back to here the vinyl machine again, its a bit different now!

 

And there's nowt wrong with that!

However, although a Naim owner, I'm certainly not a fanatic. It's just that, for me, no other kit I've heard (and I've listened to lots of it American and otherwise) gives me the 'rhythmic drive' or 'boogie factor' of Naim gear - stuff that showcases the music first and foremost, not how 'hi' is the 'fi', so to speak.

When I hear equipment from Wadia, Krell, Mark Levinson et al, I always think: "Big, bold sound, everything's in place, but ultimately it fails to engage me." It's very easy to be seduced by such equipment if one places great importance in the prosaic aspects of hi-fi reproduction, but things like imaging and 'wide soundstages' mean little to me if my feet aren't tapping. A trip to Absolute Sounds (amongst others) before I invested in a CDS2 brought this message home to me most convincingly.


Marco.

 

Marco

You said...When I hear equipment from Wadia, Krell, Mark Levinson et al, I always think: "Big, bold sound, everything's in place, but ultimately it fails to engage me."

Spot on.....it is the difference between doing Hifi and making music. I prefer the music and nothing beats Naim. However, the other guy may prefer the Hifi.

It's all down to preference at the end of the day, so lets just learn to live with that.

Regards

Mick

 

Marco, I would argee with the M/L, but the Krell however hard, can groove and pRat rather well, as for the the Wad's
Could you, tell what you felt about the Levinson sound that stood out, as a no-no for you what equipment it was used with, as the CDS2 is positively average in groove compared to the Wads, and you get all the other attributes that Naim can't do, to be fair Densen does a better stab at it as well, you see Naim doesn't have a sole claim on the music thing, as more and more people are discovering, I agree also that a 8 foot guitarist and 12 foot wide drummer arn't realistic either, neither is a thin veiled sound, with lacking in presence and texture, it is possible to have a lot of interesting bits from both worlds, just not that many guys have discovered it yet. Wm

 

I see, so the answer is to plug Omiga cables into a Wadia to make it sound like a Naim?

Marco.

 

No, I try and refrain from having my ears removed marco, else we couldn't help all those poor M/F owners achieve some life, no could we ?, still they really would help you bass boom, they do give very tight and clean fast bass, some thing I believe you would benefit from maybe

 

Oh bollox - I wasn't going to get involved but what the hell...

One problem I have with many (but not all) Naim fans is that they seem to think that Naim has exclusive rights to "engaging, involving, musical" equipment

Michael.