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Getting into Naim...

Greg said:
You seem to have your head screwed in tightly Martyn. What speakers are you using btw? (forgive me if you already said)
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LS3/5as. Brilliant for monitoring my recordings. Oh, and for listening to music from my reel-to-reel tapes, cassettes, minidiscs, vinyl records & CDs. Martyn .
 
Come on guys, you are flagging; Naim/Avondale/others ARE shit it is IMPORTANT!! Dig in, feel the burn. 15 pages IS doable!!!
 
I can feel the energy draining. Where is Richard Dunn when you need him? If I remember correctly Naim's henchmen chained him to a radiator for eleven years!
 
lotus340r said:
A fair point. Some of the magazines try too though... and the fanboys.

That said, they still have yet to make a saloon that can hold a candle to an E30 M3. That was a sport car through and through. Yes I know that its a car from a completely different age that wasn't constrained by todays endless manual of restrictions and targets but they need to one day have a good stab.
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The original M3 was built to go racing (remember the Group A battles against the Sierra Cosworths and Ford needing RS500 with silly power to beat it), the rest have been marketing exercises trading on it's reputation. E30 M3 is still one of my favourite cars but I'd take an E46 CSL if you gave me one for free!
 
Reading through this thread again, there isn't really very much criticism of Naim gear from a sound qual perspective, tbh.
 
Rack Kit said:
The original M3 was built to go racing (remember the Group A battles against the Sierra Cosworths and Ford needing RS500 with silly power to beat it), the rest have been marketing exercises trading on it's reputation. E30 M3 is still one of my favourite cars but I'd take an E46 CSL if you gave me one for free!
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I think a lot of the fondness towards the E30 Evo and somewhat lack of fondness for the E46 CSL is purely that E46 M3s were so common. The car itself is really very good, IMO.
 
Greg said:
I think a lot of the fondness towards the E30 Evo and somewhat lack of fondness for the E46 CSL is purely that E46 M3s were so common. The car itself is really very good, IMO.
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I have to completely disagree. The E46 M3, has absolutely zero steering feel, it is over sprung and under damped, never feels that resolved in a corner and always feels like the soggy rear is trying to catch up with the rest of the car. "Choppy" is the word i'd use, completely the opposite of fluid. Also, on 18's things are a bit better but on 19's it tramlines and bumpsteers all over the place. The engine for sure was a trump card (although lots of them let go on trackdays!) but apart from that it wasn't a great car at all. The E39 M5 from the same era however, although still devoid of steering feel, did have very well judged suspension and a wonderful composed rightness to its chassis mid bend. M3 was a dogs dinner in comparison.

The fondness for the E30 M3 was because it was a fabulous tool. Make no mistake. It's nothing to do with numbers. BMW didn't make many Z8's for example but you don't see anyone salivating over them or regretting their passing because bottom line, they were a complete bag of sh1te. No, the E30 M3 had feel and adjustability by the bucketload and oozed that lightweight racecar 'shell' feeling. I've owned a 968 Clubsport M030 which was its main competitor/equivalent at the time and whilst the porsche has a lot going for it, the E30 made it feel blunt and inaccurate. From a purists point of view BMW haven't made a better drivers car since.
 
I didn't say great, just very good and I was referring to the CSL. I definitely agree about the 18 wheels. The E39 M5 is also very good, but I prefer the E34 M5 over the E39 and the E30 M3. However, I'd rather have an Alpina than an M anyway :)
 
lotus340r said:
I have to completely disagree. The E46 M3, has absolutely zero steering feel, it is over sprung and under damped, never feels that resolved in a corner and always feels like the soggy rear is trying to catch up with the rest of the car. "Choppy" is the word i'd use, completely the opposite of fluid. Also, on 18's things are a bit better but on 19's it tramlines and bumpsteers all over the place. The engine for sure was a trump card (although lots of them let go on trackdays!) but apart from that it wasn't a great car at all. The E39 M5 from the same era however, although still devoid of steering feel, did have very well judged suspension and a wonderful composed rightness to its chassis mid bend. M3 was a dogs dinner in comparison.
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Pal or Friskies? There is a difference, you know.
 
Greg said:
I didn't say great, just very good and I was referring to the CSL. I definitely agree about the 18 wheels. The E39 M5 is also very good, but I prefer the E34 M5 over the E39 and the E30 M3. However, I'd rather have an Alpina than an M anyway :)
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Ahh, ok, well CSL changes things a fair bit and is reasonably well sorted.

That said, put it next to a 996 GT3 mk1 or mk2 and it's made to look completely shallow and one dimensional. :p
 
Hmm, well the 996 is hardly a great Porsche, but the 996 GT3 was quite a few more squidoodles than the M3 CSL? :)
 
lotus340r said:
Ahh, ok, well CSL changes things a fair bit and is reasonably well sorted.

That said, put it next to a 996 GT3 mk1 or mk2 and it's made to look completely shallow and one dimensional. :p
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I find my Renault Kangoo is well sorted. The wheels are in the right place, the doors are where you'd expect, and in this weather it'll give any Jaguar, Mercedes or BMW a run for its money. All on a 1.2 16V motor, too.
 
Oh, forgot, it exists in three dimensions, too, which makes getting in and out a breeze.:D
 
Plus, of course, all of Naim's current products fit in the back should I wish to upgrade.

More than you can say for the average ****mobile.
 
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