G
Guest432
Guest
I'd summarise my view as
"Like the product hate the company"
"Like the product hate the company"
Knocking Naim!
- Thread starter koi
- Start date
tones
Tones deaf
The local Naim dealer once loaned me a Naim CD player, plus one of the outboard power supplies, which, he assured me, would lift it to a whole new level of performance. So I tried it. Did I notice a difference? Yes, I did - there were twice as many glowing Naim logos than had previously been the case - nothing else that I could hear.
Nice equipment - but to my ears, no better (but certainly no worse) than anyone else's.
G
Guest432
Guest
Adding a flatcap to my first cd3.5 lifted it to another level.
The prefix is a fantastic phono stage when used with a hicap
The prefix is a fantastic phono stage when used with a hicap
Steven Toy
Accuphase newbie
My one-and-only blind test - how and whether or not a Flatcap2 was connected to a CD5 and/or a Nait 5.
e92fan
pfm Member
And that's the beauty of hifi - it is totally subjective and what works for one person doesn't for another. What would now irritate me is if a pro-Naim advocate were to tell you that obviously your ears are shot and you must be deaf etc etc...
e92fan
pfm Member
Purely out of curiosity, and not wanting to open a box of worms, but what was your opinion?
Tigerjones
Bagpuss
Naim are an excellent sales and marketing company that play on people's paranoia and insecurity that they could always have something better, or what they have can be improved. It's a great business model. The 32.5/110 CB combination was really good.
Joe P
Memory Alpha incarnate | mod; Shatner number = 2
tones,
If you had thought the difference (or improvement) was slight or poor value for money, I'd not be surprised. But no difference at all?
Well, lemme just say I have raised an eyebrow, all Spock-like.
Joe
I have no ax to grind here, as I have but one very old Naim component, but I'm genuinely surprised that you didn't hear a difference when the outboard supply was added to the CD player.
If you had thought the difference (or improvement) was slight or poor value for money, I'd not be surprised. But no difference at all?
Well, lemme just say I have raised an eyebrow, all Spock-like.
Joe
AndrewM
pfm Member
The mitigating factor of the Naim upgrade path is the fact that you can sell it on for a decent price. I still have a second system, Olive 62/180/ES14s that I bought new in 1991(and tbh I sometimes wonder if its all I ever needed anyway!) and I could probably sell it now for not much less than I paid for it.
The NAP180 is also, imho, generally underrated- the onboard power supply is good enough in its own right and though I have tried both Hicap and TP never could hear very much difference if any.
Andrew
The NAP180 is also, imho, generally underrated- the onboard power supply is good enough in its own right and though I have tried both Hicap and TP never could hear very much difference if any.
Andrew
Steven Toy
Accuphase newbie
Naim advised 1) to connect output A to the preamp section of the Nait and output B to the CD5.
I tried this along with two other permutations:
2) FC2 output A to CD5, output B not connected.
3) FC2 output A to CD5, output B to Nait.
My preference was for 2) above. I identified all three permutations correctly every time over about 8 swaps.
I am waiting to be told that it wasn't double-blind and/or I am lying.
Daniel Quinn
Banned
That's a new one on me . Our prices are unjustifiably high but don't worry you can sell it on for an unjustifiably high price when the time comes , largely because of the marketing mythology we have created .
Jobs a good un .
e92fan
pfm Member
You're lying, your pants are on fire, your nose has elongated, and just admit it you had a mirror behind the units so you could see what was going on anyway...
Me too,
Gaius
pfm Member
You are quite right there, the 180 is very underrated and has the same traffo as the HiCap, providing good juice to the pre.
I prefer the 160/180/200 to the 250s bar the first one, the bolt up valve like sweetie pie!
e92fan
pfm Member
I think it is fair to say that the current range is a little more refined than the earlier CB/Olive series? At least that's my own personal take on it (I use a mix of old and new)
AndrewM
pfm Member
That's a new one on me . Our prices are unjustifiably high but don't worry you can sell it on for an unjustifiably high price when the time comes , largely because of the marketing mythology we have created .
Jobs a good un .
I don't think Naim prices are unjustifiable - it's worth what folks are prepared to pay for it, there is no secret about what's inside the boxes. BTW my main system isn't Naim, so I haven't fallen for the mythology entirely
Daniel Quinn
Banned
I don't think Naim prices are unjustifiable - it's worth what folks are prepared to pay for it, there is no secret about what's inside the boxes. BTW my main system isn't Naim, so I haven't fallen for the mythology entirely
I would wholeheartedly agree with you if there was transparency of information .
If each box had an accurate breakdown of what it cost to make and were retail price went I would have no problem with their pricing .
Something tells me though that they would sell very few if they did .
AndrewM
pfm Member
I think the difference is often a bit exaggerated - the more modern ranges may a little more laid back, but I don't find the Olive gear I know to be especially boom tizz - and my tastes are mainly classical, including choral, opera and chamber music.
Andrew