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Those who have moved on from Naim.....

Darren L said:
Would you say there's a move away from traditional multi box systems to more minimalist, perhaps interior friendly audio systems with a higher WAF?
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Integrated amplifiers have always been more popular than separates. Now you can buy integrated amplifiers and active speakers with built-in DACs and streamers, making them more or less complete systems. The best of these products can compete head on with the best separates systems, whilst taking up less space and saving money.
 
Don't know why it took me so long to find this thread. Great question.
So I'm gonna tell you a story.:confused::confused:.
I enjoyed me, Naim 140, 62, Hi cap, way back in the 80's.
Then into the 90's and bought the 250, kept the 62, Hi cap. So was on the ole trail.
Trouble is, coudn't get it to work with Restek CD player and Ruark Equinox speakers.

Then in 98, I get's this call from me fav dealer, Sound waves in sunny Worthing.
He says, I gotta come now and listen to this integrated amplifier, also Restek.
I say's how much, he say's 1050 quid. I say's, you is avin a laugh.
How can a 1000 quid integrated possibly sound as good as me 250?

He say's, come give it a listen. So I did.....
Having scooped me jaw up from his carpet. I told him to order me one.
Sold me Naim kit for 1450 quid and went and bought some more over priced, Frank Zappa albums ..... Safe to wake up now, story is over.........:rolleyes:
 
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Robert M said:
I don't think he's even on the naim forum anymore.
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I do not get on the Naim forum as regularly as I used to, but have noticed a lack of Alco there as well. I do hope all is well with him, and he is just enjoying his music and life! Miss his posting on occasion though!

Apologies for the off post here, back to it...
 
I've had various Naim-based systems over the years although never their top stuff or their speakers. My sitting room has played host to a cd 3.5, cd 5 (which I found much better than the cd3.5) and cd2 (the best of the ones I owned). Amp-wise I had a 42/90 which I upgraded to a 32.5/140. The cd 5 and pre-amps were capped (flat, hi, teddy - dual teddy cap was the best). Eventually I wanted a DAC and a remote and ended up with a supernait.

I moved away from Naim because I wanted a more modern streaming system and had no need of a turntable. It made sense to focus on the DAC rather than a cd player with no digital output. I ended up with a Chord Hugo which gave name the connectivity I wanted and sounded better than the SN DAC.

Once I had the Hugo, with only digital sources, I had no need of an analogue pre-amp or integrated amp. I replaced the SN with a pair of Teddy Pardo MB100s and used the Hugo as a digital pre. I was comfortable with the idea of Teddy having used his power supplies. This step was a big cost-free upgrade.

The Chord/Teddy system sounds much better than the Naim systems I enjoyed previously. I don't miss the Naim kit. Not knocking it though, it gave me a lot of pleasure while I owned it.
 
I had a great time on my 20 year naim journey - am now in my 4th year post naim.
No regrets and certainly not a bitter ex Naimee - it's fabulous kit capable of superb sound, it's just that i came across something equally excellent.







Devialet
 
I’ve just come back (again) started with a CB nait 2 then 62/90 onto 72/180 then went valve - tube technology, e.a.r 890/864, Leben cs600 back to e.a.r.859 & then a 861 - I bought a nait 2 again for a second system moving that up to 32/hi/250. But a few years ago sold all that as I dropped the 2nd system idea. Recently bought a 32.5/hi/140 but have just got some 135’s and am really surprised at how good they are. I read about them but didn’t really believe it- but they are very good!! So that’s me for quite a while now. So have a ear861 & nap140 that could be up for sale.
 
Swapped my Nac252/nap300/supercap dr for a vitus ri100. There wasn’t a single thing that the Naim system did better. I later swapped the ri100 for a sia-025. Much more textured sound and very engaging
 
Knipester said:
Swapped my Nac252/nap300/supercap dr for a vitus ri100. There wasn’t a single thing that the Naim system did better. I later swapped the ri100 for a sia-025. Much more textured sound and very engaging
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I can never get past the Vitus PR

“The elegant curves are a reminder of the hull of a yacht. The class and luxury is that of spacious, exclusive cabins. Sailing on the vast water gives you a sense of infinity, similar to the endless musical story that starts with the Vitus Audio Signature Series.”

That sort of shite just gives me cabin fever. You just know Rega could never come out with something like this.

.sjb
 
Sloop John B said:
I can never get past the Vitus PR
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Doesn't bother me, but I agree, inasmuch as they really don't need to indulge in o.t.t. aesthetic descriptions. It's the sound sig., reliability etc. which matters, and their rep. is already built on that.

Isn't it silly for advertisers to describe hifi in visually descriptive terms ? Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder and aesthetic tastes differ so widely. I think it shows a lack of marketing nous.
 
NotOneIota said:
To be fair, Naim isn't cheap either. RRP for a Nac252/nap300/supercap dr must be about 18k.

Which is why I was always shopping in the Naim bargain bin and is another reason why I now have teddy mono blocks rather than 135s or a 300.
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No, I agree. On the flip side you can get a 252/sc 2nd hand for, what, £3-4K? I think the price of hifi has gone nuts in the last 10 years but naim are not necessarily the biggest offender.
 
Woodface said:
No, I agree. On the flip side you can get a 252/sc 2nd hand for, what, £3-4K? I think the price of hifi has gone nuts in the last 10 years but naim are not necessarily the biggest offender.
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Agreed, it's not just Naim. And you can get a nice Naim system (42-102/110-180/cap to suit) for much less than that. But Naim 'next level' is made of Unobtainium for me and I suspect many others here.

So we look for relative bargains elsewhere, and I think this forum is full of great ideas on that front. IIRC for example the Teddy pre/mono combo was less new than that sh 252/sc which would need a service and a power amp.
 
NotOneIota said:
Agreed, it's not just Naim. And you can get a nice Naim system (42-102/110-180/cap to suit) for much less than that. But Naim 'next level' is made of Unobtainium for me and I suspect many others here.

So we look for relative bargains elsewhere, and I think this forum is full of great ideas on that front. IIRC for example the Teddy pre/mono combo was less new than that sh 252/sc which would need a service and a power amp.
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Yep & at the same time you could get that top level olive system that was out of reach back in the day. A bit like buying a car from your youth.

I find the whole thing with hifi rather odd. I have spent fortunes in the past, I have a really nice system but as I’ve got older & have a bit more perspective I find it hard to credit my past behaviour. I no longer envy other people’s systems though, I am happy with my choices & know I could ultimately change things if I wanted to for ‘level money’.

I find it amusing that individuals go on about having one thing & then change to another as if they have re-invented the wheel. Ultimately all they have done is spent some money.
 
I like Naim. It’s well made, reliable, sounds good and can be fixed easily in the unlikely event of a problem.

I went to 252/Supercap/300 level. Enjoyed it immensely. Then I realised how much space it took up and how much money was sunk into it. I don’t regret it for a second but there are other options which offer great performance for a fraction of the cost and space requirements.
 
Ponty said:
I like Naim. It’s well made, reliable, sounds good and can be fixed easily in the unlikely event of a problem.

I went to 252/Supercap/300 level. Enjoyed it immensely. Then I realised how much space it took up and how much money was sunk into it. I don’t regret it for a second but there are other options which offer great performance for a fraction of the cost and space requirements.
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What do you have now?

To be honest the multi boxes have less appeal than they did. Not sure why?
 
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