Thread ends.
I've done it.
Came on here all Naim guns ablazing, armed really only with my knowledge of how things were 15 years ago, and thought I wanted a full active SBL setup with an LP12 and a CDS3.
Everyone told me otherwise, i ignored them, bought a shedload of naim, tried to get it to work, realised my ears had changed in the last 20 years and bingo, 6 months on I now have a totally different system which is exactly the sound that works for me rather than what I thought I wanted, and gives me qualities that a Naim system just can't. In terms of all the regular dem-room sonic criteria it offers the same level of performance as a 500 series reference system but at a third or quarter of the price.
There's not much wrong with Naim though IMO. You pay for great residuals, longevity, support, a wide knowledgeable user base (if a little blind sighted
), a brand that looks good and emotionally feels good and has in built consumer status. You are buying into something tried and tested and overall its a pretty non anxiety-laden purchase.
What does bother me though is the plethora of new products which get released monthly. It smacks of 'flavour of the month' marketing, much like your Canon digital cameras. There seem to be so many different naits and streamers and different CDPs now, Ive almost lost track. My suspicion is that there is now a mixture of great and not so great whereas 20 years ago everything from an ARO to a CDi and a Nac72 was a great product. The focused purity and simplicity of the company has been compromised. That said, I accept that this is modern day business and what one must do to prosper at a certain level and beyond.
Also the other thing that puts me off is the multiple box, never ending upgradeitis structure of it all which seems to afflict most users. Take a look at the forums and the endless "you need a hiline/555ps/252 to make it sound right" posts to witness what I refer to. It's my belief that a good system for a £1000 should be just that, a good system, which provides music for decades there onwards. It shouldn't need an IC or another power supply lavished on it to make it sound 'less harsh' for example. The prospect of always being able to add one more box which makes the old system sound 'broken' is one which IME inherently breeds disatisfaction and a focus on the gear rather than the musicians. Once you get to the 500 series it also seems that it is so damm tweaky and sensitive to setup. The slightest twist in a burndy or the slightest loosening of a Fraim spike and 60k's worth goes completely to pot. That would completely do my head in.
I think I also realised this time round that a lot of what attracted me to Naim in the old days was the small potting shed nature of the company, the slightly cultish looks and image and the esoteric underground nature of it all. But they moved away from that long ago now and other companies now like Tron and DV fullfill that image.
The last 3 paragraphs of course are all very subjective and my own personal feelings which won't apply to most people. The bottom line is always the sound and for many people, they still love the Naim groove which although radically different from the chrome sound, still seems to follow the same basic principles, albeit tweaked for a much larger audience. Use your ears and vote with your feet. I did, and just discovered that I wanted different things, preferably at more affordable prices as well.