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Life after Naim

cayorob said:
I’ve had a Nait XS for 12 years and am looking at alternatives due to its age. Quite frankly I love it,
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Why change it if you love it - get it serviced if you feel it needs doing? Had my XS since 2012, and no intention to change. I added a TP power supply fairly soon after buying - just to see if it made a difference - it made an audible difference (maybe improvement, difficult to say!) - so that has stayed ever since.
 
I've had almost every olive Naim amp, and maxed out at CDS2/XPS/NAC52/NAP135s before I jumped ship 15+ years ago.

I replaced the lot with TOTL Densen, and got change for my money. I still have all the Densen, and current use the B-350 mono-blocks with a Copland CTA-301 valve preamp into my own Ergo E-IX mini-monitors. Front end comprises Naimed LP12, Densen B-440XS, Nakamichi Cassette Deck 1.5 and Node 2i, which uses the B-440XS DAC.

Bliss.
 
robs said:
Why change it if you love it - get it serviced if you feel it needs doing? Had my XS since 2012, and no intention to change. I added a TP power supply fairly soon after buying - just to see if it made a difference - it made an audible difference (maybe improvement, difficult to say!) - so that has stayed ever since.
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Only because I upgraded my speakers (Dynaudio Evoke 50) to fill a much larger room than before. It’s not that I feel it’s lacking, just wonder what I’m now missing out on
 
cayorob said:
Given the recent Naim price hikes interested to know who owned Naim and has since moved onto other manufacturers. I’ve had a Nait XS for 12 years and am looking at alternatives due to its age. Quite frankly I love it, so had looked at a supernait as a replacement, anything higher up the Naim chain is out of my reach so just wondered where others may have gone.
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Take a look at the Exposure 3510 integrated.

I was up and down the Naim range and got sick of it. Switched to an Exposure 3010s2 pre and monoblocks; think they’re better than anything I had from Naim. The attitude on the naim forum didn’t help - it’s turned into an echo chamber.
 
cayorob said:
Only because I upgraded my speakers (Dynaudio Evoke 50) to fill a much larger room than before. It’s not that I feel it’s lacking, just wonder what I’m now missing out on
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Interestingly, I jumped ship not because of dissatisfaction with the product, but because the NAP135s struggled to drive my loudspeaker of the day properly. I still think the NAC52 is a damn fine preamp.
 
Bob Edwards said:
Take a look at the Exposure 3510 integrated.

I was up and down the Naim range and got sick of it. Switched to an Exposure 3010s2 pre and monoblocks; think they’re better than anything I had from Naim. The attitude on the naim forum didn’t help - it’s turned into an echo chamber.
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I’ve read a lot of exposure and will listen one day. My local dealer doesn’t do them though so tougher for a home demo
 
Same as many here, I started off with NAP90/NAC92, then NAC72/NAP180, added Avondale 821A and TPX1, and then swapped the pre for G1.

The CD3 crown remains, part of me wants to sell it to upgrade the power amp (and speakers), but I just can't let go!
 
TBH I wish I had joined pfm and asked for advice before I bought my first setup last year. I almost certainly wouldn't have gone with the Naim gear that I did.

That said, I'm still keen to hear, say, a 282/250 or some c.b./olive setups, just to have a better idea of the Naim sound and what kinds of improvements are actually attainable as you go up the ladder.
 
I traded a pair of Isobariks for sbl's at a time when I was going back to graduate school, and would be moving frequently for the following few years, and living in small spaces. I was never really happy with the sbl's, though I thought they sounded decent active. I realized how meh they really were when I started demoing passive speakers that cost about the same as the sbl's, and sounded much better than active sbl's.

I upgraded an Ittok II with and Aro on an LP12. That was a nice improvement, but after having the LP12 for 22 years, I switched to an SME 20/2 with IV.Vi 15 years ago, which I much prefer.

I had a CDX2, and subsequently added a used XPS2. Nice combo, but the retail price new for the pair was around $10k, which seemed crazy. I sold them on once most new releases were available on vinyl, and haven't replaced it.

I demoed several Naim amps, the top of which was 252/300. I didn't think it was an improvement over my Expo 16/21, plus the 252 was about $15k. I don't recall the price of the 300, but the 16/21 cost me < $8k.
 
gustav_errata said:
That said, I'm still keen to hear, say, a 282/250 or some c.b./olive setups, just to have a better idea of the Naim sounds and what kinds of improvements are actually attainable as you go up the ladder.
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Massive diminishing returns. I once pitted a humble CB Nait2 against NAC52/135s. I was stunned how good the little shoe-box sounded in comparison. I kept the Nait2.
 
If you like it, get it serviced. I started with 42/110 and now have 52/SCDR/135s. The 135s have been serviced twice since I bought them, the first time at Naim and they came back sounding better but with a stray bit of solder on the IEC socket that I had to shift, the second time at Class A (Naim accredited). This time I was genuinely shocked at the improvement and remain absolutely delighted at what Darren did.
 
James said:
Massive diminishing returns. I once pitted a humble CB Nait2 against NAC52/135s. I was stunned how good the little shoe-box sounded in comparison. I kept the Nait2.
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Into the right speakers the Nait 2 could be all the amp you ever need. I still have ours, and although it ultimately does fall short of bigger/better amps, it still presents an engaging, musical approach.
 
For me this hobby has always been about enjoying the journey rather than arriving at the ultimate destination. Allied to the fickleness of aural memory means I find it difficult to draw emphatic conclusions about the different manufacturers kit have owned.

So despite many hours of listening I can only go on a vague memory or gut instinct: the 282/200 was very enjoyable with a direct sound and different to my current Rega amp no doubt. My front end has changed too from a US/NDX to Zenith/TT2 so like I say difficult to compare.
 
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Finnegan said:
I’ve owned and enjoyed a Naim system for many years. Only the other night during a listening session I was absolutely grabbed by what a damn fine noise those black boxes made. My problem is where to go after my CDX2, especially now as Naim are saying these can no longer be supported. I’m reluctant to go down the streaming route as I have around 2000 cd’s....
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I still have a Naim system downstairs built around a CDS3 with 555PS. Upstairs I used to use a CDX2 but when the wish to take on streaming came along it was time for an alternative approach. Now I have a Pro-Ject CD transport into a Chord Hugo TT2 DAC with M-Scaler which acts as a digital front end. The cost of this, while substantial, is comparable to what a CDS3 and 555PS would cost today if it was still available. For streaming I use a Windows 10 tablet into the DAC. This digital setup is very flexible and gives a clear, detailed, dynamic sound. Amp is Chord too.
 
cayorob said:
Given the recent Naim price hikes interested to know who owned Naim and has since moved onto other manufacturers. I’ve had a Nait XS for 12 years and am looking at alternatives due to its age. Quite frankly I love it, so had looked at a supernait as a replacement, anything higher up the Naim chain is out of my reach so just wondered where others may have gone.
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I moved from a CDS3/552/300 Naim system and onto a Danish company called Vitus. I went from 6 boxes to 2 and the sound the Vitus produces is so much better than the Naim, and gives cash to spare. I did home demo a few different brands and the Vitus won hands down. I can’t recommend the Vitus amps and DACs highly enough.
 
Owned a few Naim boxes over the years inc super uniti then a Naim nap300/nac252/SC dr. Wasn’t sure it had the current to properly drive my shahinian obelisks (gone now) so switched to vitus ri100 then a vitus sia-025 which are both much higher current (and better sounding)

all gone now as moved to Dutch & Dutch 8c actives and don’t have any regrets.
 
I loved my little Qute2, I sold the SuperUniti as, to me it wasn’t as good. I won’t allow myself to get into the separate boxes, with all the power supplies, and cables, let alone the huge double/triple frames of gear, it makes me shudder to see it, and people seem so proud of having a wall of electronics. I now have an Atom, which I love the design and build quality, whilst realising I could get better sound via other makes. The single box, build quality and design count for a lot, I’ve recently sold a Gryphon Diablo, so simplifying things.
 
JTC said:
Into the right speakers the Nait 2 could be all the amp you ever need. I still have ours, and although it ultimately does fall short of bigger/better amps, it still presents an engaging, musical approach.
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The only caveat with the Nait2 is its limited power. But even then it sounds more powerful than its paltry 18WPC might suggest. Loudness aside, I'd say it gives a 95% facsimile of the 52/135 performance I used to enjoy.

Into a pair of Yamaha NS-1000M, it is all the amplifier I'd need, if I didn't already have a selection of preamps and power amps to choose from.
 
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