blossomchris
I feel better than James Brown
Hifi stolen by extreme lefties from some mega rich horror could be said, by some, to be a political theft
bloss
Politics and hi-fi
- Thread starter Tony L
- Start date
Hifi stolen by extreme lefties from some mega rich horror could be said, by some, to be a political theft
bloss
This sums it up for me.
I've had the large piles of kit. I love good sound. But enough is enough. We are living in the future. It is possible to have decent sounds and beautiful surroundings. Modern Hi-Fi needs to be compact, good looking, plus work with any source, whilst maintaining real fidelity. The naim uniti range and devialet at the other end are where things should be going. You can keep your massive racks and dusty rats nest of cables. Hardly anyone wants that anymore, outside of forums anyway.
Still
he said his naim was ralph
That was last Wednesday.
Oh yeah? I bet the Dev will be landfill at around the same time that Naim 6-pack goes in for a service.
Mr Tibbs
Tony L
Administrator
Also many of us actually like the look of classic 'golden age' audio kit. I've never understood why so many want the audio equivalent Nissan Micra when you can own the equivalent of a Blower Bentley or a Merc Gull-Wing.
PS Not implying the Devialet is this at all, there is a lot of very interesting technology under the rather lifestyle styling, but aesthetically I'd far prefer some vintage Quad, McInosh, Leak, Naim, Krell or whatever.
I.D.C.
pfm Member
The Naim is compact : The amp side looks as if it has been taken straight out our electrical room on the ship. I'm sure the sound is great from the Naim.
Yes hifi needs to look good , looking good is a personal thing though what I like you may not. For me it is sound quality first , looks second while the wife would pick the latter lol.
merlin
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HiFi does NOT need to look good. For most people, it needs to take up as little space as possible and to be effectively invisible.
Having a pair of Devialets allows me to free up the space for something far more important to me than some aging electronics. I'd be surprised if the Devialets didn't outlast me. I still have a working laptop from a decade ago and a similarly ancient plasma screen. I have an even older projector and mobile phone.
The Naim stuff is from the era where shit went wrong and we fettled with it. Fine for the hobbyist - not great for the modern man in a relationship and living in a rented apartment.
The Naim might still be going in forty years.
I won't.
And none of my younger friends would want it.
Having a pair of Devialets allows me to free up the space for something far more important to me than some aging electronics. I'd be surprised if the Devialets didn't outlast me. I still have a working laptop from a decade ago and a similarly ancient plasma screen. I have an even older projector and mobile phone.
The Naim stuff is from the era where shit went wrong and we fettled with it. Fine for the hobbyist - not great for the modern man in a relationship and living in a rented apartment.
The Naim might still be going in forty years.
I won't.
And none of my younger friends would want it.
For now.
Time has a funny way of changing things though.
Sooner or later the present day Dev kit will become very uncool (if it still works) and yet that old Naim gear will be as highly sought after as it ever was. The Dev kit is ultimately just lifestyle 'HiFi' and will therefore be about as long lasting and desirable as a DFS sofa.
Mr Tibbs
merlin
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Each to their own.
I bought them because they sounded better than big boxes and cost a lot less than Naim. I can't even see the amps in my place - they are out of sight.
I suspect bomber jackets will make a reappearance on young people's wish lists before big boxes of air and angle iron. Then again, some people still think Roger Waters' solo work is worth listening to and Back to the Future was a good film. Generally not young people though
I bought them because they sounded better than big boxes and cost a lot less than Naim. I can't even see the amps in my place - they are out of sight.
I suspect bomber jackets will make a reappearance on young people's wish lists before big boxes of air and angle iron. Then again, some people still think Roger Waters' solo work is worth listening to and Back to the Future was a good film. Generally not young people though
PaulMB
pfm Member
To paraphrase good ol' Goebbels, "When I hear 'compact,' 'living in the future,' 'lifestyle styling, I reach for my pistol."
(Haven't got one, but you get the idea.)
I also hate this weird, perverted fetishism that everything has to be both brand new and extremely small, and cost a fortune in "design" and "marketing" and about 5% of its price in actual manufacturing costs.
Besides, how can you ever have small speakers that sound as good as big speakers? Other parameters being equal, it is a physical nonsense.
Buy expensive - buy ten times?
The fabled "upgrade" path.....
"just one more box. Come on man! Just one more! I'll quit but just the one more!Maaan!"
Aside from the antics of the top 20 nut cases on the Naim forum do you actually believe that really happens? I won't embarrass you by asking how many times you've changed this or that box over the years. People in glass houses, etc.
Mr Tibbs
merlin
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Why would you think it would embarrass me?
I've been lucky enough to have owned more hifi over the years than many. I've explored many different brands and design ideologies. I've been fortunate to have gained an appreciation of what I like and what I don't - what I consider to sound good and what I consider to be overrated.
What I never did was buy into a dogmatic company mantra and upgrade continuously within brand to satiate that burning desire for something new in my life. I left that to others.
I've arrived at the current solution through a lot of trial and error and it does what I want. The room could do with being better and I don't get the most out of the speakers but then upgrading the listening room in South Bucks is a little outside of my price range.
Why would you think it would embarrass me?
I've been lucky enough to have owned more hifi over the years than many. I've explored many different brands and design ideologies. I've been fortunate to have gained an appreciation of what I like and what I don't - what I consider to sound good and what I consider to be overrated.
What I never did was buy into a dogmatic company mantra and upgrade continuously within brand to satiate that burning desire for something new in my life. I left that to others.
But what you claim is 'buying into a dogma' is really no different to someone who claims to be an 'explorer of brands'. An obsessive 'box adder' is no worse than an obsessive 'box shifter' IMO. It's so obvious I'm surprised I have to say it.
Mr Tibbs
Tony L
Administrator
With £500 yes, for sure, though you could probably find a nice pair of BC1s, IMFs, Gale 401s etc second hand, so that money could buy a speaker it would be very hard to beat for £2-3k new. Amplifiers have if anything got worse to my ears. I can't think of much if anything under a grand I'd swap say a 1958 Leak Stereo 20 for (assuming I didn't have crazy inefficient speakers, which thankfully I don't!). The only game-changer is digital audio, and that integrates seamlessly into any classic system.
To be honest the only thing I've seen (aside from digital audio) in the past 30 years that has really made me sit up and take notice is the Devialet Phantom. That is an advance and a potential game-changer. Pretty much everything else is less good than say a pair of Quad IIs driving ESLs! I'm not convinced the Devialets are any better other than at the frequency extremes, but they are at least a new thing.
PS I'd add digital room correction to my list, though again there is no reason why that wouldn't work with classic systems, in fact I'd argue it would work far better with proper big speakers which have some real headroom to play with.
merlin
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It's very different IMHO Mr Tibbs.
It's akin to taking the time to read and be educated in more than one language. The result is usually a more balanced and rounded intellect (I make no claims that this is true in my case - that is for others to judge).
russel
./_dazed_and_confused
In the past I had a rack full of stuff in the living room, record player, DVD player CD player, tuner analogue, tuner DAB, cassette most likely some stuff I have forgotten. Now it's just media PC(NUC), NAS hidden under the stairs, DAC, amplifier and speakers.
I don't know why anyone would think a Naim amplifier would outlast a devialet, circuit boards could be made in the same factory and modern semiconductors are very reliable.
I don't know why anyone would think a Naim amplifier would outlast a devialet, circuit boards could be made in the same factory and modern semiconductors are very reliable.
James
Lord of the Erg\o/s
I think multilayered PCBs and microscopically small SMT semi-conductors are a somewhat less bodger-serviceable than the traditional one or two layer PCB with through-hole components. The trouble with vintage kits of any make is availability of OEM-spec parts. I dread the day I need another pair of Sanken 2SA747 / 2SC1116 TO3 power transistors.