These threads do make me laugh, you have the strong defence from the Naim fans and then those that seem to dislike the brand are keen to make their point in a strong manner too.
Of course it is possible to get a different sound for less. Whether it is better probably depends on your personal taste in the sound of a system. Technically it may well be better, but as I know nothing about the technical side of hifi, I am not really able to make a fair judgement.
I am no fan of the Naim house sound. I find it far, far too forward. Although I do admire the build quality of their equipment, and have always liked their CD Players, particularly the CDI and CDX2 models which I personally owned.
My Dad however, is a big fan of the Naim house sound, and has a full Naim system excluding speakers.
Naim dealers really don't help the view of the brand in a lot of way. For instance a dealer I went to recently was somewhat shocked when I said that I didn't want to hear the Naim system he was pushing my way and when I pointed out that I was not a fan of the house sound, he pointed out that I must have a hearing problem as you couldn't get better in a thoroughly rude manner. Suffice to say, I walked our shortly thereafter and won't be returning any time soon. It is worth nothing that this is not the first time I have experienced this sort of reaction from Naim dealers, although not quite as rude previously.
