That’s a relief!
I was being facetious…
English humour…
Breathtaking set up Mitch
Thanks to all for the kind words. And seriously, if anyone is in the NY area, I’d be delighted to host.
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Where are exactly Mitch in NY area? NYC or upstate, long island?
Hi Mitch,
Impressive set up. Innovative audio in NYC did ,I believe have a full statement at one point. You would think that Naim would send again for you to audition and compare to the full 500 system. Of course they don’t have your speakers but wonder if they would do a home demo at that price point.
Would take you up on your offer btw after COVID. I’m in lower Fairfield County.
I live on LI Mitch.
Dix Hills specifically
Your speakers scare me…
They could eat my Kudos Titant88s as a snack
David
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How can you tell through uTube!
I’ve only done my Pre from 552 to S1 Pre - if you can comfortably afford it then that is a huge upgrade and the first to make as it works exceedingly well with the 500DR like they were made for each-other.
After that then the S1 Monoblock Amps give more clean and open scale and life to a Passive system - and alternatively you can go Active if your speakers support that path and get the same sort of things but done differently. The S1 Monoblock Amps are definitely better than the 500DR when compared A-B - I’ve had the demo - but you get 70% of the upgrade from the S1 Pre and the remaining 30% from the S1 Amps - to give some suggestion of descibing what really can’t be properly described - they ‘do’ and express different musical facets - but the S1 Pre is definitely the precursor. You get the lift S1 Pre-500DR , but will be a waste without the Pre.
Since I had Active already with 3x500 and the S800 Speaker had a custom SNAXO available it made sense to stay along the path I was already on - so I just upgraded my 552 to S1 and it was wonderful!
If I had the funds and needed to stay passive then S1 Pre -500DR first - then full Statement later as they will really free-up your speakers even more.
I think that Active 3x500DR does the same with different emphasis - Active is a bit more immediate and faster than passive, but the Statement levels things a lot and although not quite (IMO) as nimble as a good Active set-up delivers an easy gravitas and insight that keep you captivated into the music.
…and Active S1 Amps - I can’t afford them - do not want to hear them! 
DB.
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500 or Statement! Gee nice problem to have. ©️
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Count me in! When restrictions have eased. Never listened to 500 series before and opportunities here are rare.
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You are going to have to organise 2m distancing for the queue at your door.
Will you provide PPE, or do we bring our own?
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Hi Mitch,
I might consider myself very lucky to have heard two full Statement systems, both in domestic settings. One owned by a friend of mine, the other by the person who sold me his 500 amp. Of course I’ve also done the Naim factory tour and heard their demo systems. Jumping from a passive 500 right up to the full Statement.
My friend originally had his active 500 system with Ovator 800’s before he moved to the full Statement. This was fronted by an ND555 with two power supplies and a maxed out LP12. I personally own a fully DR’d 555/552/500/DBL based system, so I think I have a pretty stable reference point.
In your post you ask if this is a worthwhile upgrade but I think you already know the answer. In my personal opinion the full Statement is the closest I’ve been to live music in your front room. It has an effortless quality that even the 500 lacks and a clarity I’ve never heard before. It even seem to reflect the ambience of where the music was recorded. It so accurately produces the dynamics of live music that you have to be a bit careful of volume levels as you just keep turning it up and up. I found the whole experience and realism slightly disturbing. Not only would sounds make you jump but they’d appear behind you like an all enveloping three dimensional musical canopy. Every track on every album was just ‘gripping’. That’s the only way I can describe it. Like a musical adventure.
If I had the money I wouldn’t hesitate. It’s certainly the first thing on my list if I ever I win the lottery! You should consider yourself a fortunate person if you are able to own one.
I will look forward to your comments and experiences.
All the best.
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Now Geko, was that really necessary…?!? 
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Sorry!
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What did you make of the Grandinote amps compared to the Naim 500 series?
My modest system has 2 Naim components, a Nait XS2 and a ND5 XS2.
I count 11 Naim boxes in that system. What do they all do?
Make it sound even better than yours?
I assume each device has its own power supply, so that doubles already the box count.
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Lucky it’s not an active system otherwise you could up the box count by at least another six! 
That’s impressive! Very cool! I wish I had the bank account for that!
Someone posted overnight on a thread that seems to have disappeared this morning that Statement is very complicated to set up, and they seemed to feel it required a lot of dealer attention to keep it on form, such that if there was no good dealer available it would not be something to hang on to.
It seemed a rather unexpected view, but I thought it worth noting here so existing owners can either debunk it or confirm and thus ensure someone considering ownership is aware.
They could be onto something IB. Every morning I whisper ‘sweet nothings’ to my S1, as I’m gently padding the top plate with that lush volume control .
ATB Peter