The Atom setup was in a small area near the entrance, where they had two pairs of Focal Aria 936 being demoed in a A/B setup to demonstrate the effectiveness of Isoacoustics Gaia isolators. Still it was only divided by panels maybe 3 meters tall, in reality it was one very large area, with the Focal Home theather setup behind the wall where the Statements/Maestro Utopia are.
It’s very possible that Naim didn’t have higher end streamer or power supplies available at this time ……
Just saying ……
3 Likes
Sigh… so much for the single speaker demo. No Fraim?
3 Likes
The Atom was in a different part of the room than the big Focals.
As i said the big Naim Focal system sounded good but i don’t think it stole the show. The group i was with seemed pretty passive when listsning in all honesty. With a little work…better front end, fraim, Etc they would have stolen the show. My frustration here was not really the room or the sound…it is the overall approach of overemphasizing a ‘synergy’ between the 2 brands that in my view is more a synergy of spreadsheets and investors than a synergy of sound quality. Focal and Naim sound good together. Naim and some other speakers sound better. And Naim can also front other systems instead of seeding that ground to others. The Uniti casing in Naim is the best looking in the industry in my view. Put Naim streamers in that casing, get on the phone and offer up Naim streamers to a half dozen other good rooms, and what will steal the show is that company Naim with the best looking and best sounding streamers all over the show. Naim could also front the Atc and Janszen active speakers i saw as well with preamps and streamers. Quite frankly Naim’s output at this show was uninspired to say the least. Because of covid it has been years sincea show…and this is what they came up with? Auralic and Aurender are on the move and Naim better be careful.
2 Likes
No fraim Chris. Re no single speaker you are correct…the other ones there were in wall Focals that the presenter explained were more focused on home theater. He demoed both. The in wall ones were pretty good but the big ones were clearly better
Lack of ownership portrayed in a room.
2 Likes
I wonder what kind of phone calls or emails are going across the pond from Salisbury.
1 Like
Is that IKEA?
1 Like
Focal Maestro, Statements, Ndx2 bare. Mullet, but curiously considered among the best system of the show.
You can search at Jay’s audio lab Axpona 2022, YouTube. He was very impressed, despite having heard Boulder, Gryphon, VTL, Audio Research and VAC at the same show. Videos from them follow.
3 Likes
The rack is actually Swedish. Solid tech. But it looks painful with a single Naim product like this.
Hmm… maybe a bare NDX2 is not as hamstrung as this forum tends to advocate. 
6 Likes
It certainly seems an odd choice of system but I’m not sure some of the outrage being displayed on here is entirely necessary. The concept of sacking someone over it is just silly. We all know that systems at shows rarely sound at their best, but despite everything it seems to have been well received by those who were actually there, rather than sitting at home and lobbing criticism from afar.
4 Likes
In a Statement-based setup for public show, an NDX2 is hardly complementary balance nor reflective of the Statement’s stature. Hence all our feedback here as devoted Naim fans.
Planning not in order.
The good is that it looks nice and neat, and some here have shared it sounded reasonably good. 
1 Like
Might it be that an NDX2 is good enough in the context and limitations of a show, with its highly imperfect conditions that would seriously limit the ability of a system to sound its best, and, more so, for visitors to hear best, making an ND555 superfluous? That said, given the cost of the rest of the system it does seem odd not having the ND555. (Unless, perhaps, it takes more attention to detail and is more sensitive to its surroundings than NDX2?)
3 Likes
I assume the case contains sandwiches.
Gotta get your priorities sorted. 
1 Like
Naim are now owned by Focal. It follows that Naim will never again be allowed to demonstrate their equipment with other speakers. Their role is now to make Focal look good. It also follows that there is no great desire at board level for Naim to compete with Aurender or Auralic for the standalone front end market.
Or have I got this wrong?
2 Likes
Some big assumptions there.
In the UK Naim gear is demonstrated (at dealers) with all sorts of speakers, of which Focal is in the minority. If they didn’t, Naim sales would be severely affected, which Focal would certainly not want.
I agree that this freedom to demonstrate with other speaker brands might not extend to shows, but if Naim pays to exhibit at a particular show they should be able to use speakers that shows Naim gear in the best light.
Naim is not owned by Focal. Both Focal and Naim are part of the Vervent group.
The distributor is the one here exhibiting at the show. They distribute Naim, Focal and some other brands (Thorens etc…) so it stands to reason that they would use them together.
2 Likes