Confused Non-Audiophile

Only one thing should make the decision for you: Your ears!

Try to audition the equipment at your home.

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Having heard the Nova and Kanta 2 combination, it is a great pairing, but do a home demo if possible.

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I’m a bit confused by your posts! You say you have been doing ‘research’ and having conversations, and now you say you’re inclined in another direction. But this all sounds entirely theoretical. What hifi have you actually listened to and how do you listen to music at the moment - in other words, what is your starting point?

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Then what’s the feeling about a discreet single box solution versus 2 or 3?

Your source is the component with the greatest impact on sq.

I currently have a $35k source, $25k amps, $16k wires, $7k speakers, and a $3k sub. My speakers have always been capable of revealing upstream improvements.

If I were able to start over, I’d stick with headphones. For $20k a person can get an extraordinary headphone system vs a good speaker system. The problem with speakers is the biggest impact on sq is actually the room. Fixing your room might be expensive, complicated, and time consuming. Speakers are impossible to demo in home which is why I’m hesitant to upgrade mine. It’s a gamble if they’ll meet your expectations in your system. Headphones are also impossible to demo however they don’t suffer from interactions with a room. It is thus easier to chose headphones based on reviews assuming you know what aspects of music reproduction you value most.

For $6k you could buy an Atom HE + Powerline + sennheiser HD800s. For $22k you can get dCS Bartok +Powerline + HD800. Both options sound better to me than my previous $40k SN2 based system.

For the first 40 years of my life, I only listened to music through headphones so it’s a presentation I enjoy. Speakers are a completely different experience with 10x price tag.

If you’re at all interested in headphones, you can’t go wrong with Atom HE + Powerline + HD800s. Then after six months you should demo the Bartok. This will give you a good understanding of relative strengths and weaknesses of the two dominant dac design approaches.

The best thing about Naim is that they have created everything you need for a complete system at any reasonable price point. The $20k system for audiophiles is NDX2 + SN3 + Powerlines + Quadraspire EVO rack + NACA5 + whatever model of Focal fits in remaining budget. The $20k system for normal people is Nova + NACA5 + Kanta 2. Be careful re Focal speakers since they have terrible resale value. Fortunately the $6k Atom HE system beats them both by a country mile…

DISCLAIMER: I love the immersive experience provided by headphones. The past day I’ve been listening to the Atom HE as part of my “Atom v. Bartok Showdown Extravaganza”. The last week or so, I’ve been intensely focused on figuring out exactly why the Bartok sounds so pleasant. All I’ve been doing is thinking about headphone systems. The Bartok restructured my brain to the point my taste in music completely changed in a month. I accept no liability for any audiophilia resulting from use of Atom HE or Bartok. Other brands/products exist it’s just I don’t care about them; I’m 100% Naim & 40% dCS.

Erm, how can you be 140%?

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Aurender A100 would permanently prevent you from using Roon which you’ll most likely regret.

Well… I spent about 280% of my initial budget and it’s 100% due to the Naim forum. So basic hifi maths (280/2) - 100 = % dCS.

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What I heard from a colleague, is that Nova matches very good with Dali Epicon series. Hence, a setup consisting of Nova and Epicon 6 might be worth a listen, too. Alternatively, you may check Supernait 3 combined with a NDX2 also, if in budget. This might give you more flexibility for later upgrades and sonically it should outperform the Nova. And, from my personal experience, do not underestimate the impact of good power cables and power filters, like the Isotek product range, e.g. an Isotek Aquarius - maybe a good upgrade in a second step.

Could you tell what is the technical difference between powerline and the cable provided with the Nova? I do not see that it adds parasitic filter or magnetic protection, it only improves the chips apparently

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Roughly $1000 USD.

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Wouldn’t like to go into the technical details , but if you go on to my thread about Silver Tellurium, Powerline etc, you will see that I queried the effect of the Powerline as I needed to uplift my sound quality by 10-15%

I added the Powerline and with seconds had got to desired point. It is significant, I would advise getting your dealer to demo it.

Well worth the money

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Where are you in the US?

I’m aware that no one can truly respond ‘for me,’ and aware that any given room’s contours or dynamics can change sound. My post was more of a rant — getting confused, looking for some clarity. Thankfully, members here came forward, and by way of various comments, clarity began to emerge.

The first part of clarity is related to the simple notion that I want great music played with feeling and emotion more than I want great sound. I’ve found that the vast majority of professional shop owners sell specs — they discuss the technology. They all assume a buyer is on the addictive bandwagon. Eventually, I came across a lovely man, in Texas, by the name of John Goodyear, who owns his own shop, and does mostly home theater installations. No longer sells direct to someone like me. That said, he loves talking about this stuff. But he also sings in local orchestral choirs. And he loves music. So he helped me into the second part of clarity.

The second part of clarity is that I live in a home with a wife I’d like to keep, and don’t have the space for a dedicated chair in a dedicated listening room. Any system must fit into our lifestyle as a welcome addition but not as center stage. Given that, given that all comments related to the difficulty or expense of ‘changing the room’ become irrelevant, I came to realize that for the same relative price point, around $22K USD, I could have five or six different configurations that all would work just fine.

At that point, comments about the Mimas running hot and likely not for the beginner began to make greater sense. The Nova paired with Focal Kanta 2’s makes sense. Naim is a great company — can’t go wrong with any of their products. However, even though the Uniti line makes some sense, Naim is really a company of ‘separates.’

My end decision was based on ‘it’s good enough’ and ‘any of these options would be great.’ I’ve no interest in joining the addictive train and ‘upgrading’ down the line. This is it. Great music for an investment. If I ever do want to enter the world of vinyl, easy to do. If for some reason I can’t fathom I want to add a CD transport, easy to do. As it is, I’ll have a 2 T SSD on the Aurender, which allows no internal movement for a massive amount of Qobuz derived great music.

Thanks again to all.

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You sound exactly like a conversant and enthusiastic punter for a high quality simple lifestyle system - made by today’s Hi-Fi manufacturers who are crying out for.
I wish you the best of luck, but I’m hopeful that whatever you choose - you won’t be disappointed.

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If you think it’s confusing as a non audiophile, wait till you’ve spent your thousands, become an ‘audiophile’ and then upgrade time comes around, boy, oh boy!!

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But he’s not interested in ever upgrading so he’s completely safe. :thinking:

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@Tdoc for what its worth I use a 500 level system from Naim and also a Nova based system. If you want a connection to the music then from someone who has an almost top of the Naim tree system I can say Nova kills it. You will drive yourself mad researching. I use Nova/Powerline/EE8 Switch/Naim NacA5/ATC SCM7 and its awesome. You will be super happy. Spend more and get a SN3/NDX2 if you want the ability to upgrade in the future. Get the system fleeted in and start listening to music.

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Thats great Tdoc… So you’re going to get the Aurender, What amplifier and speakers are you going to get? And of course you realize the the Aurender does not have wifi so it has to be wired to you router.

And how does this play out in your thinking?
" I came to realize that for the same relative price point, around $22K USD, I could have five or six different configurations that all would work just fine."

and FYI " I want great music played with feeling and emotion more than I want great sound".The two usually walk hand in hand.

Unsure why you appear to be kicking this guy, a guy who has expressed an interest in the brand that we all love.