Thats what I meant actually…., features…., not performance, which obviously must be different.
I have not listened to any Cyrus kit for decades, not on my list really.
Thats what I meant actually…., features…., not performance, which obviously must be different.
I have not listened to any Cyrus kit for decades, not on my list really.
Almost but not quite; there is difference in input/output number - for example, the Star has more s/pdif digital inputs than the Atom (5 vs. 3), and also an extra analogue input, and the Nova has 4 analogue inputs and also a DIN as well as a pair of RCA Phonos for the pre-out/sub-out.
If and when the time comes to replace my Supernait 2, which I am content with, then I will look at similar options from Rega, Sugden etc.
If Naim don’t produce another integrated amp, so what. Just the way it is.
isn’t Exposure an option to no NAIM integrated ?
3510 / 5510 perhaps ?
I’ve a Cambridge Audio EXA100 paired to an EXN100 in my snug and it’s arguably better than the SN3 I demoed a couple of years ago for musicality….. All subjective of course, but perhaps an option too?
For me they could be.
I’ve owned many Farlowe (and later design) amps during the last three decades.
If I recall the 5510 is rather expensive but would love trying 3510.
In today’s market plug ins are probably not successful. I don’t even think they have been overly loved in the past. Folks either (increasingly) buy a fully featured all in one or the increasingly rarer legacy Hifi lover choose all singing and dancing extra boxes like streamers, R2R Dacs, phono stages etc. After all, box count, lights, meters, heavy housings and such appeal and add to perceived value and willy waving kudos. A plug in or two is not seen. No offence
and my 2 ct’s only.
5510 similar pricing to the SN3 RRP
More plug on than plug in lol…
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That’s the Star, minus the now unavailable CD mech. Not really “new” now is it (albeit tweaked for superior SQ). It does add a couple of features. Other than saving a wee bit £ what difference is there to a Nova.
You are 100% correct in that naim already offer the Nova in the “amp+streamer” space. A rapidly moving market so you wonder if R&D costs on an NC SN3 replacement could be recouped in sales. Thst might be a difficult ROI PowerPoint slide to talk over!
Everything naim seems very expensive now. 222/250 isn’t cheap and an NC SN3 (say £8K) plus 333……. SN3/NDX2 was eye watering to most, NC is more.
Some might like to continue with the Naim sound, if possible, and the benefits of system automation.
Yes, got very expensive once you started adding bits. They also had trouble with colour matching as the photo shows - bit like Naim olive variation!
A few years ago it was becoming more and more a topic of discussion here, almost like a dream, to have an integrated amp from Naim in a 10K teritory to compete with all those big names in the integrated amp world, an Ultra Nait, and now it seems to be closer than ever to becoming a reality, if it finally sees the light of day, it will all of a sudden be way too expensive. See N50 for an instance, when it was released it was too expensive, although when it comes to performance it is worth the whole initial RRP, there is no doubt about that.
Regardless of performance, a 10K Ultra Nait will be labeled as way too expensive inevitably. Another example - 272 and 222, people were so desperate to have a successor to the former, and when it was finally released, all of a sudden all enthusiasm vanished… Certainly not because of it being a low perfomer… People expect Naim to boost performance, but keep old pricing for their new products, that is no longer possible unfortunately. 6-8 years ago I was able to purchase a brand new Supernait 2 (with a slight discount), now if a new SN is sitting in a 8-10K range, it will be entirely out of reach for me, even with my current income, which is definitely bigger than it was all those years back. It’s just way more expensive nowadays, simple as that.
Lack of remote, DIN, and retro styling? Guess that makes sense.
But is/was the SN3 really ‘mass market’? If you’re in this space, I sort of feel like you’re the ‘mass market’ of high-end audio. Which is a small market.
Exactly this…..
For forty years my hifi choices have been based on sensible pricing for adequate performance…..
The nuances and benefits of spending more, to me, made no sense. Diminishing returns by spending an order of magnitude more seemed crazy….
And in the “real world” spending thousands on an external power supply to achieve greater performance when the prime unit itself had a power supply just seems like brilliant manufacturer ploy to empty your pockets…..Don’t even get me started on network switches and Ethernet cables……..!
Added to that, the “lifestyle” brigade want a shiny one box solution with graphics and app control as well as performance and why not ?
I do rather wonder if the days of multi stacked hifi, rats nest cabling and shelving units are limited, hence the revised product range from Naim….
Fair comment. I was talking comparatively but “mass” was probably a bit adventurous.![]()
Yes, the pricing of a NC Supernait must be difficult to establish.
Naim has recently done some optimistic retail prices, resulting in maybe slow sales since they reduced them later on (Nova PE & NC 222/250)
Realistic a NC SN need to be at least 15-25% higher priced than SN3.
Will it sell ?
In the other end - to replace 5Si/XS, actually I believe they would have more success with a (mostly) china made entry level amp - there I said it - but pricing will need to be lower than a 5Si - TBH unrealistic.
The competition out there is huge and Naim’s clientel is buying expensive kit, (NN50 excepted)
No matter what - there’s a gab.
Thanks for reminder.
I got you. Mass is relative here where in the rest of the universe it is not. ![]()
But upon reflection, the N50 is not really a fair comparison as we sometimes forget that it was a limited edition product whose run is now over. So yes, an Atom/Nova is really all we’ve got. So makes all the sense in the world that Naim should have a pure integrated in the lineup.
Just need to wait it out.