If that is really all, then this is more then tweaking. It translates into sound change in a significant way.
The step between 3.3 —> 3.5 firmware is unexpectedly big/good!
If that is really all, then this is more then tweaking. It translates into sound change in a significant way.
The step between 3.3 —> 3.5 firmware is unexpectedly big/good!
Sure the changes can be positive, as well as negative… but it is subjective ultimately. What Naim might prefer might not suit a customer if they have grown used to a previous signature.
My personal view is that although ingenious, I can’t help feeling this approach won’t always be deterministic or reliable and there may be disappointed customers. As such I think it should be important to have access to earlier firmware if wanted.
If my naim streamer software works flawlessly but someone else’s doesn’t on the same product, does that mean they are having difficulty with a different variable?
Not sure it is only subjective.
Being able to extract more details, providing a better stereo image, etc. is something every music amateur seeks (and pays for) and I believe these qualities to be quite objective.
Of course, the way those audiophile qualities are blended together is a matter of taste and therefore subjective.
That would make sense in the context of a stand alone DAC.
Not sure that would be commercially wise in the context of streamers accessing to services such as Qobuz, Tidal, etc.
I think you find that part is more subjective… you will find almost certainly there isn’t actually any more detail really, but the FR has changed slightly so you hear things differently and pick out on details that you might have previously missed. The FR between 2K and 6K is very sensitive to human hearing… To some extent this masking effect can vary from person to person which is why a lot of this can be subjective.
Well you would put it to customer choice and risk with known issues or limitations stated with a given firmware. This how firmware is managed can be many commercial setups.
If a given sound performance is more important than functionality that indeed could be a customer choice.
Exactly. How it is achieved doesn’t really matter. Being able to make a symphony more “readable” is what, I suppose, we expect.
This is exactly what I perceived. Especially from 3.3 --> 3.4, and now 3.5.
And the change is not marginal.
In theory this is all good. But I suspect you forgot one little detail : people don’t read manuals nor “read me first” instructions
Imagine the number of phone calls to support of people complaining about Qobuz not working after Firmware swaps…
This is most likely to be men. Cos real men don’t need instructions
Naim is about SQ, I like to think it is above user stupidity.
Yeah - only quiche-eaters read the manual.
Never underestimate the power of stupidity… this could sound funny but it’s not.
I witnessed accidents (many) resulting in serious injuries simply because people believe they are smart enough to avoid reading user instruction, or listening to others advices (when wrongly using belay devices in climbing context).
They admit being stupid… only when lying in an ambulance.
Natural Selection.
That’s exactly what I end up thinking, and try look somewhere else.
I only allow myself the hold the rope and take control of things when the climbers are kids.
I think if a person was genuinely after something that simple, I would recommend perhaps a Sonos solution rather than a Naim…
PS I have nothing against Sonos, but convienience and simplicity trumps SQ with those products… which is fair enough.
I have a QB2, Nova and ND555. The QB2 is the single best thing I have ever bought in my audio buying history. It is bomb proof and just works. Zero problems. Updates have been smooth. No drop outs. Everything works so smoothly and simply you would think it was designed by apple!
The Nova is stupidly good for the money. Zero problems again. Works fine and updates like a charm. Never missed a beat in the time I have had it. Embarrassingly good sound!
The ND555 betters my CD555. Works without issues, the newest of the 3. Sounds fantastic. World class sound and again updates went smoothly without an issue. Is there a difference in sound? Maybe… maybe not. Its minute if there is a difference and its certainly no worse.
Had Naim lost its way? Naim has always been about the sound and engaging the listener in a way other brands have struggled to do. Naim has a strong following for this reason. I would suggest that they have far from lost their way. The products they have currently are fantastic and my systems have never sounded better. I have owned almost every classic series separate btw.
If you are in any doubt just buy a QB2. Sell a Powerline or 2 if you have to. Its about music and the QB2 can be anywhere in the house and provides staggering good music. When you go to your main system you will hear a difference but also understand what I mean. QB2 is Naims cheapest product and still captivates, engages and presents music in a fantastic manor.
We are, in reality, at the dawn of ‘proper’ digital HiFi so lets not expect everything to be perfect yet. In 30 years maybe!
Have to agree the QB2 manages to deliver that Naim musicality, we gave one performing as a TV sound bar and for music in that room. I bought it for its portability, we spent a week in a cottage in Norfolk and took it with us, just brilliant. Yes i have a better system, but in terms of the law of diminishing returns the QB2 trounces it for vfm.
They may have also eaten the new platform manuals
In my experience men and women are alike in not reading instructions until or unless they get stuck, and even then many don’t bother but ask - what differs might be who is asked and the medium of asking!
Of course, it helps if instructions are clear and concise, with detail where needed - which sadly is not always the case. (And a pet hate of mine is picture-only instructions, done on the basis of universal Understandability regardless of language - unfortunately the majority seem to err on the side of universal incomprehensibility regardless of the user’s language! At least that approach seems not yet to have been picked up by hifi manufacturers.)
User experience and human centered designs of late are all good stuff. Nice to see not everything needs a manual I have to refer to every time I need to change some settings. (Like I do with my G-shock watch.) But this can be a generational thing also whether user are savvy with accepted patterns and terminologies.
Quick start guide has its place but I don’t find enough info in it and wish so much my Nova came with a decent user manual. I made a rule for myself to read the manual before any purchase and mostly kept that promise (I did have to skim through parts of my car manual). That took little time with the Nova, even after going through the interactive manual online.
On a funny unrelated side, Dyson would come with a book on compliance and just a leaflet for usage. What would I rather read and keep for reference?