And my experience has been much the opposite. My Benchmark AHB2, HPA4, and DAC3 B, cost much less than an equivalent Naim system and sound better. I could swap in my Topping A90 Discrete headphone amp/pre amp and it would still sound excellent. I have not heard a SN3, but from what I read here it is not much different to my Nait 50, which is good, but not a rival to my Benchmark system.
We each get to buy what we want and make our own choices.
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The mains cable should also be dressed to avoid being near the signal cables.
DG…
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Indeed a good reply. While it is nice to have your purchases confirmed by positive reviews I made my final purchase decision on ear, functionality that matters to me (integrated streaming with good software) and esthetics (must look good too).
If I remember well I bought the set before Andrew Robinsons mediocre review. I read somewhere that geographic location affects price and therefore also value. The US is not ideal to purchase UK gear.
Finally your suggestion for the power supply. I have heard it and it does sound better. But it’s subtle. More quiet, tranquil and transparency. But it’s such an expensive component (7K euro here) for ‘just a power supply’. I can only spend the cash once and want most value items first. In my logic this upgrade competes with a Rel Subwoofer (git my sights on the S510) since I know that most systems benefit from subs for sub bass. That will do a lot for the sound I expect (haven’t auditioned yet). So probably gonna get that first… Maybe the power supply will come down in price or I can find one second hand.
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If you do a simple calculation by counting the amount of videos he releases versus the amount of weeks in the year you will soon realize that Andrew Robinson spends very little time with any of the products he “reviews”. If you put out 1-2 videos per week on average how long can you actually spend evaluating each product? Not long. So one can surmise that the products are not even close to being broken in (possibly not even warmed up) and based on the amount of videos he releases there isn’t much time left for actual listening after setup, b roll, interview with the wife for the video, editing, uploading, and normal daily life.
I remember watching the New Classic video when he first released it and the whole video focused heavily on the $27,000 total cost of the system. He received a ton of backlash and in turn edited the video to remove the majority of the excessive bashing of the MSRP. He was biased from the start based on price and the initial video expressed exactly that. The extreme bias and the fact that he most likely listened to the product for a day or two shouldn’t sway anyone. None of these “reviews” on Youtube should play a part in anyone’s purchasing decisions.
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I am also space-constrained and I have used shielded AC cables to great effect. I tend to find that shielding harms dynamics, categorically speaking (tho this is deeply dependent upon cable design)…so I move up one or two awg classes for most devices. I.e. I run 9.5awg shielded mains for my SN3 & HCDR. DEAD quiet and the dynamics are definitely still there…might even seem accentuated to due to the reduction in noise.
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Yeah this confirms that you enjoy compressed dynamics and a fairly colorless presentation. Which is totally fine. It’s just grossly less-real, in very basic terms, than what even a naked Supernait 3 offers. From every genre of music. From an elac streamer to a Chord Qutest to a Naim ND555.
But that is 100% what Benchmark gives you in a vertically integrated system. If that is what you prefer, that’s great and I’m happy that you’re getting what you want. BUT, I lived with my Benchmark gear for nearly two years, listening every day. Chatted with John Siao many times about employment and optimizations. Demo’d against multiple different systems that were more and less expensive.
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Yes they absolutely should. Anyone with even an ounce of sense and some concern over money should get feedback from all sorts of sources before sploshing 27k or what ever on some hifi. Your clear bias against you tubers is clear, but that same bias could easily be levelled against reviewers in magazines, who also have the luxury of hiding away from any sort of scrutiny.
I don’t particularly like Robinsons approach, especially when he is talking to someone off camera for long periods of time, its just weird. But his opinion has just as much validity as the next person, his review process is invariably way better than yours or mine, and just because the outcome is not jizzing over how great naim is, does not diminish its value. He has demonstrated over time his like for some naim kit and dislike for other naim kit, seems fair enough to me.
Naims latest kit is insanely expensive, and the upgrades are at best iterative, they deserve a heavy amount of scrutiny.
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Anyone who has been in this hobby for any great length of time understands that you never truly get to know a product intimately until you’ve owned it and used it for a few months. Listening to a new product for a few days maximum and then putting out a video based on that limited experience doesn’t represent a credible opinion. That goes for any brand of product and any type of reviewer.
“Anyone with even an ounce of sense and some concern over money” should listen to the product themselves before “splashing $27k or whatever on some hifi”. That’s what rational people do.
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On that basis you are suggesting you can only rely on a manufacturers rhetoric, to get an initial interest in a product then go through the rigmarole of home demoing multiple bits of equipment for comparison?
I think its nice to have opinion from those that have compared to get a feel for stuff first. As I say I am not defending robinson, and frankly I don’t have any desire to spend the sorts of money uk hifi is asking now, nevertheless I find some of these reviews interesting. He was not fussed with the wiim amp for instance, but I wanted to try it at the price, watched a bunch of reviews including his and decided to do so.
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Agreed. The Benchmark system is fabulous. Small form factor too. It doesn’t colour the music, but lets the PRAT flow if its in the recording.
I never quite understood these kind of comments. How can one know if there is Prat in the recording or not. What recordings and music doesn’t have prat?
Also how does one know if it colors or doesn’t color the music?
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I understood that he wanted to say if the album has rhythm inside, as rock or funk….or not ( like a mellow vocal piano one…).
As for Prat, I am actually questioning it. I went from Naim amps ( since many years) to an Ear tubes amps. I don’t understand why some albums, hopefully the majority, don’t lack Prat with the Ear vs the Naim , but some others seem to lack it a bit.
I for example listened to Billy Cobham / Spectrum , the first Stanley Clarke and Herbie Hancock 1974 live .No lack of Prat . Fully engaging.
But then I put Super Session, season of the witch ( with Stills, Kooper, Bloomfield) and felt it less engaging vs the ex Naim 250 dr or NC 250 I had.
Curious.
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That is interesting indeed. I would chose the amplifier with engagement in most of the songs if nothing else was wrong. I compared the 250 to Goldnote and felt the 250 was more engaging. Perhaps a better wording than prat.
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But the Ear sounds richer, more real as for tones, timber, voices…and more colourful.
But my question was more about questioning the Prat, which is there more of the time but sometimes lacking a bit.
For now it’s concerning maybe 4 albums.
If an amp prats well for most recordings, why not for some ? My question.
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Ok. I understand your question but have no answer 
Also it sounds as if you prefer the Ear to both Naim amplifiers?
Long story….( if you are interested, see my thread Ear 534 vs NC 250).
Yes I read it. Interesting and frustrating journey it seems. I wasn’t clear on where you stood regarding which of the amps you preferred though.
Still not clear….i like them both. For now I will stay some months with the Ear. We will see. And can’t reverse for the NC. So if in the future I feel a strong desire to come back to Naim, I will sell the Ear 534 and buy a second hand 250 dr and upgrade something else.
The idea of having 2 amps is not the best choice for me.
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My reference to PRAT was to address the frequent use of the phrase by many Naim owners on this forum, using it to differentiate Naim as being superior to other manufacturers.
In so far as pace, rhythm and timing are attributes of good hifi, I do not consider them unique only to Naim.
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I haven’t heard any competition to Naim when it comes to getting me involved in the music. If that is prat or something else entirely I don’t know. What I was referring to was the notion that one would know what is colored and what is not or what music has prat or not. As if one would have some kind of reference. Me not understanding this is because of not getting what the reference would be. Who can judge what is colored or not or what ads extra prat that shouldn’t be there without a reference? Who decides what is and isn’t a reference? If you get my point?
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