Long-time Naim forum member and esteemed audio journalist Jonathan Gorse has just published an article on Soundstage about his introduction to Naim Audio many years ago thanks to a demonstration by his dealer of a NAIT amplifier. He then goes on to give a brief history of the company and an introduction to the new Classic range. You can read the article here;
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Thank you @Richard.Dane, excellent. @JonathanG great piece, look forward to the next installation.
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Or even instalment!!
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Indeed Nigelš
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Thanks Lindsay - always good to know when people enjoy things I write.
Part 2 which is a longer piece will publish on March 15th and is basically an extensive factory tour including the general production areas, servicing, the dedicated Statement build area, the snaic shaker and the new refurbished demo room. Thereās plenty of photographs in there too!
JonathanG
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Iād be fascinated to read the article, but my (sick) Mac wonāt open the attachment.
Trip to Apple Shop beckons.
A good read which Iāll be mailing to my new staff member who has lived in Salisbury all her life and never heard of Naim.
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It never ceased to amaze me how few residents of Salisbury knew they had the worldās greatest hifi company right on their doorstep.
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In fairness, I never realised that Linn were there also either 
.sjb
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Brilliant article I love hearing about peopleās history with the brand. Thanks for posting Richard
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Weird, i tried on 2 macbooks and an old imac, all fine ?
@JonathanG Excellent! thoroughly enjoyed the article, and look forward to the next piece about the factory visit in detailā¦
Alsoā¦ āTo this day I still regard Malcolm as the finest audio journalist to have scratched ink across vellumāif you can find it, check out his NAC 52 review to experience the grand master at the very peak of his powers.ā
Wholeheartedly agree. I went to listen to a 52 due to Malcolmās article - he wasnāt exaggerating!
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For anybody interested, Malcolmās review of the NAC52 can be found on Chris Westās AV Options website;
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Oh what a fascinating article about the brand we all love so much. I too remember being blown away when my dealer at the time suggested I listen to a little Naim amp and IBL speakers when I was looking to upgrade from my first system. That was the start of my love affair with Naim (Incidentally, I always thought it meant New Aims In Music) and why I listen to my system virtually every night.
I still have Malcolm Stewardās review of the NAC52, and well remember the happy day when I had accumulated enough money to buy one. Really looking forward to his next article. hope Richard will alert usā¦
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Thankyou Richard and @JonathanG looking forward to the next issueā¦ā¦lovely to remember the great Malcolm Steward so tragically taken away from family and friends.
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Great article. Many thanks Jonathan G
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YetiZone,
Totally agree, I still think that the NAC52 is still one of the greatest ever Naim products and itās long been on my bucket list as my dream end-game pre-ampā¦
I think in some ways oneās longing for something in your formative years can leave a very deep imprint on you for the rest of your life. I was just 21 when Malcolm wrote that masterful Audiophile NAC52 review and I remember after it going into Better Hi-fi in Liverpool just to see one, I didnāt even have the gall to ask to hear it because it was so wildly out of reach it would be like asking Cessna to take a test ride in one of their Citation Executive jets!! Perhaps the fact it was such an aspirational product in my youth is why I still find myself drooling over NAC52ās even more than I dream about Statement amps or the 552.
By the same token I recall there was a girl in my English A level class back then (Justine R) who was so impossibly beautiful I could barely even summon the courage to talk to her even about anything normal like Thomas Hardyās āTessā that we were studying! I still occasionally think about her which is madness because I havenāt seen her in 35 years and we never even dated but she clearly left a deep lifelong imprint!
Itās a funny old thing youth and I suppose that perhaps one of the few things that is nice about getting older is that a NAC52 is a little nearer to being achieved than it was back then. I still feel the same way about Naim Audio in general - it was a really big deal to buy that very first Naim Nait and take my first steps into the Naim world. I still regard the firm and its products with the same reverence I held them in all those years ago. Getting the opportunity to visit the factory and to see the care and attention going into the products feels like stepping on holy ground. Being able to review them or even to own one is an immense privilege. I still look at the rack with my (relatively humble) Naim system and feel real pride of ownership. I didnāt get anywhere near the loftier heights of the range but Iām in the game and savouring the Naim sound every single dayā¦
An old schoolfriend (Simon) who was actually at the Nait demo mentioned in the article reminded me when I sent it to him that apparently we played āThe happiest days of our livesā from Pink Floyd the Wall so loud that the house who were next door to the end terrace hi-fi shop started banging on the wall!!! A sort of āTear down the wallā momentā¦
The demo system was Linn Axis/Linn Basik LVV/K9 - Naim Nait 1 - Linn Index. It was an attempt to approximate to my Systemdek IIX/Linn LVV/A&R P77 and Mordaunt Short MS30ās.
Simon and I will be at Bristol next weekend so hope to see some of you there. I think we need to pursuade Naim to play that Wall track pretty flipping loud for old times sakeā¦ 
JonathanG
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My first ever demo wasā¦ā¦.i badly wanted a Musical fidelity A1ā¦ā¦it was the amp to have. It sounded very good. And just like your experienceā¦ā¦the dealer brought out a Nait, then a 62/90ā¦ā¦the rest is historyš
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Yes, the 52 is, and will always be very special indeed. I was lucky enough to own one for a few years, but had to sell it during the financial crash in the 90s. That, and my first LP12 are only bits of kit that I truly regret having to part with - the rest I could take or leave.
I think many people have had a Justine R (or Justin) in their lives. Mine was Jane S!
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