Life After Naim

Your Technics deck is a joy to behold

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Thanks Ian.

So declare, Mr Bob, gooner or Red, looking at your posts it doesnā€™t matter, sporting rivalry should be that, just a difference of opinion on the same passion. Pat Jennings was better than Ray Clemence, although as a kid I would have fought over that, in the opposite , Kenny is king, that is clear

Sorry Bob, came off a conference call with North America and some intelligence jet lag, best of luck tomorrow, have a feeling you may edge it, we look short of cohesion at the moment , but nice to see gooners building properly again, training ground is only a stones through away, ok, maybe longer, cause Iā€™ve tried :slight_smile:

Yes Iā€™m a Gooner and very happy with how things are developing under Mikel Arteta I wanted him to get the job a year earlier and he very nearly got it but Unai Emery came in at the last minute.

I was sad how it ended for Arsene he over saw one of the greatest Arsenal teams ever and though Iā€™d agree he stayed one season too long I thought he was treated very badly by our extremely fickle fan base.

My take on it is that during that era of the invincibles many boys not connected to the club through either geography, family or history began to support that great Arsenal team and have not had the success they thought they might.

But we are a team that through out itā€™s history has gone through long periods of mediocrity with short periods of success (apart from the 1930ā€™s) in between but I think Mikel can do something to bring success back if he is backed financially.

So best of luck tomorrow it is just a Charity match for you and the result will not mean very much to your success next season but to us it is a huge game for us and a win will give us great confidence.

Arsene was unfortunate in a way that he was up against probably the greatest ever football manager (SAF) managing a club with greater financial resources (albeit Arsene did spend it like it was his own).

I think Artetaā€™s appointment has come at the right time. He seems to have a plan, tactical nous and although he gets on well with the players, itā€™s his way or the highway, which SAF did throughout his tenure.

I like Arteta he learned a lot at City and if hes given time Arsenal could come back.

Its my second team i watched Bergkampā€™s Testimonial so always had a soft spot for The Arsenal

Yup, its a classic win and its a proper trophy, lose and its pre-season / warm up/ charity game.

My connection to my club was purely at the age of 4 had no idea of geography and despite being 170 odd miles south of the Mersey got enthralled by this team in light grey (ok, slight nostalgia there, we probably had a colour TV) with a bubble permed hero called Keegan. Most my mates I grew up with were Gooners and we would regularly fight over if Jennings was better than Clemence (with age I can see that was a ridiculous fight, no contest).

Unfortunately the playstation era brings with it a real fickle and short term attitude, Arsene was one of the first managers who actually ran the entire club, even SAF had an established and experienced back room team to support him whilst he focused on the work on the grass. Against the backdrop of the move from Highbury, new money coming into Chelski and Citeh, he did an amazing job to keep them competitive for so long, replacing him would always hurt, at least you didnā€™t get Moyes or Big Sam! (or Wroyā€¦)

Possible his biggest weakness was an ability to spot a defender/goalkeeper, everything forward from that he had a great eye, but whilst he improved the George Graham backline in their abilities he never was able to get the succession right, and probably missed out on a couple of leagues because of it.

Went to the new stadium shortly after it was built (its the closest to me and always corporate events you can get invited to) and it was amazing, made the new Wembley look like a dump and Old Trafford, well, a run down leisure centre (painful running a corporate event at that place!).

For me, we have one of the most inspirational leaders of the modern era, Klopp is exceptional, but it comes from the human level first, he took the fans head on, said he wanted them to believe and they couldnā€™t be walking out the stadium with 5 to go and a goal down and he meant it.

JK has transformed our club, the owners (after much early criticism) have made huge changes, both on and off the field and have been true to their word and been sports led.

Biggest disappointment at the moment is contract stalemate with Gini, I think he is one of the most underrated players in world football, he is the best midfielder bar none in tight spaces, ball gets pinged at him, instant control, two players pinning him down and then heā€™ll wriggle out and transition the ball instantly, keeping the tempo and allowing the team to keep shape. Hope it gets resolved, his miracle in Barca shows the true player that many fans donā€™t understand what he does as he is so understated.

Shame to new NB dispensed and replace with Nike, club shirt now at a ton, ridiculous, but the deal is potentially the most lucrative in world football (lower fixed rate but highest percentage of actual sales ever negotiated), clubs who donā€™t have endless funds are going to have to run carefully in next few years, for once football bubble isnā€™t immune from the real world.

Anyway, all the best, Iā€™ll be heading out on the bike for a long and windy ride before settling down later for hopefully a good game.

On a music front, (random change of gears here), one album that doesnā€™t always get noticed (tenuous Gini link here) is Lo Moon, if you have any appreciation of Talk Talk (which often gets a mention in hifi circles), check them out, I love their debut album.

All the best.

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Have you guys sold all your Naim gear and replaced it with a TV :open_mouth:

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Nope, just a lateral sidebar, was in Life After Naim topic, so just about qualifies :slight_smile:, did also have a musical reference after a long run up, which can be listened to on Naim and other manufacturers equipment. :smirk:

I have absolutely no problem with this thread taking an occasional twist and turn if itā€™s interesting.

But a bit unfair to somebody attracted by the thread title who decides to look at recent posts. There must come a time when thread drift really merits a new thread.

Roger

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I confess to thinking people had suddenly started talking a different language, such was the unfamiliarity with the tangental topic.

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Which is why I said an occasional twist and turn. I have to say Porsche 911ā€™s hold no interest for me but I can see their appeal for others but as you say as long is that twist is not prolonged.

It started with a comment that talking about life after Naim was like talking about a VW Beetle on a Porsche forumā€¦then off it went :joy: Guilty of going along for the ride (pardon the pun) on that one - back on track (ooops again) now :+1:

I was lost at Goober and Artyfartis or whatever itā€™s called.

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I thought I recognized the voice.
https://youtu.be/CsGYh8AacgY

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Update - well it seems there is life after Naim, well at least in terms of amps in my case anyway. Iā€™ve had Sugden Sapphire pre (DAP 800) & power (FBA 800) on home demo for a couple of days. This is a Class A amp and quite a beast and runs very warm. They sound lovely and are turning out a great match with my Marten Dukes. Source is NDX2/555PSDR into Matrix Audio Excite X streamer/DAC (currently on loan but I expect to go for the Sabre Pro DAC only model)

Yesterday I put back in my Tellurium Ultra Black 2 speakers cables and put the Marten Dukes on Custom Design open stands and there - the synergy was back! The speakers have disappeared and the system is now all sounding fab.

Iā€™ve now pulled the trigger on the Sugden Sapphires :grinning:

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Moved from 300DR to Sugden or?

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Great news indeed! The Sugden Sapphire must be very good since you have pulled the trigger so quickly. The Marten Duke 2 surely sounds special with a Class A. That exquisite glowing highs. :blush:

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