Did you expect him to say anything else no matter what the actual truth is? He’s a Naim employee trying to sell more 500 series. One statement from a Naim employee that the 300 series is even close and the 500 series would be dead in the market until the replacement comes.
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That’s good enough for me Dan.
Those suggesting that Naim are deliberately and blatantly misleading their customers, just to shift a few more units, clearly don’t understand what it means to succeed as a prestigious luxury brand.
It’s the mindset of Gerald Ratner and co.
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I strongly feel the reason was principally a box number reduction. Just my feeling. And a nicer look in a living room. More refined than 7 boxes and 2 stacks of Fraim.
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You don’t want to give up . We are several here to have compared full 500 series with 300 series. As Jason Gould said, you need 30 seconds to recognise that the gap is still significant.
Only one member found the NC better, but in a particular system, active.
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I am glad that my comment earlier in this thread agrees with Jason about the 500 series being better, whose ears are much better than mine.
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Is it worth having a separate thread about yesterday’s factory visit and listening session?
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Actually, we are at a total of at least two members now who have OWNED both and liked what they got switching to 300 series.
Those suggesting that such a prestigious brand doesn’t operate just like every other manufacturer are naive.
Those suggesting that such a prestigious brand is having a hard time improving a product they designed 20 years ago are naive.
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It’s still the year of 2024 ok to like different things. Peace.
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The second one goal was to reduce box count. He couldn’t run big speakers in the living room for aesthetics reasons too.
Will he write that « my new NC boxes sound noticeably inferior to my ex Nd555/2 555 dr / 552/300, but I don’t care. It looks better « . I doubt.
Not to mention that his speakers were in the 3k range, which complicates really the comparison.
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I’ve owned and run a manufacturing business for over 20 years, and I wouldn’t dream of deliberately misleading my customers. In fact, I consider trust to be the most important aspect of my customer relationships. The same applies with my suppliers.
I’m afraid it is you who is naive in such matters.
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I knew back before any replies would be added to this thread that there would be arguments for both. I think that hifi is one of the most complicated things to rank due to how personal it is. First there is the fact that we all perceive sound differently and in fact even our own hearing can change over time. Second is the fact that things such as listening space can greatly influence that perception. Third is the fact that even if we hear a similar sound we might have different preferences which decides which one we see as “better”.
I’ve seen people on here have exactly opposite perceptions of the same components due I assume to influence of the room and other factors. Also the higher up the ladder you get the more things such as cable dressing and the rack equipment sits on can influence the sound.
From what I understand the new classic sound is different to the older classic. Which generation you prefer would greatly influence this question. There are plenty of people on this forum who proclaim the olive or cb series were the height of naims production.
Also the position in naims hierarchy doesn’t guarantee anything for example I have seen plenty of posts describing the xs3 as faster and more engaging than the sn3. I think this highlights how much this all comes down to personal preference and that we can have different aims when listening to music for example prioritising analytics or enjoyment of music. If I had the money to be interesting in either the nc300 or 500 series I would definitely have to demo both and see which I’d rather listen to.
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I feel we will very soon read something like that : « would you please be respectful or kind with each other or I will have no other option than closing this thread ».
Thanks
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During our visit yesterday, Jason was asked about whether the NAP350 eclipsed the NAP500. In his view the NAP350 is a brilliant amp, a clear step up from the NAP300, but not better than the 500. The 500 is special.
Interestingly he reckoned the choice between a NAP300 and the New Classic 250 was much closer, more down to preference, but felt that the NC250 was a clear step up from the NAP250DR. As a happy NAP250DR owner, it wasn’t really what I wanted to hear, although it did seem to please @NigelB …
Jason’s integrity in such matters is cast iron, so I think any doubts here are highly misplaced.
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Could not wrote it any better. And words from a non biased (tube amp) owner. Thanks rooster
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If I had this cash, I would replace my Ear combo with 552/500 and with an external phono tubes. But the range before, be it OC or NC, wouldn’t satisfy me more than what I have.
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Thank you very much Richard!
Hope this will calm some emotions here 
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It would be interesting to hear how Jason rate active Nap 350’s against a passive Nap 500 .
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Did no one ask about the 552 and 332 ? Or was it just the 500 and 350 that got the comment.
As i agree about the 500dr, as still feel it’s the best product naim make.
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