My partner asked me why Naim is such a big deal and why I choose its products over other brands, I explained that as well as the obvious excellent sound quality/musicality, it is idiosyncratic, and I really like that!
I explained the volume knobs being on the left, the speaker terminals being the wrong way around the iconic green logo as examples, all I got was ‘oh…right’
But I was wondering if there were others? And if there was any other Naimisms I’m not aware of?
Maybe it’s time for someone to write a book, if they haven’t already!
The only firm that sells very expensive power supplies connected by absurdly expensive cables as “upgrades” to units that any other manufacturer would make with a perfectly adequate internal power supply from the get go.
Long lives and long repairable lives whenever possible?
TBF, the only thing more annoying than Naim’s obsession with increasingly large and ruinously expensive power supply boxes is that most of us find it easy to hear that they are right (at least with their boxes). I’d be delighted if my ears told me that it was all snake oil, but they really don’t.
Is it idiosyncratic to have VC on left? I’ve certainly seen right, centre, left of crntre
I don’t think the speaker terminals odd way round, and certainly not unique: I just looked at a pic of nap 500, and it’s outputs the same way round as my MF A370. Which way round is “right” of course depends where in the room the amp is relative to speakers… Some power amps get round that by just assigning as channels 1 & 2, and you decide for yourself which to use for L &R.
Yes, (and of course!) the illuminated Naim logo is unique, though a green light isn’t, and Naim isn’t green any more!
What you missed, and certainly is idiosyncratic and AFAIK unique, is routing the signal from pre to power amp via power supply .
Also and probably primary to people’s original choice of Naim, the fabled Naim Sound. Caused I believe by focus on timing and rhythm above all else, so other aspects may have been limited. The apparent dilution of the Naim Sound over time in newer and higher models likely due to other sound quality aspects catching up.
Surely if idiosyncratic is the reason to choose then Chord should be at top of list!
It was more a question of the physical idiosyncrasies like the left hand knobs etc rather than the sound, I forgot the wobbly IEC input of course, and what about the balance knob on the Supernait? I love it, but what’s that all about? Listening off axis?
As an artist and designer I’m very interested in the aesthetics of audio kit, rightly or wrongly, it’s as important to me as the sound.
It took me a long time to get the Naim aesthetic, initially preferring Musical Fidelity’s muscular elegance for example, or Copland’s Cold War minimalism, but it took ownership of a few Naits and many hours of listening to get it, now I think their beautiful, albeit in an odd way, and I think the new kit evolves the 3 panel design brilliantly, I might base my next essay on on this very subject😀
