There’s not much in hi-fi more sexy than a shoebox sized Naim amp - oh the aspiration I felt back in the day as a schoolboy to even be able to put one foot on the ladder with a Nait. We would enter the temple of audio magnificence that was Better Hi-fi in Liverpool and stare in reverence at the olive Naim with their green logos ablaze in rows! It felt like a privilege to even be in the same room as such music making greatness…
I remember the joy I felt when my home town of Southport got its very own naim dealer ‘Hi-Fi Systems’ in Poulton Road which was a short walk from my sixth form college and I would head there quite regularly for a ‘fix’. The two brothers who ran it (one of whom was called Andrew, the other whose name I can’t recall) were incredibly welcoming to this college boy who couldn’t usually afford to buy much apart from the odd Linn vinyl pressing. I’m glad I purchased my very first naim amplifier there just before leaving for University - a Naim Nait 1 because it remains to this day the most welcoming hi-fi store I have ever been in.
I remember both of those stores! Better HiFi is where my 92/flatcap/90.3 and first LP12 came from. A great shop! So friendly, such a shame when it shut. There isn’t a single proper dealer in Liverpool now I travel to Chester now.
In a similar vein I met one of the sales team from Aston Martin in Newport Pagnell at a car show and asked if they get teenage boys in the showroom all the time. Apparently not, but if they come in they are welcome to look around because ‘you never know who your future customers are’.
I remember when I lived in London in the 70’s I went by train to a small town near Windsor and walked by a small hifi shop ( must have been a Sunday as not open) and in the window was a Linn LP12 and Naim CB gear
Well it set the scene for me for the next 45 odd years
I even purchased a LP12 in Tottenham Court Road somewhere just so I could look at it ( sold it on for a profit)
Needless to say when I arrived in Sydney in 1980 it was all go for Linn and Naim - and still is to this day
Its actually slightly better than me enjoying the 2 olive systems.
My son uses olive system 2 as per the picture. My daughter uses olive no 1 with the Rega P6/dv 10x5 into the 323 E boards.
She is just about to formally " borrow" it when she moves out next month.
Both olives drive a pair of cheap Dali something ones very well.
Im glad both son and daughter get to enjoy a decent setup.
You’re so right Calamity - teenage aspiration tends to encourage perspiration and ambition and Aston Martin and Naim dealers are wise to realise this. Everyone has to start somewhere and it’s often only when you get towards the endgame system you realise how much fun you had enjoying each step along the way… I ran a Systemdek IIX/Linn Basik LV-X/A+R P77 into Naim Nait and Mordaunt Short MS30 (original) for years through university and beyond and certainly had more time to listen to music back then so it gave me vast amounts of pleasure.
It’s only since going part time at work in my fifties that I have had chance to play music almost as much as I did then and while the system I have now is vastly superior I’m not sure it’s quite as much fun because nowadays I mostly listen alone whereas back then I often listened with friends who lived in the same student house or were visiting for the weekend etc. What is nice is that I’m still friends with the same guys and all of us have been making a concerted effort to get together occasionally despite distance and family commitments etc to listen to music - doing that has been fantastic!! What that has done is stimulate some serious upgrading for some of the gang and one mate has gone from 102/180 to 252/supercap/300DR/300PS in a year! In addition he’s added a GyroDec to his Sondek and also upgraded speakers to ATC SCM40’s and his streamer to an NDX…
We used to gather round the altar of Rega until 2 or 3 am, somehow we squeezed into a small university room up to 8 at a time, and you could still join in at 1.30 when you were done with your essay for the night. You were at the mercy of your hosts’ musical tastes but it did mean that you got exposed to rock, classical, the bee gees and stuff that only John Peel would champion, but it all sounded good through a Nad 3020 or Creek 4040 via Kef, Mission or Monitor Audio speakers and it was through that forum that I heard the Nait 1 that someone had scrimped and saved to buy, after which my hifi course was changed and I end up here. Not a bad journey so far!
In my line of work I come across all kinds of hoarders and eccentrics (all lovely people). I went to one guys house who had at least 10 pairs of Linn Isobariks
Im after some advice. And yes, i realise this is the Olive thread.
My daughter has permanently borrowed one of 72/140 olive setups. Along with the Rega P6 and Dali speakers. Oddly, she didnt want to take the HC. ( not enough space)
So, somehow i feel the need to replace the nac and nap. I do like a 72 so will be looking for another.
But what about the nap? 140 is the obvious answer, but already having the HC opens up a 250 Olive.
Nice! Feels to me like this is the coolest Naim combo that anyone could own. Alongside a pre Cirkus/Ittok/K9 LP12 and the obligatory Kans. Would love to have this in my house somewhere.
I’m sort of there.
Then added in " would a 250.2 be better than an Olive 250? Looks wise, no. But is there a sound improvement with the 250.2.
A lot of the olive 250s look pretty rough. One that is out there from a well know Emporium of Hifi even refuses to answer basic questions!
A few, plus some other stuff too.
