Naim vs other brands, why are you here?

Did you have a 900 series set? If so then we had the same system. :blush:

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I guess that this is inevitable…a large majority of the contributors are owners of the brands that you mention, with too few owners of other brands to be a critical mass to trigger a chain reaction of comments. I have been, in the past, a member of a forum where discussion of any other brand extinguish ultra quickly!

Back in the early 1980’s I had a pioneer TT, then a Thorens with Nad amplification. But I was dissatisfied with the sound; I paid a visit to the Sound Organisation where an active system grabbed me bu the ears. This was the legendary Naim / Linn combination - and it became my goal, which achieved ten years or so later.

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I’m Naim hooked from the Nait2 up to the 300s, to me Naim strengths are their amps and speakers, I will always own Naim equipment until I meet my maker.

I have been impressed by the Naim brand but for my next purchase I will be adding the new Cyrus range to the demo stage

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I think I had this one, which would be the Philips 22AH302L from 1980, or very similar. Had a turntable too:

Was more champagne in my mind, but probably because it glowed like this one:
image

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Back in the early 1980s after reading some Hifi mags I went to audition LP12/Nait/Kans and was smitten.

In the early 1990s I auditioned amps by Naim, Linn, Roksan and DNM and CD players by Naim, Linn and Roksan. I ended up with Naim amps and a Roksan CD player. After a few years, the Kans were replaced by SBLs and the Roksan CD player was replaced by a Naim CD player.

It was always the sound which attracted me to Naim (and the LP12) with the added bonus of top quality construction.

To be honest, it’s only since joining this forum that I have become aware of how well Naim products hold their value, so that’s another added bonus.

The same thing happened to me. I bought the Mu-So based on an online review (well, actually, about a hundred online reviews that raved about it) for my bedroom, and absolutely fell in love with the sound. Not necessarily the presence in the room (as it necessarily can’t reproduce the soundstage of two speakers ideally placed in the room), but just the sound itself. Intoxicating. So, I started reading more, and quickly decided that I wanted to replace my big-box store system with something more intentional. And so Naim was the perfect place to start. I have ordered a Uniti Nova and some Focal Kanta No. 2s after listening to that combo at a dealer, and I can’t wait!

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You have pretty much my ‘want to attain that’ system. :grinning:

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In a word, Speakers. Back in 1999, my daughter was 9, so finally it felt right to have a decent setup that wasn’t going to get knocked. I started with Arcam Amp and CD, but the speakers took me ages to decide. The HiF shop put the Credos on my setup, and I instantly loved them (and hated everything else), and my wife didn’t object as long as the grills stayed on. From there it was just logical to replace everything with the same great quality, and so 102/Napsc/HC/140 was born all by 2000. Life however got in the way, and didn’t play it an awful lot.

Early retirement last year, demoed the ND5XS2, and within 1 hour called the shop to order one. That got me onto this forum, which helped me move to 82/HCDR/250, and I couldn’t be more happy, and now spending 1-3 hours per day listening - thank you everyone.

PS I love Apple products to - especially because I have always worked in IT on Microsoft

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I started off with a Regar Planar 3 and I think a NAD amp. At some point in the mid 80s I ended up at West Midlands Audio in Worcester and he sold me a mark 1 Nait and later a Roksan Xerxes.

Twenty years or so later I bought a Sonos Connect and the dealer (Lintone Audio) demoed it with the nDac. Over the next couple of years - though can’t really remember why, most likely random upgradeitis - I acquired the 152/155 and XPS.

Another spell of contentment / blissful ignorance followed until last year when I was trying to workout how to stream to my projector. By this time I was rather behind on the technology, especially the different formats, connections and accronyms. At this point I didn’t know that what I wanted was an HDMI audio-de-embedder and in the ensuing research I spent a lot of time looking at the Naim product line and the forum which was a bad move!

I think it’s only now that I appreciate what I’ve got and the Naim product line and history.

The film streaming works fine, I’ve acquired a Flatcap XS and my next move (when restrictions relax), will be to upgrade the mains. After that more speaker ornaments.

Over the last few months I’ve read most of the stuff on the forum and found not only answers to my immediate questions but ‘bookmarked’ lots of useful snippets of information for upgrades to come. And, I’ve had a certain amount of amusement / head-shaking too.

My thanks and best wishes to you all,

Michael

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Started off with Nad, then Arcam and now Naim. Got my Linn LP12 when I had the Nad, (upgraded from a Dual 505-2 Imp [if I recall correctly]). As my LP12 got upgraded, my amplifiers needed to as well. Natural progression and partner to end up with Naim.

Haven’t been disappointed so far…

Started putting together a system 4 years ago, after many years of away. Decided to go cd, no vinyl, so googled on best cd players, and a comprehensive review of the CD5SX ? came up. Found a closeout at a Naim Dealer, bought it, and then went pre loved with a preamp, ps, and fm tuner. That got me hooked. Then went ND555 into streaming. Great for a year. Them migrated to MQA with Mytek and Ultimately Meridian Ultra Dac. Been there for a couple of years. I am in the “no desire to upgrade camp”. Have purchased a Nucleus+, cables, supertweeter, and just recently, bought a vintage 598 Meridian CD player, and it gives streaming a run for its money, if not exceeding it. I hate to get up every 20 minutes to change the disk–got so used to the Roon features. So I have both.

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The sound above all. Followed by the aesthetics. The build quality, the reliability, the after sales support and servicing dept. The availability/popularity, the philosophy, the engineering, the heritage and finally the value

All things considered no other brand even comes close.

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Oops, I forgot to mention this amazing forum which allows everybody to share their experience and learn so much. I’ve found myself teaching the manufacturer of another brand a few quirks about their product. I don’t think I’ll ever find myself doing that with a Naim product. Thoroughly researched and tested exhaustively.

Naim virus :joy:

Why am I here?

I own a Naim Aro.
Probably the largest source of LP12 ownership, knowledge and experience in the world.
Educated, knowledgeable and helpful membership on wide range of topics.
Sizable Classical music interest, as well as the usual stuff and plenty I’ve never heard of.
International membership.
No Politics.
Fascinated by the number of folk who are never satisfied. :grinning:

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Because I’m a musiclover!

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Been a Naimo since 1998 … I like that its made in Salisbury.

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Tried most of the rest and always moved on. A bit like finding your life partner really. One settles.

Eventually.

G

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