Well first off great to see a new product.
Just seen the pictures of the phono stage and all my questions are answered on that, so edited my post.
Cheers
well it would be a lot more expensive, if built in salisbury
It was said in jest, hence the wink.
And it is not a Clearaudio, as you can clearly see and read.
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Just read the What Hi-Fi article by Ketan Bharadia, some interesting observations in the context of a Statement system…
"We heard the Solstice package in Naim’s newly refurbished demo room. It was plugged into the company’s Statement pre/power combination (£160,000) and a pair of Focal Stella Utopia Evo EM floorstanding speakers (£95,000).
If you judge a product on price, then the Solstice package looks pretty lightweight in such company. But start listening and the story is quite different. It’s impossible to offer any firm judgment on a product that’s in an unfamiliar system and room, but we get the impression that the Solstice is a highly competitive performer.
For starters, the turntable doesn’t feel as though it’s holding the rest of the system back. As we listen to a range of music from Johnny Cash to Faithless, it’s obvious that the deck digs up plenty of detail and is capable of organising it into a cohesive and musical whole.
The system has a high level of transparency that makes the production and recording differences between the albums obvious. It’s a fast and clear sound that has plenty in the way of attack. We have no issue with bass depth, power or punch, with the system displaying impressive levels of grip and control at low frequencies.
We enjoy the huge scale of the sound and love the ease with which the system dynamics go from pin-drop quiet to borderline uncomfortable. Of course, those lavish amplifiers and speakers play a pivotal role in this, but we think it’s fair to assume that the Solstice record player deserves a chunk of the credit.
Any definitive judgment will have to wait until we get a sample of the Solstice in our test room and plugged into a reference system we know well. Until then, all we can say is that the signs are very good indeed."
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FR, see my post above. The TT is Naim designed, built at Clearaudio. Obviously there’s some collaborative engineering involved, such as the magnetic bearing, and IIRC the cartridge is based on a Clearaudio generator design but all else is Naim’s own design.
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The new Aro has been designed specifically to allow the use of different cartridges, should you so wish. It has the three-point mount, but also has slots in the head shell. There’s also height adjustment too.
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Exactly… that was the point @Richard.Dane and myself were making?!?
Apple computers contain Foxconn parts and Boeing contain R-R engines… it doesn’t mean the laptops are made by Foxconn and or planes made by R-R.
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the new Aro can be used with other cartridges (via two-point slotted fixings), and there is a LOT to play with on the phono stage. To quote Steve Sells:
"For greater flexibility, fly-by-wire input switching, loading and gain were included. Fly-by-wire allows the controls to be conveniently located on the rear panel and the internal circuits ideally placed for optimal performance. You can use these controls on the go, for fast tuning: with 16 resistive and 16 capacitive loading settings, there are 256 possible tuning combinations for moving-coil (MC) cartridges.
Internally, MM and MC inputs have their own dedicated head-amplifiers, including an all-new, Class A MC design, configured to be inherently ultra-low noise"
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Let’s be clear, Clearaudio are a stellar company for Vinyl replay equipment. First heard a full Master Reference with parallel tracking arm about 20-years ago, and wow what a sound, what a mass of acrylic.
They have a range of TT from entry to reference statement, plus phono stages etc.
It makes sense to utilise their manufacturing capability, and outsource to them. The TT is clearly a Naim design, and a good addition to the company’s suite of products.
Once the “opportunity” to purchase one of the limited packages has passed, interested to see what happens to the electronics designs. A 500 Phono-stage?
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Platter dustcovers are available from all good Milners…
Seriously it looks great and I’m sure will sound stunning…
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Interesting to see the I/O on these 2 new units.
Phonos only - not BNC’s - on the Phono stage.
7 pin Din - alongside the Burndy - on the PS.
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Hi Clare
Just edited my post as just seen the rear picture of the phono stage
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not really to my eyes.
Looks like it’s an 8 pin DIN. SNAIC 8 to follow for the new range of power supplies…
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I just hope the rear protrusion of the burndy and the stiffness of same doesn’t preclude the TT from sitting on many a dedicated TT table/shelf, as many types of the latter have very limited clearance and access at the rear for anything other than thin/pliable cabling.
This all shouts high-quality ‘life-style’ product.
That’s your Xerxes sold then Dunc? 
I thinks its a 7…
7 pin DIN’s have existed for a very long time… 
If you signed up to hear about the new launch, you’d have got it
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Be it 80% Naim and 20% Clearaudio or 50/50….we will probably never know.
But the most important is that it seems to be built to high standard, with high mass, high quality parts, magnetic platter, and improved Naim Aro.
I would be proud to own one. But out of my budget, even 1 month later, when I bought the P10/ Kleos.
But even if, I would be more interested by the turntable / arm alone.
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