Yes, Neat Acoustic overall is a good match with different Naim gear but the XLS is outstanding.
Apologies if posted elsewhere but an interesting review from NeXt Review:
“In a way, the Solstice isn’t something that unveils endless amounts of new information off the groove (although the turntable’s overall performance is extremely detailed); it’s how it ties everything together so well and makes that sound natural and entertaining. All the elements that contribute to good sound (dynamic range, good stereo soundstaging, etc) are there and represented well, but the same could be said of almost any decent turntable. The combination of turntable, arm, cartridge and phono stage is well developed, and the individual products work in harmony (as much as it’s possible to check given there are limited swappable options at this time), but so do many well-assembled turntable packages. What the Solstice does so well, however, is render all that academic. Most other decks you experience or enjoy; this one helps you enjoy the music, all else is at best a secondary concern.”
Richard
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That’s Alan Sircom’s Hi-Fi+ review, being ripped off on another website - i’ll alert Hi-Fi+ to the copyright breach… I know they plan to publish the review online themselves shortly, so will link to that correct version when it’s live.
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Hi Clare,
Please delete my post if it infringes any copyright or whatever.
Richard
Not your fault - you weren’t to know!
It’s a fabulous conclusion though for Naim. Congratulations.
Well was speaking about turntables with my hifi dealer this afternoon, got onto the subject of the solstice like you do.
He was pleasantly surprised with it and said its got that feet tapping sound to it, that makes you enjoy the music, he also went on to say that it’s not as transparent as most hi end turntables, but then that would be the cartridge and phono stage doing that i guess, as naim have tuned it this way.
So as a plug and play turntable, I don’t think you can go far wrong with it, but if you want to explore the world of turntables and swap things about, then I am not so sure if it’s the right turntable for anyone like that.
But as said above he liked it, nice wide sound and very musical, just not as detailed as others, but for the price overall good.
I then asked him if he would swap it for his sme synergy, which is a all in one plug and play like the solstice, his response was different sound and you would either like one or the other.
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I was communicating with a potential buyer of my SuperLine (no intention of keeping it, but I still plan to listen to it before sending it off) and used similar language. There is no one property of Solstice that stands out, but we truly are enjoying the music and it’s very ‘Naim presentation’ here at home. Easy to listen to, and totally 10,000% musical. I note no deficiency; I don’t sense any detail missing that would add to musicality and joy of listening. At least so far.
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Hi,
I will be very interested in what you think of your Superline with the Solstice.
Richard
I’ve got a high end LP 12 with Aro and superline but just had to order the solstice.
I still regret moving on the Armageddon for the Linn Radikal. Whilst the latter is more detailed etc I do miss the musicality and drive of full Naim. I’m willing to sacrifice some detail for musicality and will be interesting to compare new phone stage to Superline/super cap DR
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Problem with the Geddon was no 45. Otherwise a great PSU for a Linn.
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I think this is the million dollar question (or $20K US)… how does the Solstice stack up against LP12/Aro/Superline/Supercap? Is the overall presentation good enough to hold its own?
Hi Bart,
Will be interesting to hear your perspective of the sound as it “settles in”. I don’t have much experience with a multi-component analog system settling in from new, and not sure what to expect. I would guess the PSU and Phonostage might get better, and would assume the TT, arm, and cartridge would change very little after the initial first few hours(?). Or maybe once the cabling breaks in? So many variables. Will be interesting to see if you note the changes, if any.
Is there any feedback from Roy on what we should expect to hear - if any changes - past 50 hours? And if so, is it more of the same regarding the excellent PRaT, or does some of the HiFi stuff also improve?
I’m particularly interested to hear from owners how the bass progresses?
OA
My understanding in general is that cartridges need XX hours before really sounding like themselves.
I haven’t any info there yet. I was hoping to get some further insights from Jason when I’m down at the factory, however, my upcoming visit has had to be postponed.
Or any other top flight TT.
I’d also be very curious about how the Solstice compares to a similar priced Clearaudio.
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Truth is each will have their own characteristics as to the best, it doesn’t matter great to have the choice.
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@YetiZone I have compared clear audio innovation at home vs a dealer demo of solstice, sadly the pre and speakers were different (pre and speakers were better on the solstice). I really like the solstice, as has been said on here it looks so much nicer in the flesh and the white lights for me make it look a bit more modern. Sound wise the solstice was great, but I “think” (hard to tell with different speakers and pre) the clear audio just pipped it, but the clearaudio TT was 5k GBP more expensive. Really at this level it does start to come down to what you like, hard to say either was not that good …
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Agreed, surely these questions are about what is excellent, rather than what is best. The latter question is usually simply a matter of preference.
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