From an outsider looking in on all this i can see both sides off it.
As far as naim go, it was a package turntable, they voiced it a certain way, and you either like it or not. Plus it’s was ment to be a special naim product, so they probably thought people wouldn’t really mess with it.
Owner, i want to change things, but naim hasn’t made it easy to do so. Well you could argue that it wasn’t for you in the first place, you could also argue that the package isn’t what you would expect from a turntable costing this much. But once again i stress it was a package from naim, a complete turntable set up.
If naim had obviously sold the turntable on it’s own then for sure it would have had to been made with various weights, and additional adjustments for different cartridges. But it wasn’t was it. Maybe you can call this bad design, but it’s probably more to do with naim wanted to keep it sounding what they want it too sound, and so designed it in such away it makes things difficult to change. Obviously we will never know.
But for me as far as turntables go. I want lot’s off adjustments in all areas, and certainly don’t want to have to try a build work around solutions to fit a different cartridge, especially ones costing over 5k, as i would never feel happy about it, especially with how sensitive cartridges are to fitment, and set up.
So unfortunately it looks like leave as is and enjoy, or if you don’t like the way it sounds as standard, sell it and get something that does.
Dunc i would counter that by pointing out the obvious…the package includes a phono stage that supports mm or mc, high or low output mc, and tons of settings for the load of the mc. It was not designed for just one cartridge. It was designed to handle many cartridges, and it doesn’t. Further its specs indicated the cart weighed 8g, which means it is (or would have been if the cart actually did weigh 8 gr) compatible with almost all the carts frequently used by Naim customers.
The phono stage is available to buy separately i believe unlike the rest, other than the cartridge obviously.
So i see the phono stage slightly different to the deck, arm, and cartridge.
I know they specified the weight wrong in the manual but they didn’t supply a wrong weight to work with the cartridge, so they must have known the weight. I guess somehow it was just got wrong, and then went unnoticed to print.
It doesn’t matter whether the phono stage was designed to be sold separately or that decision was made later. The package includes a phono stage that supports almost any cartridge and is described clearly as such. Further to say the package was only intended for the Equinox is somewhat strange because the Equinox is not even a product for sale anywhere. Was the package only meant to enjoy a single Equinox for 3 years and then you are done?
Guys i respect everyone’s opinion but i have to say these types of arguments really almost smack of a put on.
You can buy the cartridge from naim.
A phono stage with no additional adjustment is a waste off time. As everyone will probably prefer a different setting. You dont have to go with what you are told, as it’s just a suggestion, and nothing more.
Plus for older pressed vinyl you will probably find you like a different setting to one that’s pressed now. So really as said different settings are 100% a must have, even if you only ever have one cartridge.
Naim has made available phono stages that are fixed both in the stageline and in cards for their olive preamps. Hardly a waste of time…they work great when geared for carts that work well for those settings. They also make adjustable phono stages for people who want to try different carts. Which is exactly what they offered with the Solstice. If it was just for one cart they could have provided a specific phono stage optimized for that cart.
The Equinox is not listed as an available product with a price anywhere. Naim seems to have some laying sround but for how long nobody knows.
I agree strongly the point made that this issue of 8 vs 14 grams may not be just a mere misprint. It may be the root cause of this entire situation. 8 grams was perfectly placed as the sweet spot for the types of carts Naim users prefer and with the package including a highly adjustable phono stage you would buy thinking you were in great shape. Something went badly off the rails here and my guess is it was some sort of mistake or miscommunication re the cart weight.
But…the counterweight works for a 14g cartridge…conundrums, conundrums.
Clearly, errors have been made, and some of these have reasonable solutions…some might not.
I tried an Arm 1 counterweight as well as a TigerPaw Scale for Aro-neither fit the Aro 2.
I have reached out to Naim to supply me with a few extra weights for modification. Let’s see how that turns out…
But if you look at the opening post in this thread by Naim marketing, the phono stage is described as:-
Naim Solstice Series Phono Stage NVC TT – the first Naim phono stage to use DR technology, first used on the flagship Statement amplifier. Sophisticated, ultra-low-noise Class A design with dedicated MC and MM head-amplifiers.
How many of the owners of Solstice are thinking " This is just an ill-thought out design…good as it is, perhaps I bought a pig in a poke…grrrr".
I’d bet not many. There’s only 500 Solstice on the planet…makes it kinda special. I’d be proud to own one (yep, I got used to the looks, in fact I think it looks lovely - & if I wasn’t already bound to my Linn by bonds that will not be broken, I’d be viewing Solstice with greedy eyes).
Where the cartridge weight spec is shown, a cartridge weight range is indicated. None are specified to work with a specific single weight of cartridge.
Maybe Naim should advise the cartridge weight range. There must be one.
This range may be for the original spec ARO, but a heavier counterweight was produced eventually to accommodate heavier cartridges. I have samples of both.
Digging my ARO out of deep storage, I can confirm that my heavy counterweight fits my ARO2 on the Solstice perfectly. Haven’t tried the lighter one, but surely they have the same internal diameter.
Sounds like someone at Naim needs to sort this out. I’m surprised some dealers did not raise this issue with them either when they got their demo model. I would not be happy to be left with a situation like that
Given that your Aro heavy counterweight fits, it can’t be hard for the clever people at Naim to calculate the weight that would be needed to balance a 7-8g cartridge in the Aro 2. Then all it takes is to order 500 of these smaller counterweights, from Clearaudio or elsewhere, and send one to each Solstice owner FOC. That futureproofs what is clearly an excellent arm, and draws a line under this slightly sorry episode. I wonder what Steve @110dB thinks.
