I guess it was a case of Now-Or-Never - to ‘finally’ do a Naim TT…? But - good to see the Aro resurrected - and improved.
Further personal surprises - there is nothing obvious if you ‘land’ on the Naim website. Not listed in Products…? But can be found here: Solstice | Naim Audio
PS. Despite being on Naim’s mailing list (AFAIK), I got nothing…??
( I have re-subscribed to try to fix this. Amused to find that despite owning a full Naim system, there is almost nothing I can ‘tick’ in the part about what you own - because mine are all too old… Much like me…)
Don’t be ridiculous it is not a Clearaudio, Naim are just quite sensibly making use of their capability. The Keel is not manufactured in Linn’ factory nor are their cartridges.
Email was in my “promotions” folder, and I see the article at the top of the Naim home page, it’s just that top article rotates between a few… 23 likes, ta for the link
It is just who is going to be able to listen to this package, while still available to be bought?
How many items are to be made available to dealers to provide auditions, and which are providing auditions? There are no HiFi shows this year for Naim to provide demos etc.
So the “FOMO” based Marketing for a limited number will probably be bought blind, without audition or any level of hands-on, by those with the desire and means to purchase a complete Vinyl playing package in one go, from one brand.
It’s a Naim product. You will not find a burndy connector on any other company turntable than Naim
End of.
I find this both amusing and hypocritical that nobody raises an eyebrow that apple doesn’t make iPhones itself in USA and builds them in China, but all of a sudden Naim builds their first ever turntable (in Germany - which is fantastic !) and it’s a issue for a small minority ?
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
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."
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.
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.
