I’ve now had valve based sources for coming up to 5 years now so I don’t even remember what a solid state source sounds like. ( not that they all sound the same).
But I’ve heard so many good things about the ND555/PS. I will say this, setup is fundamental to Naim. Its not a tweak, it’s necessity.
Personally having tried various other high end brands I’ve become jaded. I no longer have the energy to try out new combinations in my otherwise perfected (to me) & balanced system. Naim amplification cannot be bettered imho. Other areas can be tweaked to tip the balance of tone etc. but without the excitement of Naim amplification I wouldn’t bother listening to my system. Bold statements, I know but I must stress, I’ve been through some very costly and highly acclaimed alternatives to reach this conclusion.
Everything you say makes absolute sense. There are no rights and wrongs here; The bottom line is whether the owner I.e. you, is happy with your listening experience. I wasn’t, and knew that I had to change. I would have loved to have been; it would have saved much hassle and cost! I hope that everyone on this forum is happy with what they’ve got; when you know it’s right, you know…
I agree. However, I would like to make a point. A suspect a lot of people mix up bright and forward. These two terms do not mean the same thing. I have owned the Harbeth SHL5s for 12 years now (SHL5 for 7 years, SHL5+ about 5 years). I always felt that they sound warm but not bright or forward. Nevertheless, that perception changed when I tried the Marten Duke 2. The Marten made the Harbeth sound forward and slightly rough. Not bright but forward. This forwardness to me contributes to an unrefined sound.
After living with the Marten for about 2 years now, I find it difficult to go back to the Harbeth. I still have the Harbeth in another system but it is rarely used. As a matter of fact the system was untouched for several months now.
Good to know that the Dynaudio Heritage Special is something special. I have read good things about them.
I stand corrected. Yes I meant to say bright not forward. Forward sound can be engaging and exciting. Whereas what I meant was the sound is a smidge sharp for my liking. Tested on multiple amps. Naim and others.
If Harbeth sounds bright to you, I believe a lot of speakers out there will sound excessively brighter / unlistenable. My Harbeth SHL5 was tested on 7 amps in an attempt to make them sound brighter. They sound too warm for my taste with most of the amps. I guess everyone doesn’t hear the same.
Not in my case. As soon as the amps were replaced, the whole sound signature of the system changed. It was taken to another level when I replaced the NAIM streamer with a dCS
front end.
I have never tried/owned Harbeth speakers, but I understand they are a reasonable match with NAIM?
Well in my case I use a Rega Aethos as amp but I do use an ND5 XS2 but I now run that through a Chord M-Scaler and Qutest. Very happy. It’s also in a weird shaped room with a 20’ ceiling
As mentioned before. Everybody has his own road to what you desire and it’s anyhow not absolute, it’s all relative to what you are looking for. However a couple of things to notion….
The journey in hifi is very often influenced by earlier choices. It’s often not possible to make a course change as you already invested in one direction.
Any advantage for a certain brand can be just a temporary advantage. I still remember the awe when the ND555 came out, and even right now it’s still a magnificent source, but obviously newer offerings are perhaps in a position to compete now as they have the latest technology on board.
As mentioned, besides the direct electronics a lot of other things are as essential to the end result and are sometime ignored. Room treatment, electricity, racks etc….
The most important thing is to be happy with whatever we have now, rather then be too busy with the next potential step in the journey.
Is it possible that the OP is simply suffering age associated hearing changes that make a fairly decent system sound bright and tiring? Would his younger self have marvelled and enjoyed the exact same set up he just replAced? Are we all looking for a hi fi that has us engaged in music as we were when our ears and perception of sounds allowed us to hear and enjoy music in a way that only the young can? My ears don’t tolerate loud sounds like they used to, a shame as I likely now miss a lot unless the music is loud… so I spend thousands chasing reproductions that beat my tinnitus and give me the aural acuity of a teenager and my naim kit is helping… but I doubt there is a system out there that will give me my young ears back. My kids play their music on anything - they don’t understand why I have to spend so much on loads of black boxes, I think they extract the same detail and pleasure from whatever hi fi comes to hand, happily un-hearing distortions that come with high volume yet likely extracting so much more than I can.
The answer was probably there. Why continue to say that Naim system sounds bright if the basis of Naim set up was not done . If the set up was correct at the beginning, and the OP didn’t liked the Naim presentation, this topic would be much more logical.
Rubbish. Having replaced everything, I know that my ears don’t lie!! Just accept that some NAIM stuff is crap, and is hugely uncompetitive compared to other available equipment. Be brave enough to try it, and you will find out for yourself.
I am passionate with Hifi and audio since 30 years. Have heard thousands of systems and gear. Saying that Naim can sound crap is a nonsense, as your thread I fear.
But if your system was correctly installed, with power supplies on a different rack, no components stacking, the cables well de stressed and not touching, which is unfortunately the BASIS, then, if you still have found the Naim system bright and aggressive, I would have no critics to formulate.
It may be that because of a particular interest in music reproduction, we have have learned to listen to and recognise aspects of music reproduction in a way we didn’t in our younger years. Over time, we have refined and defined our tastes, each of us stopping at a point we are happy with or unable to progress beyond. An analogy could be enjoying cheap wine. Some will develop an interest for wine and learn to recognise certain qualities in a “better” wine. Those who enjoy wine but don’t necessarily have any interest in it it may remain perfecty happy with a cheap carton. Apply the same to cars or handbags or whatever your particular passion (or not) might be.
