Thank you. Looking forward.
Iāll also be on my own for the day - the best way to experience it IMO. Of course it is Fathers day, so if anyone has a child that has just had a pay rise, take them also 
Or as some say, ābetter to ask for forgiveness than permissionā, which normally I wouldnāt entertain, but Fathers Day may help the blow (physical and mental) from SWMBO
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Top day at the show today. Pleasure to meet you Gadget Man and thank you for your company and guidance. It made for a very enjoyable day.
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It was an absolute pleasure to meet you also, I hope I didnāt keep you away from you original visit aims too much. It was very nice to help someone else spend their money for a change.
I did manage to scatch a couple of itches whilst there.
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Not in the market, but always wondered what an expensive set of headphones sounded like, so as there was no queue, tried a Ā£4.5k Focal open back pair. I wasnāt as bowled over as I thought I may have been. Then tried the Focal Ā£2.5k closed back pair, and found them much better (both fed by a Naim Atom). Canāt say I was converted to headphones, but I suppose cost per unit of SQ is far better than a full speaker/amp setup.
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Not in the market, but always wondered what a decent surround system sounded like. I came across an empty room showing off a Ā£30k+ setup (sorry, no idea what it was, just went for the experience). Now I always find that when the sound goes behind me in a cinema, it always takes me out of my focus on the film, and reminds me where I am - so thatās what I was expecting.
Firstly music, it was very pleasant indeed being in the middle of an orchestra (a bit like playing in a band) particularly when I closed my eyes. However because the video was jumping from musician to musician, that just confused my head.
Secondly we tried a film excerpt (Ford verses Ferrari), and surprisingly that didnāt confuse me, and I was able to stay focused in the action. That was impressive.
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So @GadgetMan & @penllyn may I ask what of the New Naim Classic equipment was on view and how did it sound?
Taking into consideration the room etc!
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Hi Simon the new Classic 200 series was in full song paired up to a set of Kef Blade 1ās. It was extremely impressive. Difficult to judge properly due to surrounding noise and positioning limitations of location but nonethelessā¦ excellent! I suspect youāll have a great day there tomorrow.
Check out the Kef Reference 1 Metas. They made quite an impression on me.
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The 200 series where being used in a couple of rooms. I listened to 5 or 6 track and all sounded very good, which was surprising given the difficult conditions. a lot of the other setups sounded below par.
I was surprised that somebody decided to use LED strip lighting to illuminate the 200 series amps. This resulted in highlighting very clearly the scratches on the perspex, which probably wouldnāt be visible in natural light. 
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A few notes on Cranage. Attended on the Saturday and it was busy but not uncomfortably so. Also, just a little warm in some of the non air-conditioned rooms so I didnāt go into every one. Not a comprehensive report, just a few thoughts on kit and rooms that made an impression. ā¦
Kirmuss Audio: First port of call as I knew they were willing to try and restore records to show the potential of their process. A recent 1972 Beatles reissue was given the full treatment. This disc looks immaculate, has been cleaned three times via a vacuum cleaner, but there are a lot of clicks and pops still present. I just wanted to see what happens when you up the level somewhat and employ a more involved process. I had a quick listen via their (tiny) turntable & headphones at the show, and it seemed better. Iāll listen to it this week for any real world benefits.
Naim: Next up a beeline for the all retailers and manufacturers demonstrating Naimās new classic series. Irrespective of the sound quality, to see New Classic is to covet New Classic! I think the evolutionary design looks great, and even better than in the photos - superb! And from what I heard in less than ideal circumstances, a very impressive achievement indeed. The NAIT 50 also looks lovely, but wasnāt as taken with that as I expected to be, well, compared to the NC range that is, but Iām sure it will sound lovely.
Kudos: Oh. Dear. I visited on three occasions and thought the system sounded dry, forward and unpleasant, and couldnāt wait to leave the room. A full chord system upstream driving Titans, so assume either room acoustics at play, or a dismal mismatch between Chord and Kudos. Unfortunate, as I know how good Kudos speakers, and Chord electronics can sound. Something definitely amiss and a presentation unrepresentative of either brand.
Neat: Launching their new Mystique floor standers and they sounded very good indeed, and a lovely compact form factor too. As always with Neat, pure witchcraft in terms of the sheer scale of sound from modest speaker enclosures.
Sound Fowndation: Sound of the show for me. A Clearaudio Reference turntable, coupled with the top of the line DS Audio optical Grand Master cartridge, the sound was simply breathtaking. Then a demo showing the difference the DS Eccentricity Stabiliser made - wow. Not sure what amps were being used, but they were playing into the biggest Kerr Acoustics Transmission line speakers. Astonishing, but then it should be as the cost of the system was in excess of two hundred and fifty thousand pounds.
Vertere: I attended their āclosedā demo at 2pm and thought the presentation of the differences between decks and cartridges very informative, the improvements clearly evident as you go up the range. The dem highlight was playing a decent pressing of Sealās debut album track āKillerā and then comparing to an acetate of the same track - OMG - the difference was simply jaw dropping.
PMC: Launching their Prodigy 1 and 5 speakers. I really liked the Prodigy1, but not the5. Not sure why, but somehow, the 5s didnāt sound cohesive to me (the 1s did) and thought the sound per pound is superb on those intro PMC boxes. Utilitarian, but nicely finished too.
ATC & Auralic: A lovely simple system consisting of an Auralic streaming Pre feeding active ATC (SCM50s I think). Fabulous, and in some ways all the system one would ever need. Could see those active ATC speakers working beautifully with the NSC222 & NPX300.
Atoll & Audium: Now, this was a lovely sounding room, rather beguiling actually, and from two brands Iām not familiar with at all.
All in all, a fabulous show as always, beautifully presented by the organisers, manufacturers, distributors & retailers, plus a friendly welcoming atmosphere too. Will be attending again next year. Finished off the day with a quick visit to Diverse and some crate diving.
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Excellent show today in an excellent location, topped by my wife winning the Goldenear AON3 speakers in the prize draw 
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Does anyone have any pictures?
Enjoyed my morning in Cranage, including some interesting conversations. I tend to make for a number of specific rooms, then wander around, dropping in where fancy takes me, so not a comprehensive show experience.
There were a number of standouts.
Acoustica playing the Naim 200 series triple into, I think, KEF Blades(? ) was very impressive and sounded like a big advance on my old 272/XPSDR/250DR. Though I did wonder abut whether they were the most appropriate speaker match. Pete did say the new Naim units had been flying off the shelves. No matter what some naysayers had predicted, Iād reckon them a big triumph for Naim.
Doug Brady had a full stack of dCS and mighty impressive they were, too. Itās the first time Iād really had a chance to listen to them, but I can see why they appeal to so many. Mind you, so they ought to at the price!
I enjoyed the classical music haven offered by the Chasing the Dragon record company. The recordings reminded me of many BBC broadcasts. So it came as no surprise to discover that the Head Honcho and recording engineer is an ex-BBC man.
Then the Auralic/ATC room. So simple and so convincing. But perhaps going in that room was a mistakeā the active SCM50s they were using really are the beeās knees. I think Iām going to find it extremely hard to resist the temptation to upgrade my 40s. Must stop thinking about them!
Finally, a chance to hear the top of the new Linn Selekt range into ATC SCM40As. Another simple and very fine sounding combination. I think it outperformed my Organik-upgraded Klimax DSM, probably because it includes the new Utopia power supply. Another room where my bank account was in serious danger.
I reckon Iām going to have to stay away next year, or Iāll end up in penury!
Roger
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For @mikehughescq and anyone else who may be interested
Hereās a coupleā¦.
Active ATCās on the end of an Auralic streamer
Kudos on the end of Chord Electronics stack
Both of these very nice IMHO
KEF on the end of Salisburyās finest Core + NC 222/300/250!
To me best sound at show - just so lifelike and effortless whatever it played.
Oh and some old vintage stuff from some old band called Pink Floydā¦.
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The standout system of the show for me was the Acoustica rig, which was the new Naim 200 series powering a pair of fairly mighty KEF blades.
It was impressive how well the Naim gear performed in that system in that space.
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I also found the Acoustica dem impressive, but did think it might be veering towards mullet territory. I kept wondering how those speakers would respond to a full 300 series setup.
Thatāll be in nest yearās show, I guess.
Roger
The cost of the speakers is 1.3 times the cost of the three Naim boxes AFAIK.
So, yes, that is located in the environs of Mulletsville, Arizona.
I donāt think the demo was a recommendation of an ideal balanced system, more a demonstration of what the new 200 Series Naim boxes are capable of in a Show environment.
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I heard both the KEF blades in the Acoustica dem and the KEF R3 Metas in the KEF dem. As far as I could tell they both had the same naim 200 series 3 box stack. The KEF R3 Metas took the cigar for me, I thought the combination was fantastic.
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56% of system cost on speakers is veering towards mullet territory for me.
Roger
Yes, we have already agreed on that above. 
Ahh, sorry, misread the Arizona reference.
Roger
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Agreed, the R3 META with the Naim 200 series sounded much more balanced. Iāve not historically got on with KEF speakers, but these ones did impress me.
Did anyone else hear the new Neat speakers which were being demonstrated? Fed from an all in one unit (unsure which one - wasnāt a brand Iām familiar with), I thought they were extremely impressive and excellent value for money at around Ā£2.5k.
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