That may or may not be the case. Those interested most in sound quality may be less concerned about appearance though of course beauty (and ugliness!) Is in the eye of the beholder. Personally I think massed ranks of black boxes look very ugly in a domestic environment, ditto some other gear notably some speakers and turntables, yet many firum members have them and in rooms that are not wholly dedicated to the system.
As for putting out of sight, you say those days long gone - I don’t recall a fashion for doing so since the radiograms of 1960s - but I’m not talking fashion, simply pointing out that it is an option if someone determines that the best sounding amp is a non starter because it is hideous, there us a solution if they are so minded (not so with speakers).
Must be from a small boutique UK manufacturer and be sufficiently exclusive that at least 50%of visitors should have to enquire what it is and who is that manufacturer😃
Sound quality is by far the most important criterion, in my view. Looks are important also. I agree with the comments on here, that the classic series looks good. Discreet and timeless, it’s just a shame you need so many black boxes to make up a good system…
Because it’s complex and more expensive to implement and often, on short runs under a couple meters, sounds worse than unbalanced. Seeing as it was mainly designed from day one for mitigating the effects on long runs of cable in the studio. You generally do want balanced for connections to active speakers or even to big monoblocs that sit on the floor next to speakers. But for connections between gear in a rack, unbalanced will, in most cases, outperform the balanced.
Now that is not an absolute. Not all implementations of both balanced and unbalanced are created equal. You might find different results for sure. But balanced XLR is implemented more often because audiophiles demand it rather than manufacturer consensus on it’s superiority.
It’s nice if the amplifier is HEAVY. Remember carrying my new NAP 200 on the bus and then a quarter mile walk from the bus stop to home, the transformer made it’s presence felt. Now with NAP 250DR the feel good of an heavier amp
That’s interesting, thanks for making that point. Perhaps the new speaker biwiring in waiting? Or a necessary development to help support a trend for equipment that might benefit from it, headphone listening with long leads, and active speakers becoming more popular?
I agree that looks are an essential component of the Naim look, if not sound. I was initially distressed not to have my ‘Qutes in their designated rooms. They live under the stairs, along with internet switch and music server; and they are opposite the main system, which puts everything out of line of sight.
I first came across this idea of moving everything out sight, but out in the open, at my dealers. I wish I could say that it makes listening rooms less cluttered, but that would not reflect my lifestyle!
And yet, I understand that this is the Naim forum so most members are supposed or expected to own Naim, but really, is it so for so many that an amp ‘has to make me connect with music’ or ‘has to be as linear as possible’ and so few express peculiar preferences regarding any sound characteristics? Does an amp really have to be just science?
Over many years I used to switch on and off the system. All the power switches (300ps, XPS and hi cap) the Supercap was ok. The last service all power switches were replaced. They felt ‘different’ to the old switches. Have Naim changed the power switches from circa 2004 units? They seem a bit more ‘solid’ than the old ones. Any explanation would be greatly appreciated.
So if I understood correctly the power amp (even the 300) is less sensitive to warmup or stabilisation periods and cans be switched off and on a couple of hours before a serious listening session
I think @NeilS can advise best here re. the power switch.
My personal finding is that the power amps seem to take the least time to come good after power up - certainly much less than sources or especially the pre-amp or phono stage. The ideal is to keep all powered up, but in an effort to save energy (and also money) I have taken to switching off the power amp at the end of a listening session.
Ok thanks. Just that the lifetime of the old switches was clearly reduced or perhaps they were deemed not as good as the new switches that are now used. Hopefully NeilS can shed some light on this regarding switch qualification numbers for successive on/off operation
It seems you are asking yourself some pretty fundamental questions here.
It would be helpful to know what you are using at present and what you have used in the past with Hi-Fi gear.
An amplifier is a part of a system. Things you have mentioned are not solely dependent on the qualities of an amplifier - more the qualities of a complete system.
If I were to imagine a perfect amp (integrated I assume), I would say it should have the following:
1- Great sound (Depth, bass, low noise floor, details, separation, foot tapping, etc.)
2- Huge power able to drive any speaker
3- Future proof connectivity
4- Built in DAC/Streaming capability
5- Plays well with others (not limited to same brand source/pre/power)
6- Longevity reliability
7- Looks good
Now knowing that life - as well as engineering - is all about compromises, it comes to picking an amp that provides as many of those desired traits at your budget price point.