Hi Ian,
My apologies for taking nearly a week to reply to your question - I have had quite a lot of things I wanted to try in my system setup with the Naim CI-102 and it was only last night that I finished. This post (which may turn into more than one) will later drift into highly technical graphs and possibly a question for Naim staff? But I guess you want the quick answer?
My thoughts are that this product offers incredible value for the capabilities it has within. The ‘sound’ it produces can be ‘controlled’ to a certain degree by the user and you will note from my friends response (see previous postings) that he preferred the Naim CI-102 sound to the Linn Klimax DSM (Organik DAC) sound (when listening to Pink Floyd). Indeed, for many kinds of music, particularly electronic amplified instruments, the Naim CI-102 is very very good. For more live recorded, non-amplified instruments and complex orchestral works - to my ears - the Naim CI-102 provides a less appealing sound.
I don’t know what your music listening preferences are in particular - but I hope the above short summary answers your question?
I think I will post all the technical assessment information separately so forum members can choose which posts to read and potentially engage.