I have a fiend who recently traded his 552/500 for the Aavik U-380 integrated. Iāve yet to hear it but I must admit I am intrigued. Some days I look at my 12 box count and three Fraim racks and wonder if I could live with something more simple? A one box solution that has a dac, phono pre and amp? It makes for an interesting debateā¦ in my head.
It will depend heavily on where you are on the Naim journey, but the one box solution, is very appealing and could be just what you are looking for.
It has advantages and disadvantages, like everything does, and you need to weigh these up and see where you are after.
I have just tried and failed, and a big thread all about. Doesnāt mean its all over, its just going to be harder to find that magic box.
Few things in this hobby are TOTALLY about practicality. Including box count / floor space. A preference either way can be totally practical (āI have a small space and donāt want it taken up by a big hi fi setupā) or totally impractical (āI like the look of a big setupā or āI like the look of just a small setup.ā). Or some of each.
I went from the low boxcount club, to having the means and curiousity to experience a 2-Fraim 500 system. I anticipate, before I go off to hi fi heaven, changing again. Neither any time soon PLEASE
Of course there is one issue with single box solutions. If you get the itch to upgrade (and 90% on the forum do), it means starting from scratch with a new system.
Even solutions with upgradable firmware or swappable boards like Linn Exact DSM have limits. Youād hope by the time you forked out that kind of money youād be in your final hi-fi resting place. But if notā¦ woops! Time to sell the lot and start again!
All Naim Unitis can be upgraded with either a power amp, integrated amp or source, either as a one off upgrade, or as an incremental move to separates. The forum is full of this stuff.
It is possible to do this and stay with Naim though
I have a true 3 box system and that includes speakers using a NAC272 into active ATCs, doesnāt stop the urge to upgrade but so far am resisting the temptation
The original premise is still correct though, the footprint is the same as my previous multi-box systems
Funny, what you see as an issue I would view as an advantage. Less upgrade itch and when you do you, you hopefully end up with a nice balanced system instead of suddenly something else becoming the bottleneck.
I think my route was fairy typical, a Nait 03, then a Flat Cap then a Power Amp, all with discernible improvements. Then I got the Upgrade bug big time then a NAP 200/202 etc.
By the time I had finished there were five boxes , all in a tight area. All in need of service.
I went back to an integrated amp and a stand alone phono stage .
That sounds ominousā¦
My first stereo in high school consisted of a receiver, turntable and speakers . . . and records. Then I added a cassette deck . . . and cassettes. After that came a cd player . . . and cdās. Then came a separate preamp, amp, tuner . . . and phono stage. All of that was followed by a NAS, DAC, Sonos Connect and streaming service.
At some point, squeezing every last drop of audiophile potential out of whatever equipment/recording I owned became less important. The cassettes disappeared long ago. The vinyl gave way to the cdās. Iām down to the Nait 5i-2, two speakers, a cd payer and a not so obtrusive dac and streamer.
In my case, streaming is carrying me in the minimalist direction. I remember going to homes when growing up where there was a receiver and speakers, source was FMāno turntable, tape deck etc. I think streaming fits that model except that a good streaming service (along with a ripped cd collection) provides the additional benefit of being able to select from a vast amount of programing via an iPad. Itās hard to argue that streaming doesnāt check all the boxesāno clutter, everythings available through an app, hi res etc.
I donāt miss the multitude of boxes, racks and wires I used to have. At this point, a Supernait and better dac would be my preferred upgrade destination.
If I can part with the analog sources in my system I can live happily with MacMini, DAC V-1 and SN. But Iām still attracted by cassette and reel tapes, vinyl as well
Imagine no boxes
I wonder if you can
No need for cables or interconnects
Only one music source
Imagine all the music from around the world
You may say
Iām a dreamer, but Iām not the only one
I hope some day weāll hear it
And the world will live as one
Iād say the fewer boxes the better, for a variety of reasons.
I reduced my box count by changing the two Hicaps on my NAC82 for a single Supercapā¦
Switch it for a 52, reduce the count again.
I like your thinking!
But not sure how I could get agreement from the Comptroller of Financesā¦
In Britain at least, women may not yet have equality in all workplaces, but it appears to me that they have superiority in the vast majority of homes,. That fact is rarely discussed - yet is very significantā¦
But that is off-topic.
And do you have your wifeās permission to say that?
Some things it is best not to ask!
Would be in interesting thread in itself but it would go off the rails into dark places pretty quick I fear.
Everyone needs their own space with total control and enough room to swing a cat. Essential for most healthy relationships I think. Also depends on what youāre used to. I grew up in a happy āliving apart togetherā home before it was even a thing. It seems normal to me that you get your own space to decorate as you see fit. Under the same roof if you can. Under the roof of a nearby second home if you canāt.