I’m a little confused by that, any more Prat and it won’t sound like music. I’ve always thought to the goal of good hi fi was to get as close to “live” as possible. Anything else imo isn’t music.
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You mean like at a concert where it’s ear splitting loud, distorted and impossible to make out any lyrics?
Or like a posh un miked jazz venue where it’s one guy on drums and their background instrumentalists? 
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Funny you should say that, was just talking to friends about the Elton John gig last Sunday. While I enjoyed it (he’s a genius) it was way to loud. So no I definitely don’t mean that.
I’m a firm believer that the word “live” is misused and misunderstood. Live as being at a concert at 110dB sounding like **** cannot ever be a target. Live as being in the recording studio pre recording chain close to the instruments and musicians - YES! But the difference between those two “live” sessions are dramatically different. If you ever played music in a band getting the feeling from the instruments hitting you without speakers in between that is PRAT big time. To hear a guitar amp vibrate waiting for the next chord, to hear the actual skin on a snare drum 2m away. Wow, if you can replicate that with all your equipment in the signal path from tape to speakers then heaven is near.
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Steve (@110db),
It is written in the manual that we must remove the power cord from the NSC222 when it is powered by the NPX.
How did you solve the connection of the electronic ground (0v) which must be connected to the Ground at a single place ?
Thank you very much for your time spent on the forum.
Pardon pour mon écrit anglais.
Thierry
I agree and as above I certainly wasn’t referring to large stadium gigs were it’s amplification over music/SQ. I’m talking about those small venues something similar to the Unplugged series.
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I think, possibly what you are describing is the ATC sound. ATC heritage is in the professional market. Hence, why a lot of owners find the sound to be more of a live/studio sound, than a, if there is such, a hi-fi sound. In contrast to that, ATC speakers are ruthless in revealing poor recordings and mastering. You makes your choice 
My studio monitors are ruthless. Ideal for mixing and mastering of course. Somewhat fatiguing for listening. Thinking about it somewhat fatiguing when listening to repeated playbacks of my latest master(?)piece
Especially like my younger days. When l would have my head in a bass bin, at a rock concert 
I’m not sure I’ve ever understood the live thing full stop. So much music that’s released is a result of what happens as a result of the whole studio experience, i.e., production, mixing and all manner of effects. Even back to the Beatles with tape loops going round studios and being played backwards. The very best we can ever hope for is to get closest possible to the Master tapes in my view.
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The very best in sound we can hope to achieve is something we consistently look forward to listening to every day. I’ve done that 
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This is my goal too.
Striving to hear it the way we never will seems to be a futile endeavour. Strive to hear it the way it sounds the best to you is surely a much more realistic goal. After all, this stupidly expensive hobby of ours is all about the listening “PLEASURE”…
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Your comments do not of course apply to classical music, where the frisson and spontaneity of a live performance will often outweigh a studio one. I have been to quite a few BBC Proms concerts at the Royal Albert Hall and they are a wonderful experience!
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I find that if I can’t concentrate on reading a book with music playing then the sound is doing its thing
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It can be very room dependent though, don’t you think?
Definitely!
I was trying to read yesterday during my marathon listening session and gave up pretty quickly.
Though at the lower end of the Naim range, I am truly blown away by this system. What’s more it’s still improving.
3 months in and I’m barely scratching the surface of its full potential I feel.
I have commented at length on various threads about my desire to move to an NSC 222 based system instead of just buying an ND5 XS 2, but what I bought and installed in October last year is still in it’s infancy.
I’ll have to see how I feel after I demo the New Classic range…
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You could always consider a 52/135 for less than the price of a 222. But that would be silly wouldn’t it 
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Of course yes - but my comment was really aimed at the reproduction of music that we listen to at home on our systems and the notion that that ever could or should be as good as listening too the same performance “live” in person either in a studio or at a concert hall.
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That’s probably no different to the NDX or ND555 or more similar 272, the ground is via power supply.
I both agree and disagree with that view.
YES! I definitely want to feel all the emotion and creativity conjured by the artist(s) during the recording. Both for Studio and Live recordings.
BUT
I go to a lot of gigs/concerts and the intensity and sensory overload of a big Rock/Metal gig is simply not something I’m looking for on a Saturday evening at home with family/friends or even alone on a morning like today. Neither, do I think that that would ever be realistically achievable in the artificial environment of a listening room.
Live albums evoke some of those same impressions of emotion and creativity, but they could never recreate the true energy of that live experience, no matter how good the system.
IMHO…
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