Probably best covered in its own thread - there is one here
…but in summary, some prefer the sound (sweeter - not as heavy - fast - more classic “Naim” (whatever that is to people’s ears)) and when you combine that with an amp that is half the price and 30% smaller…it ticks a lot of people’s boxes more than the 500.
I have the 500 - but had the 300 - the 500 does give more “HiFi” - so more bass, more air, more headroom, bigger soundstage (you know…all those awful Hi-Fi terms ) but it does possibly lose a bit of speed and sweetness in doing so. Do I think the 500 is better? …for me, yes…but I can understand those that don’t.
Some 3rd party platforms have done this. Tesla have recently incorporated Apple Music alongside Spotify and Tidal. This means I can play tunes, albums and playlists directly on the car without having to do so through my iPhone.
I have wondered if the ‘dent’ is there to, while moving to the Uniti/Statement look, keep a link with the three piece look of the old classic range. So if you (and others owning classic gear) aren’t comfortable with that it seems to have missed the mark. Being neither fish nor fowl.
Personally I prefer the Uniti look and the ‘dent’ bothers me a bit. (But not enough to not buy it were I to have that sort of money to spend)
eARC is supposed to solve that. I’ve wondered why that wasn’t included on the 2nd gen Mu-so’s already for that reason. But I don’t know that/if it requires new hardware, so perhaps just a future software update?
And it’s good to see AptX has been re-adopted (it was dropped from the 2nd gen Mu-So’s), although still no LDAC?
I’m pretty sure a 4-series won’t show up. The number 4 is bad luck in Asia (China only?). They even skip level 4 on some elevators.
" In Chinese culture, fourth floor is usually omitted from most elevator fixtures in a Chinese building, this is because the number means “death (死 )”. It was considered that the number 4 in Putunghua means “sì” while death is “sǐ” and Cantonese means “sei3”[[1]] while death is “sei2”[[2]]). Both of these words are nearly homophonous. Some buildings in Asia skipped the fourth floor either by numbering it as “5” or by designating the floor as “3A” or something similar. In some buildings in South Korea, fourth floor is labelled “F” (Four) instead of 4 in elevators[[3]]). The practice of avoiding instances of number 4 is called [Tetraphobia]."
Yes and when it was released there were a lot of discussions related. Maybe they eased up on it 10 years later. And maybe 444 would be bit too much still
I wonder when the first reviews will be out. My guess is that we won t see anything until february at least unless the gear has been sent to reviewers before the annoucement.