I’ve always found a dealer will always Big Up there own products and trash the products they don’t sell.
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Yes well aware that old trick, dont worry my naim amps won’t be going anywhere unless the vitus is better or i like the sound better
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I have PMC fact 12 speakers, quite hard to drive i think?
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The muso has no preamp or Dac as such… if the Naim preamp is key the the Naim sound then the muso range doesn’t have any traditional Naim preamp
Just a direct to digital amplifier.
Not sure there’s a Naim sound… just the sound of music…
Perhaps worth mentioning that I know two local chaps who went from Naim to vitus (neither was at 500 level). Both have had the same fault requiring return to Denmark for repair - one fixed under warranty one out of warranty. Only anecdotal of course but that puts me off
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The last two items I have had from Naim lasted 10 minutes and a week before they went back to Salisbury. Every manufacturer has the odd faulty item.
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This arises perennially, and the concensus seems to be that there is a Naim sound, though it also seems (i.e. this is the impression I get on balance from those who post on the forum) that the characteristic sound becomes less dominant as you progress up the range, and maybe has changed over time. My guess, though it is only that, is that with Naim’s focus on PRaT the less expensive amps have greater compromises with other aspects of sound quality, but in the higher ranges the Naim is able to improve other aspects of sound quality, becoming more balanced - and the ‘Naim sound’ may be the characteristics that effectively stand out in the lesser (=more mainstream) models. People talking about the Naim sound sometimes describe it as ‘forward’, or focussed on midrange (which must mean means less focussed on bottom and top), etc.
Maybe Vitus is more akin to the upper echelons of Naim amps, doing the PRaT well, but maybe (but this is pure speculation) doing the rest even better than the equivalent price Naim amp??
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This is one of the most interesting threads I have read for ages and one that I’m really looking forward to hearing more as this develops
Glad you are looking to try other brands instead of just setting for what you have Dunc.
Keep us informed please!
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Well its a strange one this, as normally i am really looking forward to a new piece of kit on its way, but for some reason not so much this time and in fact a bit nervous about it. Not sure why, is it because it might just be better and that means the end off naim ownership for me? I just dont know as never felt like this before about my hifi.
I guess i will soon see and what started off abit of a joke, could end up being the end.
But i will update as things go
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I’ve had exactly the same conversation with exactly the same dealer so I too will be very interested in your opinion and evaluation on this topic.
maybe it’s a design feature of the naim amplifier not to modify the rhythms already in the music, but tracy chapman’s fast car, still sounds like tracy chapman on a Naim amp, and 50 cent’s track “in da club” sounds rhythmic and fun to listen to.
But the 50 cent also sounds rhythmic and fun on a Linn Klimax preamp… and eagles hotel california also sounds as beautiful as it always did. amplifiers from Naim and Linn don’t and can’t add something to the music that wasn’t already there or change the music.
so in my opinion there’s no Naim sound, just the sound of the music as it was recorded… and Naim gets me closer to it. There’s maybe timing or frequency loss from the source to the speaker, and companies differ in their approach to minimising those alternations to the original signal
But when it comes to sources, well there’s a naim sound in a Naim source. my opinion only.
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Congratulations on the Nait 2 Gregg.
Sorry about the Rossini & clock.
If you tried the Rossini with & without the clock, I would be most interested to learn of your impressions of the clock’s impact. It made all the difference to musicality to me but it seems to be only marginally beneficial to some others.
Best regards, BF
Looking at the specs, they look very difficult to drive. Thats not a bad thing. All I can say is give the Vitus a good long demo with them and see which one you prefer,
Kind regards
PB
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Then its not unique to Naim, because the ND5XS sounded very similar to the Shearne Audio Phase 7 CD player it replaced, and that had sounded very close to the Cambridge CD2 that it had replaced. Maybe not identical, but no difference in character, nor in specific aspects of sound.
But most people that I have read who have expressed a view have indicated that the preamp is key to the Naim sound, rather than the source. I don’t recall anyone other than you pointing to the source rather than the amplification, though of course there might be others I’ve not read.
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Also sorry for the extra costs, but the rossini and clock will be worth it and you will soon forget about the Bartok and the extra costs.
As for the clock, it does make a difference and twice i have sat down and started to play a track, only to think, thats its not quite right and then realise that the clock is in standby, once switched on, it all comes back
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With regards to a piece of equipment adding or giving a specific sound… I would of thought the piece of equipment that would possibly be most likely to add a signature to the sound would probably be a Dac ???
I will do, you can guarantee that
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Well what i can say is running my headphone amp direct from the rossini sounds different to running it from the 552. More natural and greater dynamics
It could be that i am using balanced xlr’s out the rossini, direct to the headphone amp and RCA’s from the rossini to the 552 and then RCA’s to the headphone amp, but i prefer the sound direct from the rossini and this is what started the hole 552 / 500 debate and the dealer saying that a vitus sia025 will sound better than my 500/552.
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Not a bad state of mind Dunc ie a more focused mind. Ill never forget how I felt, when I had decided to loose my SL2s after 13 years of ownership. They were run active over all of that period.
I was really really tense, when the Signals duo turned up with a pair of Titan 88s and a pair of PMC Fact 12s for me to listen to. There I was sat with my little playlist in my sweaty hand thinking; ‘ I actually hope that I won’t like any of them’.
And voila 30 minutes later choosing the Facts was actually an easy task. Personally I’ve been with Naim since the mid 80s , as have many others here. If I was to wave my 552/500 I’m sure there would be some sense of loss. To be honest I also think, that as we grow older we may mellow a bit and maybe end up preferring our music presented slightly differently. Don’t know, fact is I would feel exactly like yourself, am I ever to hear the 030 in my room with my 555 CDP as front end. Enjoy the ride 
Peter
PS. Would still be curious as to who claimed, that the Facts would hold the 025 back? 
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The 500DR Alone in the US is $30,000 and the Preamp another $30K that’s a whole lot of money…For considerably less I think I’d want to listen to Dan D’Agostino Momentum Integrated. But that’s just me.
BTW $60K is 50K pounds
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