That’s what I had - the four box 101 and 103D but not the tuner - before I swapped to my first Naim in 1983. It was ok but my 42, snaps and 110 was in another league in terms of enjoyability.
Sound quality without a doubt, always
However a good design is always welcome, impossible not to say that. Speaking of Naim, some say that its look is too much simple and understated, but I find it very nice and timeless, exactly the kind of look I prefer. On the other hand I’m not a big fan of Chord’s design, but I would buy it if I liked the sound presentation.
I should fess up and say I would have a Nap500 for the aesthetics 
I once bought a pair of Ruark Sabres on looks alone
I never regretted it , I regretted giving them away to someone who blew them up
(These aren’t mine, just similar)
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Their predecessors looked even better to my mind; the Diesis Solitaires.
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I have to say I agree, that old Meridian gear is so clean and simple, looks ace.
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Cyrus stuff looks nice I wish they’d just up their game with their cheapskate LCD displays and, looks like they have on that one above^
I must say I was attracted to Naim on the basis of the black boxes and green logo. Always loved the green on black look.
The LP12 looks lovely and bought it as an upgrade after having the Linn Axis. To me the LP12 is a timeless, classic looking turntable.
Ultimately sound comes first but I want it to look great too!
Naim products look cool. Love the top loading CDS3 and the bank of black boxes with just one button.
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I had not followed this thread for awhile, but reading some of the later comments, it quickly became apparent that (to a large extent) the design aesthetic that is strongly admired is minimalist…… which really is not too surprising when you consider what the naim design is (basically). Now , to really throw a wrench into things. How many would have bought naim if it came in brightly coloured, gaudy boxes and flashing lights? 
just had to ask.
And still a great looking deck.
Thanks Bob.
Was supposed to record as well or even better than some of the Nakamichi decks back in the day👍
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It still works exceedingly well and makes excellent recordings on whatever tape you use. Aiwa really nailed it with the AD-F660 and AD-F770 (the AD-F990 was perhaps too clever for its own good and suffered as a consequence) and the 770 in particular lasted in the range for almost 5 years - remarkable from a company who would sometimes update their range within a year of release. Excelia decks aside, it was downhill after this.
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I had one of those, I’ve always regretted getting rid of it.
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I took my wife to the Rega P8 TT demo, I wanted to have her in the loop. I’d shown her pictures of the P8 prior to going to the dealers, she found the looks acceptable. It was demoed through a Naim SN3 to a pair of B&W 705 S2 speakers. She thought the music was wonderful as I did but she paid little notice of how the speakers looked.
Last week, I showed her pictures of the B&W 705 Signature speakers I was considering, she said they “looked like something out of the 60s, they’re ugly”.
In this months HiFi Choice magazine there’s a review of a pair of Fyne Audio 1.8.
She likes them. I can’t have a Dalek but a Minion is okay.
Dashing
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Did she specify what she didn’t like? I have a pair of 702s2, but don’t like the look of the signature range. Loud/busy veneer, and high gloss on top. I wouldn’t have gotten them for that reason alone (had they been available at the time)
Hi n-lot
“Loud/busy veneer, and high gloss on top”
Exactly this, plus the sharp angles. And to be true full, I’m in agreement with her.
Dashing
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The non-signature versions are of course still available and look much nicer.
From what I’ve read the upgraded crossover alone is not worth the premium for the signature versions.
And perhaps the schematics will become available so at some point so we’ll be able to upgrade ours to signature 
Well, I’m planning ahead here, next for me is an amplifier before speakers. When I get round to actually choosing a pair, they could be something else on the market.
Dashing
