What's the best-sounding system you've ever heard?

There’s a great thread on rooms here:

And happy hour at the Thameside Inn :woozy_face:

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That’s where I bought my LP12/Ittock/Karma in 1983, plus snaps for my 42.5.

Hamish delivered and installed it to my parents nr Windsor!

M

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Wow, that’s fantastic to see. Many happy hours spent in there, sometimes seriously auditioning kit (quite a bit of which is still in my system), sometimes just listening to music and chatting when they were quiet and I’d been passing.

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–> https://vicoustic.com/product/super-bass-extreme-vmt?g=0&melamine-colors=Brown%20Oak&solid-colors=Natural%20White

For corners I use Vicoustic Super Bass Extreme.

Vicoustic Totem are used as free standing bass absorbers and placed in high pressure areas (which can be located not only against walls or corners)

@jsaudio

Details of what I use for room treatment can be found here:

–> Don’t buy new speakers – The listening room reality

Neat, barely visible in your photo

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Was it Son et Lumiere ?.

That’s scary.

A giant robot peering into the widow. :scream_cat:

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Best system.

At Acoustica show in Chester a few years ago.

Naim, streamer, NdAC, racks and racks of Naim amps and PSU’s. PLUS. A pair of £150K speakers.

Can’t remember the manufacturer, but they where good. They played a Deep Purple track, you would’ve sworn Ian Paice was literately there in the room playing his drumkit.

About 1980 ish, at Salt Lane

The full Linn LP12 6pack - may have been 3 x 250s plus Isobariks, diddnt pay much attention to the system details because the music was wonderful.

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Yes, the film was Apollo 13. They showed the launch sequence with the wives in tears from pride, anxiety and excitement, the shattering sound of the “engines”, and billowing smoke everywhere, and the astronauts vibrating in the rocket capsule. It made a huge impact.

The system was fronted by DSP 6000s and there could well have been DSP5500s to the sides and rear. I assume you must also have heard it?

that’s the one. Room was pretty packed for my session. I was at the back with the 5500s

Remember Meridian playing the bungee jump scene off the dam from Goldeneye, remember my trouser legs flapping with the bass being generated.

I struggle to whittle down to one ‘best’ sounding system, but here are a few that I have heard at shows which have seriously impressed:

  • Full MBL system at the Manchester Airport show, must have been 2006/7 - absolutely effortless and musical in all respects
  • Full top end Burmester system at the Manchester Airport show (2013 I believe). Listened to Voyage 34 by Porcupine Tree - the walls were shaking from the bass. The system went so loud without strain - was like being at a concert
  • Chord Electronics at the 2018 and 2019 Bristol shows - 2018 was with B&W 805D3 speakers, 2019 used ATC SCM50s. Both systems excellent - very musical, clear, and engaging
  • Dynaudio Confidence with Naim 500 series at 2019 Acoustica show - I remember listening to Trains by Porcupine Tree - it sounded so realistic, like a live band performance

Yes, that was it. As I replied before, a really nice place to be, with great staff.

Naim Supernait 3
Naim ND5 XS 2
Spendor D7.2

It was at an audio store. The Spendors sounded better than the B&W 804 D3 to me.

Oddly enough I don’t know anybody with a decent audio system.

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Having been involved in listening to and selling Naim equipment now for almost thirty years, I have heard my fair share of memorable systems. Working as we do from a customer service orientation, many of my favorite memories of hearing great sounding systems were in the context of setting up a system or an upgrade for a client and seeing how pleased they were by the results. Those are one large category of great listening experiences for me.

Asking which one had been my favorite is somewhat akin to asking a parent which of their children were their favorites. So, I’ll just say that anytime a client has been pleased, they have, in my mind, a great system.

One of my favorite examples of this style of great listening experience is now some years old; but it is still a fondly held memory for me. This client had a nice Naim system which he had owned for a few years, which at the time comprised an NDX, a NAC 282 and a NAP 200 power amp which fed a pair of the Wilson Sophia 3 speakers. He decided to add a turntable to his system, and after a process of auditioning and waiting for the products the client had selected to become available, we installed his new turntable and a few companion Naim upgrades, including a Hi-Cap DR for the pre-amp and a Superline phono stage for his new Spiral Groove SG 2 turntable. At the end of the set up process, I cautioned the customer that the Dynavector cartridge was brand new and would require some 50 hours in use before it would sound its best. Still, even with all of my lawyerly caveats, even the very first record he chose sounded great, and I knew he would have so much fun exploring the world of records and analog as his turntable got more use.

I went back to the client’s home just a few weeks later with Stirling Trayle, who was the sales manager from Spiral Groove at that time. Stirling is one of the most experienced turntable set up experts in the US; perhaps anywhere in the world. He spent no more than an hour adjusting the arm and the cartridge for optimal use, and at the conclusion of that process of careful set up, the turntable was so sublime that it immediately leapt into being among the very best sounding single source I had ever heard. Playing music I knew and loved, it was awe inspiring. Was this the best sound I have ever heard? Well, maybe; maybe not, but it was certainly very much on my wavelength, and dovetailed really well with many of my own listening preferences. And, to our great satisfaction, the client was delighted- he was grinning ear to ear that whole night.

Another type of experience I am more comfortable sharing with more explicit detail are the two times I was fortunate enough to hear Naim Statement systems. The first time I had this experience was in the context of an audio show in a hotel ballroom. The great team at the US Naim importer had put a great deal of time, money and people into being able to show the Statement in the NY area one year. They chose to partner the Naim electronics with large Focal speakers, which were entirely new to me. Between the room acoustics, the speakers, and the fact that I am almost entirely allergic to show conditions for listening, I was left impressed, but not seduced by the Statement amps.

A few years later the importer was able to make the necessary arrangements to bring a Statement system to our store, where we were able to set them up in a room I knew much better, and with the then top of the line Wilson XLF loudspeakers. This time I was awed and certainly seduced by the Statement electronics. Playing on what was David Wilson’s finest speaker in that era, they were utterly breathtaking. Years later, I still hear from customers who were there that weekend.

Certainly hearing them in a well treated room with better acoustics than a hotel ballroom was important. I was also able to hear far more of my favorite music this time than had been possible that first time I had heard them. Perhaps I was in a better mood? Was I more relaxed; certainly. Did we have longer to let the system warm up and reach it’s full potential? Maybe. Hearing a speaker I knew and were on my wavelength certainly helped as well. Whatever the magic formula, this combination of Naim’s fines amps and Wilson’s finest speakers were truly memorable.

Finally, I just add a brief note about another of my favorite listening experiences. Imagine a room full of people, and musicians waiting to go on stage, all hoping to share something special that night. The lights go down, and the audience applauds. The band tunes up, and you hear the first wisps of a chord; perhaps just a note is enough to let you know what they are going to play next. Jerry starts into Scarlet Begonias and his bandmates pick up on the cue; before you know it, thousands of people are lifted up out of their seats; dancing and smiling. May we all be able to share music in person with our favorite musicians again one day soon.

Good listening,

Bruce

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In a private house I heard a Statement with Unitiserve source with its own modified Naim power supply, NDS with 2x 555dr, full superlumina and Ovator 800 speakers. Very lifelike and great timing. The evening had been organised by the local Naim dealer. Lots of middle aged men were playing air guitar. A sight to behold.

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Nice one👍