I would disagree with that, and so does Naim judging by what Steve said in the interview quoted above.
Nope I don’t see your point, so measurements matter to designers but are not relevant to the poor punter who is shelling out their hard earned.
How can this be?
Feed not thine Troll, BF…. 
Just to take a random example – about 150,00 Linn LP12s have been sold over the years. How many of those people care(d) about the measurements? A microscopically small number, I’ll wager.
And how many people willing to spend £20K on a NAC552 have looked at, or are even aware of, that wonderful amp’s specs or how it measures on the test bench? I certainly don’t, all I care about is how it makes my music sound, and I reckon those with enough cash to afford it think the same.
7 Likes
I have never been to a B&M audio dealer or demo, and seen anyone taking measurements…just people listening with their ears.
1 Like
So Naim or any other manufacturer would glean nothing from examining test results?
Thanks to all for your input, no matter how far it may have wandered from the first comment …
At this point it’s coming down to either an XS of any vintage & a Gen1 Supernait. Will be keeping the NAT05 no matter what… that’s done more to improve my home entertainment than about anything else.
Any XS or SN users care to chime in?
Speakers will remain the Monitor Audio SE 25th Anniversary, cables are 4m NAC5.
I upgraded a NAIT3 to a XS3. I recall when I had a 5 on loan that it was a decent uplift over the NAIT3, to my ears. By that logic I would go for the SN - ought to be a bigger jump.
Having said that, my XS3 sounds glorious 
Keep your eyes open though, a SN3 just went for new XS3 money on an auction site…
I was also going to post earlier in the thread, in sympathy to the thread title. I kept my NAIT 3 for close on 20 years, it became a familiar friend. On reflection it was a great amp. How come you’re thinking of moving on the 5 so soon? Sorry if I missed that!
…ah, DAC in a box, so it’s specifically the SN1 you’re after, sorry
Oh, I’ll be keeping the 5italic, it’s marvellous in all respects. Will displace the Cyrus in the office, which itself will move to my nieces’ apartment.
1 Like
They themselves seem to think they do, see the Steve Sells quote posted above. Why otherwise first optimise those before adjusting for sound? If they couldn’t they might as well skip that step and go straight to optimising for sound.
Let’s call it turntables instead of naming a specific model. Wow, flutter, rumble, cartridge compliance, arm mass, cartridge weight, cartridge/arm resonance, VTA/SRA, tracking weight, cartridge alignment, azimuth, input capacitance & input impedance (cartridge loading). Honestly can’t think of a HiFi component where people go on more about measurements.
Well, the example that started this whole discussion tells us plenty. It might not directly tell us how well it will sound, but will tell us its limitations, i.e. the Node 2i not being able to reach the SNR of a CD.
That doesn’t of course tell us that it won’t sound good with the quality it can reach, or that a device measuring better will also sound better to your ears, but it does tell us that when looking for a streamer/DAC to play high-res one perhaps should consider alternatives.
3 Likes
Er, not so fast … Let’s not … I think the LP12 was used precisely because it is an example of a (more or less) universally admired product, which has sold in respectable volumes despite its luxury range price bracket … acknowledged by most to sound good … and yet promoted without reference to any of the measurements and parameters you cite. Can’t speak for Kevster of course, just my take.
1 Like
Indeed @CrazyRiver – I chose the fruitbox precisely 1) because it is by far the biggest-selling high-end TT of all time; 2) Linn never sold it on specs or measurements.
5 Likes
Let’s do, because it was used as an example on how nobody cares about measurements, not specifically LP12 buyers. I don’t think it’s true (just search this forum for some of those terms), but let’s for a second assume LP12 buyers indeed don’t care, then I can also find a random example of an item where people do care, like NAC A5, but I don’t see how random examples help the discussion forward in any way.
If you’d like please respond to my explanation of why they matter at the bottom of that same post and explain why you think that doesn’t hold / such a measurement isn’t useful.
2 Likes
I’m fairly sure he said “LP12 Buyers” , and “a microscopically small number”. If that still seems unclear, why not ask Kevster to clarify his meaning (again).
1 Like
Lol, I bought mine cos it sounded better than any TT I’d heard at the time (admittedly not many!) A short fortnight’s hiccup with a Thorens - as I couldn’t really afford the LP12 - was enough. I found the extra £££ needed by the end of that fortnight
1 Like
Scroll back a few posts, the post you are referring to was already part way into the discussion. He also starts it with “Just to take a random example”, which would be a bit strange as an opening post.
1 Like
Scroll back a few posts and you will see the above.
1 Like
That’s from after the mail we were discussing. When I said scroll back, I meant chronologically back in time from the post under discussion…
Haha, whatever my friend.
2 Likes
Before Kevster had brought up the random LP12 example, he had written that “nobody” cares, when the discussion did not yet have anything to do with turntables. Clearly @n-lot is correct that many people do care, rightly or wrongly, including turntables - though maybe not LP12 buyers.