keep the LINN or get a NAIM


just wondering.....i have a linn pretek and powertek/pre power set up that i like....
a brother of a friend is selling his naim3 intergrated amp (to me cheap if i want it)---
i was wondering if the naim3 would be an upgrade to what i have already---i cant hear the amp as he lives on the other side of the u.s but its in mint condition????
i'd be running a pair of linn tukan speakers and a arcam alpha cd....
money is tight so i have to be carefull in my choices..
thanx
joolz
Hi, JoolzIf you're a fan of the British prim & proper philosophy, then the Naim is almost certain to please you. I've owned the Nait3R, which supposedly uses a superior potentiometer compared to the non-remote version, and found it to yield a rather esoteric sound. Good bass, nice mid-band and great demarcation of instruments and voices makes the Nait3 a prudent choice for the non-anglophobe audiophile. These virtues notwithstanding, I could listen to the Nait for no more than 30 minuets at a time before fatigue set in, but that's a symptom of most British gear, IMO.
fatigue! thats what i get with the system i have already--it sounds killer--but after playing rock for an hour i need to put on acoustic music or ambient--it feels like my ears are compressed--
how do u solve this! what kit is non fatigue for rock music????
thanx guys---
If you don't like listener's fatigue, then eschewing all things British from your system is necessary. Every country "voices" their audio components as a reflection of their cultural mores, and England is no exception. For a system that's conducive to long listening sessions, I would suggest looking into French-made products, ergo, Micromega, Audiomeca, Kora etc.