Naim Audio - Threat or menace?


I spent an hour or so this past weekend at Promusica in Chicago. I had a great time listening to some entry level Naim gear on some Sonus Fabor Cremona's. It was great to listen to some of Ken Christiansen's recordings and talk to him about Naim gear. For those of you who don't know, Ken records for the Naim audio label in addition to selling Naim gear out of Promusica. Ken's recordings are fantastic, using two microphone direct to two track Nagra tape. They really seem to capture the dynamics of the live performance. They sounded fantastic on the Naim gear as well.

I am a newbie to Naim audio but not to hi-fi. I have recently sold off my electronics (BAT, Theta) for financial/logistical resasons and am looking to start a new. I have been reading too much about BAT, Rowland, Musical Fidelity, VAC, Unison and Ayre gear. My preliminary scanning of the online reviews suggests that Naim gear is polarizing (people either love or hate). I haven't however found a good discussion of why.

So anyone out there who has an opinion on Naim gear...house sound, relative value or anything else is welcome to pipe in. If you have had a negative experience with Naim and have an alternative suggestion, feel free to emote.

Statements like component X "blows away" Naim X are generally not useful to me. I know I have to listen to the gear in my house, on my speakers...

The new gear will be powering North Creek Rhythm Revelator Signature speakers. I listen mainly to CD, rock and jazz. My room is acoustically treated but my electricity is not.

Thanks in advance.

-Karl
128x128karl_desch

Showing 1 response by hoggshead

As others have said, Naim is great gear. Some become fanatical about the gear; claimimg nothing else is good. Like all audio gear it has its pro's and con's. Since I have an all Naim system, here's my take:

Pro's: Great bass; excellent instrumental timbres; punchy with excellent dynamics; clear articulate midrange; provides for great involvement in the music; the CDP's are the best part of the product line, if a power supply is added; no tweaking with cables needed as Naim has done it for you; resale value is excellent; if you listen principally to rock, acoustic and/or jazz, it's hard to better Naim.

Con's: expensive and the upgrade path is really expensive; most Naim gear needs the Naim power supplies to sound its best which are expensive; the sound stage is flat; the treble is slightly rolled-off compared to other ss amps and preamps; Naim is nearly the antithesis of tubes, it's not warm, bloomy or very smooth sounding; if you're an inveterate tweeker you may not like Naim, as it does'nt require very much; the loudspeakers aren't nearly as good as the electronics.

Jim