I actually demoed the Naim series 5 today (amp, preamp, and cdp with a pair of triangle speakers). It was very involving and I loved the sound in a toe-tapping way with good air around instruments and a pace that never slowed down as the music became chaotic. However, with choral, classical and space music it sounded unemotional and sterile in the midrange, very uninvolving in this respect. For comparison I listened to a Sim Audio Moon I-5 and it was richer in the midrange and almost there in the toe-tapping sense, but it certainly wasn't the Naim toe-tapping I felt earlier. It handled the choral and classical music in a very involving way and the soundstage was much wider than Naim, which seem closed in (but alive within its confines). For 30 minutes a day (or more) I would love the Naim. For all-day listening I think I would prefer something like the I-5. Though I also love the Naim industrial design and found the I-5 to be a little weird in this regard.
I see what Egoss mean though. Some systems (I remember hearing a Cary SET integrated that I thought was causing Lyle Lovett to fall asleep on the CD) don't involve the listener or are too analytical and detailed. But I also think that sometimes I want my music to sound live and sometimes I don't.
It sure is tough to choose components when your music tastes run so wide and so many styles of audio output appeal to you. Can't I just have it all?
I see what Egoss mean though. Some systems (I remember hearing a Cary SET integrated that I thought was causing Lyle Lovett to fall asleep on the CD) don't involve the listener or are too analytical and detailed. But I also think that sometimes I want my music to sound live and sometimes I don't.
It sure is tough to choose components when your music tastes run so wide and so many styles of audio output appeal to you. Can't I just have it all?