Radio- the ultimate convenience source

This begs a question - with the NAT 1, how do you compare the quality of the FM broadcast vis a vi a typical CD or LP source in your system? I have never had the pleasure of listening to a NAT 1. I suppose it is directly related to the equipment used by the broadcaster, etc.

Erik

Erik,

I just noticed you live in SoCal. I drool at the thought of listening to KCRW thru a NAT.

The 01 doesn't and can't quite compare to the CDSII in my system - you can hear a perceptible "downshift" loss in sound quality when you do the switch from tuner to player, but then again we have to be fair - the formats are totally different... You'll need good aerial for the 01, and in this respect, mine is far from ideal.

Still even with less than ideal aerial, I will always remember the first day I hooked the 01 up to the system - it sounded absolutely remarkable - and a thought crossed the mind :"I didn't know a tuner could sound like this... so real." The DJ's voice was palpable via the SBLs: sounding clear, full and warm. On further listening it became apparent that the tuner was also made in the very same vein as its "CD player-breathren", in terms of musicality. Needless to say, here in Singapore the classical station takes the honours in transmission quality, although I've heard it still can't quite compare to those you get from the UK or the States!

Good listening; the music's still groovin'.

Philip

naimniac for life

as far as i rembember the reason for good tuner is to listen to live broadcasts or tape broadcasts. and of course you have another highlighted green logo.

The word is that reserves of the NAT01 are down to single figures.

BD, I listen to wfuv also. It is by far my favorite station. It is fantastic. I have been introduced to so many new artists since I have listened to this station. My 01 is at NANA for repairs. I miss it dearly. Looking forward to its return. david.

Waiting for my (paid) NAT 01 since two weeks now. As I suggested earlier, I suppose that if this was due to a replacement of tuners in the near future, Naim would have the integrity of telling us. Not heard from them since my last message on the subject, so suppose all is ok?

Very interesting discussion. I recently hauled out my ancient NAD 4020A tuner, had the power switch fixed, and hooked it up to my 52 via a 12 ft. RCA to DIN connecter. Antenna is a rather good Magnum Dynalab. The setup is hardly ideal, but I was astonished at how good the tuner often sounds. With taped classical broadcasts, this ancient gizmo actually competes on level ground with my CDS2. I don't even want to think about what an NAT 01 would do - or at least, I don't want to think about spending the money.

Excellent tuner in my book also Don. It was the only tuner back in the early eighties I would have given up my ancient AR FM Tuner for. Never heard the legendary Marantz 7b(?),Quad FM or Dynaco, or Naim units in those days.

If these old NADs are servicable, they might be a sleeper on the cheap!!

regards,

dave

Thanks for the validation, Dave. You probably saved me a lot of money

quote:

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Originally posted by Mike Sae:
I just noticed you live in SoCal. I drool at the thought of listening to KCRW thru a NAT.

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Jeez - KCRW even sounds good on my wife's Honda Civic factory stereo. I never considered what a NAT might do to the enjoyment of this station ...

You are an evil person for making me aware of this interesting observation.

Erik

"You probably saved me a lot of money"

Yeah but that soft amber backlit dial ain't a rotating green drum;)

Keep that 4020a warmed-up and give us a progress report...I'm curious about this old favorite.

regards,

dave

I'll try, Dave. The setup for the NAD 4020A is hardly optimal. All my other gear is on Mana, but the tuner sits on the side of the brick fireplace hearth, halfway across the room. (As I said, the interconnect is lllooong.) Also, the tuner is plugged into the wall while the other gear is on a dedicated circuit and plugged into a Wiremold bar. I'm sure the tuner could sound much better, but it's still damned good.

Hi Don,

I take it you can't even place the tuner near the other gear (even NAD on the floor) so as to take advantage of the Wiremold? Would be interesting to see what happens on Mana (thinking about JW's experience with placing his NAT on Mana).

regards,

dave

P.S. how long has the NAD been warmed-up?

Dave, I turn it off every time because one of my wife's dolls sits on top of it and I'm afraid of setting the house on fire. We're talking disguise here, not setup. The rest of my gear is hidden behind a lace screen and NEVER gets turned off. Before anybody starts, I'll state clearly that I don't wear lace, I just have to look at it.

Can't blame you....safety first (from a guy who snipped the AC plug of his wiremold and soldered the wiremold cord direct to the house wiring;). If it's sounding that good,I'd try and find some more room behind that screen. (I'm sure the wheels have been turning long before you posted here tonight)

dave

I run an old Hitachi FT5500 MK2. Unfortunately it is still with a ribbon aerial untill I get to connect it to the FM one on the roof. Even with a poor signal the results are pretty good. The potential is there. Now to get a reel of good coax, scramble around the loft, outside the house, over the extension, through the wall, termonate the cable and away we go!!!

Milan

A god outside antenna certainly made a major difference to my £100 Marantz ST48. It is not as good as my friends NAT of course, but for the money does an excellent job especially on BBC Radio 3/4 and Jazz FM. Most of the other UK stations seem to be pumping out crud anyway and gawd only knows what they do to make it sound so bad (compression?).
IMHO its not worth spending megabucks on a tuner when most available sources are so poor - perhaps its better in the US.

David

david,

IMHO its not worth spending megabucks on a tuner when most available sources are so poor - perhaps its better in the US.

i agree. recently, i bought an old old creek T40, and its very good for the money i paid (£95). but its no naim.

when you spend a little more, stations that are good become very good indeed. the ones that are bad, well, what can we do?

i have a NAT02, which has been running trouble free, for a long long time. i have been tempted to upgrade to NAT01, but really cant see the point - when the 02 is so good.

i listen to radio much much more than any other source, mostly Jazz FM, sometimes Classic FM.

enjoy

ken

I'm not sure I ever thought of a tuner as a direct alternative to a CD player or a turntable. To me, the reason for any software playback source is the software. So, in my case, as it seems for many, I had a far better LP player than a CD player, and it reflected my collection, which was once exclusively vinyl. Once I wanted to start collecting CD's, which in my case only came when the music I wanted was no longer available on LP, I looked into CD players. I started out slowly, and it has only been in the last few years that I have enjoyed CD's enough to feel that I would benifit from having a good player. With radio, there is no software. When I was in school I used to love to listen to the radio to expand my musical horizens beyond my own collection, and beyond the music I already knew. That aspect of the radio as a source for introducing people to music that is not already ubiquitous is something I treasure, and it is somewhat in decline in terms of US radio programming, at least compared to the 70's when FM rock radio was far less driven by the advertising pollsters, and DJ's and program directors had great discretion in shaping their playlists. Today I listen to very little "rock" music on the radio, but do enjoy the jazz, folk and classical worlds, which still, miraculously survive, at least in New York.

So, for me, the great thing about radio is that it can open so many doors musically. I would also have to confess that part of the reason I decided upon the 01 was that it was easiest reference source to afford. Having lived with an OK sounding Denon analogue tuner for years, I knew I liked radio, what the Naim offers is an infinitely more natural sounding way to enjoy the radio. On the few occassions when I have played an LP or a CD of something I have heard on the radio, I have typically felt that my home source components outperformed the radio, but that is sort of besides the point,at least with my goals. I would also underscore the point someone made earlier in this thread that live radio feeds are the most stellar example of radio sound. I have really enjoyed Dr. Billy Taylor's "Jazz From the Kennedy Center" series, Branford Marsalis's Jazz series, John Schaffer's "New Sounds Live" series, "Mountain Stage", and a huge variety of Vin Scelsa's guests in the studio on his brillant "Idiot's Delight." Classical fans have even more to choose from.

Happy hunting...

Hi bdnyc,

"So, for me, the great thing about radio is that it can open so many doors musically."

One of the biggest things I miss about FM as a source. The ultimate resource for new or old music (excepting the www maybe).

Looks like you are a NPR fan as well. NPR is the other reason for getting a tuner back in my life.

regards,

dave

Dave, you made me feel guilty about the NAD setup, so I got an extension cord and plugged it into the Wiremold. Also let it warm up all night. The difference is noticeable - quieter background, fuller sound.

Alright! Not to make you feel guilty.... are you sure you can't ditch that extension cord thing?;)

have fun,

dave

I do a lot of travelling across North America for work these days and I can tell you that most of the American and Canadian FM stations sound crap as well.

The main exceptions are National Public Radio (NPR) affiliates in the US and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC Radio 1 and 2). Although Clasical in their roots, these networks now typically play a very wide range of musical genres, albeit in a program by genre format (works for me as one can plan when to listen much like with television programming).

Typically fine arts oriented stations use much less, if any, compression (relying mostly upon limiters to keep their overall broadcast signal levels in check) and as a result have that 'hi-fi' sound vs. the typical rock/alternative/rap stations quest for a 'louder' average sound by squeezing the shite out of the tunes.

It makes me laugh when these 'popular' stations boast about their output power as though it is related to their quality of sound. They just don't get it, nor do their marketing department suits that believe that being perceived as louder relative to the other stations across the dial is as important as content.

No wonder that the next generation is so easily satisfied with the shite MP3 noise that they rip off from the 'artists' that they hold so dearly to their hearts. Another contradiction that has some disturbing moral undertones.

I am old enough to remember when even rock stations had a great sound. As a teenager I had the use of a huge tower mounted antenna that was pointed directly at Detroit, Michigan. With stations like WRIF (BABY!) sounding better than most of the crap that passed as turntables in those days, it was a wonderful source.

Thinking back, I can still see the rich blue glow eminating from the dial of my fathers Pioneer receiver as it rocked the house.

Have a great FM weekend (assuming you can find some of course),

Craig
Born to be wild, but compressed to death

Dave:

quote:

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are you sure you can't ditch that extension cord thing?;)

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I could, but my wife would ditch me. I'm assuming - and my ears tell me - that the horrors of the extension cord are more than offset by power for the NAD coming from the Wiremold with its dedicated circuit.