Arcam alpha 7 to Naim 5 series (The demonstration)
Posted by: Geoff J on 31 March 2003
Firstly thanks to everyone who responded to my last post, I went for the demonstration on Saturday and thought I'd post the results.
I listened to the Nait 5 & CD5, Roksan Caspian CD & Amp, Cyrus CD7Q & Cyrus 8 amp. In the end I couldn't take my Mission 752 speakers but he set up the Mission 782. The speaker cable was not Naca5 (I'm not sure what it was).
I wasn't impressed with Cyrus so I forgot about that and went on to CD5/Nait 5 (which had been playing away before I got there) and Roksan Caspian's which were both impressive. In fact the Caspian's were a real surprise, I didn't think for a minute it would come close to Naim but in my view they did!! The Roksan sounded a little clearer than the Naim and timing seemed just a good. The Caspian's at only £1,250 seemed really good value .....if they weren't in the sale then they'd cost £1,900 which is obviously in a similar price bracket to the Nait5/CD5. In terms of build quality the CD5 was much better than the Roksan CD player ...the amplifiers both looked solid.
Out of interest I asked them to add a flatcap 2, once that was added it was all over for Roksan but then it's price goes up another £500+
I have 2 questions which I hope you can help with:
1. Does Naca 5 make a difference to such an extent that the Naim should have comfortably beat the Roksan?
2. (this may sound like a daft question, but I don't know the answer) My Mission 752 have 4 sockets on the back for bi-wiring, how do other people use Naca 5 on their non Naim speakers. Am I right in thinking Naim speakers only have 2 sockets at the back? Can Naim provide suitable jumper type connections?
Overall I'm really unsure what do, Naim has the build quality, good customer service and upgrade path but Roksan seems solidly built, excellent sound and is a bargain at the moment.
I'm going to hear the Linn & Rega this weekend but I'm quickly realising that choosing hifi isn't as easy as I'd thought (especially when it's your own hard earned cash) and I've got a headache weighing up the pro's and cons!!!
I listened to the Nait 5 & CD5, Roksan Caspian CD & Amp, Cyrus CD7Q & Cyrus 8 amp. In the end I couldn't take my Mission 752 speakers but he set up the Mission 782. The speaker cable was not Naca5 (I'm not sure what it was).
I wasn't impressed with Cyrus so I forgot about that and went on to CD5/Nait 5 (which had been playing away before I got there) and Roksan Caspian's which were both impressive. In fact the Caspian's were a real surprise, I didn't think for a minute it would come close to Naim but in my view they did!! The Roksan sounded a little clearer than the Naim and timing seemed just a good. The Caspian's at only £1,250 seemed really good value .....if they weren't in the sale then they'd cost £1,900 which is obviously in a similar price bracket to the Nait5/CD5. In terms of build quality the CD5 was much better than the Roksan CD player ...the amplifiers both looked solid.
Out of interest I asked them to add a flatcap 2, once that was added it was all over for Roksan but then it's price goes up another £500+
I have 2 questions which I hope you can help with:
1. Does Naca 5 make a difference to such an extent that the Naim should have comfortably beat the Roksan?
2. (this may sound like a daft question, but I don't know the answer) My Mission 752 have 4 sockets on the back for bi-wiring, how do other people use Naca 5 on their non Naim speakers. Am I right in thinking Naim speakers only have 2 sockets at the back? Can Naim provide suitable jumper type connections?
Overall I'm really unsure what do, Naim has the build quality, good customer service and upgrade path but Roksan seems solidly built, excellent sound and is a bargain at the moment.
I'm going to hear the Linn & Rega this weekend but I'm quickly realising that choosing hifi isn't as easy as I'd thought (especially when it's your own hard earned cash) and I've got a headache weighing up the pro's and cons!!!