Naim N-vi - Newbie questions
Posted by: roddavies on 03 June 2006
Hi everyone, first post here so be kind....
I am about to move home and want to upgrade my cinema/music system. The house I am moving to is a small-ish cottage in which there is only one room 20 x 10ft available for hifi & cinema
. I would have thought that a n-vi would suit my needs entirely, I have long been an admirer of Naim goods but have never shelled out.. I have two questions - In the property the lcd display will have to go above the fireplace, which is centered on the shortest wall. I have a pair of PMC TB2s for the front and DB1s for the rear, my problem is that I will not be able (without cutting big holes in the brickwork/chimney) to have a centre speaker. Would the N-vi work in phantom mode well?? Also would the naim suit the pmc speakers I already own?
Finally, I would want to be able to have a video feed to an upstairs bedroom, does the nvi let you do this (at line level) without the downstairs system playing?
Many thanks, Rod
I am about to move home and want to upgrade my cinema/music system. The house I am moving to is a small-ish cottage in which there is only one room 20 x 10ft available for hifi & cinema
. I would have thought that a n-vi would suit my needs entirely, I have long been an admirer of Naim goods but have never shelled out.. I have two questions - In the property the lcd display will have to go above the fireplace, which is centered on the shortest wall. I have a pair of PMC TB2s for the front and DB1s for the rear, my problem is that I will not be able (without cutting big holes in the brickwork/chimney) to have a centre speaker. Would the N-vi work in phantom mode well?? Also would the naim suit the pmc speakers I already own?Finally, I would want to be able to have a video feed to an upstairs bedroom, does the nvi let you do this (at line level) without the downstairs system playing?
Many thanks, Rod
hmmmm....
To part 1...
Yes you can effectively engage a "phantom" mode with the n-Vi or anything else that does a similar job... but frankly I wouldn't.
Many years of listening the 5.1 at home has proven the centre channel to be critical.
In my humble opinion you'd be better off listening to movies in 2 channel than in 4.0 (you don't mention a sub, so am guessing there won't be one).
Part 2, from borrowing a dealer's n-Vi I know that it does output stereo at line level from the scart at the same time as feeding progressive scan pictures through DVI or Component. Technically you could run a ruddy great long scart lead to a 2nd room I suppose....
However, it'd still be "playing" downstairs, you'd just be muting it and leaving the screen off.... not to mention that you won't be in "line of sight" to control it
If it was me I'd buy a cheap but good 2nd dvd player for upstairs.
I don't know your PMCs so couldn't comment on that.... but I reckon for the money of an n-Vi you might be better off spending a couple of quid more on a DVD5/NAIT5i combo for good 2 channel movie sound, exquisite cd playback (for a dvd player) and a corking picture.
That's what I'd do in that room
Hope that helps...
Mike
To part 1...
Yes you can effectively engage a "phantom" mode with the n-Vi or anything else that does a similar job... but frankly I wouldn't.
Many years of listening the 5.1 at home has proven the centre channel to be critical.
In my humble opinion you'd be better off listening to movies in 2 channel than in 4.0 (you don't mention a sub, so am guessing there won't be one).
Part 2, from borrowing a dealer's n-Vi I know that it does output stereo at line level from the scart at the same time as feeding progressive scan pictures through DVI or Component. Technically you could run a ruddy great long scart lead to a 2nd room I suppose....
However, it'd still be "playing" downstairs, you'd just be muting it and leaving the screen off.... not to mention that you won't be in "line of sight" to control it
If it was me I'd buy a cheap but good 2nd dvd player for upstairs.
I don't know your PMCs so couldn't comment on that.... but I reckon for the money of an n-Vi you might be better off spending a couple of quid more on a DVD5/NAIT5i combo for good 2 channel movie sound, exquisite cd playback (for a dvd player) and a corking picture.
That's what I'd do in that room
Hope that helps...
Mike
Rod, got no reason to doubt that the n-Vi should do a good job of phantom mode, but the question is more a case of will you get on ok with phantom mode, regardless of how good the kit is.
Why not disconnect your centre and try it out with your current kit?
No reason to assume that the difference in performance should be massively more (or less) than an n-Vi running the same kit in both modes
If you can live with it on your current gear then it'll be worth going to your dealer and asking for an n-Vi dem on a similar setup.
Cheers
Mike
Why not disconnect your centre and try it out with your current kit?
No reason to assume that the difference in performance should be massively more (or less) than an n-Vi running the same kit in both modes
If you can live with it on your current gear then it'll be worth going to your dealer and asking for an n-Vi dem on a similar setup.
Cheers
Mike