Naim amplifiers for new buyers

I hear many times an argument that Naim goes well only with Naim.
This claim confuses many new buyers who don’t have the money
for a full Naim system.

There is no problem to combine Naim amplifiers with non Naim source and speakers – and sure its true for the entry level, and there are members here who own expensive Naim gear combined with another manufacturer’s speakers.

When I first bought a Naim Nait2, I had a Thorens td 166, a QED amp
And AR39 speakers. It happened that I compared the QED to a Nait2 at the Naim dealer home – he had a Linn axis and IBL speakers.
There was no doubt about the Nait superiority upon the QED.
As new buyers are asking here, I was afraid that I’d not enjoy the unique performances of the Nait at my home. It was agreed (as it is always with Naim dealer) that I will be able to return the Nait after several days if I’ll not like it at home.
This was my entry to Naim. The Nait worked excellent with my equipment – and it brought to my home the famous Naim sound.

I bought an Arcam cdp, then a Mission cdp, I bought Rega EL8 speakers – all was great with the Nait.

One of my friends owns a Marants cdp, Rotel amp and KEF speakers. He doubted the Nait, especially because its low power compared to the Rotel. He thought that the power is a very important datum. I went to his house with the Nait2 .
When we plugged the Nait instead of his Rotel – he and his wife where shocked by the differences. It seemed that you replaced the all system. It is hard to describe the differences that the Nait brought to their system.

Another friend of mine (now he has a full Naim system too), had a
Pioneer cdp, Luxman amplifier, and speakers that I don’t remember the model. I thought he had some kind of problem with his speakers – and he also didn’t believe to the little boxes of Naim.
One Saturday, we took his speakers with the CDP to Naim dealer,
a Naim amplifier and the sound come much better although there was no doubt that the speakers are dead.

In another occasion, when my friend wanted to buy a new amplifier,
we went to a store to compare a Companion amp (I hope I pronounce it well) with an Arcam and a Nait3. The store wasn’t a Naim dealer and they were biased for the other two amplifiers.
They set the amps in a listening room.
Good interconnects were between the source and the amps – only for the Niat3 they didn’t have a good interconnect and they did it with a very cheap cable with a connector between the source and the amp to come from RCA to the Naim connector.

Although it seems to be a very unfair compare, the famous Naim sound appeared with no doubt, and the Naim sounded better than the others. At this time I was addicted to Naim, but it seemed like a wonder how the Naim character appears each time you play it.

The bottom line is that a new buyer can buy a Naim amplifier without
a fear that it will not work properly without a Naim source and speakers.

Arye