Whither Naim?

Posted by: Alex S. on 24 February 2002

I have the utmost respect for Naim as a company, its products and its people, so what follows is not a critisism but an observation from a personal perspective.

I think this is the year that Naim left me behind. At Bristol I noticed the signs of a very sensible two pronged attack in two areas were I have no great interest: AV and 'High End'.

A centre channel, a sub to follow, a newish processor, all this speaks for itself and will bring Naim a great deal of success. At 5 Series level it will tempt many away from Arcam and below. It will look impressive, sound impressive and be a veritable lifestyle statement. It interests me not one jot.

The 500 and 552 interest me more. I note the following: 1. No upgrade path from previous products, 2. Casework that does not look like Mr Tibbs did it (who spotted the Supercap in the AV room, it looked sad, but was no doubt doing wonders for the sound), 3. Big price tags, 4. All the Naim dynamics, pace and timing with added hi-fi - much more space around instruments, depth, soundstaging, blah, blah. This looks very obviously to me like a head-on attempt to fight Krell, Levinson et al on their home turf. Good Luck! But I have neither the inclination nor the wallet to jump on board.

As I say, this is just a personal feeling. I'm sure many of you will disagree, and if I win the lottery I might sign up again, although I suspect that any future changes of mine would involve valves.

I hope here to start a debate rather than an argument.

Alex

Posted on: 01 March 2002 by ken c

quote:
Originally posted by Andrew L. Weekes:
I like Christy Moore, I've been listening to 'Smoke and Strong Whiskey' tonight (admittedly with a glass of Wychwood 'Hobgoblin' in hand rather than the black stuff.
Don't forget your shovel...
Andy.

ahh... you are forgiven!! laphroaig {sp?) also goes down well with CM's 'Smoke and Strong Whiskey'...

enjoy

ken

Posted on: 01 March 2002 by Mark Dunn

Hi all:

Ken c wrote:

>ha ha ha, i have tried that one. the pipe just
>decided it had had enough and simply bent...

Ken, you can buy earth rods (here in the US at least) from Radio Shack/Tandy. They come in 4' or 8' lengths and are made of steel with a copper coating. They have a 'Mr. Pointy' end. Just make sure you're not trying to have it penetrate the concrete slab your house may be sitting on.

Best Regards,
Mark Dunn

Posted on: 02 March 2002 by Martin Payne

quote:
Originally posted by Mark Dunn:
Ken, you can buy earth rods (here in the US at least) from Radio Shack/Tandy. They come in 4' or 8' lengths and are made of steel with a copper coating.

Mark,

these are what I used for my earth rod.

I later found that solid copper rods are also available. Apparently the price fluctuates with the going rate (per lb) on the international copper market!

cheers, Martin

Posted on: 02 March 2002 by bam

Use your heads, chaps. Remember copper corrodes and its conductivity will be compromised as a result. Two guidelines:
1) Use a non-corroding material, like gold.
2) Never buy anything from Radio Shack under any circumstances and if you have accidentally done so in the past then never ever admit to it.

BAM

Posted on: 02 March 2002 by ken c

Use your heads,

hmmm... no way, i ain't using my head to ram the earth rod in??

mark dunn, many thanks -- i tried to use copper piping as it was rather cheaper. but in this case, as bam warns, impedance to earth may/will rise as the copper corrodes. looks like one might have to upgrade ones rod every year!!!

gold earth rod?? now there's a thought...

enjoy

ken

Posted on: 02 March 2002 by Mark Dunn

bam wrote:

>2) Never buy anything from Radio Shack under any >circumstances and if you have accidentally done
>so in the past then never ever admit to it.

Bugger! This wont affect my FEP score, will it?

Best Regards,
Mark Dunnn

Posted on: 02 March 2002 by Andrew L. Weekes

Gary Moore's fine with me too - I'm a secret air guitarist at heart

Andy.