Novotel Hi-Fi Show

jim...............

My guess is the pre-amp will appear at the Nova Hotel this September circa £15K

I am still convinced it is imminent, but clearly not this week end.

Looking back through that April thread, most members seemed to think it was unecessary to surpass the 52 (and also that it was impossible). I don't share this view.

I also recon a better cd player than the cdsii is under development, again to match (sonically) the 500. Launch date? this time next year

Cheers

Don

It's always a nice day for it, have a good one
Steve

I thought the Allaes sounded really good but then my i-Mac speakers would sound really good on the end of a CDS2/52/500. All in all, I thought the most music, boogy and fun was coming from the Naim room. Doug had plainly been cuffed Yes-wise.

All the rooms were acoustically crap, some just crapper than others, so it was a fairly level playing field. Also, how many of our own listening rooms are equally bad or worse?

One of the best sounds was coming from a small cupboard containing a Wilson Benesch TT, Lamm valve amps and Wilson Benesch Discoveries. I am certain the Discoveries are fabulous speakers. The newly released Arc may also be the business but they didn't sound great in the WB room. I am always hunting for the perfect near field monitor to replace my N805 and AE1 experiments. Wilson Benesch could be the answer.

Extraordinary noises were coming from Chord electronics (Total Bollinger Room). Amps so revealing that everything they played sounded incredible, usually incredibly nasty. It certainly wasn't music as I know it. I guess Krells sound much the same but I wasn't going to apply for a ticket to find out.

I also quickly entered and even more quickly exited rooms occupied by Sony SACD and various surround noise systems.

Despite all the evidence of the vinyl revival Linn (Piat d'Or Room) looked blankly when I asked about the LP12. I don't think the guy I asked knew what it was. The speakers they had would win any ugly contest hands down; and they sounded almost as bad as they looked.

Had a quick look at the Moth. It may clean records but a small nesting box in the back garden is better contructed.

There was an awful lot of cable competing for the 'Most Lurid, Least Lucid' prize.

I also noted that virtually anything expensive was sitting on Base.

Managed to escape unrecognised. Just said a big thank-you to Mark Ragget for answering my inane questions so politely.

Alex

I think it's a sport for trainspotters and other anorak types

The best bit was re-affirming why I buy Naim kit, they were easily the best room at the show, and the Allae's sounded superb, refined, and some suprisingly good low-end. Mind you, as Alex says, I'd expect most things to sound pretty good with the kit upfront. Bearing in mind my barbie perception I wasn't expecting much and was expecting disappointment.

Love the 'Fraim' AV stands too - a show one-off, or a new product? Since I can't afford it, I didn't ask!

Linn have definitely lost the plot, their equipment has a lot of physical appeal (in terms of size, Komri ugly bugger things excepted), but frankly I heard better tunes in the JVC consumer electronics room!

REL subwoofers impressed me too, an obviously enthusiastic staff, coupled with some very musical bass lines, that integrated well into the rest of the system (whatever it was). Very Naim like - ('we don't use any of those awful switch-mode supplies here') just VERY big transformers.

The only other places I spent any time was the neat acouctics stall, a bit 'in your face' but musical nonetheless, and Creek / Epos, which I thought was pretty good for a relatively inexpensive system.

Loricraft (the Garrard people) were a very enthusiatic, lucid and talkative bunch, I was very impressed with the record cleaner they displayed. Keep giving them your business Mick, they deserve it.

As for cables, many of these companies must be pissing their pants all the way to the bank. I wonder if you gave the average punter £1000 to spend on a single cable, some hardware, or a load of CD's / records what the would do.

Mad, the lot of them

Now, where did I put that cable business plan.....

Andy.

Spot on Andy. Have you ordered your Naim anorak yet? Good value, AFAIK. Me?, i'm waiting for the Whick? report before I buy mine (the anorak - not the hifi)

Cheers

Don

I think Naim should issue one free, to each member of the Forum that turns up on Sunday and identifies him/her self.

Those pockets look like they could hold a dozen brochures each.

Trouble is, the arms don't look long enough for most of us. The back of my hands seem to drag along the floor as I walk around at hifi shows.

Cheers

Don

As for the Fraim, I was expecting it to look wonderful after some of the comments made on the forum. Well, it doesn't look bad, but it's hardly a design masterpiece. The grain on the black wood and the metallic coloured edges particularly struck me as rather cheap looking. I hope it sound better than it looks.

Kevin

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Well having lost my HiFi show virginity, I'm wondering what all the fuss is about

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Andy

Who told you they were good? When I go to Bristol (and it's better than London) I only go for the piss-up.

Brian

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As I said elsewhere though, it is hardly likely to win any new Naim devotees since most of the connections are DIN style

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I only saw a couple of DIN's alongside a shedload of phono's.

It's preposterous!

Disgusted,
(somewhere near Tunbridge Wells)

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Wear ear-plugs. Might sound daft; but the SPL's in the tube can be quite high. Arrive with fresh ears.

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Don't bother, you'd need more than fresh ears to make most of it listenable. Mind altering chemicals maybe (beer)

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Had a quick look at the Moth. It may clean records but a small nesting box in the back garden is better contructed.

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Didn't look in detail, but part of the appeal is that you can build the enclosure yourself - and it's cheap.

I'm sure Alex you could make a box to be proud of.

Lovely as it was I'm not likely to spend £1000 on a Loricraft or similar, the Moth at £225 looks like a possibility - anyone got one?

Andy.

One noticable thing this year is that Saturday was very quite, last year you couldn't move for all the arron sweaters and BO, and this year empty. The dealers I later learned are not at all happy with the Hi Fi mags promotion of the gig, and plus it was at the Novetel again, reffered to as a horrible hotel, must say I preferred it down on the heathrow run, and as the above says Bristol.

Crap all in all. Naim were good of course

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I only saw a couple of DIN's alongside a shedload of phono's.
It's preposterous!
Disgusted,

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Last time I looked there were more DIN ins and outs than phono (particularly with respect to analog). There's three DIN inputs and three phono.
That's enough DINS to cover Naim source components. Also The Analog outputs are almost all DIN...

[This message was edited by Chris West NANA on SUNDAY 16 September 2001 at 13:42.]

[This message was edited by Chris West NANA on SUNDAY 16 September 2001 at 14:29.]

Cheers

Chris

I think they drew my attention away from the DIN's

Not disgusted anymore!

Andy.

There should be no problem using the AV2 in a non-Naim system, provided you've got the DIN-to RCA output interconnects.

DIN inputs 1 & 2: Versatile inputs; can be used as two standard DIN inputs (i.e., CD + tuner), or can be ganged together for 7.1 channel analog inputs (SACD, DVD-A, etc.) from an appropriate source (these can be configured to bypass the digitizing circuitry entirely).

DIN input 3: standard input + output (connect your two-channel Naim preamp here)

Inputs 4/5/6: standard inputs on RCA phono connections (i.e., VCR, other sources, etc.)

Record out: used to pass analogue input signals to tape deck or other devices in a fashion similar to DIN input/output 3.

There is also a subwoofer out on a single RCA phono jack, digital ins and outs on both coaxial SPDIF and Toslink (AC-3, PCM, MPEG, DTS).

The rear outs are for DTS-ES and Dolby Digital 7.1 formats; the surround outs would connect directly to a stereo Naim amplifier or to a NAPV 175 (or non-Naim amplifier). The DIN socket for center channel out connects to a second DIN on the NAPV 175.

This picture of one of two prototype units was taken en route to DTS and/or Dolby Labs for licensing testing.

Dave Dever, NANA

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Originally posted by Alex S.:
I thought the Allaes sounded really good but then my i-Mac speakers would sound really good on the end of a CDS2/52/500.

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Alex,

the Allaes sounded really good on the end of the big system.

The NBLs & DBLs (on NAP500s) in previous years have been good, but not quite right, and I suspect that room is particularly difficult - probably because of lots of bare walls. Bristol was a much better sound.

This is thus a particularly auspicious start for the Allaes, IMO. Sounded better than just about everything else at the show.

ATC & Proac were good.

Went into the Neat room twice - Roksan playing both times. First time they were playing Beatles on the Ultimatums, and (sitting in the front row) this just showed up all the colourations & distortions of such an old recording.

Second time the smaller Vito (??) were on, playing Yello. Sounded good, but a bit brash. I wondered if this was the character of the turntable or the 'FRAIM-alike' equipment stands.

Anyone else hear this?

cheers, Martin

P.S.

Chord - urgh! Had to leave the room to avoid laughing out loud.

Linn room, Komri's (£20K+?) on four stereo Klimaxes (£30K+) and CD12 (£12K). My God - what are these people on? It wasn't as downright ghastly as the Chord room, but there was no life, no grip, no dynamics. The Absolute Sounds Krell demo was much better than this.

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Proac were good

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The trouble with Proac was they were playing Dire Straights so I had to leave.

Allan

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Went into the Neat room twice - Roksan playing both times. First time they were playing Beatles on the Ultimatums, and (sitting in the front row) this just showed up all the colourations & distortions of such an old recording.

Second time the smaller Vito (??) were on, playing Yello. Sounded good, but a bit brash. I wondered if this was the character of the turntable or the 'FRAIM-alike' equipment stands.

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Martin,

When I first got into the room they were playing Kraftwerk on CD (CDSII?), but changed after this to a Thomas Dolby track on vinyl.

The vinyl lost it both rythmically and tonally. With CD it was a bit bright and forward for my tastes, but was essentially musical, but the Roksan just made things worse, and lost a lot of cohesion.

Andy.

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Originally posted by Andrew L. Weekes:
The vinyl lost it both rythmically and tonally. With CD it was a bit bright and forward for my tastes, but was essentially musical, but the Roksan just made things worse, and lost a lot of cohesion.

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Yup, this sounds like what I heard.

cheers, Martin