Naim Haters, whats their problem?

quote:

I never knew that there were so many hater's of the Naim brand. It gets quite viscous a times.

Whizzkid,

As a relative new comer myself, I found it is very interesting as well.

Naim is lucky in that no other brand probably evokes such a strong reaction from endusers.

Not talked about is worse than talked about even negatively.

Congrats on your CDX and enjoy the ride.
It is one of my favourite player.

quote:

It gets quite viscous a times.

Could it be because they are a bit thick?

Nigel

quote:

Originally posted by hungryhalibut:
[QUOTE]It gets quite viscous a times.

Could it be because they are a bit thick?
____________________________________________________________________________________________________

Superb....

I think someone needs their eyes tested!


whizzzzz

quote:

Originally posted by Whizzkid:
Having just sold my Cd5i and Nait5i of 18months. I now have a CDx,102,180 with the CDx the most recent arrival.

I started with CDX/102/180, and have battled somewhat with harshness at louder volumes, and 'thin' sound. I've added XPS, Hicap, and NAPSC, which have tamed this somewhat, and am a lot happier.

Do you experience this with your CDX/102/180? I find it's on busy, rock type tracks. Coldplay seems particularly bad also...

Phil

Whizzkid said:

quote:

Naim Haters, whats their problem?

You could try asking them, but they probably won't be able to hear you

"Because being new to HiFi forums i don't know if is this subject has been done to death."

Welcome to the world of Hi-Fi forums then, whizzkid, and yes as a matter of fact you are correct, this subject has been done to death.

Naim-bashing happens on other forums too so it's not exclusive to PFM. At the end of the day, either you try to defend against the 'bashing', or you roll your eyes and go and do something else. Some of us have learnt, the hard way, which course of action to recommend.

Enjoy your stay.

Cheers,

Jon

quote:

Originally posted by Phil Cork:
Coldplay seems particularly bad also...

Phil

That's hardly Naim's fault.

Hi Phil

I've only had the present combo for a week so I can't really comment on your question until it fully settles down.

But with my old CD5i and the 102, 180 that wasn't a problem with most albums, a few did have those characteristics that you mention. My conclusion was that it was the recording that was the problem. I'll probably know for sure in a few weeks time, if that is so.

whizzzzz

Dear All,

As one who would not give house room to Naim gear, basically because Naim do not make valve amps , i find the absolute devotion to all things Naim interesting.

A friend has a very serious Naim system and it sounds fabulous, but does not do what i want.

So is my friend right and i wrong, or is it down to personal preference.

An interesting observation as his system has developed over the years it is increasingly coming round to my sound preferences.

So if Naim are changing the sound presentation to a more rounded sound i would presume that Naim have seen the light and have become less dogmatic.

Seriously they even now will be selling special cables!!!!!

For years Naim have said cables are not an issue , but now they are.

Fascinating.

This is what makes this hobby fun.

I love going round to friends houses and listening to their systems and to their muscal preferences.

This always costs money as i ALWAYS end up buying cd's as a result.

Last system i listened to was:

Oxford Acoustics ref t/t
SME V
Cartridge Maker cart ( blinding sound )
SONY SCD 777 ES
CAT pre
Krell KSA 250
Martin Logan CLS 3
Sexy cables mains cleaners racks etc etc

Sounded fantastic.

previous friends house

Had a full house NAIM

CDS3 555ps
555 pre
500 pwr
NBL's
Fraims
NAIM cables

again sounds fantastic,.

But completely different sound quality and presentation. But both great.

regards David

i will stick to valves and Horns

quote:

Originally posted by ROTF:

quote:

Originally posted by Phil Cork:
Coldplay seems particularly bad also...

Phil

That's hardly Naim's fault.

agreed, but its annoying that a potentially good album is mixed so terribly for radio etc...

I wish they'd do an HDCD 'unplugged' set!

Phil

I suspect much of the antiNaimian feeling is a reaction to, perhaps, too-energetic proselytising by some Naim/flat-earth proponents. The flat-earth/round-earth debate seems to have cooled recently though, with Yank tube lovers and fans of s.s. Brit-kit getting along like lions snuggling lambs.

A variety of causes:

Some Naim advocates are blinkered to the point of absurdity " Thou shalt worship no other hifi God...all else is crap" This inevitably creates a backlash.

Others perceive poor value for money " buy a £2800 CD player and then have to pay another £2500 pounds for a power supply to make it work properly?"

Some are jealous of the disposable income needed to 'join the club'

Some have a genuine preference for other brands and can't understand what the naim loyalty is all about.

And some think that they have seen the Emperor without any clothes on......

I had a close friend who is one of the preeminent importers of esoteric high end in the UK.

He pretty much stopped speaking to me because I was commited to a Naim path and in his eyes refused to open my mind. I never pushed it with him and if the subject ever came up it was always his enquiry as to whether I had moved on from the Flat Earth club (I haven't).

A US distributor for one of the most costly hi-end hifi kit quipped 'Very coloured' in disgust when I told him I have been using Naim products.

I was tempted to say 'well your stuff is one of the most boring, bland colourless, overpriced amusical POS. And further more you did't even realise speakers were out of phase at the last CES', but didn't.

I also have a good friend who refers my LP12 as a *relic*.

quote:

Originally posted by SpecCled Trout:
I had a close friend who is one of the preeminent importers of esoteric high end in the UK.

He pretty much stopped speaking to me because I was commited to a Naim path

That was one very strange 'friend' then.

Naim Audio products make music and the product make s it quite difficult to tinker with, and deviating from the Naim path generally ruins the results. Also it's no hifi porn to look at and was designed with mortals in mind.

This makes it near impossible for boffins to understand.

I myself am glad to have missed out on 'all that's great about hifi' as one Plinius owner once told me. His system sounded like crap to my WIFE who heard it and whispered to me 'it's not as good as ours is it'. I then told her what he'd spent on it.

Her reaction made it all worth while.

I think someone else in this thread said that their hating it makes the brand stronger (so something like that).

I couldn't agree more.
The more these twatheads crap on about Naim the more people hear about it - and there are plenty of people who'll buy it just to spite the guys who slag it!

some lissen to music some lissen to bass treble mid-range......some are deaf, some don't care,some don't know any better, some can't take a joke but few like being wronge....then they all figure it out one day and buy Naim.


Steve

quote:

Originally posted by hi fi fo fum:
some lissen to music some lissen to bass treble mid-range......some are deaf, some don't care,some don't know any better, some can't take a joke but few like being wronge....then they all figure it out one day and buy Naim.

oh brother..

Jealous I guess, or maybe just incipient dickheads, of whom there is one born every ten minutes and one dies every ten years.

The prices, especially here in the antipodes, are a source of moaning from some (including me on occasion) but in the end you can either afford the stuff or you cant. If you can stretch to the burndy level you're in for a real treat, if not there's plenty of good stuff lower in the range.

If the budget doesn't go that far there's always second hand and there I think lies a good indication of the integrity and values of the outfit; the longevity of the products and support back to day one where possible.

This forum often conveys bullheaded blind faith and allegiance to Naim think. I still prefer the sensuous musicality and liveness of Naim gear, though heretically, different speakers, wires and accessories. Naim is not the only truth in audio as so many dogmatic devotees would have the world believe, and it’s understandable that such ignorant pomposity elicits “haters”. The extreme Naim loyalists even tend to “hate” their own brand for its broad-minded positive evolution.

Tom

Naim Haters, whats their problem?

Who cares? I don't.
I have owned a LP12 for over 20 years, don't want a CD player,not even Naim, should I have said that.
Some individuals on this Forum slate the LP12 but it is ok if it has an Aro and Armeggedon. What's their problem?

IMO, don't worry about it and enjoy what you have

quote:

Originally posted by tre2fly:
The extreme Naim loyalists even tend to “hate” their own brand for its broad-minded positive evolution.
Tom

Oh yes, don't they just.

I think that men have a tendency to see a disagreement over taste or opinion as a direct attack on their worth and respond (in)appropriately.

Women do the same thing - in a weird way, personalising philosophy and make subjective what men attempt to promote as objective.

We are all nuts .........................

No we aren't.

Hi,

I went to see this bloke who had an active isobaric system driven by 3 x Nap250s. Each Nap250 had its own power conditioner. He had a hicap powering both the Nac82 and Naxo. He was unaware that the cables were directional , and one of the cables was a chinese made din-din. The isobarics wobbled when I touched them , and the racks.........

Anyway I suppose what I'm getting at is that this guy thought he was pretty smart in getting this Naim/Linn gear , but the way it was setup was really bad. Naim obviously dont have any control over peoples setups. I reckon that this is why some people dont like Naim. They hear it in non-ideal situations and it can sound really bad if it is not set up properly.

I think that setup is so important that if I hear of a diverging view to mine , I think that it's probably because it's based on the person hearing a system that hasnt been setup correctly.

I also think that the dealers ability to setup Naim equipment should be quantified more. The company I work for is undergoing a 6 sigma systems appraisal and development. The guy who is doing it is known as a 6 sigma black belt. He obviously went through all sorts of rigmarole in order to achieve this. I think that Naim could consider something like this.

Brendan