The Frightful Stake
Posted by: Philip Pang on 27 September 2002
On the kind invitation of my dealer, I popped by the showroom yesterday for a listen to the "humble" Nait 5, alternating with the formidable 52/SC/135s. This was after a long hiatus from the audio scene, so tinged with scepticism (since we were talking about MY 52/135s) there were no expectations.
Speakers :4 ohm Snell floorstanders (Allaes somewhere else, but we wanted just to start with the basic of configurations without making things too biased)
Source : turntable (don't know which, sorry - ain't a record player. Cartridge: apparently cost a mere 100 odd dollars.)
Equipment stands :Particular, but with Isobase glass shelves instead of the stock Particular platforms.
Foregone conclusion?
Dropped jaw rather.
The Nait 5 is transcendingly frightful, any way you view it : in the context of its price performance ratio, or more alarmingly, in the company of 52/135s...
Naim have now increased the stakes so far up the sonic ladder with this latest iteration of its "baby" integrated. But "baby" it is NOT. It's not a "simple, humble" integrated but an extremely serious piece of kit, only "played down" by virtue of its place within the Naim hierarchy (neither were the previous Naits but to be brutally honest I've never been quite convinced about the sonics as a total package, though they communicated the music very well in typical Naim fashion).
As a Naim owner very used to the higher-end Naim sonics, I would live very happily with a Nait5.
Thanks to Vik from Absolute Sound Singapore for the very positive, if thoroughly frightening audition.
Naim are positively even further ahead of the pack than ever expected, with the "humble" 5 series.
Imagine a 552/500/CDS3/SL2s in active mode.
Good listening all, the music's groovin' frightfully more.
Philip
naimniac for life
[This message was edited by Philip Pang on FRIDAY 27 September 2002 at 10:27.]
Speakers :4 ohm Snell floorstanders (Allaes somewhere else, but we wanted just to start with the basic of configurations without making things too biased)
Source : turntable (don't know which, sorry - ain't a record player. Cartridge: apparently cost a mere 100 odd dollars.)
Equipment stands :Particular, but with Isobase glass shelves instead of the stock Particular platforms.
Foregone conclusion?
Dropped jaw rather.
The Nait 5 is transcendingly frightful, any way you view it : in the context of its price performance ratio, or more alarmingly, in the company of 52/135s...
Naim have now increased the stakes so far up the sonic ladder with this latest iteration of its "baby" integrated. But "baby" it is NOT. It's not a "simple, humble" integrated but an extremely serious piece of kit, only "played down" by virtue of its place within the Naim hierarchy (neither were the previous Naits but to be brutally honest I've never been quite convinced about the sonics as a total package, though they communicated the music very well in typical Naim fashion).
As a Naim owner very used to the higher-end Naim sonics, I would live very happily with a Nait5.
Thanks to Vik from Absolute Sound Singapore for the very positive, if thoroughly frightening audition.
Naim are positively even further ahead of the pack than ever expected, with the "humble" 5 series.
Imagine a 552/500/CDS3/SL2s in active mode.
Good listening all, the music's groovin' frightfully more.
Philip
naimniac for life
[This message was edited by Philip Pang on FRIDAY 27 September 2002 at 10:27.]
Yeah, I thought I needed one too, Rockingdoc, when the jaw dropped.
But I have to be perfectly neutral about what I heard with my ears, as I trust them. My dealer Vik offered a cryptic smile as I turned and looked at him almost in disbelief - and we both shook our heads in amazement.
Where it hit most was the refinement, mid-high liquidity and apparent detail that you could only previously have gotten much higher up the Naim hierarchy. These, coupled with the traditional hallmarks that make Naim amplifiers so famous, and at the "introductory" price point, make the Nait 5 a landmark product for me. Stonking amp, and tremendous value for what they deliver.
I must however hasten to add that I don't think there'll be an influx of owners queuing to ditch their 52/135s for a Nait 5, just that it does so many more things you never thought possible from an integrated, and some of which betters the performance of the established siblings.
They've really up-ed the stake by a serious margin here.
And that's "only" a Nait 5.
The proof's in the A-B audition, and the ears don't lie.
Good listening, the music's groovin' frightfully more.
Philip
naimniac for life
But I have to be perfectly neutral about what I heard with my ears, as I trust them. My dealer Vik offered a cryptic smile as I turned and looked at him almost in disbelief - and we both shook our heads in amazement.
Where it hit most was the refinement, mid-high liquidity and apparent detail that you could only previously have gotten much higher up the Naim hierarchy. These, coupled with the traditional hallmarks that make Naim amplifiers so famous, and at the "introductory" price point, make the Nait 5 a landmark product for me. Stonking amp, and tremendous value for what they deliver.
I must however hasten to add that I don't think there'll be an influx of owners queuing to ditch their 52/135s for a Nait 5, just that it does so many more things you never thought possible from an integrated, and some of which betters the performance of the established siblings.
They've really up-ed the stake by a serious margin here.
And that's "only" a Nait 5.
The proof's in the A-B audition, and the ears don't lie.
Good listening, the music's groovin' frightfully more.
Philip
naimniac for life
Lucky me & my trusted Ear 
Wayne
Wayne
Hi, Philip ...
What music was played, and how loud
Incidentally, we just delivered a pair of Living Voice Auditoriums and the Era Gold phono stage to a customer, who has a NAC90/92 and a Roksan Xerxes X/Rega arm. Music played was all classical, big-scale and small-scale, in a very large room. One pop/rock, K.D. Lang's "Ingenue" ...
Needless to say, I am amazed at how good these very old and cheaper Naim models are (good-looking too in their slim cases), that I don't mind having a pair at the showroom for demo purposes. They'll beat a lot of highly-regarded and very expensive other brand amps, IMHO. They don't sound like their price or reputation (entry-level) at all, at least in that room and setup ...
[This message was edited by JosephR on SATURDAY 28 September 2002 at 04:32.]
What music was played, and how loud
Incidentally, we just delivered a pair of Living Voice Auditoriums and the Era Gold phono stage to a customer, who has a NAC90/92 and a Roksan Xerxes X/Rega arm. Music played was all classical, big-scale and small-scale, in a very large room. One pop/rock, K.D. Lang's "Ingenue" ...
Needless to say, I am amazed at how good these very old and cheaper Naim models are (good-looking too in their slim cases), that I don't mind having a pair at the showroom for demo purposes. They'll beat a lot of highly-regarded and very expensive other brand amps, IMHO. They don't sound like their price or reputation (entry-level) at all, at least in that room and setup ...
[This message was edited by JosephR on SATURDAY 28 September 2002 at 04:32.]
Hi All
Apologies that I couldn't reply earlier over the weekend; I have access to the web only during office hours.
Bosh, absolutely right about the expectations bit. I suspect your smaller system probably gives you more satisfaction due in part to the minimum outlay, which takes into account the "value-for-money" factor. Then again, depending on our perspectives, a 52/500/SBL system could also be viewed to represent "VFM", not so much in outlay terms, but in the context of what it does for the the music at the emotional and involvement levels, which can only be up there with the very best. In hindsight, we could pay a whole lot more than what a 52/500/SBL system costs and still not achieve even a fraction of its musical performance.
Wayne, glad you trust your ears. Rather few do.
Hi Joseph. As age catches up, I am beginning to value my hearing even more... I remember what a very experienced audiophile friend once said about his listening volume : he now tends to play only at volumes that don't strain the ears or the mind, especially after long listening sessions, since that affects the perceptions of the musical performance. Now you wouldn't be able to do that with Black Sabbath or ACDC at 3 o'clock for an hour, could you?
In answer, the Nait 5 played loud enough for me (and BTW I love Sheffield Drums at 2-3 o'clock on the system....) with BOTH power and refinement. I didn't feel at that volume that the sound was hardening up or almost "choking", something I felt the Nait 3 couldn't quite match up to as it always tended to sound much drier in the top to bottom registers as a whole. Much more liquid than the Nait 3, the Nait 5 breathes a very fresh and needed breath of liquidity to its otherwise PRT-dominated history in sonics, with greater texture and a more even tonality in the music.
And As for what we played that day, you'd have to ask Vik... he did the honours with the records.
Syd, both the Nait 5 and 52/135s were run in, so it was a "balanced" audition. Both were warmed up and both performed beautifully. Of course you couldn't quite compare the two amps where absolute current delivery was concerned (that wouldn't be fair now, would it....), but the "baby" Nait held its own, and didn't sound wanting in that respect.
Eric, had it been a CDS2, I think we would have heard the same differences in sonics, as we did so clearly with the turntable. We just changed amplifiers; everything else was kept constant.
Max, sometimes, audiophiles need to discover things for themselves - it's the "road to self-discovery" that keeps the interest in hi-fi alive, yes...? So leave them be, man! But we both know about the Nait 5, and that makes us happy - all well and good!
Having re-read this post, I would be careful about the intent of this thread though - we're not discounting the qualities of the "older" equipment, which still stand head and shoulders with the best, rather we're expounding on the qualities of the new, and what it does for all of us in bringing an even fresher-sounding perspective to the music made by Naim equipment.
Good listening all, the music's groovin' frightfully more.
Regards
Philip Pang
naimniac for life
[This message was edited by Philip Pang on MONDAY 30 September 2002 at 08:49.]
Apologies that I couldn't reply earlier over the weekend; I have access to the web only during office hours.
Bosh, absolutely right about the expectations bit. I suspect your smaller system probably gives you more satisfaction due in part to the minimum outlay, which takes into account the "value-for-money" factor. Then again, depending on our perspectives, a 52/500/SBL system could also be viewed to represent "VFM", not so much in outlay terms, but in the context of what it does for the the music at the emotional and involvement levels, which can only be up there with the very best. In hindsight, we could pay a whole lot more than what a 52/500/SBL system costs and still not achieve even a fraction of its musical performance.
Wayne, glad you trust your ears. Rather few do.
Hi Joseph. As age catches up, I am beginning to value my hearing even more... I remember what a very experienced audiophile friend once said about his listening volume : he now tends to play only at volumes that don't strain the ears or the mind, especially after long listening sessions, since that affects the perceptions of the musical performance. Now you wouldn't be able to do that with Black Sabbath or ACDC at 3 o'clock for an hour, could you?
In answer, the Nait 5 played loud enough for me (and BTW I love Sheffield Drums at 2-3 o'clock on the system....) with BOTH power and refinement. I didn't feel at that volume that the sound was hardening up or almost "choking", something I felt the Nait 3 couldn't quite match up to as it always tended to sound much drier in the top to bottom registers as a whole. Much more liquid than the Nait 3, the Nait 5 breathes a very fresh and needed breath of liquidity to its otherwise PRT-dominated history in sonics, with greater texture and a more even tonality in the music.
And As for what we played that day, you'd have to ask Vik... he did the honours with the records.
Syd, both the Nait 5 and 52/135s were run in, so it was a "balanced" audition. Both were warmed up and both performed beautifully. Of course you couldn't quite compare the two amps where absolute current delivery was concerned (that wouldn't be fair now, would it....
), but the "baby" Nait held its own, and didn't sound wanting in that respect.Eric, had it been a CDS2, I think we would have heard the same differences in sonics, as we did so clearly with the turntable. We just changed amplifiers; everything else was kept constant.
Max, sometimes, audiophiles need to discover things for themselves - it's the "road to self-discovery" that keeps the interest in hi-fi alive, yes...? So leave them be, man! But we both know about the Nait 5, and that makes us happy - all well and good!
Having re-read this post, I would be careful about the intent of this thread though - we're not discounting the qualities of the "older" equipment, which still stand head and shoulders with the best, rather we're expounding on the qualities of the new, and what it does for all of us in bringing an even fresher-sounding perspective to the music made by Naim equipment.
Good listening all, the music's groovin' frightfully more.
Regards
Philip Pang
naimniac for life
[This message was edited by Philip Pang on MONDAY 30 September 2002 at 08:49.]