Nirvana reached, so goodbye!

Arrivederci.

If you knew what you were listening to, you wouldn't have to read such opinions. Goodbye.

Don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out...

As my friend Ben likes to say

Lateroni...

Ta ta.

Wait till you uncover all the lies that Audio Research dealers tell their customers...

Elsa

Please let us know the running costs for all that glassware.

i am sure glad you have found something that plays music from your POV -- that has to be a good thing.

Sometimes it takes listening to something unmusical to know what is!

however, i am not sure why it took so much effort (as you imply) and why you bothered with so many "opinions"?

May be you have now finally learnt that as far as music is concerned, its only your opinion that matters and that you do not need to be so apologetic about it.

Good luck with Audio Research!

enjoy

ken

AMF...

Oh, Dear Jesus God Almighty!  I screwed up and made the wrong choice!!!!!  Why didn't you tell me where I was going wrong?????  You don't write!  You don't call!

(So far I like all the replies above, but DrMark--yours is the VERY best of all: By "AMF", I'm sue you mean: "All My Felicitations."

Interesting Elsa. I wondered if the talking about music reproduction got in the way of listening to it.

The conflicting advice from Naim dealers on the origins of the Uniti 2 seemed to be the turning point which possibly put you off listening further up Naim's range at an equivalent level to your Audio Research/ Wilsons. Enjoy your music through your new gear.

Chris

Elsa, sorry to hear that Naim did not fulfill your expectations after all. However, it is good that you in the end found the equipments that suit you. Happy listening sessions and good luck! 

Go and play with your smilies

I am stuck in upgrade heaven, my system just gets better and better over the years, and I do not lose the total investment because a new dealer talks me into yet another hifi religion! Naim rules.

Claus

 surely.

I wish you many happy hours of listening pleasure with your new system. I'm not familiar with the kit you mention. I wonder how it compares to Naim kit of a similar price.

When it is all run in and settled down, perhaps you could update this thread on the main sound differences and what makes it better in your opinion.

Personally, I thought it quite refreshing to hear a different point of view. Thanks for the post.

Good luck and have fun.

Pip pip,

Ghetto Yout'.

Goodbye Elsa,

Glad to know you're happy.

Engelbert

That sounds like a very nice system indeed Elsa. Audio Research is a fine manufacturer. I have no doubt you will enjoy it immensely...at least for a while.

Regards,
Frank.
All opinions are my own and do not reflect the opinion of any organisations I work for, except where this is stated explicitly.

Elsa,

Naim is not right for everybody, as you have discovered for yourself. Certainly there are equally vaild ways to enjoy music other than on a Naim system. But the same also applies to Audio Research and to any other brand for that matter.

Also it is worth pointing out that you don't need a mega-bucks system in order to enjoy music. Some of the nicest and most enchanting systems I have heard or owned over the past 35 years have been quite inexpensive ones. And I have been fortunate enough to live with some extremely costly equipment in my time. Expensive system does not necessarily = musical bliss. Or put another way, one can needlessly spend a small fortune on equipment when something very much cheaper would have achieved the same goal.

Glad you are happy with your Audio Research set up and best of luck for the future.

Peter 

For someone who only joined on the 25th August is this long a goodbye really justified ? 

There's nothing wrong with wishing anyone well . . . BUT . . . this "Elsa" was relatively rude "herself" on the way out.  Yet still, taking the higher road doesn't cost anything but a few pixels or keystrokes

ARC makes world class audio equipment, and has a very long and interesting history.  Bill Johnson started out modifying old Dynaco's in 1949!  They are now owned by Fine Sounds of Milan, Italy, the same company that owns Sonus Faber, Wadia Digital, Sumiko and McIntosh.

For many years in the US, the choice for audiophile "traditionalists" came down to either ARC or McIntosh.  When McIntosh abandoned tube technology, ARC became the last bottle standing (so to speak). Pretty amazing to think when you look at today's broad landscape of tube-based designs. Also, ARC and Naim do have one thing in common: a strong commitment to customer service.  Like Naim, any ARC amp built since the company's start in 1970 can still be serviced today.

And oh yeah, full disclosure: ARC is my home town team. They are still being built a few miles from where I live, so of course I would stick up for 50 or so Minnesotans still making them! 

About four years ago, I was all but ready to "buy local".  But before joining the crowd, I decided to try a few other brands.  Naim had no local representation (and still does not), so I called three remote dealers and left voice mails. Two never returned my call, but a dealer from LA did...and I am very glad that happened!    At that time, I compared the newly introduced Nait XS to an ARC VSi60 (costing twice as much).  Needless to say, I preferred the Nait XS by a significant margin.  I was also very attracted to the idea of stepwise improvements through the Naim upgrade path. Upgrade hell?  IME, the last four years have been quite the opposite!  Each incremental step has brought me a new and improved listening experience, and I have never been disappointed from a VFM perspective.

Lastly, ARC and Wilson seem to go together well.  Last I looked, ARC was using Sasha's for most of their internal listening tests, so obviously they feel it is a fine combination.

No one brand is for everybody, and we all hear things differently.  It is too bad that Elsa felt the need to thumb her nose in this direction on the way out.  Perhaps she was going for humor, and something got lost in translation?  Or maybe not.  Don't really care one way or the other.

Hook