Unpackaging and Swissvaxing
Final installation
Cables run decently behind
After the282 departure, i was planning an upgrade to 252 when my dealer offered an ex demo 552
(very scarce opportunity on our shores)
At the beginning it was meant to be a late 2012 unit, but last week he called me telling .. "I have a surprise for you, I' m packing up the 552 and the psu is already DR ! "
An hour later he popped in at my workplace with the "beast"
Once at home, for a few adverse circumstances on "Une Heure De Tranquillitè" style had the
opportunity to install it only last Sunday, since such a special event deserve all the time necessary
I began, white gloves on disassembling every Fraim Stack to insert the new boxes.
For the record the new one i added last December was a bit loose already, despite it was re-tighthned a week later the arrival, while the old stacks seemed fine.
On the first hour i can't say was like turning on the light on in a dark room, but something
interesting was already showing.
On the same evening the sound was definetely opening out and yesterday and yesterday night
night even more so.
We have to bear in mind that even the 250 lied unused for 3 months
I played a good variety of records from early medieval to 70's pop rock, neo folk and electronic and
particulary with most dense & complex music, the most positive effect i noticed, was the almost total lack of fatigue.
Despite even at 9/10 'o clock it seems to play quite louder and with bigger scale than before,
i no longer urge to drop the volume with loud and complex piece of music, the music flows
now naturally and effortlessy and probably there is still room for improvement with a proper
run in and warm up since i' ve been told that it saw very little use.
At the same time i' m also praising the effect of my trusty Nait XS within its obvious limits
it's not ashamed in this company
Regards
Roberto
Posted on: 21 March 2016 by Massimo Bertola
Ken,
it's funny: for some, Naim is proverbially overpriced, but if I look at the type of audio some others buy, Naim seem exceptional value for money. All audio is probably overpriced. I too hope that Naim will stay true to quality values.
In Torino I had a couple of friends who ran an audio store. One was an electronic engineer, a competent and intellectually honest man, enthusiastic about his chance to sell things in which he believed and that he was able to check, value, repair. The other joined from another store, and was a pure seller: kind, patient, serene, he said (not publicly) that the customer must be told what he expects to be told, then you sell whatever you want to sell.
Partner A started, in time, to be critical to whatever didn't meet his requirements based on deep knowledge; he refused a number of brands on the grounds of their being technologically inadequate and over priced; he despised tube technology as obsolete, and told everyone exactly what he thought, trying to make a customer buy whatever he thought was the most cost effective product. Partner B tried to be elastic, you never knew what he was really thinking.
Partner A was interested in music, read books, tried to understand what music really is, had a wonderful collection of CDs and we discussed interpreters, composers, compositions; he had a sharp mind, and a sharp sense of humour. Partner B was interested in nothing; he didn't read books and the only time I saw his eyes shining in excitement was when he explained me that the Tour Eiffel is just bolted, without soldering or whatever.
When business started to decline, partner B left and went to work with his former employer, an old, successful audio store, the type you hear stories about used gear sold as new, a respectable firm with a steady portfolio of faithful customers in the range of notaries, lawyers, soccer players, always happy to spend a few more than the retail price to have luxury gear to show to friends; he's till working there. Partner B had to close, and retire. He's still reading books, though, and learning new things that will never be useful to him. (He loved Focal, though, when it still was called JMLab and sold in department stores.)
M
Posted on: 21 March 2016 by Simon-in-Suffolk
I really would let RSCH sort his room reflections/speaker room coupling out before he throws more money at electronics.. electronics in the way of amps can't and won't fix this, at best it will slightly disguise or mask.. but you will be running below par.. possibly well below par.
i suspect once the reflections are sorted, his system will sound very rewarding with his current electronics... Room condition/speaker room coupling and managing reflections / resonances outclasses all other upgrades by a country mile. When I once put two acoustic panels in my listening room it felt like I had upgraded my preamp.. the increased detail, flow and space around the sounds as well as improved subtle dynamics and more natural vocal presentations made me smile.
vocals are a good test, as our brain is onbviously sensitised to them, and they are made up of a cascade of modulated filtered frequencies around the mid frequencies.. the danger zone for many room reflections. If you have a dry recording (no processing or reverb) of vocals, you can tune your system and room to the point it sounds like that voice is virtually indistguisable from other real voices in your room when you shut your eyes.
Simon
