For those of us who cannot attain Statement...

varyat posted:

250 watts will do Toby.. but you are on the right track 

That increase in power is only equivalentbto 2.2dB extra headroom. Some speakers would like a lot more...

But we are talking Naim watts here, not your normal common or garden watts. I would say the ability to deliver current is as important as the sheer number of watts.

Not sure Naim would want to spend the development money on the 600 series right now so soon after their splurge on Statement.

varyat posted:

Thanks for all the comments. I am very happy with my current kit, but can't help but think there must be a middle ground in Naim's future amplification between the 500 and Statement. Other than those running active with Naim speakers, there is a need for a more powerful amplifier imo. New speaker designs and the more commonplace dedicated listening room have provided many speaker opportunities that demand more than the 140 watts per channel available from a 500.. Naim is breaking into new international markets with a wider demographic to serve. Just thinking out loud here guys...

ATB,

Mark

I understand where you are coming from, another gentle on the Forum explained it beautifully:

Naim is sub standard - allegedly.

Nov  4 2015

""Naim amps can swing transients in a way other similarly powered amps just cannot do. But that isn't the same as a 30wpc amp being equivalent to a 60wpc amp. The fact that a Naim amp can swing those big transients sometimes better than a more powerful amp leads them to falsely believe that their constant output is higher than stated - but it isn't. That misconception might explain some negative opinions. A lot of dealers incorrectly deliver sales pitches like "30wpc of Naim is like 75wpc of Arcam" which is nonsense. Maybe a Nait can deliver a big/ger bang like the 75wpc amp but sustained output is a different story. Musically it is also a less relevant story unless your recording has very poor dynamic range. 

 The fact is, if you are driving a consistently hard load due to volume and/or speaker load, more power will be required and there is no getting away from that. Naim cater for that with increasingly more powerful amps and the ability to go active (or bi/tri amp simply for power reasons). It costs a lot more to do this with Naim than some others but I don't see a problem in that. They are not about functionality and convenience but about delivering the best you can get and if the design decision leads to more power requiring considerably more expense to do properly then so be it.

 Naim isn't for everyone. But it works as described and I think the issues of tonal clarity being sacrificed in favour of musicality are largely a thing of the past ranges. The current stuff is very accurate and notions that Naim doesn't do soundstage are also outdated nonsense.

 There will always be sonic benefits to keeping purely analog devices like a preamp isolated from more noisy digital circuits. For that reason, I don't see the NAC dying off. The Statement S1 was literally a "statement" of this belief by Naim.""

I agree, 140 watts ain't that much power driving the whole frequency range, Perhaps that's some take the Active Route! 

Allante93! 

My next upgrade after a 500 set up would be a UnitiQute 2 that would fit into the bottom of my rucksack because I would have sold that 500 set up and bought myself a villa in the Jalon Valley in Spain and I would sit up there with a bottle of local wine getting slowly pissed listening to my UnitiQute 2 thinking what the f### was all that about?  

Bob the Builder posted:

My next upgrade after a 500 set up would be a UnitiQute 2 that would fit into the bottom of my rucksack because I would have sold that 500 set up and bought myself a villa in the Jalon Valley in Spain and I would sit up there with a bottle of local wine getting slowly pissed listening to my UnitiQute 2 thinking what the f### was all that about?  

Finally someone making some sense on this thread.

I'd love to hear the S1 pre into a NAP200 and SBLs. But I won't be troubling a dealer over it.

C.

For me..maximising performance form my system. Then if I can go no further then upgrade.

However, and this is controversial on my part set up of any Naim system is paramount. This can not be undestimated. There have been many threads about this and I do wonder how many of us are getting the full potential of our systems if they have not been set up correctly. It has taken me an age of "dipping my toe" into the very beginnings of understanding this. 

Theres are some very fine fellas on this forum who are a wealth on this. Also a very good thread https://forums.naimaudio.com/to...t-always-best?page=1 gives a good account of this.

If one has a well set up system one tends to forget about upgrades and just enjoys the music.

Aw c'mon now Dusty.. post after post highlighting the benefits of SL cables. Surely these forum members are enjoying their music? 

Interest in upgrading your listening experience has nothing to do with the ability to enjoyi music imho.

ATB,

Mark

varyat posted:

what will fill the enormous financial and significant SQ gap now present from the 500 series of components?

 

Just out of curiosity, are there any 500 series owners here who have actually run out of ideas about how to spend more cash on upgrades? 

ChrisSU posted:

varyat posted:

what will fill the enormous financial and significant SQ gap now present from the 500 series of components?

 

Just out of curiosity, are there any 500 series owners here who have actually run out of cash to pursue upgrades? 

enjoy

ken

Dustysox posted:

However, ..... set up of any Naim system is paramount. This can not be undestimated.

hear, hear!

enjoy

ken

Dustysox posted:

For me..maximising performance form my system. Then if I can go no further then upgrade.

However, and this is controversial on my part set up of any Naim system is paramount. This can not be undestimated. There have been many threads about this and I do wonder how many of us are getting the full potential of our systems if they have not been set up correctly. It has taken me an age of "dipping my toe" into the very beginnings of understanding this. 

Theres are some very fine fellas on this forum who are a wealth on this. Also a very good thread https://forums.naimaudio.com/to...t-always-best?page=1 gives a good account of this.

If one has a well set up system one tends to forget about upgrades and just enjoys the music.

Good read Dusty, lots of informative information pertaining to setup.

Reason why Brawns is to the right of the Brains stack,  a wedge space between NDS or CDP,  Analogue PS Lower shelf, etc...

And of course, proper dressing of interconnects.

I agree once the aforementioned has been adressed, and one still strives for improvements, one can seek upgrades, beit SL technologies, or Black boxes!

Out!

Allante93!

varyat posted:

Aw c'mon now Dusty.. post after post highlighting the benefits of SL cables. Surely these forum members are enjoying their music? 

Interest in upgrading your listening experience has nothing to do with the ability to enjoyi music imho.

ATB,

Mark

We live in hope 

The Strat (Fender) posted:

Go and listen to a Unitiqute/Neat Iotas ad then listen to the equipment the majority listen to their music on.  It's all good - I keep saying that!

Substitute Dynaudio bookshelfs for Neat, and I agree!!  Honestly I get as much "enjoyment" out of my Qute2/NAP100/Dynaudio system as I do from my SN2/NDS/SL full loom system.  They are both great, but the "enjoyment" is there with both too!

Dustysox posted:

For me..maximising performance form my system. Then if I can go no further then upgrade.

However, and this is controversial on my part set up of any Naim system is paramount. This can not be undestimated. There have been many threads about this and I do wonder how many of us are getting the full potential of our systems if they have not been set up correctly. It has taken me an age of "dipping my toe" into the very beginnings of understanding this. 

Theres are some very fine fellas on this forum who are a wealth on this. Also a very good thread https://forums.naimaudio.com/to...t-always-best?page=1 gives a good account of this.

If one has a well set up system one tends to forget about upgrades and just enjoys the music.

Pertinent stuff Darren. I've gradually learned over 45 years at this Hi-Fi lark about the efficacy of good support systems, cabling, cable dressing and set-up to maximise performance.

Fraim isn't just Ikea shelving with a silly price. Someone else has done the work so we don't have to, and we are of course paying for all that R&D in the asking prices. But hell; it works like nothing else in my experience, if one wants to wring the best sound from one's Naim equipment.

Same with the cables. One naturally tends to baulk at the prices of Super Lumina and Powerlines, but the evidence of their impact is clearly audible and substantial.

Clearly, we all want the best bang for the buck, but the cost of a good support system and cabling should be factored into total system expenditure.

Good listening y'all.

John.

J.N. posted:

Same with the cables. One naturally tends to baulk at the prices of Super Lumina and Powerlines, but the evidence of their impact is clearly audible and substantial.

 

John.

.. but, but... SL cables were designed for, and only work with Statement level electronics?

Just the excuse that i needed to buy Statement!

hope you are well and enjoying the music John...

bows and disappears  off stage left... !

enjoy

ken

All you need to do Ken is to raise about £150k for your  (then) redundant Fraim and associated black boxes, and a Statement amp becomes a bit of a bargain. 

I'm working on it!

John.