Philosophical wandering?

I enjoy my huge Naim system more than any other Naimee in Naimland.  It's not even close. Believe me. Believe me.

Sorry, but the 7x24 coverage of Donald Drumpf may finally be having a negative effect on my delicate mental health. 

Hook posted:

I enjoy my huge Naim system more than any other Naimee in Naimland.  It's not even close. Believe me. Believe me.

Sorry, but the 7x24 coverage of Donald Drumpf may finally be having a negative effect on my delicate mental health. 

Wow everything really is bigger in the U.S.A!

I enjoy my Naims.

And I'm new to Naim - started with the moderrn era two years ago.

Prior to that, I saw it for the first time in a window of a specialised dealer in West London in 1991. They sold Naim and Linn... For a poor boy from Eastern Europe this was a shock..... mostly to do with prices. A CD player was more than the entire life savings of my parents. But I said to myself - one day I will have this. It took me 23 years to get there...

I had a Naim. I enjoyed it. I don't have one now. I enjoy it.

Bought/evolved my kit over many years, much secondhand (present system has only 2 components bought new).  By getting very good speakers early on I had the sound I wanted, and improved a bit with amp upgrades. Not very many steps along the way, and latest changes a memorial to my mother, spending a bit of bequested money, otherwise I wouldn't have changed.

Music is at its best when cranked up a bit (feeling the bass not just hearing it, with a favourite album, and time to immerse. And that I do often.

But how can I measure my enjoyment against someone else's? What objective quantitative measures are there? Orgasmic? (worrying!) through to  a bit better than the old AM transistor radio... The OP needs to invent a scale and a means of calibration!

I like music. Everything else is secondary and the pattern of acquisition (which is never constant and varies considerably over time) of equipment to listen to it on doesn't really factor for me. I just like music. Been listening on a crappy car system all day and loved it. Been listening on a 500 level system all evening and loved it. Tomorrow morning I'll be listening on a Muso and will love that too. Then it's back into the car...

Adam Zielinski posted:

It took me 23 years to get there...

And it took me 30 to find the way out..

Massimo Bertola posted:

Adam Zielinski posted:

It took me 23 years to get there...

And it took me 30 to find the way out..

So I got 7 years (1 dog year) to go....

I couldn't afford Naim as a young man but loved listening to music on my Rega RP2 and my NAD3020 and my little Mission speakers.

Eventually bought some entry level Naim stuff including one of those newfangled CD thingies. Loved it but then was seduced by Home Cinema. Sold the HiFi and bought a home cinema. Loved it but the family didn't. So then bought some proper Naim gear starting at the bottom streamer (Uniti), then, very gradually worked my way up the Classic ladder, hopefully keeping music-making qualities as my constant guide. There were occasional lapses along the way when the newest, funkiest Naim thing seduced me, but most of the time each stage was thouroughly home demoed and I let my ears decide.

I came to realise that spending more on Naim was almost always rewarded with wonderful musical enjoyment. The slight problem is that your ears and your brain can get spoilt and occasionally greedy for the next fix. I am trying to recognise this now as I do sense I am approaching the realms of diminishing returns. So I am trying to be grown up about things now and fending of the immature side of me that whispers '.....yes but it could be that bit better here and there and maybe that black box could fix it....'. You know those internal conversations you have. Well I hope it is not just me. Now I just say 'naa' which stands for Naim Audio Anonymous....I always have the number close by! 

Night night.

I know the feeling Nigel, even though I am happy with what I have I am seriously contemplating a Nap250dr and my tactic to avoid spending the money it will cost is to get a turntable instead which is a bit of a cop out really

NAA......Naim Audio Anonymous....

Adam Zielinski posted:

Massimo Bertola posted:

Adam Zielinski posted:

It took me 23 years to get there...

And it took me 30 to find the way out..

So I got 7 years (1 dog year) to go....

Wouldn't that be 49 dog years? 

BTW Is your avatar a photo of your owner?

Bob the Builder posted:

Who enjoys his or her Naim (as we are on a Naim forum) system more the person who has saved up over a long period or who has bit by bit bought and sold to eventually acquire a quite modest Naim set up or the person who can afford to buy a hugely expensive system and upgrade whenever a new piece of kit comes on to the market?

In principle the enjoyment of music isn't related to the system you use. As mentioned earlier in this post I have enjoyed intens music on suboptimal solutions (iPod MP3 early years), while at the same time I am listening to my reference system and enjoy it. In whatever situation or environment you are you have a system and that's the system which counts....

Urm I guess i'm in the former category (taken me 35 years sort of) but either way it's all good.

ChrisSU posted:

Adam Zielinski posted:

 

Wouldn't that be 49 dog years? 

What I meant is that what would take me 7 years, a dog would experience in 1 year. You are of course right: 7 human years = 49 dog years.

ChrisSU posted:

BTW Is your avatar a photo of your owner?

Not sure if I understand the question Chris.... 
My avatar picture is actually of me, with my two six-string bass guitars, in a studio, during a recording of an album.

Adam, we know that. Your earlier post indicated that you might be a dog, hence Chris's question...

Hungryhalibut posted:

Adam, we know that. Your earlier post indicated that you might be a dog, hence Chris's question...

I am veeeerrrryyyyy slow this morning.....

Perhaps you need to go for a run around the park with your owner. 

Yes, yes, yes....  my tail wagging already.... as soon as my owner stops reading posts on that Naim forum, I'm sure he will take me out for a walk...

Harry posted:

I like music. Everything else is secondary and the pattern of acquisition (which is never constant and varies considerably over time) of equipment to listen to it on doesn't really factor for me. I just like music. Been listening on a crappy car system all day and loved it. Been listening on a 500 level system all evening and loved it. Tomorrow morning I'll be listening on a Muso and will love that too. Then it's back into the car...

Totally agree with the sentiments in Harry's post.

Whilst my home system gives endless pleasure, one of my all time musical "wow" moments happened years ago, whilst driving through a tunnel, and, having lost the FM signal, emerged back into the sunlight, to the opening bars of the Stones "Brown Sugar".

An otherwise mundane day was instantly transformed, I was singing along with a huge grin, and the memory of that day has stayed with me ever since.

It is, as suggested, all about the music.

Dave.

Or at least, it should be.

Adam Zielinski posted:

Yes, yes, yes....  my tail wagging already.... as soon as my owner stops reading posts on that Naim forum, I'm sure he will take me out for a walk...

Sorry Adam (and Bob) but philosophy was never my strong point, seems like I've successfully dragged the thread down to a level that even I can understand. Here's a treat, see if you can catch it before it explodes 

I think I listened to music more in the past year since having a Qute than I did in the past years of different devices.  Partly thats because (I find) the app gets out the way and music is easy to find; from UPnP and Spotify first and now from Tidal; but also just lets me enjoy more I think.  It took me 15 years of HiFi purchases to get here but I'm happy ... if only the Qute was available back then!

Of course since getting the Qute has been an upgrade to adding a NAP200 and now replacing the Qute with a NAC-N272.

Eloise posted:

I think I listened to music more in the past year since having a Qute than I did in the past years of different devices.  Partly thats because (I find) the app gets out the way and music is easy to find; from UPnP and Spotify first and now from Tidal; but also just lets me enjoy more I think.  It took me 15 years of HiFi purchases to get here but I'm happy ... if only the Qute was available back then!

Of course since getting the Qute has been an upgrade to adding a NAP200 and now replacing the Qute with a NAC-N272.

Snap except nd5 xs 202/200

Well some quite revealing answers and some quite poignant ones,  music is the one thing that ties us all together on this forum without it there would be no Naim Audio. Like most of us music is the one constant in my life happy, sad, money in the bank or skint I have been all of these things but music has always been there to accompany me.  At the moment I'm listening on a Naim system tomorrow it may be I'm listening on something all together different and life could have taken me somewhere different but my enjoyment of music will always be the same.