new approach to hifi and a reality check
Posted by: AussieSteve on 20 April 2017
Hi All, after taking several months of education on electronics and hifi in general I believe I have found a new reality and a better understanding about audio. I re-read my posts of old and I realized I had NO clue, and on too many occasions come across as a fool, and rude. I hadn't intended too, my lack of experience in the digital online world took time to understand how to communicate correctly online. There is a flow and etiquette which is new to me, I can talk with people in a group no problems, but typing it and trying to convey my real meaning with the correct vibe here has been new. A few times I failed, insulting people in the process, I do apologize to those people. When I first bought Naim it was my first foray into higher quality gear, and I had no idea what a DIN was, all I knew was the red and the black cables. I had an old Denon system with a few varieties of JBL's which did the job for years. My Naim kit is great, and it has taken me on a journey into areas I had no idea about and thought I never would. Wow, learning as much as I can about electrical circuits, electronics and acoustics has been hard, frustrating and bloody frustrating,,, but it has been worth it once the smoke started to clear. So as of now I reckon, buying emotionally is dangerous and potentially costly. Putting very large speakers into small rooms is very, very difficult to get right. It is a waste to upgrade and spend $10K on cables BEFORE getting a quality DAC. The cables will last and still work but it's like putting Pirelli tyres and Ferrari suspension on a Toyota Corolla. Wait until the system is of a high enough quality with transparency and clarity before you do it. With Naim, the power supplies make a huge difference, if the PS suits the system and the room. Some power supplies can bring the music too far into the room I have found, so it's a try and see first approach. Upgraded power cables are most important, as an electrical engineer told me, "Ä great power supply is the foundation to a great system." This definitely includes a dedicated mains supply to the hifi. Acoustic treatment is very important IF it suits the room and decor, the family must like it all, if it's not a dedicated hifi room. That said. the physics of sound have never changed and I have learned that by playing around the acoustics the sound at the listening chair is influenced enormously. It can and will bring HUGE improvements across all frequencies, most noticebly the bass. You will hear notes which you didn't realize were their! DO NOT ATTEMPT ANY SERIOUS WORK MAKING PANELS, RESONATORS OR DIFFUSERS!!!!!!!!!! The cost and time is ENORMOUS, save up and buy professionally made products. They are better, thinner and made for just that job. If you want to make a few absorbers for the higher frequencies that's fine BUT, if you tackle mids and lows, especially lows you will potentially lose your mind!! I wanted to keep it all slim which really required professional stuff but I toiled and it took me a couple of hundred hours to design and make (effective) stuff. It has ended up costing more than if I took a few thousand down to an acoustics supplier and bought off the shelf. You may find otherwise, I salute you, you're better than I am. Lastly, take time to research and test before you buy. Understand what you want to achieve BEFORE putting down your hard earned. I first bought a CD5XS, 172XS and 200, but soon after heard a 282 and decided to buy one. I ended up paying $4200 for the 172 which I sold still near new for $2500!!! I learned the hard way AGAIN. Again, think about what your goal is, wait and save a little longer if need be. I did have a great dealer who explained this to me at the start, but I was on a rush and wanted to rid myself of money which took several years to accumulate. I haven't lost on anything else (yet) so now I take my time and research, research. I know Naim love those of us who keep changing and upgrading, but learning about each products abilities will make the experience much more rewarding. I hope I have offered honesty, and been polite whilst doing it. These opinions are mine, so I obviously accept if your view is different. Lastly, are Naim going to release new digital stuff this year, ie NDS, NDX ect and the DAC's? That is very interesting to me. All the very best to everyone, Take Care, Steve
Huge posted:DrMark posted:...
3) I believe that all of us have got married without learning anything about women - this of course is brilliance, and even coming from a man who has done far better than most it is true, because the unknowable cannot be known - better to try and solve the quantum mechanics of a very large molecule. Which makes NaimWorld seem simple by comparison, and yet the "problem" persists.
...I believe there are a few people on the forum who are likely to have got married (*) without learning anything about men (or at least without learning enough about men), so I think the above generalisation is flawed in the specific even if correct in the general principle.
* And some who never married at all.
In the words of a very good and dear friend of mine, a woman (and oh how I wish I had this recorded in the woman's voice in which it was spoken) who was once married to a man and divorced and realized she was a lesbian; "I never felt so sorry for men until I started dating women. Men are easy; you feed 'em, you f*** 'em, and you pat him on the head once in a while and tell him he's doing good. With women you never know what is going to work from one day to the next!"
The defense rests your honor...
And yet it's all part of "vive la difference"...
There is another view of the Naim upgrade path...
With most manufacturers, you buy a system and when you want to upgrade you have to swap a box out to put the replacement in. You sell the old box at a considerable loss and you buy a new box. (N.B. Also, other manufacturers components usually retain less second hand value as they won't provide any servicing arrangement or any other support for boxes more than a few years old).
Repeat as desired...
With Naim you can retain your initial investment in the product for much longer by adding power supplies to the source and preamp components. If you choose the power supplies well, then when you do swap the preamp and/or source components themselves, you can retain the initial investment in the power supply!
Repeat as desired...
Clearly the Naim approach is actually more economic for the consumer - but that leads us to upgrade more often 
. So even though overall we probably spend the same amount as we would with a different manufacturer, we get the benefit of more frequent more affordable upgrades and Naim gets the benefit of a more frequent repeat revenue stream than would otherwise be. Everyone wins; and that's visible in the brand loyalty to Naim shown by people for whom brand loyalty is not usually the case.
And to the points above - the build quality and long-term customer support are indeed a major part of the "Naim Game" (that not said with any disrespect intended at all) and it is also part of the intelligence behind Naim products, their quality, marketing, and upgrades.
Like any good drug dealer, you don't really have to sell to addicts, just make the product available and let nature take its course! 