Naim Audio?

Posted by: Bob the Builder on 11 October 2017

What does Naim Audio mean to you? Based on a couple of years of pretty regular use of this forum I get the sense it is much more than just a brand to many of you and the fact that it is a company that makes fantastic sounding equipment is only part of it.

So what is it that evokes such loyalty to a commercial brand and what is it about owning a Naim Audio HiFi that is so important to you?

Posted on: 17 October 2017 by stuart.ashen

I think I was seduced by the whole Linn/Naim and Julian/Ivor thing back in the 80’s. Malcolm Steward et al banging on about source first and aspiring to a six pack. Not that I could afford any of it, but the conviction expressed against the accepted wisdom often made me laugh out loud.

But the I heard the stuff...

Stu

Posted on: 29 October 2017 by The Strat (Fender)

I took time and an extensive home demo to really appreciate just how good Naim equipment is at portraying music. Previously I think I may have been influenced by the anti-Naim rhetoric on other fora.

Posted on: 29 October 2017 by Suzy Wong

stuart.ashen posted:
I think I was seduced by the whole Linn/Naim and Julian/Ivor thing back in the 80’s. Malcolm Steward et al banging on about source first and aspiring to a six pack. Not that I could afford any of it, but the conviction expressed against the accepted wisdom often made me laugh out loud.
But the I heard the stuff...
Stu

Read all the Hifi mag stuff in the 70-80’s, bought in to the whole “flat earth” Linn/Naim/Meridian thing, went to the JV lecture at the college by the roundabout on Southampton Road (one of the Engineering Institutions’ junior members evenings IIRC), did the factory tour with SWMBO in the late 80’s. Bought into the Scottish & Huntingdon stuff (and NAC A4). Finally got around to Salisbury’s finest (Olive, naturally ) in the last decade.

Not much more to do really, maybe an Olive Supercap for the 82 (and other stuff that we can’t talk about)

Posted on: 29 October 2017 by Harry

A succession of smug and superior dealers and the odd interaction with a Naim owner, left me with a distinct impression that by and large, the brand was sold by snobs to snobs. This wasn't helped by the fact that every Naim system I heard (mostly at dealers) didn't sound all that good to me, meaning that my taste wasn't sophisticated enough to appreciate what their golden ears could. I don't like to generalise and I try to stay open minded. But these perceptions can stick with you and guide behaviour.

Not for me a gradual turn around. I was looking for a new CDP in 2001, having run my last one for 16 years. I couldn't wait to get back into a local dealer to hear how far the medium had come. I was bitterly disappointed. On my third visit, I was trying very hard to put my hand in my pocket for a Jupiter, but I still wasn't convinced. For the third time, the dealer implored me to listen to a CD5. It was a "what have I got to lose?" situation. Ten minutes later I was a convert. When I got it home, Helen couldn't believe how good it sounded. She was convinced I'd blown our budget and by a big margin. I hadn't.