How many HI FI owners were you ever able to recruit to the NAIM camp?

None of my friends have the slightest interest in hi fi these days. So different than when I was at university, when having a nice dorm-room system was quite something.  Mine was nice and my room was where we gravitated to listen to music, but the system itself was quite pedestrian.

The "art" of LISTENING to music seems to have been lost. A good friend came over earlier this week, and he loves music and the history of music at least as much as I do.  I was keen to play music for him.  "That sounds good" was the most I got; he was not interested in LISTENING.  I didn't care -- this is just observational.  

My wife however does like to LISTEN to music, so I do have a listening partner   She's not really interested in the hardware, but supports my interest ("you should buy new speakers if you want them") and is somewhat happy to participate in A vs B listening sessions.

feeling_zen posted:

Massimo Bertola posted:

Haim,

a friend of mine, who works for Naim distribution, once told me that his father, then a Senator of the Italian Communist Party, once received the visit fo a couple of Jehovah's Witnesses. Instead of kicking them away, as many of us would do, he invited them inside, offered coffee and kept them engaged in discussions for a couple of hours. He tells me that when they thanked and went away, one of the two J's Ws. went to subscribe to the Communist Party.

תעשה

Max

What was in the coffee?

Cuban rum??

One of my brothers bought a Nait 3R after hearing my old Nait/Royd The Minstrel SE system.
1 friend bought a Nait 5 and a pair of Royd The Minstrel SE's on my recommendation. 
1 friend bought a Superuniti and Neat speakers after hearing mine.
1 friend bought Muso-QB after I suggested it would sound miles better than Sonos.

1 friend is desperate to buy an Atom as soon as funds allow, having heard mine through Kudos X3 speakers - so I almost have another convert!

When we had a party some people looked at my rig and wondered "Wow, you've got that old stereo with two speakers!" (it's a lovely 22-year old Phonosphie system with Allaes).

The "art" of LISTENING - exactly! That's what's going to get lost nowadays. Hifi goes away with it - so do the highend shops. At least here in Germany. Sad.

PS: Hi all! First post here. Glad that I'm allowed to take part.

Welcome to the madhouse, Paiste2002! 

Marshall and Gibson Les Paul! YEAH!!! The art of LISTENING!!! (sorry, way off topic but I couldn't resist)

I have used my little hifi to turn people onto music. Foisted Nick Cave, Gary Clarke Jr, Leonard Cohen and even Wagner onto friends who have categorically stated they hate punk, blues, wrist slashing or fat lady singing music.

Sort of use the trojan horse method. Start off with someone they know and then move them across to a pet hate.

So i am far more successful turning them onto music than getting them into the Salisbury cult.

I have a few friends who are hifi tragics who will either drop by to listen to latest music/latest toy or invite me around to do comparative demos or listen to their latest music. But emphasis is on the word "few".

My feeling is hifi has always been the pursuit of the lunatic fringe, (of which I am proud to be one), like the usual suspect committed shutterbugs or wine affectationados. Too much time on our hands perhaps?

Paiste2oo2 posted:

Marshall and Gibson Les Paul! YEAH!!! The art of LISTENING!!! (sorry, way off topic but I couldn't resist)

???? HAIM RONEN,...Hard to say,..but I've gotten quite a few to upgrade after they listened in my home.

However,many wanted me to come home to them,..to re-install and optimize their music-system.
But when I started my period with Tube-amps, then there were many who also bought Tube-amps...maybe between 20-25 people.

I also started a High End Hifi-organization here in Sweden at the beginning of the 90 century,which was called.....????????

???? " EARWAX - Music Experiences in Several  Perspectives ".

Of course,..that organization affected  many,but I do not know the number.

But in my usual acquaintance,outside of us HiFi-Maniacs,..Yes there I do not think I have affected anyone.
Well..My parents,but only to upgrade.They already had a good music-system.

/Peder ????

I have a good mate who like me was well into his hi-fi in his teens and twenties...and thirty's and...

He's not married ...and no kids ...which must help ...but he has no TV ...just a nice stereo and he's 50 something now 

Sadly not Naim ..but good gear anyway...

We get together once a week for a music night ..but he's not so keen on my "modern" music as he still loves punk ...

Japtimscarlet posted:

He commented on how great it sounded and asked that predectable question back then " how many watts is it?"

 

Should have taken the Rolls Royce line - 'Sufficient'

Beachcomber posted:

Japtimscarlet posted:

He commented on how great it sounded and asked that predectable question back then " how many watts is it?"

 

Should have taken the Rolls Royce line - 'Sufficient'

That’s the Statement, surely?

Two. Both are brothers one has two systems office and living room so maybe this counts as three.

One.

A friend of mine, who forever experimented with different integrated amps and CD players. Never satisfied. And of course tourtered me in the process of asking me to listen to an n-th iteration of the same rubbish he bought.

I told him to stop tourturing me and instructed him to buy an SN2 and a CDX2.
What a bliss - we are both happy - he absolutely adores NAIM now and how wonderful it sounds and me with not having to suffer through yet another ‘hi-fi’ audition 

I suspect many of us on here collectively draw in new interest to the brand, well for those who decide to research Naim via the Forum.

Like others on here, I only tend to talk about Naim to those who show genuine interest. As soon as I detect eyes glassing over, I change the subject for fear of becoming a HiFi bore.

Obsydian posted:

None after 20 years of trying.

Same here, and I think it perhaps demonstrates different priorities amongst friends/family and not necessarily differences in disposable income - though the latter clearly helps!

Remember the OP is asking how many hifi enthusiasts we converted to Naim. Not how many people we turned onto hifi.

As mentioned, I converted none. Of actual hifi enthusiasts, they basically think Naim sounds naff.

But that's okay. I don't believe in inherent superiority. And I did't buy my system for status or to show off. I bought it just for me and I have the only opinion of it that I care about. It gives me tremendous pleasure.

95% of people love great hifi, 95% do not want to pay for it unfortunately.

I’ve  converted only the one friend to naim with a muso. He’s happy with that. Muso is a great intro to Naim Audio. Maybe to good.

Most of my other buddy’s just come over to our pad for a fix. A friend with a need is a good friend indeed.

It’s great to share good things with good friends. Particularly when a brother of another Mother said to me the other day, that he could see the guitarist leaning over the guitar in the soundstage.  Goose bumps on my part. 

I got two new  Naim ‘customers’ . I lent my Naim Uniti (which was boxed up for a short time before I sold it on) to my Wife’s cousin who was really impressed by the “warm and footapping groove it produces” to quote his comments.  He now has a Naim Muso in another room and I believe one of his mates has just bought a Muso.  I sold my Uniti to someone else but cousin has just purchased a used Uniti 2 which sounds even better than the U1.  

There was a bloke who popped over for a demo of my old Naim Uniti 1 before I sold it,  he was so impressed but he didn’t get back to me  to purchase my Uniti before I sold it but some time later he emailed me to tell me he’d bought a new Naim Uniti 2 (old stock demo) so.  

Both guys had never heard any Naim gear before and knew little about Naim as a manufacturer but aside from how good the Naim sound is I explained that Naim products are built to last and made by the hands of skilled dedicated people as well as being a fantastic British company. 

Friends of my family recently asked me for advice on a new HiFi, knowing that I was 'into Hifi'. I resisted the temptation to recommend anything, suggesting that they go to our local and very well known  HiFi shop to try some options.

I don't think I would lumber any friend with Naim, I mean it sounds great, but I don't consider it especially 'average user' friendly. The up dates are clumsy to implement, the whole multi box thing is messy and in my experience the naim app is well, it is what it is.

I always ask people to think carefully before jumping into Naim. You lose all your freedom as soon as you step into it, except maybe speaker selection. There is HiFi and then there is Naim-Fi. I find Naim doesn't always match what HiFi people think of HiFi. HiFi people would lust over things like Goldmund for the higher end and Marantz for the lower end.  Naim just sounds different and if you are sucked into it..... you have not much alternative 

None. Don’t even try.

And as far as the daughters are concerned, a hifi system consists of  a PC,  iThingy and cans...........

Suzy Wong posted:

None. Don’t even try.

And as far as the daughters are concerned, a hifi system consists of  a PC,  iThingy and cans...........

As for many of the  yoof this is true.

And  my well healed friends, I still felt it was better that they establish their own preferences. I think people need to feel comfortable with their choice and if they decide that they don't get on with their selection they have only them selves to blame.

sound quality is so subjective anyway.

Indirectly, many.

In the early nineties I had a friend coming over to have a listen to my then LP12/Ittok/K9, 42.5/140 , Heybrook HB1's. He liked it so much that after a few weeks he became the first and only Naim agent/distributor  here in Portugal and went through selling many Naim kit over the years that followed.