Firstly, I’m not sure if this type of post is allowed. If not – sorry please disregard it!
I simply do not know where to go from here.
I have spent getting on for a year in a quest to buy into the world of Naim. You guys talk of having a dem of different speakers, different stands etc. I would love to know how and where in the UK you do it. Do you have a dealer who can set this up, or do you go to different dealers trying to remember what the previous set up sounded like? In spite of trying four dealers, and travelling many miles, I have not been able to get where you guys seem to get.
I simply want to buy some basic Naim stuff and enjoy the music. So my starting point is CD5, 112, 150, FC2.
I think CDX in place of CD5 would be a good move – source first and all that (learned that from the forum!) I think the Allaes sound good. But due to my experiences so far I have been unable to compare other speakers at that price level. I would like to think that if I go for the Allaes, or any other, it is only after listening to others and knowing that, for me, they sound the business, not because they are Hobson’s choice. Not one of my four dealers has been able to accommodate me as far as speakers are concerned. They mostly each have a particular make which, according to them, is so good with my proposed system it is not worth listening to others. And as for different stands forget it! Two have told me there is no point in anything other than QS Ref., one says it makes little or no difference – I didn’t get as far as stands with the other.
So please tell me. Is my experience the norm? Where in the UK do you guys go to listen to Naim? Who out there can let me listen to the system I have in mind long enough to compare CD5/CDX and then compare the Allaes with similar quality speakers. The icing on the cake would be to listen to my chosen set up with different stands.
Any help very gratefully received.
Cheers
Max
Posted on: 23 January 2002 by Rico
quote:
I think a good hi-fi dealer is much like a good dentist or hairdresser
I read that with a big grin... no, no hi-fi dealer has never pushed her baps in my face, prescibed me drugs, or sent me home with a frozen balloon or a bad hair month. Perhaps a change is in order? 
Rico - SM/Mullet Audio
Posted on: 24 January 2002 by Derek Wright
I have had good experience receiving payment by the NOCHEX process (see
www.nochex.com) - the process works well for buyer and seller and only cost 99p for each cash movementinto or out of the NOCHEX account to a real UK bank account.
Limited to sterling only and a max movement of £300 per day between NOCHEX accounts and £500 a daya out of NOCHEX accounts.
Only thing that is a missing is a "neutral" third party to hold the cash until the goods have transferred (should that be a problem)
Derek
Posted on: 24 January 2002 by matthewr
Stallion said "The bank will [snip] honour [snip] guaranteed cheques up until [snip] there are no [sic] sufficient remaining funds [snip] or [snip] the account [snip] reached an authorised overdraft limit. After that the bank is within its rights to cancel the card."
The *whole* point of a guarantee card is that the bank will pay you the money even if there is no money in the account. One might say that they "guarantee" to pay the cheque. Simple logic dictates that any guarantee limit must be daily.
Oddly enough if there are sufficient funds in the account banks will honour the cheque even if you don't use a guarantee card. So under the scheme you suggest such cards would be entirely redundant.
>> I have experienced no problems so far by either issuing or receiving numerous cheques for the same value dated for the same date <<
Presumably because there was enough money in the account anyway. If there wasn't the bank could (and indeed do) quite legitimately refuse to honour the cheques. Writing multiple cheques in the manner you describe does not offer any form of guarantee that you will get your money and I would strongly advise you (or anyone else) not to do this. If you have to pay or be paid by cheque its therefore makes much more sense just to write one cheque for the amount and wait for it to clear.
If this should not be the case with your bank I strongly advise you to get out of the art business and into basic fraud
Matthew
Posted on: 24 January 2002 by Martinm
I have to agree with the others - Phonography - first dealer I've been to that really bothered to find out what makes me tick on the music front!
Talked for ages and gave as much time and impartial advice as needed.
Martin
Posted on: 24 January 2002 by Peter Stockwell
Max,
If I remember from a previous Thread you we not impressed overly with Phonography ?
I think they are one of the best stores I have ever visited, I've bought a couple of things from them and consider them to be top notch.
Peter
Posted on: 24 January 2002 by Rana Ali
Max, looks like Phonography is a favourite on this thread, but if you head 50 minutes east on the M27/A27, Phase 3 in Worthing is worth a shot. I went in there with a disinterested wife in tow looking for a £150-200 compact speaker. They set me up a 2 hr dem for a series of speakers from £100-£200 and I came out with a Linn Kan IV, when they suggested I try that instead! It was the only one which got the wife's foot tapping but over 60% over my original. That little Linn actually then got me into the Naim world of music making.
Rana
Posted on: 25 January 2002 by max in hampshire
Thanks for all your very helpful stuff - got a bit out of my depth on bouncing cheques though!
I would just like to pick up on Peter's comment re my experience at Phonography (who I did not actually name in my original post). Peter is referring to a post where I said that in Phil's absence the guy running the place could not get a flatcap up and running until, after much delay, he called Phil on his mobile and was talked through how to do it. In the same post I said how good Phil had been on an earlier visit and that following the flat cap debacle I was going to give them another go, on the basis that anyone can have a bad day. Well I did. I saw Phil and, as before, he was excellent.
So why did I start this thread is an obvious question. Simply because at the price level I am looking at Phonography is very much into Shahinian and much as I think they are great speakers I would like to compare with others the Allaes in particular. I was told that they would not be stocking the Allaes - though I discovered recently that they may have changed their minds on that one.
Cheers
Max
Posted on: 25 January 2002 by Alex S.
Max,
Phonography are Naim dealers. AFAIK they don't have to stock Naim's full range (unlike B&W Nautilus dealers for example, which puts many of them off), so its probably their choice whether they stock Allaes or not (I'd be very surprised if they don't soon). Nonetheless, if you want to dem Allaes, and Shahinian Compasses or Arcs I'm sure they can arrange it for you. Just ask.
Alex
Posted on: 25 January 2002 by Alex S.
I'm not going to say the N805s are no good just because I'm shot of them but the top and bottom ends are not difficult to improve on. I don't really like that metal dome tweeter, not least because I trashed 3 in a year, and the bass needed a lot of work to sound tight and many noted. That said, the midrange is superb and they are engaging and fast, contrary to myth.
The problem was they seemed to work only very well as near-field monitors, move and I was damned. Since I have to work and move around here I wanted something omnidirectional but something which could image (and go loud). I thought long and hard about Briks but find them a bit coloured. I tried Shahinian Arcs and liked them but prefer my pods for the same money (more or less). The pods let you move round the room but do have an imaging hot spot. They go loud and they are not coloured at all. Good Morel drivers help. Still not the best defined bass in the world but, although 2.5K is a lot of money one still has to compromise at this price (IMO).
Asleep yet?
Alex
Posted on: 25 January 2002 by Paul Stephenson
"I was told that they would not be stocking the Allaes"
Not true, they have had them on order since September!! We shipped this week!!!
Posted on: 25 January 2002 by Steve C 01
Stallion - appreciate your caution, but not many sellers would
A) accept a cheque
b) travel TO YOU with the item
You have to do the legwork. I've bought a 140,250, HiCap, 82, LP12 and NAT02 second hand and in all cases the kit was in v good to excellent condition and as the seller described. Naim kit is one of the easiest to sell on second hand because of the legendary build quality and overall longevity of the components.
Do you homework/research, then the legwork, but always remember you're buying 'sold as seen', so it's pointless going back afterwards with complaints.
Steve C 01
Posted on: 25 January 2002 by Peter Stockwell
quote:
Originally posted by Alex S.:
I'm not going to say the N805s are no good just because I'm shot of them but the top and bottom ends are not difficult to improve on. I don't really like that metal dome tweeter, not least because I trashed 3 in a year, and the bass needed a lot of work to sound tight and many noted. That said, the midrange is superb and they are engaging and fast, contrary to myth.The problem was they seemed to work only very well as near-field monitors, move and I was damned. Since I have to work and move around here I wanted something omnidirectional but something which could image (and go loud). I thought long and hard about Briks but find them a bit coloured. I tried Shahinian Arcs and liked them but prefer my pods for the same money (more or less). The pods let you move round the room but do have an imaging hot spot. They go loud and they are not coloured at all. Good Morel drivers help. Still not the best defined bass in the world but, although 2.5K is a lot of money one still has to compromise at this price (IMO).
Asleep yet?
Alex
I slept a bit last night, I listen to my CDM1Ses near field, so that's not a prpblem. thanx for the description
I think I'll sleep tonight
Peter
Posted on: 25 January 2002 by Alex S.
Hi, it was my post that I thought would send you to sleep but if you haven't nodded off yet I have a bit more to say about CDM1SEs. I don't normally say this but try DNM cable with them if you can borrow some, tightens the bass. What are they sitting on? Granite stands could work wonders although they are not cheap. I also found Nordost Pulsar points to work well.
All this is tweakery which you may well choose to ignore but I found an exact 84 inch equilateral listening arrangement to work best for 805s so you might try that first; but balance that against getting them into free space as much as you can.
Regards,
Alex
Posted on: 25 January 2002 by max in hampshire
Drew, at Phonography, tells me the Allaes arrived today. So I am off to have a listen to them, a couple of the Shahinian range, and some Royds early next week.
I have heard the Allaes before. I said in my first post on this thread that I like them. My problem has not been to be able to listen to the Allaes themselves but to listen to them in comparison to other speakers at the same dealers. Almost any speaker at that sort of price would sound good to me as I am new to this upmarket music game so I need a few reference points for comparison.
Stallion suggested a trip to Salisbury. I have done that. Doug Graham very kindly took me round the place some months ago and I heard the Allaes then too. But that was through mega expensive black boxes so it did not help me in terms of buying them - no criticism implied as that was not the point of the tour. Tell you what though they sounded pretty crackin' through those mega boxes!
Thanks again for all the input.
Cheers
Max
Posted on: 26 January 2002 by max in hampshire
Stallion
Don't think I was offered coffee. But Doug was very generous with his time and, better than coffee, he gave me a couple of Naim CDs!
No matter how good the Salisbury coffee I am sure the pleasure of the CDs lingers longer
Yes I was most definitely seriously impressed with the Allaes the and mega boxes. To be honest I had never heard music anything like it. But bear in mind my starting point that I have previously referred to.
Thanks for the points you make about the dem though I will give them some thought as I see clearly the validity of what you are saying.
Cheers
Max
