My first Naim system

Adam,

Thanks for reading.

Will do!

It was a very enjoyable, but tiring, day. I'd also forgotten how enjoyable browsing through racks of vinyl LP's is.

Even though I liked the Spendor D7's a lot too, I'm delighted with the Neat's. I'll probably get them up and running when I get home from work tomorrow. My wife's first comment when she saw them in their "coffins" was: wow, they're big!. The good thing about getting them home now is I'll be able to have them well warmed up for when the rest of my system is installed.

HungryHalibut,

Yes, the SX5i's were similar to the Motive SX2's, but were just "better" in every way. They jsut seem to "work" with Naim amps.

I was surprised how good the D7's were, though. Bass sounded much tighter and they were more tuneful than the A6R's that I heard in the first demo.

Even though I've paid a deposit on the SX5i's and have them at home with me, I'm wondering whether I should persuade the SO to bring the D7's when they come to install my new system as it was a close run thing in their demo room?

The doubt set in when I played "Wake Up and Make Love to Me" after my browse in the local record shops.

Hi LANESRA, looks like your nearly their, congrats on some good choises....and excellent win for the gunners!!! 

Congatulations Lanesra, you've had a roller coaster couple of weeks to your decision, but sounds like you've got a lovely system coming.

Look forward to hearing how it all works out when it's in place and running in.

The thing is you won't know how your system sounds for the first few months. NAIM gear does take a loooooong time to sound its best.

My advice is - stick with the speakers you liked best. This is typically the right decision.

By the way - what speaker cable are you getting? NACA5 or SuperLumina?

Lanesra posted:

HungryHalibut,

Yes, the SX5i's were similar to the Motive SX2's, but were just "better" in every way. They jsut seem to "work" with Naim amps.

I was surprised how good the D7's were, though. Bass sounded much tighter and they were more tuneful than the A6R's that I heard in the first demo.

Even though I've paid a deposit on the SX5i's and have them at home with me, I'm wondering whether I should persuade the SO to bring the D7's when they come to install my new system as it was a close run thing in their demo room?

The doubt set in when I played "Wake Up and Make Love to Me" after my browse in the local record shops.

No, no, and thrice times no. You liked the Neats - stick with the Neats. Your post prompted me to play New Boots. It doesn't mean you need my speakers! Spendors are not for fans of Ian Dury. Anyway, it's 'with me' not 'to me'. 

wenger2015 posted:

Hi LANESRA, looks like your nearly their, congrats on some good choises....and excellent win for the gunners!!! 

Yes, it was a superb win. It took me ages to calm down afterwards. As for the hi-fi, all that's needed now is the delivery and installation of the system. I can't wait!

ChrisH posted:

Congatulations Lanesra, you've had a roller coaster couple of weeks to your decision, but sounds like you've got a lovely system coming.

Look forward to hearing how it all works out when it's in place and running in.

Thanks. It's a shame I'm still having issues with my turntable, though. The system sounded superb in the demo room. It should be even better at home as I was told demo hi-fi at this level is rarely fully "broken in".

Adam Zielinski posted:

The thing is you won't know how your system sounds for the first few months. NAIM gear does take a loooooong time to sound its best.

My advice is - stick with the speakers you liked best. This is typically the right decision.

By the way - what speaker cable are you getting? NACA5 or SuperLumina?

Hungryhalibut posted:

No, no, and thrice times no. You liked the Neats - stick with the Neats. Your post prompted me to play New Boots. It doesn't mean you need my speakers! Spendors are not for fans of Ian Dury. Anyway, it's 'with me' not 'to me'. 

Yes, I'll stick with my Neat SX5i's. I'm just worried about setting up speakers that cost the best part of £4000 by myself. My current ones only cost £350!

HH: Sorry!

BTW, I forgot to mention that my replacement NAS drive is supposed to arrive tomorrow. I've already got the HDD's for it. Hopefully, this one will work properly!

Lanesra posted:

HungryHalibut,

Yes, the SX5i's were similar to the Motive SX2's, but were just "better" in every way. They jsut seem to "work" with Naim amps.

I was surprised how good the D7's were, though. Bass sounded much tighter and they were more tuneful than the A6R's that I heard in the first demo.

Even though I've paid a deposit on the SX5i's and have them at home with me, I'm wondering whether I should persuade the SO to bring the D7's when they come to install my new system as it was a close run thing in their demo room?

The doubt set in when I played "Wake Up and Make Love to Me" after my browse in the local record shops.

My gut feeling is that you should stick with your initial decision, otherwise you might find yourself pacing around the room shouting out the opening lyrics to Plaistow Patricia...

I'd be happy to hop on a plane and set them up for you...... Just get them out of the box, plug them in, put them in the right place, add the spikes, level then using a spirit level, and that's it. The Neats are a doddle compared with SL2s. 

General guidance for speaker positioning is: equliateral triangle with your listening position.
Start with that for first weeks and then start experimenting.

ChrisSU posted:

 

My gut feeling is that you should stick with your initial decision, otherwise you might find yourself pacing around the room shouting out the opening lyrics to Plaistow Patricia...

ChrisSU,

I will be sticking with the Neats. Apart from being big, they have a high WAF!

Hungryhalibut posted:

I'd be happy to hop on a plane and set them up for you...... Just get them out of the box, plug them in, put them in the right place, add the spikes, level then using a spirit level, and that's it. The Neats are a doddle compared with SL2s. 

Hungryhalibut,

I just got them out of the box without dropping them! Which is probably the most tricky bit. I'll remove the polythene bags, get the spikes on and connect them up this evening.

Adam Zielinski posted:

General guidance for speaker positioning is: equliateral triangle with your listening position.
Start with that for first weeks and then start experimenting.

Adam,

I'm putting them in the same location as my current Quad 11L's, which is pretty much as you have described. I have to wait until a radiator has been moved before they can go in their permanent position, as I don't want them to be close to a working coal fire. I'd stopped caring about possible damage to my Quad's!

hi there,

i am happy for you.

There will always be what ifs - but the best way to get over it is to play more music.. 

I did follow this thread off and on and its good that decisions have been made and now the music can be enjoyed..

i did read on the forum today on another thread - music has to take precedence over hardware and as long as the music flows in your home - i guess the IoM will rock 

regards

mpw posted:

hi there,

i am happy for you.

There will always be what ifs - but the best way to get over it is to play more music.. 

I did follow this thread off and on and its good that decisions have been made and now the music can be enjoyed..

i did read on the forum today on another thread - music has to take precedence over hardware and as long as the music flows in your home - i guess the IoM will rock 

regards

mpw,

The only parts of the new system that I have at home are the speakers and the NAS drive, which arrived today.

I shall be connecting my new speakers to my Cyrus 6 amp this evening and will be playing CD's on repeat until the SO arrive. Hopefully, the speakers will be fully "broken-in" by then.

That's the plan with getting a major upgrade this time: once the SO installs my new system, I can then concentrate on just listening to and enjoying my music.

Update:

I have the speakers up and running. First CD: Blue Lines by Massive Attack. They sound great and the Cyrus 6 is driving them quite well, even with a CD that I deliberately put on to test how deep they go.

Unfortunately, I'm setting up the NAS drive upstairs on my PC instead of listening to them.

Update:

My first Naim system is now my second Naim system! As today I have purchased 2x5m of NACA5 speaker cable from a well-known Chester Naim dealer and  a UnitiQute 2 and Neat Motive SX3 speakers from a well-known online auction site! The UnitiQute 2 is meant to be brand new and in an unopened box. The SX3's are ex-demo. This system will arrive this week and will be installed in either our dining room or my study. Due to my location, I'm having to purchase these items "blind".

I still have over 2 weeks before my Stageline/Hi-Cap/N272/250DR is installed. But my Neat Momentum SX5i's have now had nearly 2 weeks "burn-in" and the Pink Floyd CD that I'm currently playing through them sounds amazing even though they're being driven by my 12 year old Cyrus 6 amp!

Excellent!!! Good choice with the UQ2 - it is a superb unit. Just resitst an urge of adding a NAP 100 - UQ2 does NOT needed it.

I see you cought the bug. Don't fight it - it's stronger than any one of us....

That sounds great. One of the best things about a streaming setup is that add more systems and they all access the same music. Having two sets of Neats should give a nice consistency of sound in the house. My second system should be here next week though it's a little more modest! 

Adam,

Yes I've caught the bug and I still don't have any Naim electronics in my house! I'm glad you approve of the UQ2 for a second system.

I bought the UQ2 system on an impulse this morning as I had a couple of £000's spare from my system budget and I thought instead of going for the XPS2 for my N272, I'd enable a multi-room system.

I'm praying that I don't get the urge to upgrade either system for at least a few years and I have no intention of complicating my UQ2 system with extra boxes! I'm more likely to upgrade the UQ2 in the future.

Despite buying the new kit blind, I think I'm on reasonably safe ground as with the two Naim/Neat systems I've heard so far, there has been a synergy where you just forget about the hi-fi and enjoy listening to the music, which for me is what it's all about.

Hungryhalibut posted:

That sounds great. One of the best things about a streaming setup is that add more systems and they all access the same music. Having two sets of Neats should give a nice consistency of sound in the house. My second system should be here next week though it's a little more modest! 

HungryHalibut,

That's exactly why I bought the UQ2, to enable me to play the same music in more than one room.

With regards the Neat speakers, the consistency of sound is what I'm hoping for with the Motive SX3's. I also like that the veneer (natural oak) will be the same on both pairs of speakers. I was tempted by the Motive SX1's that are also for sale on the well-known auction site, but my wife doesn't like the black plinths that help to keep them upright!

I know the amplification in our main systems is pretty similar, but what's your second system going to be?

Absolutely...

Just be careful, though. I was saying exactly the same words to myself. And gues what happened? Just finished installing 282/SuperCapDR/250DR in the living room  to accompany my NDX which, so far was plugged into my home cinema pre/power 

So now I have a sheer 'madness' of 4 Naim streaming solutions in 4 different rooms - music is everywhere in the flat. I love it! And more importantly so does my wife.

Incidentally - good decision re XPS. Enjoy your new system for a while and if you feel like testing - just loan one and see if it does anything for you.

Adam Zielinski posted:

Absolutely...

Just be careful, though. I was saying exactly the same words to myself. And gues what happened? Just finished installing 282/SuperCapDR/250DR in the living room  to accompany my NDX which, so far was plugged into my home cinema pre/power 

So now I have a sheer 'madness' of 4 Naim streaming solutions in 4 different rooms - music is everywhere in the flat. I love it! And more importantly so does my wife.

Incidentally - good decision re XPS. Enjoy your new system for a while and if you feel like testing - just loan one and see if it does anything for you.

Adam,

Due to where I live, I will not be able to get a loan of an XPS. It's either a demo at a dealers or buying "blind", which I'm not prepared to do if purchasing a power supply.

I would love to have the same music playing throughout my house, but I don't intend to buy anything more than a couple of Mu-so QB's to achieve this. Which, unfortunately, I can still afford!

I will be testing an XPS in a few months, once my system settles down. So I will let you know what sort of difference it makes.

Let's just enjoy the music for now - after all this is what it's all about

Adam Zielinski posted:

I will be testing an XPS in a few months, once my system settles down. So I will let you know what sort of difference it makes.

Let's just enjoy the music for now - after all this is what it's all about

Adam,

Although I'm intrigued to hear what the XPS can do as an upgrade to your NDX, I only had a fleeting thought about upgrading my N272 (which I'm still waiting to have installed, remember) with an XPS as the new Naim amps will be a massive upgrade on what I currently use.

Fortunately, my current amp is able to drive my new speakers much better than i expected, so I'm able to just enjoy music even without my new Naim amps.

Lanesra posted:

Hungryhalibut posted:

That sounds great. One of the best things about a streaming setup is that add more systems and they all access the same music. Having two sets of Neats should give a nice consistency of sound in the house. My second system should be here next week though it's a little more modest! 

HungryHalibut,

That's exactly why I bought the UQ2, to enable me to play the same music in more than one room.

With regards the Neat speakers, the consistency of sound is what I'm hoping for with the Motive SX3's. I also like that the veneer (natural oak) will be the same on both pairs of speakers. I was tempted by the Motive SX1's that are also for sale on the well-known auction site, but my wife doesn't like the black plinths that help to keep them upright!

I know the amplification in our main systems is pretty similar, but what's your second system going to be?

Qb in the kitchen.