Naim Nait 5
Naim CD5
Naim Stageline Phone stage
Naim Speaker cable
Audio Counsel trailer socket
Audio Counsel power leads

These go with my existing Rega ELA loudspeakers and Rega Planar 3 turntable

I have to wait a few days before I get them Maybe until after Christmas

Can you let me know what I'm in for?
Any tips - running in period, cds to try, etc
Ta
Alex

Burn in can take upto a couple of weeks, best to leave it playing continuously (low volume when your not there)...

Heard a similar combo at Novatel, very engaging better than the cds2/500 i thought, should keep you busy while your planning your next upgrade.

naheed...

Sit back and enjoy.

I've always been pretty happy with my vinyl but I've not really enjoyed my cd with anything from the 70's
Is this the kind of thing that the Naim should cure?

Enjoy your new system, and, as others have suggested, don't turn it off, the idle power consumption is quite low and it sounds so much better when nicely run in and warmed up.

Andy.

Andrew L. Weekes
alweekes@audiophile.com

In general, yes. However my natural inclination is for analogue recordings is analogue playback. Some CDs just aren't that good compared to their vinyl counterparts- e.g the Led Zep CDs are don't have much in the way of 'balls'.

In my system (with both the 801s and DBLs) things get pretty damn funky with the Meters on CD. Just that it (well, me to be exact) goes into total meltdown with vinyl. You should find a great increase in the general consistancy, listenability and overall quality of your CD replay.

Get the Little Feat Box set. The quality of the musicianship should smoke up the room and the sound quality is spectacular in general.

I hope this helps.

"Get the Little Feat Box set. The quality of the musicianship should smoke up the room and the sound quality is spectacular in general."

Tell me more! Have everything on vinyl (I think) - what's in the box set, is it remastered, is it worth having aswell as vinyl?

Regards

Garry

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Can you let me know what I'm in for?
Any tips - running in period

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Break-in time is about a week or two, depending on how much you use the gear. I can't speak to how long the speakers will take, though.

Have fun.

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Audio Counsel trailer socket
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I have chance to hear this extension block in a number of installations now and I think it works very well indeed

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Is using a good extension block a tweak. i.e. can it improve the sound if you're not currently using one, or is it just a case of some degrade the sound less than others. I've got CDX/72/Hi/140 into a double wall socket on the end of a dedicated spur(Hi/140 using Maplin multi-plug). In other words, can it be improved by plugging everything into a Music Works block which is plugged into the wall socket. I would imagine my setup is the ideal but has anyone found different.

Ade

[This message was edited by Ade Archer on MONDAY 18 December 2000 at 23:03.]

I've heard the MusicWorks block make an improvement when compared to a normal double socket in systems where only two items are plugged into the mains (for example in a CDX/102/180 system). So from this I guess you could say it was a 'tweak' and not just making the best of a bad job.

The fact that it improves over using a double socket doesn't square with the explanation Audio Councel gave me for why the block works so well. Their explanation was that the screening of the mains lead prevented digital hash and RFI present on the mains from radiating out of the cable and into the electronics. This must only be a partial explanation because surely having no screened cable at all is better (or at least no worse) than having any screened cable.

I suspect a couple of other factors are at play:

I recently heard a CD5/NAIT5/Ela system at my dealer.

I was very impressed with the sound - lots going on, very clearly presented, very communicative.

A small-scale version of the bigger systems, and it even does some things the bigger stuff doesn't.

You'll love it.

cheers, Martin

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and it even does some things the bigger stuff doesn't

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Rather worryingly, I've thought this myself recently when listening to some really well setup 'simple' Naim systems. Care to elaborate ? I will if you will.

Allan

firstly, I have to say that the bigger systems have a much harder job to do. They produce higher volumes and comparatively louder peaks which will reverberate around the room for longer, muddying the sound. The deeper bass can also get you into serious room problems. For instance, the 20-50Hz range is a big problem for me. Smaller systems are much easier to setup.

As to what I heard on a short listen to CD5/NAIT5/Rega Ela (a speaker which I had previously not heard). Perhaps I could describe it as clear, stable and even-handed.

Alternatively, you could say that all the instruments are tightly focused, and allowed their own space to breathe. Everything is unforced and natural, but it gels together very well.

I've not listened to a 112, but let me just pass on a rumour I've heard - a dealer (not mine) is recommending the 112 + SuperCap + NAP500 combo.

I'm sure that Naim will have to update the higher range gear at some point in line with these improvements. I wonder also whether the 500PS has given any ideas towards a SuperCap-II.

If we're going to get into really wild speculation, the NAP500 is a bridged design. Am I right in thinking this is two halves of an amp fed by a balanced input? If so, could some or all of the new range be balanced (with a retro-fit for balanced input to the NAP500)?

I believe the current CD range uses twin DACs in a dual-differential configuration. Someone can tell me whether this would lend itself to a balanced output stange in place of the current single-ended stuff? (I'm getting out of my depth here!)

Of course, you'd need to make some serious changes to the wiring configuration. Standard balanced cabling uses three wires (signal +ve & -ve & earth) for each channel (IIRC using XLR or Neutrik plugs instead of phonos). Of course, you couldn't split the earth in a Naim system, so I guess you'd have to 'bodge' a five-pin DIN interconnect to carry two +ve's, two -ve's and a common earth. SNAIC-4s and -5s would become SNAIC-6s and -7s. (Would balanced circuitry need both +24v & -24v power supplies? SNAIC-8s & SNAIC-9s?)

Presumably a balanced system would be less susceptible to RF and interference between adjacent interconnects.

How about that for off-the-wall!!!

cheers, Martin

Welcome to the Naim experience.

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New Naim Owner - What can I expect

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Firstly, an immense level of musical involvement with and enjoyment of your favourite music. There is the continuing support of your dealer, superb backup from the factory, and us of course, to offer views, opinions and experiential advice.

Secondly, you will want to establish a good relationship with your banker, employer and other financial stakeholders. The urge to upgrade will bite sooner or later and there is a myriad of Naim combinations from which to choose. Of course, there are certain paths that are more correct than others and I'm sure you will find plenty of views here.

Thirdly, plan on getting less sleep than you are getting now. The addictiveness of Naim (and perhaps this forum) will keep up rocking well into the night. It might be beneficial if your partner (if applicable) share your musical taste and enthusiasm.

Finally, your music collection will grow and you will feel inclined to diversify into all kinds of genres. This is a good thing, if the first 3 points are in order.

Congratulations.

James

Resistance is Futile

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I've not listened to a 112, but let me just pass on a rumour I've heard - a dealer (not mine) is recommending the 112 + SuperCap + NAP500 combo.

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Is this an omen of the impending arrival of a Super 52? If so, I better start saving my pennies for the trickle of used 52s on the second-hand market.

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I wonder also whether the 500PS has given any ideas towards a SuperCap-II.

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Better still, I could have a 52/Super for a song or three.

I seem to recall that one of the design briefs for the 500 is to compete head-on with the likes of Krell, Mark Levinson et al. It wouldn't surprise me that a mono or more powerful version of the 500 is in development as well as the creation of a new range of super preamps and PSUs. This bodes very well for people with budget-level to mid-range Naim systems by providing a more cost-effective upgrade path. Remains to be seen, of course.

James

Resistance is Futile

For a while there I thought you were about to do something radical and start a debate about how, in some respects, a simple but well setup Naim system can actually be preferrable to a much costlier system. But it didn't quite come out that way in your reply. Pity, because I'm beginning to find that this view has some credence.

Here's where I stand at the moment: CDSII/82/Supercap/250/IBL. Its a system I've put together over a period of about 4 years. I've lived with its evolution from humble beginings and fully recognise all the big steps along the way. It's at the point where I know it sounds good but recognise that until I get the stand issue (and some other things) sorted out its never going to give its best.

Most of the upgrades I've made over the years have been as a result of opportune 2nd hand (or ex-dem) purchases so I've not really had the luxury to stop, take a step back and carefully evaluate the options by sitting down and actually LISTENING to systems. But now that I'm in the market for stands I thought I would approach this purchasing decision in a more organised and informed way. So I've actually been out there listening to some HiFi systems recently.

I've actually been quite shocked at just how good a simple CDX/102/180 system can sound when well setup. I wish now that I'd gone through this process some years ago. When a simple system like this is working well it becomes very, very easy to simply ignore the HiFi and just become engaged by the music. Unfortunately as the system gets bigger it seems to become more sensitive to environment and setup issues, probably to the point where it inevitably looses that musical magic. What you end up with is something like the CDSII/52/500/DBL system (and my system is guilty of this too to some extent) that I heard recently at the Manchester HiFi show - something big and impresive but leaves you with the feeling that you are simply observing music via an expensive HiFi system.

For me this has been a process of rediscovery. I've remembered now why I first started buying HiFi equipment. Its actually quite liberating because I feel I actually have choices, I don't have to plough onwards and upwards. Maybe I just need to get the best out of what I have and that will be more than adequate. Maybe I will upgrade the 82 for a 52, but at least I'll know why I'm doing it. I could even sell it all and buy a CDX/102/180 now that I know how to get far more from it than I did when I had that kind of system in the past.

Martin, this is the kind of thing I thought *you* were going to say when you said about the CD5/Nait5: "and it even does some things the bigger stuff doesn't".

Allan

You summed up quite neatly what I have been struggling with over the past year--when does the magic stop ?

I have gone from a 82/Super active SBL system to a 72/Hicap/250/Kans system and am having more fun now than I have in a long time. If t his system had a bit more bass extension I would think it just about perfect. Not perfect as in better than 52/500/DBL--it is not--but perfect in the sense that I can ignore the system and focus on the music. And to paraphrase a political slogan, "It's the music, stupid !" Maybe it is time to get that pair of Linn Kabers I have wanted for so long--Kans with bass !--and really be done except for that CDS2.

I find myself struggling with the whole 52/500 vs 72/250 concept--the 52/500 is obviously "bette r" in ways both musical and sonic, but the 72/hi/250 is so fundamentally right that I ask myself why bother with anything better. This was the subject I was trying to raise in the "perfect systems" thread--mea culpa for not explaining it better.

Happy H olidays to all !

Bob @ QwestV

Don't beleve them - they are all biased !

You should buy a Sony cd, A pioneer amp and Yamaha speakers.

Arie

Enjoy

PS The Rockplast Live DVD is cracking too.