The shop that I have purchased most of my Naim gear from, London Audio, has recently lost (given up) the Naim line. I am on excellent terms with all the staff members and was always a loyal customer. Not only did I drag friends kicking and screaming into the shop once I discovered Naim (I even got them business from people I knew in Buffalo, Washington D.C. and Chicago), but the store would occasionally phone me up on a Saturday to ask if they could send a potential client over to my place for a quick listen. The reason for this was that poor mains and rooms at the shop made it difficult to hear Naim equipment at its best, to put it mildly. Even now that they no longer carry the line, I still pop in once a month to check for used gear (mainly for friends), audition Linn's latest effort/debacle or simply to chat and joke around. Now the hard part. In spite of their friendliness and willingness to loan me equipment for extended periods whenever I asked, their expertise with Naim was something that I quickly surpassed (excluding the Naim technician, who quit after a while and has become a rather close friend). Part of the problem was that I came to own equipment beyond the level of what they would stock and were familiar with. On top, there was a tremendous bias in favour of Linn (which all but one of them owned--the lone dissenter chose Sim Audio) which made them neglect Naim. I ended up getting much more information about products and how to set them up from this forum and that is why I say that most of you know more than certain dealers. I should also mention Terry Richardson, the local Naim/Royd representative, who really taught and showed me a lot in the early days (introduced and got Petrik and I hooked on the P9, for example) and continues to be of enormous help to me, especially by lending me cool stuff to try every now and then, like schlepping his Kans back and forth to my place so that I can try out Tony Lonorgan's most recent dictates on what has to be done to get them not to honk.

The new Naim dealer is Target Hi-Fi, which for years was the rival round earth shop, and they are in the process of getting to know and understand the virtues of the brand. I applaud their effort and patience (they haven't sold one bit of the stuff yet) and I really hope it all works out, because they seem to really have a passion and love for audio (unlike some people, that I won't name, who seem more concerned with home theatre these days ;-). Actually, just over the past two days, I have been in the shop to help with the repositioning/selection of speakers that I felt would get the CDX/XPS/102/Hi/180 to sound the way a Naim fan would want it. To say that I know more about this than they do right now is not a slur against them, but merely a reflection of my lengthier experience. I am also learning a thing or two from them (these round earth boys to have a way of honing on tonal things) and honoured that they treat my opinions with respect, as I do theirs (OK, OK, not all of them).

Now to the point. When I flippantly remarked that the most useful thing a dealer had to offer me in the realm of Naim (and I was mainly referring to the former dealer) was the loan of equipment, I'm afraid the phrasing belittled just how important that was. I truly appreciate the fact that they would lend me things (they still do) and it is one of the reasons why I bought so much stuff from them and brought so many others to the shop. The reason for my wording prinicipally to highlight the fact that, for reasons outlined above, it would be foolish for those in the position Joe and I were in to expect the kind of magical setup expertise that some of you appear to get from Larry. The "dealer knows everything and will get your system cooking" idea may be useful for 57% of you, but others have to rely on other means. I was also reacting a little to the idea that none of us on this side of the counter could ever hope to achieve this level of expertise: as if we were children who would never get their toy to work properly without the shop keeper putting it all together. We should treat good dealers with respect and we should treat knowledgeable users with respect.

Apologies to the good dealers out there who read my initial statements as blanket condemnations. I am sure there are many of you who could improve upon my setup and system configuration. You are certainly welcome to come over and convince me. I may even give you a tip and I certainly promise not to steal anything.

Vuk.

Rico - musichead

Sincerely,
Ron The Mon (my real name BTW)

Have you considered my advice of moving the electronics out from between your speakers?

quote:

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Ron The Mon (my real name BTW)

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Are you that crazy Jamaican guy Terry keeps referring to when commenting on the bass of Minstrel SEs?

Arun,

There's been a lot of advice from you here lately for people with 52, NAP500s and DBLs. We've got a saying in Serbia about the son lecturing dad on how to make babies. As I explained to you when you were at my place, the CDP situation was a work in progress when you came to my house (I shouldn't have even played it). You didn't seem to have any complaints about my primary source, even though I was running £275 speakers. Everything will be sorted out later this week when the Mana arrives and I am not moving anything--it will not be necessary at that point (see below what one can get away with).

Vuk.

P.S. I have some very interesting speakers here right now (no, not what's in the piccie beneath): they smoked a pair of Mini Utopias at the shop, so I just had to try. More details when my mind adjusts to all this tuneful bass and less slam than I am used to.

how not to be a weenie boy:

[This message was edited by Vuk Vuksanovic on SUNDAY 10 December 2000 at 21:00.]

i gotta woody!;)

dave

I don't get to contribute (or read) the forum as much as I'd like to but when I get a chance, posts like yours make it all worth while. This is a great post ! Keep it coming !

Joe

Welcome ! You're from my neck of the woods. I'm in W-S. Are you " Electrician" Joe , a friend of Dale "Cat-daddy" Gillespie?

regards,

dave

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There's been a lot of advice from you here lately for people with 52, NAP500s and DBLs. We've got a saying in Serbia about the son lecturing dad on how to make babies.

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...I don't want to start anything with you Vuk. I'm not lecturing anyone and I do comment on systems other than the 52/500. I have never said anything about DBLs! Please don't imply that I can't voice my opinion. Just because I don't own a Lexus, it doesn't mean that I know nothing of them. Lexus is my favourite luxury car maker and oh yeah, Naim just happens to be my favourite audio company.

I know some choice sayings myself, but that's not in my character. Thanks for allowing me to experience the Mana difference.

'nuff said and don't try to insult my intelligence again.

Wow! You listen to Mana for half an hour and already suffer the legendary sense of humour failure that goes along with it.

I'll try to attach a few grains of salt to my future postings.

Cheers dude,
Vuk.

Have you talked to Dale recently ? If not, you need to call him and arrange a visit. Let's say that he has more than 1 NAP500 at the house right now. Actually, let's call it a three-some...

Joe

What's that thing at the bottom right half of the picture, sitting on the coffee table? The world's biggest dube?

Joe

Is Edgar Broughton cool again???

merry xmas

P.

Sorry for the late reply, been outta town on business. Should have known Dale would have 3 500s...... I'll give him a buzz.

Looking forward to seeing you again during one of the "crash at Dale's" .

regards,

dave

P.S. Congrats on the cds II. Seems like you were last looking at an 82. I bet you're at a 52 by now?

Ross

No choice. No way. Not even close. The 500's kick ass. Period.

Joe

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That photo confirms everything I've suspected about Mana users.

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And what might those suspicions be?

James

Arthur Bye

Arie

Any idea what the top layer of the turntable stack is? It seems to be perspex or glass.

All the best,
David