More in the papers....

[Sandman]

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2 ... tter-sound

Flat earthers rejoice......"put British audio stalwarts such as Naim and Linn back at the centre of music lovers homes".....

Looks like maybe the investment bank pays for a good PR company as it promotes it's Chinese made kit....

[jammy395]

Some classic bullshit there in Sandman......

Stephenson also hopes the player will get serious music buffs hooked on the British manufacturer’s wares and entice them to spend more on other bits of its kit in future – acting as a sort of gateway drug.
He gives a throaty chuckle at the suggestion and jokes: “We like to take people’s money from cradle to grave.”
(Paul Stephenson - Naim Managing Director).

"We like to fleece the Sheep" - Is what he really meant.

[AshM750.]

Very interesting article! This is just an advert!

[Lindsayt]

36 employees working in Research and Development.

What have they actually been doing with their time, in terms of coming up with better sounding equipment for less money?

Or is it more a case of coming up with increasingly complex solutions for replaying music, as shown in their Statement amps?

[istari_knight]

I used to really like Naim back when I'd only played with Naits & an old 12/160 but I went down to my [then] local dealers for a "Naim evening" to hear the latest and greatest. Upon entry I was greeted by the poorest sound I've ever heard inside a dealers, it was a CD5i/Nait5i into a pair of Focal standmounts... My [non-hifi] brother was also with me at the time and commented his micro system at home sounded better

Into the main dem room to listen to what I think were CDX2/252/250/Allae, cue naff pop music played at ear splitting levels... Naim rep tapping his foot and nodding his head to the beat while we were wincing After three tracks he fiddles around the back for a minute before resuming the music, it was later revealed he'd added a £5000 power supply into the system.... I could tell bugger all difference.

That day, any interest in Naim died for me.

[SteveTheShadow]

Yes, I well remember a dealer show at the Holiday Inn, Sheffield, around 1992.
Linn, Kef, QUAD, Rega, Arcam and Naim were the main exhibitors.

linn and Naim had booked a ballroom each in the old Victorian, former railway hotel, with the other exhibitors using smaller rooms.
Naim were demming Linn and their own CD front ends through a 52 preamp into a six-pack of 135s, into the then new DBL speakers.
They were playing Seal at ear bleeding levels, their reps, doing the usual foot-tapping and bopping along. Personally I had never heard such a fooking row in my entire life. The system, must have cost thirty grand, even then. I had gone along looking to upgrade my Nait 2 amp to something a bit better from their range. That dem and the arrogance of the reps put me off the brand altogether.
In the Linn room, they were also playing Seal at ear bleeding levels, with a CD12 player into a linn preamp and bank of Klout power amps, with their then top range active speakers, the name of which escapes me. The sound was OK, far better than the Naim system but certainly not worth the prices they were charging for their gear at the time.

The biggest laugh was Ross Walker in the QUAD room. Dressed in tweed jacket, with shirt and tie, dark green cords and tan brogues, he was demming the QUAD CD system with preamp and coffee table remote into the new 606 power amp and ELS63s. He was getting a steady stream of refugees from the Linn and Naim dems all day, the punters, including me and a mate, all seeking relief from the unholy racket. Playing classical, with the seats in his room occupied all the time, he was having a field day.

A great guy, with a lovely dry sense of humour and the sound in there was outstanding. He had no need for fancy gimmicks or hard selling. It changed my perception of what hi-fi was really about and although I was in no position to afford ELS63s or his top line amps, I knew from then on that the sound I was after, did not include any versions offered by Naim or Linn.
I am sure Linn and Naim helped Mr Walker sell a boatload of QUAD gear that day.

[jammy395]

Cheers Steve intresting - I can picture the scene now...........

[SteveTheShadow]

Cheers Steve intresting - I can picture the scene now...........

Aye it was so funny.
We were walking along the corridor, in conversation with a few other show-goers about the godawful sound in the Naim room, when we spied this unassuming gent standing in the doorway of the QUAD room. The conversation went something like this:

"Hello, I couldn't help hearing you mention you've been having your ears assaulted by a few other exhibitors. Would you chaps like to have a listen to how recorded music should really sound?"
I mean how could we refuse
The place was an oasis of calm, with a sound that took your breath away, in the nicest possible way of course.
There was even an aspidistra on a table by the window. He knew exactly how to create the atmosphere he wanted you to experience, even before he put the first CD on.

[Dr Bunsen Honeydew]

Pity he was such a pedantic objectivist "all amplifiers sound the same", "and if you want to know how good an amplifier is you only need the measurements"

[_D_S_J_R_]

His father wasn't like this at all I remember.....


The saddest thing about Linn and Naim back then was how they never realised how absolutely fuggin' awful their show dems were, far worse than the sound their better dealers could conjure up (although DBL's were godawful noise makers fitted with downgraded ATC bass drivers wherever you heard them).