OLT Power Amp????

[AshM750.]

Ash, be nice to Colin and he might build you one.

I wish

[Dr Bunsen Honeydew]

You can build your own one, Colin is doing DIY kits for his latest amp.

[AshM750.]

dont tell me that Doc, Ive already spent next months wages

[Dr Bunsen Honeydew]

According to your post on PFM Ash you use a full Naim system and are now looking to buy Naim speakers. What happened to the ear problems

[Fretless]

The Naim's were probably the cause of the hearing problem.

[_D_S_J_R_]

Current Naim speakers definitely will cause ear issues - they're absolutely awful and the sheep that buy them make all kinds of excuses as to why they can't get a satisfactory sound from them. Beautifully finished though. I have to say I cannot understand the current reverence for Naim products. They haven't deserved this since the first bolt-up models pre 1980...

Even older Naim speakers lack depth of image, use compromised passive crossovers ('cos they wanted owners to go active) and VERY cheap drivers (SBL driver £6 from the supplier, add some goop and a centre piece and charge £75 for it...). In comparison, Epos ES14 driver parts cost only was £25.

Ash, I'm sorry and I AM trying to understand, but having a Nait-based system just means you're hearing amp-clipping most of the time. the perceived bass doesn't go low enough to give proper 'atmosphere' and the treble is dirty and 'grainy' into better speakers. Neats, Kudos and Naim speakers add copious amounts of fizz - up to 5db too much on tweeter levels to simulate 'detail' which isn't there in the first place. How you could even contemplate replacing an NVA amp with such over-hyped rubbish is beyond me. Loads of other amps (all more expensive) you could have chosen that would have communicated the musical message properly, but sheeple NAIM????? I give up, I really do

P.S. You are aware of the nasty resonance issues in the Dynaudio main driver high up in its range? Causes fuzzy and/or harshness at the crossover which many unsuspecting bods mistake for 'deeetail' in the treble. BBC radio has never been the same since they went to the Dynaudio BM5A for monitoring in-studio and this model has been confirmed to have major issues in the bass driver right where the ear is most sensitive!

[Lindsayt]

Clipping from the Nait??? Just how loud does Ash normally listen and how big is his room?

[_D_S_J_R_]

I'm going to suggest two 'albums,' both of which will drive a Nait 5i into early clipping.

Cat Stevens - Tea For The Tillerman
Sam Brown - Mindworks EP

The Cat Stevens is a very difficult album to reproduce despite simple production. His voice is intense and can sound too 'nasal' and 'neeeeeeh!' at times. A Nait 5i/5i will make you wince when he sings out - been there and done it! Play the same disc using the same source and into a more capable amp (can be NVA, or Quad, or Croft pre/power and many others) and you find his voice doesn't make you wince when he sings out. Diction in Cat's singing is better too and the backing instruments sound less forced and less grainy using other amps.

The Sam Brown ep is a speaker killer if the speakers have issues. VERY close miked and intense vocals in a dry acoustic. Into upper-mid peaky AVI N5's and Pro 9's (Kan-like balance) make her voice shriek and squeak nastily. Into a better integrated speaker, she sounds intense but not to make your ears ring

I wish Pink Fishies could widen their choice from 'Audio T' fare. So many great products out there (there wasn't much in the early 80's) that so clearly out-perform Naim Audio in every way. OK, some use valves in the input stage (Pathos, Croft), others are all valved (Icon Audio for example), but there are some good solid state products too (NVA is a bloody bargain) - Soneteer, better Arcam FMJ separates and loads costing more again.

£600 integrated that isn't NVA? What about a Quad Vena for starters?

[AshM750.]

I will give good reasons later as im at work atm but I paid peanuts for that system and I thought what the hell, why not! Basically my ears are still playing up but I don't play my music loud and since I got rid of the Royds the problem is not so bad.

I am not yet ready to settle down with hifi yet. I know that nva is the something I would be happy with but I just want to explore a bit more before settling down with nva.

Hifi is like dating, you might find the right woman but continue looking to see if there's anything better. Trust me NVA is still at the Top but I'm not ready to settle yet, hence why I've stayed on the forum.

[wallace]

I think you had better try my IPL's Ash,they will tame your Naim kit a tad...I had the same amp and cdp for a while and it worked well.Bring them back if you don't like them...