Naim -- Fatiguing?

I disagree and as a preface I only own a CDX and not a whole Naim system. I am not sure what research you are referrign to but I hope its your own and not what you ahve "heard" or read. Remeber your rears are what matters.

For the money I feel there are better power amps and preamps out there, but to me the CD players are wonderful.

The old CD3 was exactly as you described though, right out in your face and far more "etched" then the current series 5 cd player which has it faults certainly, but fatiguing isn't the way I would chracterize it. It ultimately lacks the soundsatge and depth of other models in its price range, but its pace and rhythm made me sit and shake my posterior in the seat during an audition :-)
But the cost with Naim quickly adds up and with each power supply upgrade which has the effect of placing the component in question in the next class up, and with the exception of the cd players, place the components firmly middle of the pack.
I recomend you hear a Naim CD player with a power supply added, phenomenal to my ears, maybe yours too.

On a side note though I suspect that a lot of people have trouble adopting NAIM componentry becasue of the DIN vsRCA/XLR connections. I don't knwo enough to get into this,but I sold off lots of expensive cable an finally satrted to hear music as opposed to listening for how I can tweak the sound just a littel bit more. Happy listening!

In my opinion, you have two Hi-fi choices. Sterile, "Audiophile" type sound, where each note is reproduced separately, in all its shining glory to be enjoyed as a single entity - Or, a system (or brand name) that attempts to recreate a musical experience as close to what the artist intended for you to hear. Live music is not pretty, nor quiet, nor sterile. It has bumps & valleys where you are left to fill in the blanks with your attitude - and toe-tapping ability. It has been my experience - and I certainly accept that there are those who disagree - that people who love listening to live music love Naim gear. It is (maybe) not the most measurably accurate equipment. But, it is the most performance-accurate equipment I've ever heard - and I've been listening for over 30 years. I listen for many hours at a time without any listener fatigue whatsoever, and find my system extremely difficult to turn off, even when it's past my bedtime. :-) Most other systems I've encountered have become tiresome after a half-hour or so, exactly the opposite of "Formulaone's" opinion above. I wouldn't swap my Naim gear for any current equipment available, and people who hear my system agree with me - and often want to buy Naim gear themselves!
That's the highest praise I can give to any Hi-fi equipment, and I sincerely hope those of you who love what you own might just try a listen to a Naim system someday before you make up your mind based on someone else's opinion - even mine!
What a hobby!
Ed

I actually demoed the Naim series 5 today (amp, preamp, and cdp with a pair of triangle speakers). It was very involving and I loved the sound in a toe-tapping way with good air around instruments and a pace that never slowed down as the music became chaotic. However, with choral, classical and space music it sounded unemotional and sterile in the midrange, very uninvolving in this respect. For comparison I listened to a Sim Audio Moon I-5 and it was richer in the midrange and almost there in the toe-tapping sense, but it certainly wasn't the Naim toe-tapping I felt earlier. It handled the choral and classical music in a very involving way and the soundstage was much wider than Naim, which seem closed in (but alive within its confines). For 30 minutes a day (or more) I would love the Naim. For all-day listening I think I would prefer something like the I-5. Though I also love the Naim industrial design and found the I-5 to be a little weird in this regard.

I see what Egoss mean though. Some systems (I remember hearing a Cary SET integrated that I thought was causing Lyle Lovett to fall asleep on the CD) don't involve the listener or are too analytical and detailed. But I also think that sometimes I want my music to sound live and sometimes I don't.

It sure is tough to choose components when your music tastes run so wide and so many styles of audio output appeal to you. Can't I just have it all?

Ok, one quick thought here. I noticed there are some Naim reviews based on imcomplete Naim systems as references. One of the key components I have come to love about Naim are the speakers. There is a certain honesty that these speakers present and I notice not a lot of dealers (at least in my deprived area) don't carry a lot of speakers in stock. Thank goodness they're in my living room. I think of all the Naim electronics out there, that the speakers carry so much to the sound, that some other companies speakers may not be able to properly keep up to the well tuned electronics behind a Naim system.

All that I'm saying, in the quest for the perfect review and comparison of a Naim system (series 5 or other), insist that a pair of any Naim speaker be involved in the demo. They are a very overlooked component of the presentation that Naim was intending.

Naim has some type of "headquarters" or possibly even a storefront here in Chicago. Has anyone ever been there before ?

My only exposure to their stuff was at the Stereophile show here a few years ago. Naim had two good sized rooms with all of their own gear set up. Quite honestly, the music they had selected to demo their stuff wasn't even suitable for an elevator. I made several trips into those rooms over the three day period, but it always sounded like "music to fall asleep by". As such, i didn't think much of it and never bothered investigating whether or not they had a store here or not. Sean
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