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The Naim 'sound'

i have an accuphase cdp which on the whole i like a lot but sometimes i wish it was more dynamic in its presentation of the music. overall though i feel it gives me plenty of detail and a real sound. i have also thought about a naim cdp but for every person who seems to love the Naim 'sound', there seems to be someone else who hates it with a passion and thinks the 'sound' Naim creates is false. the main criticism seems to be that yes, it does give you a very dynamic explosion of sound and is very fast but that it misses a lot of the musical and that the naim 'sound' is actually quite artificial. i would be interested to hear if people agree or disagree with this argument. i have not done a direct comparison yet between an accuphase cdp and the naim cdx2(which is the player i would be thinking about)but whilst i might sometimes crave a bit more dynamism from my accuphase, i would not want to sacrifice the accuphase genuine sound for something that may be slightly artificial
merseyboy
chashmal
605 posts
 
I truly dislike Naim products, especially the amps. They are pleasant enough alright, which is the problem right there. They play it safe by trying to not color sound at all, but instead imbue the gear with 'dynamism' which is just a brightened flattness without real depth or emotionality, IMO.

Having said that, I think that their best gear are the CD players. The ones at the very top are wonderful but horribly overpriced (15-30 grand). I prefer about 20 other players at that price.

Then again, I am a tube guy, which is an opposing aesthetic altogether!
nolitan
865 posts
 
I had long experience with Naim sound as well as Accuphase & Esoteric.
If you want a more dynamic, detailed sound, the Esoteric can give you that. However the mids of the x-03 or the X-05 is not as beautiful and seductive as the Accuphase DP500s.
Naim sound is very rythmic and toe tapping, mids is quite good as well & its very musical (gets right to the heart of the music), but to get the most out of the Naim cdplayer,they have to be plugged in 24/7 and placed on really good stands.
I can live with all three of them but each has its own strenght and weaknesses.
gerardff
78 posts
 
Like everything else it comes down to what YOU prefer. Why ask someone else which sounds better. What sounds better to you? If Naim sounds too dynamic at the price of sudtlty or nuance then go for something else. Forget about which sounds more like live music cause none do. Go to a symphony or a jazz emsemble to find that out. I have heard many high cost systems and none sound like a live symphony! I treated my wife to a live classical ensemble in our livingroom one year for our anniversary. No system will ever generate that amount of music. But since I can't afford live musicians everyday (Ah, to be Royalty in the 15th-17th century) I have to live with a artificial means of music reproduction. I agree that the room plays a MAJOR role in a systems "sound". My room is terrible and I've struggled with it forever. SS or Tubes, all had the same problem, aggressive HF.
I own Naim gear and non-Naim gear. I don't find that their amps are colorless and try and play it safe, actually, quite the opposite. At least not the 250/52 series. Sure they don't sound like tubes but tubes don't have what Naim gear can give you. I own both tube and Naim gear. I like both for what they do. The newer Naim gear is quite different from the olive series. My main bitch about Naim gear is it's price, so I buy it used.
Every design is a trade off in some aspect of presentation. Look at cables. What two cable sound the same. Same with CD players. I own Naim amp/preamp but don't own a Naim CD player. I have never heard one in my system but based upon what I already get from my Naim gear I'd rather have a bit more l If the Naim CD player is very dynamic but nat as "musical" as you would like thatn look elsewhere. A friend of mine has a Primare CD30.2. It's a more relaxed player but extremely musical. I love it.
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