Naim bi-amping

[Ultra Violent]

I posted a while ago about Bi-amping a Naim NAP150-X through a NAC122. Opinion was that it was better to buy a better Amp and Naim themselves do not recommend it. I spoke to my local Naim dealer and he reiterated the comments but could only say that "all Amps are different, so it will be unbalanced". Well that sounded like bks to me, and in my old Creek system the Amp could be configured to be Bi-amped or Bridged and they recommended both as an upgrade path.

So, I bought another NAP150 (actually a NAP175, as if it all goes wrong i'll use if for my Home Cinema) and a NAP250, all run through my Hi-Cap2. Long and short of it is, that Bi-amping did in fact sound unbalanced, some ranges much better than before, others worse. It sounded very un-cohesive and actually unpleasant to listen too as a result. Then I hooked up the NAP250, soooooo much nicer, clean, detailed, engaging,..... So, whatever the reason, Bi-amping is not a cost effective solution for Naim amps (at least as far as my ears are concerned). So I run the spare NAP150/175 as 5ch Power Amps for my Denon 4308. Wow, I expected an upgrade in the HC experience but now with Sonos Lossless as source, Denon DAC and pre-amp, Naim power amps I have a quality stereo solution for my TV room as well.

Bargain! (well not actually, but you see what I mean.)

[DavidY]

We did try to tell you! Glad it all worked out in the end.

davidy

[Ultra Violent]

Been a strange path for me. Been out of 2ch stuff for soooo long, sucked in to mp3 because I can carry all my music around with me and as a result forgot about quality. Years ago I would listen to 1 CD repeatedly for days, now I swap between tracks like a child on speed. Then there was the whole HC thing which is a different kettle of fish and required different equipment with different balance of sound. But, i'm really enjoying the simple quality of 2ch, although my budget has been streched much more than I anticipated. This exercise started as a modest Amp for the ZP90 in the spare room, already had some modest speakers, but now owes me 6k and I WANT a NAC252 + Super Cap and Grahams is just round the corner from me, ARRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG.............. "Darling i've sold our child to a local witch doctor, didn't get a great price, but it was enough if I don't get the Naim Frame until next month...."

[DavidY]

UV

You're slowly being suckered into Naims marketing philosophy. They appear to have worked out that the average Naim enthusiast has approx £2k-£3k a year to spend on hifi, and have built their product range for that, so vitually any upgrade (less trade in/resale of old kit, costs £2k-£3k)

If you enjoy the Naim sound then bad luck you're wallet will suffer!

I found though (as have many others) that Naim can only take you so far, and at some point you have to get off the Naim bandwagon, IMO opinion it's better to do it sooner rather than later!

See you in a years time with a 552 and a 500 then!

davidy

[Ultra Violent]

Ha, very good.

I lost a range of my hearing when I was young so I doubt a 50k system is ever going to find its way in to my home. That said, when I decided to spend a bit more on this system I compared it to all the similar priced stuff, +/- 30%, and the Naim was materially better to me. I actually went in wanting a Cyrus system based around the 8 series. However, it sounded bloody awful. I questioned whether it was just my limited hearing but the dealer assured me that some people just don't get on with the Cyrus sound and most of his staff didn't like it. However, a couple of Krells for the HC would be greatfully received!