Danger of demos and aural persuasiveness...

SteveR750

Well-known member
So have finally got my PC working for more than a couple of microseconds without dying, and had a chance to properly listen to this NAD. I'm struck by how beguiling it is, moderate volme, nothing silly, listening to tracks on a random 10 playlist, and every now and then a familiar one pops up and I'm hearing a whole layer of detail that I didn't know was there, and it's exciting, it's pulling me into the music - this what it is all about, after all right?

Well, I'm really fighting an impulse to just say k it and buy the damn thing, I mean I am really grinning at what I can hear, heart really is ruling head; so time to stop, take a breath and analyse why is it so exciting?

Partly I realise because I already wanted the NAD, I have a soft spot for them, a pride of ownership; I want it to sound great even before it's turned on; so a huge preconception before the audition even starts, just how powerful our eyes are when using our ears.

Ultimately it is "better" than my current amp/DAC, but does it really make the music any different? Is this pleasure an ephemeral transience born of an ever fleeting material upward spiral? The knowledge that there is something "better" and it's within reach is a heady drug of such coloration of the senses that it would make owners of Bose hi fi recoil.

Against my inner wishes I'm going to have to pack it away before I get too used to it, hide it until I take it back to the shop and redress the stupid balance in my credit card. Time for the head to rule, to focus on the music and not simply the sound of it, to just enjoy what is a fabulous system as it is. But I know, that one day, it will be there will be there on my rack, not today, not next week, but one day a long time from now, because somehow I just know it's "right"
 

ID.

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SteveR750 said:
a heady drug of such coloration of the sense that would make owners of Bose hi fi recoil.

:rofl:

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matthewpiano

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This reminds me of the time I listened to a pair of PMC DB1+. At the time I had the Arcam A18. I'd tried several speakers with it (KEF iQ10, B&W 686, KEF Q300) and nothing quite achieved what I wanted. Then I had an extended audition of the PMCs with the Arcam and it sounded incredible. My heart was really tugging and I wanted those speakers, but it was a £1,000 step too far and I had to put the head first. In the end it was cheaper to sell the Arcam amp and take a different route and I'm now getting probably about 85% of the performance which, considering the price difference, is good enough for me. Ultimately I hope to have a pair of little PMCs one day, but it will have to remain a long term target rather than something to be achieved in the near future.
 

chebby

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And after my 2 years with Naim Nait 5i/CD5i/NAT05/n-Sats, I still have the odd moment when I want to get a Naim all-in-one (no more seperates though).

I came this --><-- close to chucking £1900 at my local Naim dealer to secure a UnitiLite (with FM/DAB module) a couple of weeks ago. Then the UnitiQute was reduced to £995...

Nnnggghh

Then my dealer kindly pointed out a couple of Naim all-in-one ex-demo bargains he had waiting for me...

Nnnggghh2

I've calmed down since. (It was a close thing though. At one point I was only a phone call and 10 minutes from having a Naim system again.)
 

drummerman

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This hobby is sometimes about the heart rather than the head, despite of what I said in your other thread. I'm pretty sure it will make a bigger difference than a £1000 DAC anyway.

If you really miss the thing once its gone ... buy it. Why not?

The only thing I'm always dubious about are 'wow' moments and the resulting impulse buys which is probably not the case here. - See how you feel once its gone I'd suggest.

regards
 

CnoEvil

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I have been exactly where you are.

I took the AMS 35i out for a weekend, and loved it....but I felt I couldn't, in all good conscience, justify the expenditure, so I sent it back.

Over the next 4 months or so, every time I put on some music, I missed it......so when my dealer offered me a great deal on one, all my resistance had dissolved.

There is good sense in DM's suggestion to send it back and see how much you miss it......the big (and difficult) question you have to answer is - can you get a preferable sound by spending your money differently?
 

SteveR750

Well-known member
CnoEvil said:
I have been exactly where you are.

I took the AMS 35i out for a weekend, and loved it....but I felt I couldn't, in all good conscience, justify the expenditure, so I sent it back.

Over the next 4 months or so, every time I put on some music, I missed it......so when my dealer offered me a great deal on one, all my resistance had dissolved.

There is good sense in DM's suggestion to send it back and see how much you miss it......the big (and difficult) question you have to answer is - can you get a preferable sound by spending your money differently?

Exactly, hard though it is, I have to do this. However, I have managed to arrange everthing such that I get to compare the Qute, and the Leema Dac with my system before I have to actually hand over the NAD for a refund. There are some other domestic changes that might have slotted into place by the weekend as well that if happen, will be the equivalent of Murray Walket shouting at the start of the British Grand Prix. The only hassle will be to post a grand's worth of DAC back, and have to wait a amonth for a brand new NAD unless the shop is prepared to sell me the demo version at a discount of course.

Trouble is, I already think I know the result..... :doh:
 

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