Heard the Naim mu-so at the weekend

[audiokid]

I was in the Apple Store looking at the new iPhones and strolled upstairs to see if the Naim mu-so was in stock. I was pleased to see it was on demo and sounded quite ballsy across the busy store.

On arrival, I have to say I was quite disappointed. It just sounded like a large iPod dock to me. Admittedly, this is kind of what it is, but was hoping for some Naim magic in there. It sounded compressed and bassy and even more so when the dial went up. I tried a few familiar tracks, well recorded ones, but it was like a larger version of the B&W MM-1 but without a stereo image. It was placed at a good height (around 1.2m) and on a solid surface.

The loud environment didn't help, but i did manage to get a good ear on it when fairly close up.

Has anyone else heard one? I'm sold on the concept of it, as it's perfect for the kitchen or bedroom but felt a little flat after hearing it. I'll try give it a proper listen in a quiter space.

 

[chebby]

How big was the space it was playing in?

 

[stevebrock]

shock !! horror !!

 

[Philim]

I had the same experience in JL at the weekend. Came away thinking it was the Mu-soso. It is a nice product but felt it was expensive with ok sq.

 

[Marsbardark]

Lifestyle product, sound per pound not what it's about.

 

[audiokid]

Yes, absolutely. Sure, the space was big and it was noisy so not a fair assessment.

Agreed, it's very much a lifestyle product and my expectations were set quite high. Nice design though.

 

[andyrich_2000]

I'm considering buying it tho it needs to impress me when I audition it as a soundbar.

 

[Marsbardark]

Impress and soundbar don't normally go together

 

[andyrich_2000]

I just want it to be as good as a soundbar. It kills 2 birds for me if so.

 

[Frank Harvey]

Ask for a demo somewhere quiet, preferably a private demo room. That will remove the shop floor, it's negatives, and associated noise, and you'll get a much better idea of what it is capable of.

 

[gowiththeflow]

Without having yet seen or heard the Mu-so, the impression I'm getting from comments on here and on other forums, is that it might be impossible to hear anything of its capabilities in a shop/store environment. There won't even be a hint of how the really perform unless it's in a quiet listening room, or at home.

The little Sonos Play speakers suffer the same way when playing in stores like John Lewis and can sound weak and poor, belying how good they really are when used in the domestic environment.

.

 

[nopiano]

Without having yet seen or heard the Mu-so, the impression I'm getting from comments on here and on other forums, is that it might be impossible to hear anything of its capabilities in a shop/store environment. There won't even be a hint of how the really perform unless it's in a quiet listening room, or at home.

The little Sonos Play speakers suffer the same way when playing in stores like John Lewis and can sound weak and poor, belying how good they really are when used in the domestic environment.

This means that buyers should ensure they can return it if it doesn't work for them at home. I would expect JL to accept returns.

I would speculate that a significant proportion of Sonos buyers never listen beforehand, but hopefully end up liking their purchase!

 

[Jota180]

You're never going to get the stereo separation, spacial qualities, weight or the usual things that you do with more normal set ups. I think people are seeing the name and assuming it must somehow sound exceptional but you can't overcome the limitations of a relatively small box whose internals are stuffed full of speakers and electronics.

It would probably be fairer to compare it's sound to other one box solutions and not to separates hifi.

 

[Overdose]

You're never going to get the stereo separation, spacial qualities, weight or the usual things that you do with more normal set ups. I think people are seeing the name and assuming it must somehow sound exceptional but you can't overcome the limitations of a relatively small box whose internals are stuffed full of speakers and electronics.

It would probably be fairer to compare it's sound to other one box solutions and not to separates hifi.

+1

I think some people are expecting a bit too much from this thing.

It's simply a lifestyle product, an up to date music centre and will be bought as such.

 

[Frank Harvey]

I'm not so sure I would flatly label it a "lifestyle" product, but even if you do, there are no rules omitting lifestyle products from sounding good. Many small 5.1 speaker systems are the result of "lifestyle", and some of those sound great, and being used by many people on this forum. Yes, the fact that it is a solution type product should not be ignored when assessing what to expect from it, but in the same breath that also shouldn't be used to dismiss it's possible quality.

Expectation is usually the cause of disappointment.

 

[Gasman]

I bought a Muso this weekend to go in a large room, 35' x 12 ' and it sounds great. I have replaced a sonos 5 and the difference is night and day. It has a full tight sound and I recommend it. For me it has a good Naim sound to it what ever you put through which for me is , increasingly Spotify but also the ripped FLAC library.

I bought it from sevenoaks HiFi as I always buy my kit there and the service and advice is valuable - not just flogging stuff

Hope this helps

 

[Jota180]

I'm not so sure I would flatly label it a "lifestyle" product, but even if you do, there are no rules omitting lifestyle products from sounding good. Many small 5.1 speaker systems are the result of "lifestyle", and some of those sound great, and being used by many people on this forum. Yes, the fact that it is a solution type product should not be ignored when assessing what to expect from it, but in the same breath that also shouldn't be used to dismiss it's possible quality.

Expectation is usually the cause of disappointment.

Are you seriously expecting everyone to drop their expensive separates once they hear this?

It may sound good or great but imo that would/should be qualified by 'great for a one-box solution' because the day someone makes an 800 quid unit that sounds as good as thousands of quids worth of hifi is the day the hifi industry comes crashing down!

* I'm not trying to belittle the Muso by using the word box.

 

[chebby]

I'm not so sure I would flatly label it a "lifestyle" product, but even if you do, there are no rules omitting lifestyle products from sounding good. Many small 5.1 speaker systems are the result of "lifestyle", and some of those sound great, and being used by many people on this forum. Yes, the fact that it is a solution type product should not be ignored when assessing what to expect from it, but in the same breath that also shouldn't be used to dismiss it's possible quality.

Expectation is usually the cause of disappointment.

Are you seriously expecting everyone to drop their expensive separates once they hear this?

It may sound good or great but imo that would/should be qualified by 'great for a one-box solution' because the day someone makes an 800 quid unit that sounds as good as thousands of quids worth of hifi is the day the hifi industry comes crashing down!

* I'm not trying to belittle the Muso by using the word box.

A fair comparison is with £895 worth of separates (with DAC and wireless streaming) not with "thousands of quid's worth of hi-fi..."

 

[gowiththeflow]

I'm not so sure I would flatly label it a "lifestyle" product, but even if you do, there are no rules omitting lifestyle products from sounding good. Many small 5.1 speaker systems are the result of "lifestyle", and some of those sound great, and being used by many people on this forum. Yes, the fact that it is a solution type product should not be ignored when assessing what to expect from it, but in the same breath that also shouldn't be used to dismiss it's possible quality.

Expectation is usually the cause of disappointment.

Are you seriously expecting everyone to drop their expensive separates once they hear this?

It may sound good or great but imo that would/should be qualified by 'great for a one-box solution' because the day someone makes an 800 quid unit that sounds as good as thousands of quids worth of hifi is the day the hifi industry comes crashing down!

* I'm not trying to belittle the Muso by using the word box.

I don't see any suggestion that people should drop their expensive separates once they've heard this product.

David does indeed appear to suggest putting it into the context that you suggest.

 

[Frank Harvey]

Are you seriously expecting everyone to drop their expensive separates once they hear this?

Certainly not! Although you may well find a few people who feel it is good enough to discard their separates systems for something more compact, just as some have done with mini systems like Marantz's MCR610. It is a case of comparing, as has been suggested, with something of a similar budget.

 

[Jota180]

I'm not so sure I would flatly label it a "lifestyle" product, but even if you do, there are no rules omitting lifestyle products from sounding good. Many small 5.1 speaker systems are the result of "lifestyle", and some of those sound great, and being used by many people on this forum. Yes, the fact that it is a solution type product should not be ignored when assessing what to expect from it, but in the same breath that also shouldn't be used to dismiss it's possible quality.

Expectation is usually the cause of disappointment.

Are you seriously expecting everyone to drop their expensive separates once they hear this?

It may sound good or great but imo that would/should be qualified by 'great for a one-box solution' because the day someone makes an 800 quid unit that sounds as good as thousands of quids worth of hifi is the day the hifi industry comes crashing down!

* I'm not trying to belittle the Muso by using the word box.

A fair comparison is with £895 worth of separates (with DAC and wireless streaming) not with "thousands of quid's worth of hi-fi..."

£895 worth assembled in China would be even fairer.

 

[GeoffreyW]

I was in JL today, and managed to get a listen to the Muso, just out of curiosity. It was fed music from the JL sales assistant's I-phone (he was busy selling someone else another sytem, so didn't get to talk), and initially it sounded quite good in the mid- to higher frequencies, but with unconvincing bass, even with the volume turned fairly well up. It was stood on a shelf, firing directly down the full length of the store, so far from an ideal auditioning environment. I changed to another track, and as the assistant was obviously deep in coversation whith someone who was serious about a purchase, and I wasn't a serious buyer, I wandered off. The sound did carry for about fifty feet or so into the TV area.

But I certainly wouldn't change from my Uniti/Doublet set-up, mainly because I want to play cds, and vinyl, and don't stream music, but perhaps a dedicated Naim dealer, with a proper auditioning environment more representative of the home environment, would be the best place for a listen?

It's quite deep, but would be a good option as a sound bar, if you have room, perhaps. But there doesn't seem to be much in the way of sound processing, so others may be better.

As all connections are underneath, do they give you a lead to be able to plug in and play from a USB stick, I wonder?

At least my own curiosity has been satisfied, and it does have an understated look - didn't realise that the speaker panel is sculpted, either.

 

[andyrich_2000]

Cheers Geoff.

Can it be as good at being a soundbar as a dedicated soundbar tho?

 

[tinkywinkydipsylalapo]

As all connections are underneath, do they give you a lead to be able to plug in and play from a USB stick, I wonder?

USB socket is on the righthand end panel.

 

[tinkywinkydipsylalapo]

Can it be as good at being a soundbar as a dedicated soundbar tho?

I don't think anyone has said it's a soundbar.