Naim Audio CDX with non Naim Amplifier?

[admin_exported]

Hi

I have been offered the chance of CDX (3 years old) for a very good price and am tempted but....will I need to go to Naim amplification to get the best out of it or are there equally good alternatives?

 

[chebby]

...

 

[Anonymous]

You think naim is overrated then???

I'm a hi fi child of the 80's when Linn and Naim ruled (had the Linn but never the Naim) but lost touch until recently with hi fi. CDX not such a good idea today then?

 

[chebby]

....

 

[Anonymous]

Difficult to hear in Portugal - nearest Naim dealer is Spain! But will need to find second hand (ebay?) amp if Naim is the appropriate option. Any Naim people out there to advise? How good is the Naim CDX - I know it is a few years old now but originally 2000 pounds plus!

 

[Anonymous]

"Unfortunately such acceptance that other people have different - but
equally valid - tastes and requirements is not the trademark of many
Naim owners who have a tendency to be very evangelical. Hence my first
post."

Why is it that some people who have a dislike of a make have to post such a bitchy comment, even in this case about the owners of a particular very highly regarded and worldwide successful manufacturer, You also see it about Arcam in a different guise...

 

[chebby]

...

 

[Anonymous]

chebby:MENISCUS:Why is it that some people who have a dislike of a make have to post such a bitchy comment...

I have experienced such brand bigotry first-hand many times (including from a couple of Naim dealers and even recently). Should I lie? Should I say instead that every Naim owner & dealer I have had any dealings with were all tolerant of the idea that other people may dislike the sound? Should I say that I was not told.. "you must be deaf then" by a dealer for preferring a Rega Brio/Apollo CD/Amp to a CD5i/Nait 5i?

Should I say I have NOT seen a young couple bullied out of a hifi shop in West Sussex (now out of business) by the owner, using four letter expletives, because the woman said after a Linn/Naim demo that she preferred the B&O system they had heard in a different shop that day? (The owner exploded and told her and her husband that "if they wanted ####ing furniture they should go to a ####ing furniture shop!")

What should I think of the fact that when the first Naim Nait appeared the same dealer told people it would only be demo'ed with a Linn LP12 as a source and only sold to people known by the dealer to have an LP12? (There was a waiting list for the first Naits and Naim were allegedly refusing to sell them intially to anyone who had a 'substandard' or non-Linn source.) The same dealer had also been 'told' only to partner the Naits with Linn Kanns.

Should I tell you I have not personally known Naim (and Linn) owners who were arrogant and that I did not accompany one of them to a hifi show in Brighton where he delighted in telling every exhibitor and listener very loudly in every hotel room that their stuff was s##te? (I got the train home after I eventually managed to lose the guy somewhere in the show.)

Despite all this, I still auditioned the new (italic i) Nait 5i and CD5i after reading the 5 star reviews but it was still not my sort of sound.

I respect the company and their achievments, I respect the fact that their equipment is loved by so many for so long around the world, but I do not like the sound myself and I despair of the extreme 'fanboy' element that goes with Naim ownership (and dealership to an extent.)

I don't believe brand loyalty is healthy when it gets extreme and even abusive. (I see this a lot on another hifi forum site.)

As for Arcam? Well I mostly see it being derided on this forum. That's ok. We cannot all like the same things.

The guy simply asked whether a particular CD player would go with what amp, probably didn't expect a tirade of your personal dislike of a manufacturer and its customers............

 

[Thaiman]

Naim do sound better with another Naim (unless we are talking speakers!)

Although Exposure amp could work well with the CDX imo.

 

[Anonymous]

Yes, I agree with you about the Naim speakers Mr T, Neat, PMC, Spendor, B&W, plus many other speakers suit Naim products better..........

 

[cyrus fan]

I agree with chebby. He's entitled to express his honest opinions based on his experiences. That's how interesting discussions get started.

His comments don't read like a tirade to me; they ring true based on my own experience.

 

[Anonymous]

It's actually a good player and will certainly work with other amps. Naim do design everything in a system context though so it would be best to hear it at home before comitting. Oh and do keep your curtains closed. Oh and tape up your letterbox as well; better safe than sorry.

 

[Anonymous]

Interesting post. I agree with much of what you say but suspect that none of these things could be levelled at Naim but instead by people who get swollen up with their own importance and behave like religeous zealots because they own a certain brand of equipment. These people's are simpletons at best and idiots at worse. Their stupidity should be pointed out to them at every opportunity and not tollerated.

Retailers who are abusive to their customers deserve to be out of business because they give good retailers a bad name. Forums are usually populated by people who haven't got a clue but think they hold ALL the answers in the palm of their hands and seek to dispense their wisdom to those they consider worthy. It's all preaching and almost all of it is fake.

How can anybody tell you what to like? The very idea.......

 

[glenaim]

System: lp12,lingo 2,ekos2,arkiva,nac82,nap 140,naim cdi,proac studio 140 speakers.in my experience,naim stuff goesvwith other equipment fine,i like the linn lp12, but i dont like linn amps or speakers,i love the PRaT and control and solidity of naim amps,but feel that the proac speakers with their warm,natural and awesome soundstaging,make a very good match. Stewart at proac actually used naim 250 amps to develop some of his speakers,so you know that they should be a good match.my first system was a rega planar 3,rega brio amp,mission se speakers.ive had an lp12 with an akito,a naim 62, and a phenomenal pair of proac response speakers.i've heard a pink triangle and mitchell turntables and epos and dynaudio and pmc and b&w speakers,musical fidelity and sugden amps,thorens cd player,triangle speakers,ive owned an arcam cd player.the point is,you may have to mix and match brands to get YOUR perfect sound,its your money,and only your opinion that counts

 

[stevebrock]

What a load of old codswallop, Naim will go with whatever you please - as long as you like the sound!

See plenty of peeps running Rega RS speakers through Naim amplification!

 

[jjbomber]

"Unfortunately such acceptance that other people have different - but
equally valid - tastes and requirements is not the trademark of many
Naim owners who have a tendency to be very evangelical. Hence my first
post."

Why is it that some people who have a dislike of a make have to post such a bitchy comment, even in this case about the owners of a particular very highly regarded and worldwide successful manufacturer, You also see it about Arcam in a different guise...

In fairness I have got 4 Naim amps and I am more than happy to say when they do something wrong, i.e. their current Uniti reliability issues and non-existant service in this area. I haven't seen many people on hear saying bad things about their equipment manufacturer. Rega boys always recommend Rega, Arcam boys recommend Arcam and don't start me on the cult members with their hero worship. So Naim owners are not so evangelical as you think. Naim remain the biggest hi-fi manufacturer in the UK, so they must be doing something right.