Naim MU-SO vs Speaker Amp Setup

[hybridauth_Facebook_745678736]

Hello , wondering if anyone can advise me , my setup is >>

Marantz PM6005 Amp

Tanoy Mercury v4 Speakers

Qed u play stream network player

Chord epic speaker cable

now beacuse i do 99% of my lisening via streaming from mostly my nas , the Naim MU-SO interests me , and because it has a wide sound stage , it should fill my living room which is 5x5 square , so i'm wondering should i trade in my current setup and replace it with the naim , would it sound better? any advice would be welcomed , thanks david

 

[Frank Harvey]

Only you can decide that! Pop into a dealer for a demo.

 

[hybridauth_Facebook_745678736]

Cheers

 

[chebby]

I'll let you know one day.

I have heard the mu-so but want a better listen either in a proper dem room or at home. Excellent first impressions though.

I have yet to hear the £599 Quad Vena (another option) that I would use with my current speakers and an Apple TV (for AirPlay).

Whichever I end up with will be judged on their own merits including factors like space, price, looks and whether I will be prepared to upgrade my speakers eventually or give up separate speakers entirely and enjoy the extra space.

I will not be comparing their sound directly in any kind of A/B comparison though. (So long as all the options sound good for what they are and for what they cost.)

 

[hybridauth_Facebook_745678736]

From what ive read in reviews and user reviews, the Mu-so sound pretty good but are they a replacement for my setup ? making it more compact and giving me a more superior sound then my current setup , its a tough one . Just checked out the Quad Vena Chebby , realy nice but dosent stream from nas i think but nice all the same

 

[nopiano]

David, it is a perfectly good question, but I think it is a bit like asking is a jazz trio better than a string quartet. It might be, but it depends on your tastes. They will undoubtedly be different.

You may have missed the other seventy or so views over here:-

http://www.whathifi.com/forum/hi-fi/heard-naim-mu-so-weekend

Good luck with your audition, and other all-in-ones are available.

 

[Frank Harvey]

From what ive read in reviews and user reviews, the Mu-so sound pretty good but are they a replacement for my setup ? making it more compact and giving me a more superior sound then my current setup , its a tough one .

The Mu-so isn't really a replacement for separates, more a model to enter the growing market of users who don't want multiple boxes. A single box will never recreate the same sort of soundstage as a well placed pair of good hi-fi speakers, and also removes your choice of said speakers too.

It isn't just a stand alone product either - it can be used as a "zone player" to the Uniti systems.

 

[Frank Harvey]

He is asking which one will "sound better" - it depends whether he is using the word better to mean superior (more accurate) or better to his ears, which is a personal choice. Or maybe a combination of the two

 

[Vladimir]

Well, I can't give an opinion which will sound better to him subjectively. Only one way to find that out. Go out and listen for yourself.

If the Mu-So wasn't under the Naim badge it would be simple comparison to other soundbars*. Apples to apples. But because it is a hi-fi posh boutique brand people will ask these apples to oranges questions. To the typical consumer technology doesn't matter as much as price and brand.

*Any single cabinet, centrally positioned multichannel speaker.

 

[tino]

Maybe the OP's question could be phrased along the lines of ... "Can an experienced enthusiast or dealer recommend a hifi or lifestyle system that betters the sound quality, aesthetics and usability of a Naim Mu-so for around the same budget of £900". We tend to get the "only you can decide" answers to smilar questions around AV receives and stereo amps. Surely one of the benefits of the experience of reviewers, dealers and enthusiasts on this web-site is to give some indication one way or another? It doesn't help when WHF give 5 stars to a lot of products in the AV or lifestyle speaker category and call the sound "thrilling" or "stunning". What are we to make of this gushing praise? Are these subjective comments about the absolute sound quality or relative to the category of device? In other words is a 5 star "stunning", "amazing", and "thrilling" AV receiver or lifestyle speaker easily outclassed (for music) by a similarly priced stereo hifi????? I would expect a dealer to be able to answer that question, given that they listen to these things day in and day out and are in the business of making educated recommendations.

PS ... I have a Sonos Play:1 which WHF describe as producing "fantastic sound quality" and give it 5 stars. In that case my relatively modest system should get 8+ stars because it murders the Play:1 on sound quality. For a desktop speaker system though I think it's a very good one and expect a stereo pair to sound pretty good too.

 

[Vladimir]

What he is asking (I think) is which one reproduces music more faithfully, in the sense of high fidelity.

One thing that comes to mind is that unlike stereo pair of speakers, with a soundbar* there is no classical phantom center because in that center are the speakers. Imagine putting your stereo speakers together, cabinets wall to wall, in the center of your room and listening in front of them. To get some stereo imaging going digital sound processing (DSP) needs to be applied. Now the question is how faithfull the DSP is into making listeners believe the presentation.

*Any single cabinet, centrally positioned multichannel speaker.

 

[Frank Harvey]

The nearest thing to it would be something like the Marantz MCR610 with a pair of Sonus Faber Toys. I haven't done a direct comparison so I can't say (in my own personal opinion) which one would be better, but that's what I would pitch against it if someone wants a separate pair of speakers.

With ratings, it just depends on criteria. It's a little bit like when I rate films. There will be some comedies I will give 5 out of 5, and some thrillers I might give 4. That doesn't mean (to me) that the comedy is a better film than the thriller, just that this comedy is up there with he best for its genre. There will be Disney/Pixar films I will give 5, but that doesn't mean they're as good as thrillers with the same rating.

It's all interpretation and preference.

 

[tino]

The nearest thing to it would be something like the Marantz MCR610 with a pair of Sonus Faber Toys. I haven't done a direct comparison so I can't say (in my own personal opinion) which one would be better, but that's what I would pitch against it if someone wants a separate pair of speakers.

It's all interpretation and preference.

Nice one .... I might even hazard the Marantz M-CR510 network player with the Toys ... that would bring the price to around £900-1000 and more of a direct comparison to the Mu-so. I think that would be just as nice if not better music system and take up the same amount of space.

 

[Vladimir]

So far no one answered the direct question, if the Mu-So is better than his system (listed in the OP).

IMO it isn't. Not even close.

Tannoy Mercury 4s are floorstanders, the Marantz is a decent amp, latest generation. No soundbar* can even touch that.

IMO David in his last post gave a more reasonable system to compare to the Mu-So.

*Any single cabinet, centrally positioned multichannel speaker.

 

[drummerman]

The nearest thing to it would be something like the Marantz MCR610 with a pair of Sonus Faber Toys. I haven't done a direct comparison so I can't say (in my own personal opinion) which one would be better, but that's what I would pitch against it if someone wants a separate pair of speakers.

It's all interpretation and preference.

Nice one .... I might even hazard the Marantz M-CR510 network player with the Toys ... that would bring the price to around £900-1000 and more of a direct comparison to the Mu-so. I think that would be just as nice if not better music system and take up the same amount of space.

Would it?

Have you heard the Mu-so (and have you heard the said Marantz and speakers?)

regards

PS. looking at my post a few hours later ... it wasn't meant to be to scorching, apologies. You did after all 'hazard' ... actually, you didn't even do that ... you 'might even' which is a step short of 'ha....

 

[tino]

The nearest thing to it would be something like the Marantz MCR610 with a pair of Sonus Faber Toys. I haven't done a direct comparison so I can't say (in my own personal opinion) which one would be better, but that's what I would pitch against it if someone wants a separate pair of speakers.

It's all interpretation and preference.

Nice one .... I might even hazard the Marantz M-CR510 network player with the Toys ... that would bring the price to around £900-1000 and more of a direct comparison to the Mu-so. I think that would be just as nice if not better music system and take up the same amount of space.

Would it?

Have you heard the Mu-so (and have you heard the said Marantz and speakers?)

regards

PS. looking at my post a few hours later ... it wasn't meant to be to scorching, apologies. You did after all 'hazard' ... actually, you didn't even do that ... you 'might even' which is a step short of 'ha....

Not scorched *pardon* ... I was going off the recommendation made by David earlier who presumably has both in his showroom and can give a valid opinion. I also have listened to Sonus Faber Toys and they are great sounding albeit a bit pricey.

My point is that the overtly flattering reviews that are given to products like the Mu-so naturally make us ask questions as to whether they are better than traditional hi-fi components. I haven't listened to one, but I have listened to a decent soundbar and it wasn't objectively and subjectively as good (not even close) to a pair of good stereo speakers fed by a modest amplifier. So is the Mu-so a game changer or not or just good for its kind? At the end of the day it's a bunch of speakers in a smallish single enclosed volume with some special DSP sauce to give the illusion of good spatial separation and a larger sound-stage. Is that better than speakers in two separate boxes that can be had for the same price?

 

[MeanandGreen]

So far no one answered the direct question, if the Mu-So is better than his system (listed in the OP).

IMO it isn't. Not even close.

Tannoy Mercury 4s are floorstanders, the Marantz is a decent amp, latest generation. No soundbar* can even touch that.

IMO David in his last post gave a more reasonable system to compare to the Mu-So.

*Any single cabinet, centrally positioned multichannel speaker.

I would agree with this. The laws of physics still apply here, the mu-so is much like the typical Bose lifestyle systems. Yes they are a good compromise, but they are a compromise no matter what trickery is going on inside the box, or what brand name is on the box. How can a single box of speakers placed on a shelf or any other piece of furniture produce a depth of sound and a stereo image equlal to that of a good pair of carefully positioned stereo speakers?

The Tannoy Mercury V4 are a very good floor standing speaker. I doubt the mu-so would rival them for scale and soundstage.

 

[davedotco]

I think there is a lot of 'missing the point' going on here.

With modern systems it is easy to lose all the electronics, what you can't loose are the speakers, this is the issue. pure and simple.

If you are prepared to put a pair of speakers, properly set ut and supported, in your room then you will not buy a Muso.

That said, an awful lot of people buy systems, often 'separates' and then for whatever reason just stick them on funiture in the room, speakers are far from optimally placed, often on boomy, resonant furnitue with no separation. In a situation like that i am sure the Muso is an entirely viable alternative.

Personally for the same money i would rather have an AEX (hidden) and a nice pair of proper active speakers.

 

[Frank Harvey]

I wouldn't really compare other soundbars to the Naim (not that the Naim is a soundbar, my suggestion was that it could be used as a soundbar due to its size, shape, and features) as they're just not in the same class as far as quality is concerned. The nearest for quality would be the Sonos Playbar, but obviously that is limited in comparison to the Mu-so based on connections, and also won't produce the bass or volume of the Mu-so. But then, the PlayBar is a soundbar. I can't imagine the Bose Wave worrying the Mu-so.

One thing people do comment on is how nice the Mu-so is to use - everyone seems to love that volume control!

 

[Vladimir]

It's a soundbar.

 

[iceman16]

Vlad.. Is that you on your avatar?

 

[Vladimir]

Vlad.. Is that you on your avatar?

Nope. That's Gordon Sumner.

 

[spiny norman]

Nope. That's Gordon Sumner.

Didactic and unwilling to listen: it's an easy mistake to make... ;-)

 

[Vladimir]

No one is perfect. *beee*

 

[hybridauth_Facebook_745678736]

hello all , thanks for your comments , my main point was would the muso replace my main setup , which is a budget setup and with my cds packed away , most of my lisening is streamed from my nas and with the Muso being made by Naim , a brand that was so far out of my price range and with the Muso price tag ,this made it more attractive to me , also the streaming options avialable on the muso , makes streaming more workable , i have the qed which i use to stream and it can be a right pain in the ass at times , so i was wondering would the muso replace my current setup and out shine it but reading your answered i'm still unsure , guess a demo needed .