So did anyone get to the demo at the Bristol Show. Want to know what a $200,000 dollar sounds like? 
Naim Statement
- Thread starter sheggs
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MUSICRAFT
Well-known member
chebby
Well-known member
Not wanting to sound pedantic but it was a £250,000 system (for the preamp, amp and speakers, more for the source components).
I'll probably be shot down for saying this, but I was very disappointed by it. Don't get me wrong, I could appreciate the engineering that went into statement, and the music obviously sounded very clear and detailed but the truth of the matter was, in no way did the system excite me at all! I was much more impressed with the B&W demonstration of its new 600 series with the tiny 686s sounding superb, the stereo image and sound field created was very impressive given its size. What I mean to say is that the much, much cheaper B&W set up with Rotel amp and CD player made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up whereas with the statement system I was left thinking, "is that it"? Same with many other demos, to me especially Primare, Arcam, KEF all sounded fantastic (and others of course).
Of course this is only my opinion and I would never disagree if someone did find the statement system fantastic, perhaps my ears are just not good enough to appreciate the difference!
I'll probably be shot down for saying this, but I was very disappointed by it. Don't get me wrong, I could appreciate the engineering that went into statement, and the music obviously sounded very clear and detailed but the truth of the matter was, in no way did the system excite me at all! I was much more impressed with the B&W demonstration of its new 600 series with the tiny 686s sounding superb, the stereo image and sound field created was very impressive given its size. What I mean to say is that the much, much cheaper B&W set up with Rotel amp and CD player made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up whereas with the statement system I was left thinking, "is that it"? Same with many other demos, to me especially Primare, Arcam, KEF all sounded fantastic (and others of course).
Of course this is only my opinion and I would never disagree if someone did find the statement system fantastic, perhaps my ears are just not good enough to appreciate the difference!
The market for such a system has to be vanishingly small. I wonder how many they plan to make. Strange route for Naim to take, unless they hope to improve the overall image of the brand by having a 'statement' product at the head. Perhaps that's where the name came from.
sheggs said:
I have an old Naim Nait in the loft that I use to power a couple of ceiling speakers in the bathroom. To be honest, it sounds pretty dreadful. I will try clipping a blue light on to it to see if it sounds any better.
Surely you'd need a room the size of a tennis court for this amp to actually show what it can do.
andyjm said:
I hear from a reliable source that their pre-orders are into double figures already....
Naim & Focal's joint turnover is aroud £50m according to Wikipaedia. So those pre-orders represent a significant increase in their own right (even allowing for £120k being the retail price, not what Naim get). I suspect (make that hope to god) they are high margin, so the impact on profits will be even greater.
From a hi-fi market point of view I've been critical of the Statements, from a business point of view they appear to make eminent sense though. The uber-rich sector is pretty vibrant it would seem. Or at least vibrant enough.
From a hi-fi market point of view I've been critical of the Statements, from a business point of view they appear to make eminent sense though. The uber-rich sector is pretty vibrant it would seem. Or at least vibrant enough.
Frank Harvey
Well-known member
Whenever a manufacturer produces a product like this, there's always going to be a certain amount of negative feedback. This is usually from those that plain hate the brand in question, and also from those with excessive expectations based on price. Does it sound like £125,000 worth? Or does it sound like what we expect £125,000 worth to sound like?
What people need to realise is that a product like this paves the way for better products at all price points. Technology trickles down, and will improve all products that follow.
The discussion with the designer left me quite impressed - the tiniest little details have been scrutinised to see if it affects the signal path in any way whatsoever, and where it does/might, solutions were sought. I have never heard anyone talk about amplifiers in such minute detail before.
For me, it isn't the type of music I would test it with. One track sounded particularly impressive though - it just sounded like an amplified band were playing in front of me (and I mean that in a positive way, as the instruments were predominantly electric). The sound of the bass guitar sounded far more like a bass guitar, and the dynamic capability of some of the instruments were impressive - and I'm not just talking about drums, but none percussive instruments.
Sometimes, whether we enjoy a system or not can depend on what whether we're listening to something we like or not. I didn't enjoy the music being played that day, but I'm sure that if I was trying something like Boards Of Canada or Rage Against The Machine, I'd be suitably impressed.
What people need to realise is that a product like this paves the way for better products at all price points. Technology trickles down, and will improve all products that follow.
The discussion with the designer left me quite impressed - the tiniest little details have been scrutinised to see if it affects the signal path in any way whatsoever, and where it does/might, solutions were sought. I have never heard anyone talk about amplifiers in such minute detail before.
For me, it isn't the type of music I would test it with. One track sounded particularly impressive though - it just sounded like an amplified band were playing in front of me (and I mean that in a positive way, as the instruments were predominantly electric). The sound of the bass guitar sounded far more like a bass guitar, and the dynamic capability of some of the instruments were impressive - and I'm not just talking about drums, but none percussive instruments.
Sometimes, whether we enjoy a system or not can depend on what whether we're listening to something we like or not. I didn't enjoy the music being played that day, but I'm sure that if I was trying something like Boards Of Canada or Rage Against The Machine, I'd be suitably impressed.
I'm surprised that they didn't use a whole range of different tracks to demonstrate this. I've seen the video and some of the music was a little bland to say the least. So far I've heard a whole range of opinions on this product but on the whole people seem to be impressed
I heard it at the show and my take is:
The amp is probably state of the art as amps go and indeed can drive anything as the presenters said. However -
The presenters also said the goal was no compromise. Maybe, but, in a passive configuration, you are already in a zone of significant compromise. So if the objective (with the huge budget) is the highest possible acousticla performance an active configuration is the starting point. So I see this amp not as a no-compromise acoustic quality project but as a mainly marketing-driven project - aiming for profits from selling to global super-high-budget audiophiles, fitting into conventinal component systems. So as such, I htink it is very good.
As far as sound quality achieved - my impressions are in the linked thread. One can get better acoustic performance for less.
The amp is probably state of the art as amps go and indeed can drive anything as the presenters said. However -
The presenters also said the goal was no compromise. Maybe, but, in a passive configuration, you are already in a zone of significant compromise. So if the objective (with the huge budget) is the highest possible acousticla performance an active configuration is the starting point. So I see this amp not as a no-compromise acoustic quality project but as a mainly marketing-driven project - aiming for profits from selling to global super-high-budget audiophiles, fitting into conventinal component systems. So as such, I htink it is very good.
As far as sound quality achieved - my impressions are in the linked thread. One can get better acoustic performance for less.
chebby
Well-known member
lindsayt said:
Everything according to Naim...
"Everything about Statement is a leap forward in technology and design. It’s been engineered from the ground up for pure performance."
Oh and a perspex bit that lights up,
You'll need to get Dave from FrankHarvey to give the details after his in-depth discussion with it's designer...
"The discussion with the designer left me quite impressed - the tiniest little details have been scrutinised to see if it affects the signal path in any way whatsoever, and where it does/might, solutions were sought. I have never heard anyone talk about amplifiers in such minute detail before."
Here's some video of the system and the demo room. I do love those speakers.
http://www.whathifi.com/video/naim-statement-amplifier-%E2%80%93-bristol-show-2014
I enjoyed the demo but wasn't 100% taken with the music for really showing it off. Could have done with some more dynamic and generally boisterous, trouser-flapping tunes. Obviously it sounded good but it's £250k so it kinda should do...
Thought the KEF and B&W rooms were the most impressive, all things considered. Walked in to hear Fat Freddy's Drop playing on an Avid turntable on the KEF Blades, so that sounded very nice. Also the ELAC and Tannoy systems were impressive (at different ends of the spectrum), especially as they were in worse rooms. I didn't get round every room, mind.
http://www.whathifi.com/video/naim-statement-amplifier-%E2%80%93-bristol-show-2014
I enjoyed the demo but wasn't 100% taken with the music for really showing it off. Could have done with some more dynamic and generally boisterous, trouser-flapping tunes. Obviously it sounded good but it's £250k so it kinda should do...
Thought the KEF and B&W rooms were the most impressive, all things considered. Walked in to hear Fat Freddy's Drop playing on an Avid turntable on the KEF Blades, so that sounded very nice. Also the ELAC and Tannoy systems were impressive (at different ends of the spectrum), especially as they were in worse rooms. I didn't get round every room, mind.
I thought the Naim Statement set-up sounded very good, but as others have said, it should do given its cost.
What was obvious to me however, was that I have certainly heard better, for considerably less (around £200k less). The bass wasn't brilliantly controlled, though those massive 16 inch bass drivers would be a challenge for any amp, and I found the mid-range sounded a little thick and mudied. The sheer scale was very impressive though, but sadly I think that was more down to the huge Focal Uptopia's than the Naim electronics.It would have been interesting to hear the Statement kit on some smaller speakers, such at the Scala's.
I'm glad to hear that Naim are selling some units though, we should all be celebrating the successes of British companies, it'd be interesting to know where they are being sold though. I'd wager a fair few, if not the majority are going to far eastern customers which is where high end kit reigns supreme, and is, I suspect, part of the reason for the development of the Statement kit - to break into that market.
It may also be something that has been deemed necessary by Focal given that four NAP 500's appeared woefully inadequate at driving the Grand EM's when they were used at the The Hifi Show in Windsor last year.
One thing I did find a little strange was the chosen power rating - selected to be exactly one horse power smacked of a design decision made more by the marketing department than the R&D department - surely a round kilowatt would have been more sensible!
What was obvious to me however, was that I have certainly heard better, for considerably less (around £200k less). The bass wasn't brilliantly controlled, though those massive 16 inch bass drivers would be a challenge for any amp, and I found the mid-range sounded a little thick and mudied. The sheer scale was very impressive though, but sadly I think that was more down to the huge Focal Uptopia's than the Naim electronics.It would have been interesting to hear the Statement kit on some smaller speakers, such at the Scala's.
I'm glad to hear that Naim are selling some units though, we should all be celebrating the successes of British companies, it'd be interesting to know where they are being sold though. I'd wager a fair few, if not the majority are going to far eastern customers which is where high end kit reigns supreme, and is, I suspect, part of the reason for the development of the Statement kit - to break into that market.
It may also be something that has been deemed necessary by Focal given that four NAP 500's appeared woefully inadequate at driving the Grand EM's when they were used at the The Hifi Show in Windsor last year.
One thing I did find a little strange was the chosen power rating - selected to be exactly one horse power smacked of a design decision made more by the marketing department than the R&D department - surely a round kilowatt would have been more sensible!
busb
Well-known member
AlmaataKZ said:
This seems a pretty sound observation about spending so much on a passive system. I am very surprised that Naim would bother with passive at this price.
I deliberately avoided Bristol this year - what the eye don't see, the heart don't grieve! So I obviously didn't hear this system but I've rarely heard anything sound decent in a hotel bedroom, albeit a suite so demonstrating such a system is going to attract more negative comments than praise. So Clare has heard the orders are in double figures - that's a lot!
busb
Well-known member
busb said:
Agreed here. Nothing I heard on Saturday Id heard before or care to hear again, apart from the Easy Star All Stars - Dub Side Of The Moon that the guy in the Heed Audio room played and I thoroughly enjoyed. Both the audio quality and the music itself.
I think the music being played is of great significance with regard to if we are familiar with it and how it sounds on systems we already own so I fear a show isnt the best place to properl;y analyse the sound of any kit. Maybe just best to get an idea of how well something performs.
With regard to the Naim statement system, I didnt hear it personally but I put it to you what was played was not played loud enough like every single room I visited at the show. The whole idea is to make it as life like as possible and for me that is at the front row of a gig with a decent bit of volume - then the sytems ability to remain precise, controlled and enjoyable will set better systems apart from the rest.
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