chebby:
There is simply no way a Nait XS (or my 5i-2 come to that) can be described as having a 'loudness' effect.
nightrhyme:When I describe Naim and this loudness effect I mean a slightly emphasized midrange
You obviously don't even understand the function of a 'loudness' button. They were designed to use ONLY when playing music
very quietly in order to emphasise bass and treble a little at extremely
low volumes. Here is an example 'loudness' curve....
You can see that the lowest bass is boosted up to 4db and the highest (audible) frequencies boosted between 7db to 10db (depending of course on how sensitive to high frequencies your ears are. I am assuming 15khz - 20khz for younger ears.)
Of course the headbangers used to turn up bass to the max and volume to ear-splitting levels
and switch on the 'loudness'. But they were idiots and half of them are probably wearing hearing aids now*.
*Ones that go up to 11 of course!
Of course I know the technical aspects of the loudness button. But that is not the issue ? It's just the easiest way for me to decribe my
subjective listening experince with Naim. No need to go technical on me just because my experince differs from yours. People almost seems offended that I dont praise the naim amp..Don't get me wrong Itïs a really really good map. Maybe just not for me. I could name other issues with naim amps but I'll probably be burned at the stake..
So I'll just return this thread to topic and repeat:
cookies: you should audition both amps. Just remember, when auditioning Roksan Caspian, that the volume control is designed to go all the way. That means from someting like 7 to 5 o'clock without distorting.