Rega -R or Naim i?

[gregvds]

I wonder lately,

If I had to change my setup (AA Puccini SE no remote and AA Paganini 24/192) by something else, what would you choose to have the best for money, a couple of Rega Brio-R and Apollo-R, or for a little more a Naim Nait 5i and CD5si (not sure about the Naim last letters, well, their last models)?

Tempted also by the Nait XS and CD5XS, or the next to come Rega Saturn-R and Elicit-R, but these would be out of budget.

Speakers are Rega RS5, cables all from Supra.

Thanks for your comments and suggestions

All the best,

 

[hone_u2]

Hi

I personally own the Nait 5i-2 and I can tell you it sounds great and has tremendous power.

although Naim on their website say that the Nait is designed to be used with most of the high end loudspeaker cables...

i personally (this is my opinion) never found them to be good with supra. I felt it just doesn't convey the dynamics and agility of the amplifier.

speaking of that, which model of cables do you actually have?

Right now, I'm personally thinking of buying the XS myself... Moving to a NAP 155XS and NAC N 172.

theyre a great combo... They'll go really well with your Regas as well I guess...

 

[gregvds]

Supra EFF-ISL for the interconnects and the Ply 3.4/S. I find then quite neutral and well extended in the highs and lows. Before that, I used TNT-Audio DIY Cat-5 based cables, that were not that clean and not as detailed as this one. Maybe they conveyed more weight, but not sure it was in a clearer way...

Naim i serie components look expensive when finding out what's inside, specially the Nait 5i, I should audition them before judging them anyway .

Thanks for the comment.

Best,

 

[drummerman]

I can't see either choice being a huge upgrade ...

They all have roughly the same power and the cd player seems fine too. Why change?

Having said that, I did enjoy the XS. Despite rather mediocre specs for the not inconsiderable amount of money a very enjoyable amplifier.

regards

 

[gregvds]

Well, yes, in the end, that's my conclusion, All that AA gear is pretty darn good and these would indeed not be a real upgrade in sound quality.

Maybe I should opt to make internal updates instead (opamps out, discrete opamps in)... Did someone tried the Burson discrete opamps?

Best,

 

[gregvds]

double post - deleted

 

[drummerman]

Out of interest, what is it you'd like to achieve/change?

regards

 

[gregvds]

Better sound, all the times . I can't say precisely at the moment.

The RS5 should still be burned in for a few hundreds hours, so I really can't say that this of that is wrong now.

I simply got a little bit excited buying the RS5 and seing all the new stuff in my usual shop (Pink Noise, Brussels) so I should simply take my pills ;-) and enjoy what I got before dreaming of upgrading this of that.

Thanks anyway for trying to help

 

[Fulci]

Can't you ask for a home demo and see if it improves or if you prefer Naim's sound? The AA are very good but you may just prefer a different presentation. Naim is quite a bit different from AA.

 

[gregvds]

Sadly, the AA Paganini is under repair for a month now (see my other thread), and I begin to loose confidence in this brand. My Puccini SE is very good and a keeper, but their CDP are s**t (see my other thread, I explain there). Sound good when accepting a CD, but you don't know if you'll be able to have it back one day.

That's why I'm out for a good CDP WITHOUT a tray, hence Rega or Naim (manual opening and closing of the rotary tray).

Maybe I'll wait for the new Rega Saturn-R to appear...