Upgrade from Nait 5i.

[malthus80]

Trilobite:

You should try further up the Naim range if you want to keep the cohesive sound you like. Otherwise, you may find the baby being thrown out with the bath water, so to speak.

The Dynaudio Focus 110 works well with my Nait 5i, except at party volumes or if they have little or no room to breathe. Soundstaging seems fine to me.

I reckon you are right about trying further up the naim range. I was thinking xs series as a minimum. Ive not had much experience of dynaudio speakers but others have sugested these so will check it out. Many thanks

 

[malthus80]

tenergy:malthus80:matthewpiano:malthus80:

matthewpiano:Would be worth trying the Rega Saturn as well.

Have heard a saturn, no where near enough of an upgrade over the marantz but thanks for your suggestions.

Fair enough. I reckon the best thing would be to book a good long demo and to try a couple of different CD players, a couple of different amps, and some alternative speakers. Mix, match, swap and change to see which takes you closest to the sort of changes you want to make. Then book a second demo where you can focus on trying a shortlist for that system component.

I was thinking of the planet not the saturn. I reckon thats good advice above. I have received many good suggestions so need to draw up a shortlist. Many thanks

+1 on the Saturn, man. It's amazing what this cdp can do. I think that Rega hit a homerun on this one -- build quality is superb, the design (in traditional Rega top-loading fashion) is quirky enough to distinguish it from your mother-in-law's Tesco, and the sound is simply amazing. The Apollo probably remains one of the better players around, but the Saturn tops even that with greater depth, detail and pace. I play anything from Hot Chip to Miles Davis to Nigel Kennedy on it in my bedroom system and it certainly does not disappoint.

I have honestly only heard one cdp that possibly betters what it can do, and that's an Isis on a system with Dynaudio Evidence Temptations and VTL pre-power juicing it up. Not apples to apples by any stretch, as far as equipment cost and dimensions are concerned.

Simply put, if you're still relatively mindful of cost and yet are willing to spend slightly more than the average joe, you won't go wrong with a Saturn.

The saturn seems very popular. I think i heard it in the past and seem to remember being impressed. You definitely seem to like it a lot so i need to investigate. Cheers

 

[Anonymous]

Dunno if it's any help. But I run a couple of Vienna beethoven concert grands with a primare i30. Very nice match. I too like naim gear but find it too dark and muscle lacking for the Viennas

Hmm btw I definetly don't agree that Viennas lack sparkle. On the other hand I find the dynaudios neutral and quite boring. Listened to Focus 220, Contour C1, C2.

The Rega cd players are quite nice but a dying format. Get a nice dac instead and use your old player as transport. Stello da100 sig, Lavry da10 are quite nice ones if it still should be affordable

Kind regards NR

 

[malthus80]

nightrhyme:

Dunno if it's any help. But I run a couple of Vienna beethoven concert grands with a primare i30. Very nice match. I too like naim gear but find it too dark and muscle lacking for the Viennas

Hmm btw I definetly don't agree that Viennas lack sparkle. On the other hand I find the dynaudios neutral and quite boring. Listened to Focus 220, Contour C1, C2.

The Rega cd players are quite nice but a dying format. Get a nice dac instead and use your old player as transport. Stello da100 sig, Lavry da10 are quite nice ones if it still should be affordable

Kind regards NR

Thats interesting. Ive always been intrigued by primare and i do agree that the naim lacks a bit of grunt for the viennas though they are not as mighty as your beethoven's. Ive been considering a dac but it can be difficult finding one that doesnt turn the sound overly warm. Thanks for the info definitely something to think about.