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Have you considered that it may be because of speaker positioning and or room acosutics as to why you are not satisfied with the sound? Just a though......
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A very good point, a speaker just a little out of position can mess up the timing and the "tunefulness" of the sound... always worth experimenting with positioning.
Contrary to common belief and what Mr_S said, I actually haven't found Naim to be all that foot tapping !!
(Shock horror..I will will be lynched by the Naimies !). For me it was all detail and vice like grip, good for percussion based music etc. BUT it never "flowed".... always had like a "staccato" effect.Except when I heard the 555 PSU setup on the CD transports, which was the best they could offer. Then it sounded "normal" to me, and inline with what I was use to....... I remember once standing at the Linn/Naim crossroads.....Naim = "Hi-Fi", Linn = "Music"..... I'll get my coat
Trying further to interpret your requirements of "big sound with depth to it", I'm going to suggest some of the US kit that you might be able to get.
Some of the cheaper Krell integrateds are close to your budget, as is stuff like the Bel Canto Evo2i that I presently use. IMO that has way more depth to the sound than Naim kit ever has and they might float your boat.
The problem I see with any of these is that you're still using a pretty cheap source, so you might end up with a great amp simply showing off how mediocre the source really is.
Whether you'll like the sound of big US kit is also debatable, and a clear risk as you seem intent on buying without listening, which I'm guessing is how you ended up with your present setup.
For s/h kit, checkout forums like HifiWigwam and Pinkfish.
Some of the cheaper Krell integrateds are close to your budget, as is stuff like the Bel Canto Evo2i that I presently use. IMO that has way more depth to the sound than Naim kit ever has and they might float your boat.
The problem I see with any of these is that you're still using a pretty cheap source, so you might end up with a great amp simply showing off how mediocre the source really is.
Whether you'll like the sound of big US kit is also debatable, and a clear risk as you seem intent on buying without listening, which I'm guessing is how you ended up with your present setup.
For s/h kit, checkout forums like HifiWigwam and Pinkfish.
Of course he will, cables are where he makes the majority of his money with their massive markups
I think you just need to find some other dealers and have a listen. You taste for sound might have changed and might want a different sound signature without even realising. Let your ears decide.
I would not classify your source as being particularly bad at all. Hey I still use a heavily modded £12 Marantz CD-63, and found that changing speakers and the associated amp make much larger differences to the sound. Then comes poisitioning of course, but you already know that.
Ad> you're correct, the DAC is not bad at all, quite the contrary I'm told it's good for the money. However, it's probably a bit out of it's depth when mixed in with the amps in question.
Assuming you're talking about a new price of £800, then yes. They can probably find something that will sound different, but chances are that it would be worse overall.
I would 2nd that as well...... For 800 quid your not going to pick up much. I also keep with the "front end first" for an update. Once you have amps and speakers of this level, you can never have a front end that is "too good".... As they will always reveal improvements.
Suggestion..... sell the CDP, and move to streaming audio only.... Rip all your CD's to FLAC. Borrow a Linn DS from a dealer.
Suggestion..... sell the CDP, and move to streaming audio only.... Rip all your CD's to FLAC. Borrow a Linn DS from a dealer.
Contrary to common belief and what Mr_S said, I actually haven't found Naim to be all that foot tapping !!
Except when I heard the 555 PSU setup on the CD transports, which was the best they could offer. Then it sounded "normal" to me, and inline with what I was use to....... I remember once standing at the Linn/Naim crossroads.....Naim = "Hi-Fi", Linn = "Music"..... I'll get my coat
Coat? More like your pipe and slippers (to go with your Linn!)
At the end of the day, whatever the OP buys I think you need to do a lot of demoing to work out what kind of thing you want. Everyone has their own opinion of what they like the sound of and no one can tell you what you're going to like.
Having just said that, spending 800 on an amp to go with an old Arcam CD player sounds a bit mad to me!
Dave
But the OP probably didn't spend £800 to buy a 112x/150x. They're quite new models, so he might have paid full price for them, meaning close on £1600.
Coat? More like your pipe and slippers (to go with your Linn!)
Surely your thinking of Quad ?!?!
Though seem like a few more people need to pay their dealer for a visit for a listen....
...................... the earth is not so flat anymore The 122x and 150x have just been replaced with newer models so are now discontinued.
He said he had 800 to spend on an amp in his first post. I'm assuming thats roughly what he's expecting to get for the naim per power combo, which I reckon sounds about right.
Dave
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I would also point my finger at the source.
But if your desperate to change amps, maybe look towards musical fidelity, another british brand so you get very good value for money like you do with naim, compared to imported amps. Something like an a5 integrated should be had 2nd hand for your budget, and will give a different sound to the naims, though not necessarily better. Most MF amps will have a lot more headroom than your naims, good if your struggling with power.
My recommendation - get an external DAC.
My father has a Meridian 101/2x105 pre/power setup with B&W 802 speakers. An incredibly impressive set up. His front end was an Arcam 6 CD player, an underrated played these days but it still let the rest of the system down. I added a Monica 2 dac from diyparadise and it was completely transformed.
http://www.tnt-audio.com/sorgenti/monica2_e.html
They aren't available anymore but I guess there are a few equivalents out there that are worth a look!
My father has a Meridian 101/2x105 pre/power setup with B&W 802 speakers. An incredibly impressive set up. His front end was an Arcam 6 CD player, an underrated played these days but it still let the rest of the system down. I added a Monica 2 dac from diyparadise and it was completely transformed.
http://www.tnt-audio.com/sorgenti/monica2_e.html
They aren't available anymore but I guess there are a few equivalents out there that are worth a look!
Smoove, what's the plan, have you decided what your going to do ?..... Keeping or selling the Naim amps ?
If your running FLAC files why still using the Arcam CDP ?
Commited,
Re Monica2, I have one, it's not bad, but it's nothing special either, IMO it's an Internet forum over hyped product..... couple of friends borrowed it as well, one has an Arcam 192 CDP, the other an old style Audiolab DAC, and I compared it with my very old Linn Karik CDP... The Monica2 lost out to all of them.
I say it's good for the money, but is not good enough for more than a budget system. Your Father's setup deserves much better in my view.
If your running FLAC files why still using the Arcam CDP ?
Commited,
Re Monica2, I have one, it's not bad, but it's nothing special either, IMO it's an Internet forum over hyped product..... couple of friends borrowed it as well, one has an Arcam 192 CDP, the other an old style Audiolab DAC, and I compared it with my very old Linn Karik CDP... The Monica2 lost out to all of them.
I say it's good for the money, but is not good enough for more than a budget system. Your Father's setup deserves much better in my view.