here we go again..

[prem]

Hi mpw

Its not that with standard speakers you cannot get non boxy sound. Its only that you have to work a little harder to get it. So just buy what sounds nice to you. The rest is in setting it up.

 

[mpw]

yesterday evening was good time spent with Denom auditioning amplifiers..

Our First stop was Imperial Aidio in Fort ;-

Simaudio Moon I-1 ( I-250 )- 50W pch integrated rated at 100W at 4 ohms.. good looking.. fantastic mids and a "to die for punch" down below..but there was sharpness in the highs which we noticed. This could be possibly due to the tweeter of the Epos. This tied in with a review i had read too.. quoted price 90k.. but this was an eye opener..

This amp has clean sound - background noise was NIL.. absolutely clean cuts.. no hangovers.. lovely stuff..

Folks with softer tweeters - this amp is a very good candidate to try..

Musical Fidelity - M6 - no great shakes.... atleast i dont kno wwhy ther eis an aura about them// the sound dit not justify anything.. let me keep this short as they are not upto it..price 200k

CA 651 - just for hecks - we tried with Epos.. found muffled sound.. like someone has put a handkerchief over its mouth.. its trying to say something.. but nothings coming out !! Price 45k..

Also auditioned the new streamer device from CA.. not much into tech stuff so i let it

next stop -- the familiar Lakozy..

NAD C275 + promitheus TVC + Epos - .. everything was sounding sugary.. not a foot wrong.. but how can that be ? I could not detect excitement.. I think C356 + TVC + Epos was somehow much better

And then..

we heard happinezzzzzz..

The naim pre-power + Epos + naim CDP.. the CDP was quite nice.. has a manual opening / closing action with a magnet to be placed ontop of the CD to secure it.. was exxentric, effective, unique..

The sound was happy - powerful.. i think it should fill my room with ease..you feed it music and it gave back music + a smile// i think i was happy.. i dont know how to express this.. this was not clinical and a bit cold like the Stratos but happy..

The Odyssey stratos is a fantastic amp.. tons of power.. huge WWF American HUlk Hogan !!

The little naims were the dimunitive champs .. i think..

Also their sense of left- Right appeared to be reverse.. again.. eccentricity..

I cannot afford the pre power combo of Naim - Not yet

;-))

but will the Naim nait 5i sound just as happy ??

I am OK with the power.. the 70W pre power was waaay powerful and i think the Naim Nait5i will not lack the sound.. Naim owners .please let me know..

The Naim Nait 5i is also an integrated.. hence i can connect my Epos to my AVR and use as fronts..they are a compact form factor.. no need to tamper with my rack..

I could connect to a USB DAC too.. a simple one.. maybe the Schiit Modi ??

I think everyone appreciates happy music.. but i need to look inwards now the excitement is done and decide.. for myself...where i need to head..

Happiness Vs Musical perfection or can my state of mind be describes by few other words..

A huge thanks to denom.. once again appreciate the time, company and all the discussion ( galaxies 4 billon light years across !! ) we had afterwards over a few beers !!

Crazy can be fun !!

)

regards,
mpw
====================================================

 

[Dr.Bass]

mpw, 5i has all the power and "happiness" you need for the EPOS. It is infact a tad more powerful than the entry level pre power from Naim. Powerful meaning it has more headroom so in louder passage it will sound more relaxed. And yes, do try to buy their CDP in future if you decide to go with Naim, they are all superbly matched.

 

[odyssey]

if you found the Stratos clinical and cold, you need to look elsewhere in your system to see what the problem is. The stratos is not at all cold sounding

 

[corElement]

I agree about the naim nait 5i sound having something "happy / cute" about it. I thought it was just me, but now that others are mentioning something similar, it's definitely not my imagination

 

[mpw]

if you found the Stratos clinical and cold, you need to look elsewhere in your system to see what the problem is. The stratos is not at all cold sounding

==============================================
odyssey,

certainly not...the stratos presented everything very well.. The Stratos is indeed an excellent amp.. worthy of better upstream and downstream components..than what i can offer to match it with at the moment.

I do not plan to change my speakers anytime soon..i may at most do some tweaks but thats about it..

As far as the Nait 5i - i just felt good with it.... as simple as that..

I express my deep gratitude to you for being part of my journey in this amp search.

best regards,
mpw
===============================================

 

[mpw]

Hi,,

continuing this thread here..

http://www.hifivision.com/amplifiers/40426-so-whats-naim.html#post475157

regards,
mpw