Darren Lewis January 22, 2009 20:14
Totally agree with the bit about spirit and reality of live music Thaiman which I would say is Naim's general idea of reproduction with all of their equipment.
I've owned my SuperNait for over a year now (powering Dynaudio Contour 1.8II loudspeakers which are notorious for being power hungry)and must say it isn't only for people that listen to loud music as one reviewer has noted here.
String quartets, jazz ensembles etc are rendered as exciting and vibrant just as punk, metal and large orchestras. Again, its all about the presentation which a friend of mine (an owner of an Arcam/Spendor set up with Russ Andrews cabling throughout) finds far too "in yer face!").
I incidently find his system far too laid back almost to the point of lifeless in comparison!
So to sum up, it is all about your particular taste and how you like your music presented- Me, I can't wait to try the SuperNait with a HiCap power supply as it supposed to be a wonderful and substantial upgrade!!
blair2 August 31, 2008 21:13
I bought this back in January 2008. It is the most expensive amplifier I have ever bought. I specifically wanted the DAC in the amplifier so that I could stream music (from a Sonos - good product) and have it properly converted to an analogue signal. I inherited an old Naim amplifier about 25 years ago, which I liked. It made sense for me to purchase this product.
The sound is "fine". I have to say that I was not blown away by it. Maybe my old Naim was pretty good after all.
There are some flaws though, which I discovered after buying it. They are not mentioned anywhere in other reviews. I can only assume that other people don't care about this sort of thing. Here they are:
(1) The amplifier "humms". Apparently all amps with big transformers humm. My old one doesn't. I have listened to some 3kW PA amplifiers and they don't humm. They have much bigger transformers.
(2) You can hear the background noise if you sit close to the speakers. You could use the speakers as headphones on my old amplifier and you would not have heard any hiss.
(3) The volume control is very badly adjusted. The "clipping" point is around the 10-o'clock position. In other words you only every use 35% of the volume control. The other 65% is distorted (and very loud). When you are listening quietly you have to move the volume control a ridiculously small amount to make a big change in the volume. Insane. (This is documented by other people but I only found it after purchasing.) Combine this with What Hifi's opinion that the volume control feels cheap and you have a mess. Adjust the volume using the remote control - that works well. Don't turn it. It will annoy you.
I have gone back to using my old amplifier for a month. I am using the Sonos as the DAC (and it is not as good as the one in the Supernaim). But there is no humm. There is no background noise when the music is off.
Buy one if you are deaf and only listen to loud music. Buy one if you live buy a motorway. Avoid if you sometimes sit quietly and read a book. (You have to leave the thing on humming away. The power switch is inaccessible and at the back!)
Thaiman June 18, 2008 10:32
I had a lot of fun with SuperNait, it delivers the spirit and reality of live music, and a convincing sense of dynamics.
However this is not the amp for HiFi lovers! You wouldn't get a massive soundstage or 3D imaging but for all of those who value music first, this one box Naim should be on the top of your list.