Search Messages 1-817 from 817 matching the search criteria. * 1.00 Re: Julian Vereker Obituary Chris Bell 2/18/00 * 1.00 Julian Vereker David Winter 1/25/00 * 1.00 Julian vereker anthony s lighton 1/23/00 * 1.00 Julian Vereker John Channing 1/22/00 * 1.00 Julian Vereker wmc 1/21/00 * 1.00 Julian Vereker Jeremy Marchant 1/20/00 * 1.00 Julian Vereker -A great loss to family, friends and innovation Damon S. Jack 1/19/00 * 1.00 Mr Julian Vereker Mick Parry 1/17/00 * 1.00 Julian Vereker Dr Neville B Turner 1/16/00 * 1.00 Julian Vereker Stewart Cooper 1/15/00 * 1.00 Julian Vereker Curtice A. Cornell 1/14/00 * 1.00 bones julian vereker 1/10/00 * 1.00 single speaker dem rooms julian vereker 1/6/00 * 1.00 differences julian vereker 1/6/00 * 1.00 FAQ julian vereker 1/3/00 * 1.00 e-mail julian vereker 1/3/00 * 1.00 The Bug julian vereker 1/3/00 * 1.00 500s julian vereker 1/3/00 * 1.00 fan julian vereker 1/3/00 * 1.00 more is more julian vereker 1/3/00 * 1.00 interested julian vereker 1/3/00 * 1.00 concrete julian vereker 1/2/00 * 1.00 standard julian vereker 1/2/00 * 1.00 size matters julian vereker 1/1/00 * 1.00 no rocking julian vereker 1/1/00 * 1.00 easy julian vereker 1/1/00 * 1.00 piercings julian vereker 1/1/00 * 1.00 set up julian vereker 1/1/00 * 1.00 seals julian vereker 12/31/99 * 1.00 movement julian vereker 12/31/99 * 1.00 search julian vereker 12/31/99 * 1.00 walls julian vereker 12/31/99 * 1.00 SBL use julian vereker 12/30/99 * 1.00 Are brown-outs harmful? julian vereker 12/26/99 * 1.00 DAB julian vereker 12/24/99 * 1.00 underselling julian vereker 12/24/99 * 1.00 construction julian vereker 12/19/99 * 1.00 no problem julian vereker 12/19/99 * 1.00 Israel julian vereker 12/12/99 * 1.00 Yes julian vereker 12/10/99 * 1.00 no julian vereker 12/10/99 * 1.00 Thanks julian vereker 12/9/99 * 1.00 volumes julian vereker 12/9/99 * 1.00 Question julian vereker 12/8/99 * 1.00 I do care to . . julian vereker 12/8/99 * 1.00 skin julian vereker 12/8/99 * 1.00 pride julian vereker 12/8/99 * 1.00 sorry julian vereker 12/8/99 * 1.00 quite happy to have an argument julian vereker 12/7/99 * 1.00 Aro v the rest julian vereker 12/7/99 * 1.00 .. julian vereker 12/4/99 * 1.00 xo julian vereker 12/4/99 * 1.00 Not exactly julian vereker 12/3/99 * 1.00 armchair julian vereker 12/3/99 * 1.00 measurements julian vereker 12/3/99 * 1.00 1 v 2 julian vereker 12/3/99 * 1.00 kan julian vereker 12/3/99 * 1.00 SBLs julian vereker 12/2/99 * 1.00 Sorry julian vereker 12/2/99 * 1.00 placing things julian vereker 12/2/99 * 1.00 castors julian vereker 12/1/99 * 1.00 yes julian vereker 12/1/99 * 1.00 Maybe wrong. julian vereker 12/1/99 * 1.00 rigid or what? julian vereker 12/1/99 * 1.00 DAB v FM julian vereker 12/1/99 * 1.00 a bass note julian vereker 12/1/99 * 1.00 vaults again julian vereker 11/27/99 * 1.00 A Naim julian vereker 11/26/99 * 1.00 Non julian vereker 11/26/99 * 1.00 Zobel julian vereker 11/26/99 * 1.00 NAP 120 julian vereker 11/25/99 * 1.00 Bias julian vereker 11/25/99 * 1.00 Zobel julian vereker 11/25/99 * 1.00 culled from the vaults julian vereker 11/25/99 * 1.00 Yes julian vereker 11/19/99 * 1.00 Yes & no julian vereker 11/19/99 * 1.00 music julian vereker 11/19/99 * 1.00 huge julian vereker 11/17/99 * 1.00 Yes julian vereker 11/15/99 * 1.00 RF julian vereker 11/13/99 * 1.00 Naim julian vereker 11/12/99 * 1.00 500 julian vereker 11/8/99 * 1.00 thanks julian vereker 11/8/99 * 1.00 CD RW julian vereker 11/7/99 * 1.00 comparisions julian vereker 11/7/99 * 1.00 belief julian vereker 11/7/99 * 1.00 phase julian vereker 11/6/99 * 1.00 Sorry julian vereker 11/6/99 * 1.00 distracted julian vereker 11/5/99 * 1.00 software julian vereker 11/6/99 * 1.00 Aerials julian vereker 11/1/99 * 1.00 reliance? julian vereker 11/1/99 * 1.00 Old, older . . . julian vereker 10/30/99 * 1.00 If julian vereker 10/29/99 * 1.00 1s & 0s julian vereker 10/27/99 * 1.00 1s & 0s julian vereker 10/27/99 * 1.00 Parcel Force julian vereker 10/27/99 * 1.00 digital? julian vereker 10/26/99 * 1.00 Gas/Petrol julian vereker 10/26/99 * 1.00 No sense julian vereker 10/25/99 * 1.00 Us julian vereker 10/23/99 * 1.00 double posting julian vereker 10/22/99 * 1.00 car drag julian vereker 10/21/99 * 1.00 discounts julian vereker 10/20/99 * 1.00 following the manual julian vereker 10/20/99 * 1.00 right cable julian vereker 10/20/99 * 1.00 Parcel Ffff*** julian vereker 10/20/99 * 1.00 dead rooms julian vereker 10/18/99 * 1.00 Cheating? julian vereker 10/18/99 * 1.00 IBLs julian vereker 10/16/99 * 1.00 IBLs julian vereker 10/15/99 * 1.00 While I was sleeping. julian vereker 10/15/99 * 1.00 sorry again julian vereker 10/15/99 * 1.00 unfair julian vereker 10/14/99 * 1.00 performance julian vereker 10/13/99 * 1.00 Yes julian vereker 10/12/99 * 1.00 Mana julian vereker 10/12/99 * 1.00 300 julian vereker 10/11/99 * 1.00 Re: 180 or 250. That is the question. julian vereker 10/10/99 * 1.00 news julian vereker 10/10/99 * 1.00 NAB300 julian vereker 10/10/99 * 1.00 Normal? julian vereker 10/10/99 * 1.00 FAQ julian vereker 10/8/99 * 1.00 Strange? julian vereker 10/2/99 * 1.00 Thank you julian vereker 9/30/99 * 1.00 filters julian vereker 9/29/99 * 1.00 2nd hand news julian vereker 9/29/99 * 1.00 sorry julian vereker 9/28/99 * 1.00 NAP500 julian vereker 9/27/99 * 1.00 CE julian vereker 9/27/99 * 1.00 CE julian vereker 9/27/99 * 1.00 projectors julian vereker 9/26/99 * 1.00 CE julian vereker 9/25/99 * 1.00 speed julian vereker 9/22/99 * 1.00 toggle julian vereker 9/22/99 * 1.00 so sorry julian vereker 9/22/99 * 1.00 thanks for the font change julian vereker 9/22/99 * 1.00 52 julian vereker 9/22/99 * 1.00 CDS2 technology julian vereker 9/21/99 * 1.00 Re: Widescreen TV julian vereker 9/21/99 * 1.00 G17 julian vereker 9/20/99 * 1.00 film etc julian vereker 9/15/99 * 1.00 error correction julian vereker 9/12/99 * 1.00 NACA4 julian vereker 9/10/99 * 1.00 sorry julian vereker 9/9/99 * 1.00 Poop julian vereker 9/9/99 * 1.00 no julian vereker 9/9/99 * 1.00 doors julian vereker 9/8/99 * 1.00 Yes julian vereker 9/8/99 * 1.00 sorry julian vereker 9/8/99 * 1.00 contact factory julian vereker 9/8/99 * 1.00 Better? julian vereker 9/8/99 * 1.00 Dear Julian Vereker Um Keon-Woo 9/7/99 * 1.00 250s julian vereker 9/7/99 * 1.00 Sorry julian vereker 9/7/99 * 1.00 LP12 julian vereker 9/6/99 * 1.00 fax julian vereker 9/6/99 * 1.00 supply etc julian vereker 9/2/99 * 1.00 noise is noise julian vereker 9/2/99 * 1.00 factory julian vereker 9/2/99 * 1.00 Switchers & CE julian vereker 9/2/99 * 1.00 normal julian vereker 8/26/99 * 1.00 stability julian vereker 8/26/99 * 1.00 sorry julian vereker 8/25/99 * 1.00 grounding julian vereker 8/24/99 * 1.00 Yes julian vereker 8/24/99 * 1.00 SBL setup julian vereker 8/23/99 * 1.00 Options julian vereker 8/21/99 * 1.00 110/140 julian vereker 8/20/99 * 1.00 aerials julian vereker 8/20/99 * 1.00 weighty matters julian vereker 8/19/99 * 1.00 moving sbls julian vereker 8/18/99 * 1.00 archive julian vereker 8/16/99 * 1.00 failure julian vereker 8/15/99 * 1.00 Naim on TV julian vereker 8/11/99 * 1.00 yes julian vereker 8/11/99 * 1.00 £50,000 julian vereker 8/11/99 * 1.00 Costs julian vereker 8/10/99 * 1.00 control rooms julian vereker 8/7/99 * 1.00 veneers etc julian vereker 8/7/99 * 1.00 so many things julian vereker 8/6/99 * 1.00 balance julian vereker 8/6/99 * 1.00 a view julian vereker 8/3/99 * 1.00 links julian vereker 8/1/99 * 1.00 filters julian vereker 8/1/99 * 1.00 thanks julian vereker 7/30/99 * 1.00 a few julian vereker 7/30/99 * 1.00 grey interconnects julian vereker 7/29/99 * 1.00 sick julian vereker 7/29/99 * 1.00 truth julian vereker 7/27/99 * 1.00 mono 110 julian vereker 7/23/99 * 1.00 HDCD julian vereker 7/22/99 * 1.00 NBL julian vereker 7/22/99 * 1.00 FR1 julian vereker 7/20/99 * 1.00 Dealers julian vereker 7/20/99 * 1.00 ARO julian vereker 7/20/99 * 1.00 Gfk julian vereker 7/14/99 * 1.00 from the vault . . . julian vereker 7/8/99 * 1.00 visit julian vereker 7/8/99 * 1.00 visit julian vereker 7/7/99 * 1.00 not by me julian vereker 7/6/99 * 1.00 NAP500 julian vereker 7/6/99 * 1.00 No Andrew, julian vereker 7/6/99 * 1.00 conjecture julian vereker 7/6/99 * 1.00 tunes julian vereker 7/6/99 * 1.00 24/96 julian vereker 7/6/99 * 1.00 locking rings julian vereker 7/4/99 * 1.00 AV1 julian vereker 7/4/99 * 1.00 AV1 julian vereker 7/2/99 * 1.00 chips julian vereker 7/1/99 * 1.00 Objective? julian vereker 7/1/99 * 1.00 Supply julian vereker 7/1/99 * 1.00 Here's why julian vereker 6/30/99 * 1.00 The Naim Context julian vereker 6/30/99 * 1.00 No julian vereker 6/30/99 * 1.00 BNCs v RCAs julian vereker 6/29/99 * 1.00 Service Dept julian vereker 6/29/99 * 1.00 RF julian vereker 6/29/99 * 1.00 short note julian vereker 6/29/99 * 1.00 PC DVD julian vereker 6/29/99 * 1.00 X julian vereker 6/28/99 * 1.00 2nd hand gear julian vereker 6/28/99 * 1.00 RF julian vereker 6/27/99 * 1.00 No julian vereker 6/26/99 * 1.00 Brian Attwood julian vereker 6/25/99 * 1.00 our interest julian vereker 6/24/99 * 1.00 Hi Mathias julian vereker 6/23/99 * 1.00 No julian vereker 6/23/99 * 1.00 UPS julian vereker 6/22/99 * 1.00 EQ julian vereker 6/19/99 * 1.00 1nF julian vereker 6/18/99 * 1.00 tuners julian vereker 6/14/99 * 1.00 Old & new julian vereker 6/14/99 * 1.00 ratios julian vereker 6/12/99 * 1.00 SNAIC julian vereker 6/12/99 * 1.00 patents etc julian vereker 6/11/99 * 1.00 Unfortunate julian vereker 6/9/99 * 1.00 respect julian vereker 6/9/99 * 1.00 EU julian vereker 6/8/99 * 1.00 hearsay julian vereker 6/7/99 * 1.00 guidelines julian vereker 6/7/99 * 1.00 Factory tour julian vereker 6/7/99 * 1.00 Not so. julian vereker 6/6/99 * 1.00 measurement julian vereker 6/6/99 * 1.00 NZ julian vereker 6/5/99 * 1.00 An isobar julian vereker 6/5/99 * 1.00 yes julian vereker 6/2/99 * 1.00 SBL setup julian vereker 6/2/99 * 1.00 Small speaker against the wall? julian vereker 6/1/99 * 1.00 Martin julian vereker 5/31/99 * 1.00 Small speakers julian vereker 5/28/99 * 1.00 minis julian vereker 5/26/99 * 1.00 Voltages julian vereker 5/24/99 * 1.00 Dolby surround julian vereker 5/23/99 * 1.00 Oh dear me. julian vereker 5/23/99 * 1.00 grounds julian vereker 5/15/99 * 1.00 lite answer julian vereker 5/13/99 * 1.00 Wilsons julian vereker 5/13/99 * 1.00 serial # julian vereker 5/13/99 * 1.00 points julian vereker 5/13/99 * 1.00 Installs julian vereker 5/13/99 * 1.00 Sorry julian vereker 5/13/99 * 1.00 Not so. julian vereker 5/12/99 * 1.00 Cable position julian vereker 5/12/99 * 1.00 Speaker cables julian vereker 5/12/99 * 1.00 show dates julian vereker 5/7/99 * 1.00 visit julian vereker 5/6/99 * 1.00 another view julian vereker 5/6/99 * 1.00 For the record julian vereker 5/5/99 * 1.00 Gary & Tony julian vereker 5/5/99 * 1.00 not correct julian vereker 5/5/99 * 1.00 Some ghost julian vereker 5/5/99 * 1.00 Class A (pure or otherwise) julian vereker 5/3/99 * 1.00 Right! julian vereker 5/3/99 * 1.00 2 points julian vereker 5/3/99 * 1.00 interesting thread julian vereker 5/1/99 * 1.00 try Naim julian vereker 4/28/99 * 1.00 out of sight (in mind) julian vereker 4/28/99 * 1.00 brilliant julian vereker 4/27/99 * 1.00 balance julian vereker 4/27/99 * 1.00 availability julian vereker 4/27/99 * 1.00 CDI julian vereker 4/26/99 * 1.00 Just a number julian vereker 4/26/99 * 1.00 misrepresentation julian vereker 4/25/99 * 1.00 tuners julian vereker 4/22/99 * 1.00 Cliff julian vereker 4/19/99 * 1.00 lead acid julian vereker 4/18/99 * 1.00 Nigel said julian vereker 4/18/99 * 1.00 direction julian vereker 4/17/99 * 1.00 I want one! julian vereker 4/13/99 * 1.00 Base julian vereker 4/13/99 * 1.00 Sorry julian vereker 4/12/99 * 1.00 RealWebSite julian vereker 4/11/99 * 1.00 User error? julian vereker 4/11/99 * 1.00 Yes julian vereker 4/10/99 * 1.00 Hadcock julian vereker 4/6/99 * 1.00 Aro-matic julian vereker 4/6/99 * 1.00 age julian vereker 4/2/99 * 1.00 Grace julian vereker 4/1/99 * 1.00 gimbels julian vereker 3/30/99 * 1.00 One World? julian vereker 3/30/99 * 1.00 work julian vereker 3/25/99 * 1.00 students julian vereker 3/25/99 * 1.00 metal feet julian vereker 3/25/99 * 1.00 10sp julian vereker 3/19/99 * 1.00 Flash julian vereker 3/22/99 * 1.00 LOUD & quiet julian vereker 3/19/99 * 1.00 IBLs julian vereker 3/19/99 * 1.00 So sorry julian vereker 3/19/99 * 1.00 minor addition julian vereker 3/18/99 * 1.00 feedback julian vereker 3/18/99 * 1.00 same token julian vereker 3/18/99 * 1.00 goalposts julian vereker 3/17/99 * 1.00 batteries julian vereker 3/17/99 * 1.00 both julian vereker 3/16/99 * 1.00 filters julian vereker 3/10/99 * 1.00 used to be julian vereker 3/8/99 * 1.00 IBLs julian vereker 3/8/99 * 1.00 T-Shirt julian vereker 3/8/99 * 1.00 sorry julian vereker 3/8/99 * 1.00 bi-wire julian vereker 3/7/99 * 1.00 NAT 301 julian vereker 3/7/99 * 1.00 interference julian vereker 3/6/99 * 1.00 Re: Info on Building copies of Naim amps/PSU julian vereker 3/6/99 * 1.00 Iain julian vereker 3/5/99 * 1.00 a watt julian vereker 3/3/99 * 1.00 live v dbl julian vereker 3/3/99 * 1.00 clarification julian vereker 3/2/99 * 1.00 NAIM julian vereker 3/2/99 * 1.00 ping, ping julian vereker 2/26/99 * 1.00 home-made specials julian vereker 2/26/99 * 1.00 a team julian vereker 2/23/99 * 1.00 light, jitter & other things julian vereker 2/23/99 * 1.00 that's the one, julian vereker 2/23/99 * 1.00 toughbook? julian vereker 2/22/99 * 1.00 damper julian vereker 2/22/99 * 1.00 connection julian vereker 2/22/99 * 1.00 jitter julian vereker 2/20/99 * 1.00 s,k & e julian vereker 2/20/99 * 1.00 323/523 julian vereker 2/19/99 * 1.00 READ THE MANUAL julian vereker 2/16/99 * 1.00 A Level julian vereker 2/16/99 * 1.00 . . . julian vereker 2/16/99 * 1.00 lo-cap julian vereker 2/16/99 * 1.00 cd mechs julian vereker 2/16/99 * 1.00 DANGER julian vereker 2/15/99 * 1.00 3m julian vereker 2/15/99 * 1.00 jitter julian vereker 2/12/99 * 1.00 52 inputs julian vereker 2/12/99 * 1.00 Yes julian vereker 2/11/99 * 1.00 simple? julian vereker 2/11/99 * 1.00 what? julian vereker 2/10/99 * 1.00 to Robert on cords julian vereker 2/9/99 * 1.00 wear julian vereker 2/9/99 * 1.00 retrograde julian vereker 2/9/99 * 1.00 e,k,s julian vereker 2/9/99 * 1.00 Class A, A+, A++? julian vereker 2/7/99 * 1.00 pre-out julian vereker 2/7/99 * 1.00 worry not. julian vereker 2/6/99 * 1.00 from a DBL user julian vereker 2/5/99 * 1.00 design julian vereker 2/5/99 * 1.00 the last word? julian vereker 2/5/99 * 1.00 Lingo again? julian vereker 2/5/99 * 1.00 pucks julian vereker 2/3/99 * 1.00 faults julian vereker 2/2/99 * 1.00 moving sbls julian vereker 1/30/99 * 1.00 lost puck julian vereker 1/30/99 * 1.00 pucks julian vereker 1/28/99 * 1.00 mumetal julian vereker 1/28/99 * 1.00 Battery speakers julian vereker 1/25/99 * 1.00 Discmen, again julian vereker 1/22/99 * 1.00 clean up julian vereker 1/18/99 * 1.00 theft julian vereker 1/16/99 * 1.00 assistance julian vereker 1/14/99 * 1.00 Flat stuff julian vereker 1/14/99 * 1.00 puck julian vereker 1/13/99 * 1.00 projects julian vereker 1/13/99 * 1.00 age julian vereker 1/13/99 * 1.00 WA dealer julian vereker 1/13/99 * 1.00 skin julian vereker 1/9/99 * 1.00 DIN julian vereker 1/9/99 * 1.00 recommendations julian vereker 1/7/99 * 1.00 monitors julian vereker 1/7/99 * 1.00 Monitor? julian vereker 1/7/99 * 1.00 installation etc. julian vereker 1/6/99 * 1.00 pricing julian vereker 1/5/99 * 1.00 Naim r&d julian vereker 1/4/99 * 1.00 techs julian vereker 1/4/99 * 1.00 12ft julian vereker 1/3/99 * 1.00 Aluminium julian vereker 1/3/99 * 1.00 on . . . off . . . on julian vereker 12/29/98 * 1.00 CDSll julian vereker 12/28/98 * 1.00 P3 julian vereker 12/21/98 * 1.00 links julian vereker 12/20/98 * 1.00 sales julian vereker 12/20/98 * 1.00 history on site julian vereker 12/15/98 * 1.00 spl prefix julian vereker 12/15/98 * 1.00 No idea julian vereker 12/10/98 * 1.00 phase julian vereker 12/10/98 * 1.00 valhalla death julian vereker 12/9/98 * 1.00 Oz julian vereker 12/7/98 * 1.00 picky julian vereker 12/7/98 * 1.00 another minor point julian vereker 12/7/98 * 1.00 Disagree julian vereker 12/6/98 * 1.00 shut down julian vereker 12/1/98 * 1.00 master tape julian vereker 12/1/98 * 1.00 Opinions julian vereker 11/29/98 * 1.00 CDSll julian vereker 11/27/98 * 1.00 mains julian vereker 11/27/98 * 1.00 Flashy thing julian vereker 11/26/98 * 1.00 Rogers julian vereker 11/26/98 * 1.00 "to quote", dave . . . julian vereker 11/25/98 * 1.00 cds julian vereker 11/25/98 * 1.00 watts julian vereker 11/24/98 * 1.00 exceptions julian vereker 11/24/98 * 1.00 recording julian vereker 11/24/98 * 1.00 Source 1st julian vereker 11/23/98 * 1.00 julian's systems julian vereker 5/26/98 * 1.00 CDSll julian vereker 11/23/98 * 1.00 yes & no julian vereker 11/23/98 * 1.00 jitter julian vereker 11/23/98 * 1.00 snait/ibl julian vereker 11/22/98 * 1.00 small correction julian vereker 11/22/98 * 1.00 bigger amps julian vereker 11/21/98 * 1.00 I don't know julian vereker 11/20/98 * 1.00 jitter julian vereker 11/21/98 * 1.00 more watts julian vereker 11/20/98 * 1.00 JVC XRCD julian vereker 11/20/98 * 1.00 DVD nonsense julian vereker 11/18/98 * 1.00 FL1 julian vereker 11/17/98 * 1.00 CDSll julian vereker 11/17/98 * 1.00 same julian vereker 11/17/98 * 1.00 Power julian vereker 11/15/98 * 1.00 lingo julian vereker 11/14/98 * 1.00 light julian vereker 11/12/98 * 1.00 finishes julian vereker 11/9/98 * 1.00 sorry julian vereker 11/9/98 * 1.00 ebony julian vereker 11/8/98 * 1.00 stands julian vereker 11/8/98 * 1.00 a day later . . julian vereker 11/5/98 * 1.00 New cheap CDR machines julian vereker 11/3/98 * 1.00 silver or not julian vereker 11/2/98 * 1.00 visitors julian vereker 11/2/98 * 1.00 CDR julian vereker 11/2/98 * 1.00 expertise julian vereker 11/1/98 * 1.00 worthwhile julian vereker 11/1/98 * 1.00 Thanks Paul julian vereker 11/1/98 * 1.00 Dan's Krell julian vereker 11/1/98 * 1.00 hdcd julian vereker 10/31/98 * 1.00 music first julian vereker 10/30/98 * 1.00 rosewood sbls julian vereker 10/30/98 * 1.00 price, features julian vereker 10/29/98 * 1.00 plugs julian vereker 10/29/98 * 1.00 NACA5 julian vereker 10/28/98 * 1.00 NACA5 julian vereker 10/28/98 * 1.00 info julian vereker 10/28/98 * 1.00 as before julian vereker 10/28/98 * 1.00 NACA5 julian vereker 10/28/98 * 1.00 yes julian vereker 10/28/98 * 1.00 cheap 5.1 julian vereker 10/28/98 * 1.00 DAB julian vereker 10/27/98 * 1.00 2nd hand julian vereker 10/27/98 * 1.00 SBLs julian vereker 10/26/98 * 1.00 Malcolm julian vereker 10/25/98 * 1.00 CD display julian vereker 10/24/98 * 1.00 upgrade julian vereker 10/22/98 * 1.00 Java julian vereker 10/22/98 * 1.00 another world julian vereker 10/22/98 * 1.00 CDS ll julian vereker 10/22/98 * 1.00 AV1 julian vereker 10/21/98 * 1.00 Check julian vereker 10/21/98 * 1.00 Flash julian vereker 10/21/98 * 1.00 Aro julian vereker 10/21/98 * 1.00 Yes julian vereker 10/20/98 * 1.00 Yes julian vereker 10/20/98 * 1.00 BNCs julian vereker 10/20/98 * 1.00 Flash julian vereker 10/18/98 * 1.00 Flash julian vereker 10/17/98 * 1.00 site etc julian vereker 10/16/98 * 1.00 dampers julian vereker 10/13/98 * 1.00 Quoting Tony . . . julian vereker 10/13/98 * 1.00 So sorry julian vereker 10/13/98 * 1.00 linn julian vereker 9/26/98 * 1.00 not quite julian vereker 9/26/98 * 1.00 NBL julian vereker 9/26/98 * 1.00 DIN/RCA julian vereker 9/23/98 * 1.00 mental health julian vereker 9/23/98 * 1.00 puck loss julian vereker 9/22/98 * 1.00 matching julian vereker 9/22/98 * 1.00 Epos julian vereker 9/22/98 * 1.00 Glitches julian vereker 9/22/98 * 1.00 DSP etc julian vereker 9/21/98 * 1.00 active julian vereker 9/21/98 * 1.00 Class D julian vereker 9/19/98 * 1.00 Beech julian vereker 9/19/98 * 1.00 done before julian vereker 9/19/98 * 1.00 yes julian vereker 9/19/98 * 1.00 Beech julian vereker 9/17/98 * 1.00 Mastering julian vereker 9/17/98 * 1.00 DIN julian vereker 9/17/98 * 1.00 cables julian vereker 9/15/98 * 1.00 Wind julian vereker 9/15/98 * 1.00 yes julian vereker 9/13/98 * 1.00 manual julian vereker 9/12/98 * 1.00 separate inputs julian vereker 9/12/98 * 1.00 Connections julian vereker 9/10/98 * 1.00 sometimes julian vereker 9/10/98 * 1.00 Chord Co julian vereker 9/9/98 * 1.00 laser life julian vereker 9/8/98 * 1.00 AV1 julian vereker 9/7/98 * 1.00 no such Naim preamp julian vereker 9/7/98 * 1.00 thanks julian vereker 9/6/98 * 1.00 cd playing julian vereker 9/6/98 * 1.00 puck position julian vereker 9/5/98 * 1.00 addresses are fine julian vereker 9/5/98 * 1.00 dealer training julian vereker 9/3/98 * 1.00 boring but true julian vereker 9/1/98 * 1.00 X,S & ll julian vereker 9/1/98 * 1.00 Sorry julian vereker 8/31/98 * 1.00 Cables Again julian vereker 8/26/98 * 1.00 mains leads julian vereker 8/27/98 * 1.00 RF julian vereker 8/27/98 * 1.00 NBLs julian vereker 8/25/98 * 1.00 115/230V julian vereker 8/24/98 * 1.00 Nested . . . julian vereker 8/24/98 * 1.00 NBL julian vereker 8/24/98 * 1.00 hot 250 julian vereker 8/20/98 * 1.00 iso age julian vereker 8/5/98 * 1.00 visit julian vereker 8/5/98 * 1.00 Malcolm julian vereker 8/4/98 * 1.00 choice julian vereker 8/3/98 * 1.00 early 63s julian vereker 8/3/98 * 1.00 try it julian vereker 8/2/98 * 1.00 improvements julian vereker 7/28/98 * 1.00 yes julian vereker 7/28/98 * 1.00 QA in depth julian vereker 7/27/98 * 1.00 As before julian vereker 7/27/98 * 1.00 Robert's view julian vereker 7/27/98 * 1.00 crystals julian vereker 7/23/98 * 1.00 business julian vereker 7/23/98 * 1.00 Linn julian vereker 7/22/98 * 1.00 not a chip problem julian vereker 7/22/98 * 1.00 red & black julian vereker 7/21/98 * 1.00 clocks julian vereker 7/21/98 * 1.00 nice guy julian vereker 7/21/98 * 1.00 death julian vereker 7/21/98 * 1.00 AV1 julian vereker 7/20/98 * 1.00 distribution julian vereker 7/20/98 * 1.00 New CDS julian vereker 7/19/98 * 1.00 'good?' julian vereker 7/19/98 * 1.00 every country different julian vereker 7/15/98 * 1.00 Thanks julian vereker 7/13/98 * 1.00 No bananas julian vereker 7/13/98 * 1.00 No julian vereker 7/13/98 * 1.00 Not Politics julian vereker 7/13/98 * 1.00 Cinema Ads julian vereker 7/13/98 * 1.00 The Linn Conference julian vereker 7/13/98 * 1.00 not the speakers again.. julian vereker 7/10/98 * 1.00 p3 julian vereker 7/8/98 * 1.00 an answer julian vereker 7/8/98 * 1.00 transformers julian vereker 7/8/98 * 1.00 speak for the rest of them.. julian vereker 7/7/98 * 1.00 Cinema ads julian vereker 7/7/98 * 1.00 naxo julian vereker 7/5/98 * 1.00 FAQ julian vereker 7/2/98 * 1.00 not kidding julian vereker 7/2/98 * 1.00 monitors julian vereker 7/1/98 * 1.00 no julian vereker 6/30/98 * 1.00 Too cynical julian vereker 6/30/98 * 1.00 more info julian vereker 6/30/98 * 1.00 51 julian vereker 6/29/98 * 1.00 sales julian vereker 6/28/98 * 1.00 moved to Linn Conference julian vereker 6/28/98 * 1.00 hearsay julian vereker 6/26/98 * 1.00 space julian vereker 6/26/98 * 1.00 contact julian vereker 6/25/98 * 1.00 xo julian vereker 6/25/98 * 1.00 scale julian vereker 6/23/98 * 1.00 lite julian vereker 6/23/98 * 1.00 Quad57 julian vereker 6/22/98 * 1.00 you tell me julian vereker 6/19/98 * 1.00 Re: nait 3 comparison julian vereker 6/18/98 * 1.00 sorry julian vereker 6/18/98 * 1.00 phased julian vereker 6/17/98 * 1.00 measurement julian vereker 6/17/98 * 1.00 average power julian vereker 6/17/98 * 1.00 credos etc julian vereker 6/17/98 * 1.00 taste & measurement julian vereker 6/17/98 * 1.00 135 sockets julian vereker 6/17/98 * 1.00 LK1 julian vereker 6/16/98 * 1.00 yes julian vereker 6/12/98 * 1.00 No actually... julian vereker 6/12/98 * 1.00 bi-amping julian vereker 6/11/98 * 1.00 2nd hand julian vereker 6/10/98 * 1.00 digital in julian vereker 6/10/98 * 1.00 Linn conference julian vereker 6/9/98 * 1.00 AV1 julian vereker 6/9/98 * 1.00 isobarik, keltic & SBL julian vereker 6/8/98 * 1.00 few julian vereker 6/7/98 * 1.00 Old 250s julian vereker 6/4/98 * 1.00 ... julian vereker 6/4/98 * 1.00 yes julian vereker 6/4/98 * 1.00 need for speed julian vereker 6/3/98 * 1.00 futureness julian vereker 6/3/98 * 1.00 warranty julian vereker 6/2/98 * 1.00 AS/400 julian vereker 6/2/98 * 1.00 digital out julian vereker 6/2/98 * 1.00 dealers are human julian vereker 6/2/98 * 1.00 comparisons may be odious julian vereker 6/2/98 * 1.00 Brompton julian vereker 5/29/98 * 1.00 two power amps julian vereker 5/29/98 * 1.00 multiroom chez julian julian vereker 5/28/98 * 1.00 Windex Yachts julian vereker 5/28/98 * 1.00 Synchrolite julian vereker 5/28/98 * 1.00 Isobariks julian vereker 5/27/98 * 1.00 design time julian vereker 5/27/98 * 1.00 hdcd julian vereker 5/27/98 * 1.00 under the carpet julian vereker 5/26/98 * 1.00 naim julian vereker 5/26/98 * 1.00 retailers julian vereker 5/20/98 * 1.00 Speaker cables julian vereker 5/18/98 * 1.00 ARO v other arms julian vereker 5/18/98 * 1.00 reissues julian vereker 5/14/98 * 1.00 tried, tested & rejected julian vereker 5/1/98 * 1.00 D-345 julian vereker 5/1/98 * 1.00 digital radio julian vereker 4/29/98 * 1.00 CDS price julian vereker 4/29/98 * 1.00 CDS julian vereker 4/28/98 * 1.00 Super Audio CD etc julian vereker 4/28/98 * 1.00 music grade julian vereker 4/28/98 * 1.00 There's a word for this julian vereker 4/28/98 * 1.00 AV1 julian vereker 4/28/98 * 1.00 didn't look julian vereker 4/27/98 * 1.00 chips julian vereker 4/27/98 * 1.00 this again julian vereker 4/27/98 * 1.00 discmen julian vereker 4/27/98 * 1.00 plug julian vereker 4/26/98 * 1.00 ICE julian vereker 4/26/98 * 1.00 2 spurs julian vereker 4/26/98 * 1.00 old thread julian vereker 4/23/98 * 1.00 all present & correct julian vereker 4/23/98 * 1.00 BNCs julian vereker 4/22/98 * 1.00 do we... julian vereker 4/22/98 * 1.00 bi wiring julian vereker 4/22/98 * 1.00 easy cds julian vereker 4/22/98 * 1.00 needle wear julian vereker 4/21/98 * 1.00 Steve julian vereker 4/21/98 * 1.00 a sort of reply julian vereker 4/20/98 * 1.00 power julian vereker 4/16/98 * 1.00 Correction julian vereker 4/16/98 * 1.00 consumption julian vereker 4/15/98 * 1.00 pete julian vereker 4/14/98 * 1.00 prefix julian vereker 4/14/98 * 1.00 large nat02 julian vereker 4/14/98 * 1.00 robust julian vereker 4/8/98 * 1.00 flying julian vereker 4/8/98 * 1.00 mains julian vereker 4/8/98 * 1.00 xps - supercap julian vereker 4/8/98 * 1.00 cables julian vereker 4/8/98 * 1.00 wong system julian vereker 4/7/98 * 1.00 serial numbers julian vereker 4/6/98 * 1.00 ONE SPUR julian vereker 4/5/98 * 1.00 Music at home julian vereker 4/3/98 * 1.00 past posts julian vereker 4/4/98 * 1.00 computer journos julian vereker 4/3/98 * 1.00 yes but julian vereker 4/3/98 * 1.00 choice julian vereker 4/3/98 * 1.00 Zetex julian vereker 4/1/98 * 1.00 a deck julian vereker 4/1/98 * 1.00 different time julian vereker 4/1/98 * 1.00 wiring kabers julian vereker 4/1/98 * 1.00 EW julian vereker 4/1/98 * 1.00 yes julian vereker 4/1/98 * 1.00 lps julian vereker 4/1/98 * 1.00 reference julian vereker 3/31/98 * 1.00 sorry julian vereker 4/1/98 * 1.00 ONE SPUR julian vereker 3/31/98 * 1.00 ONE SPUR julian vereker 3/31/98 * 1.00 DPA julian vereker 3/31/98 * 1.00 tools julian vereker 3/31/98 * 1.00 spice julian vereker 3/31/98 * 1.00 mains cables julian vereker 3/31/98 * 1.00 P3 PS julian vereker 3/31/98 * 1.00 separation julian vereker 3/30/98 * 1.00 separate spurs julian vereker 3/30/98 * 1.00 fault julian vereker 3/29/98 * 1.00 Oh dear! julian vereker 3/29/98 * 1.00 stories julian vereker 3/29/98 * 1.00 op amps julian vereker 3/29/98 * 1.00 no editing julian vereker 3/29/98 * 1.00 Bias julian vereker 3/29/98 * 1.00 ixo julian vereker 3/27/98 * 1.00 power consumption julian vereker 3/27/98 * 1.00 self preservation julian vereker 3/27/98 * 1.00 a small disagreement julian vereker 3/27/98 * 1.00 2038 julian vereker 3/27/98 * 1.00 pads etc julian vereker 3/26/98 * 1.00 hdcd julian vereker 3/26/98 * 1.00 2000+ julian vereker 3/26/98 * 1.00 great julian vereker 3/25/98 * 1.00 computers julian vereker 3/25/98 * 1.00 choice julian vereker 3/25/98 * 1.00 no julian vereker 3/24/98 * 1.00 balance control julian vereker 3/24/98 * 1.00 watt julian vereker 3/23/98 * 1.00 yes julian vereker 3/23/98 * 1.00 older 250s julian vereker 3/23/98 * 1.00 hi-fi stereo on vhs julian vereker 3/23/98 * 1.00 advice julian vereker 3/22/98 * 1.00 servicing of older Naim equipment julian vereker 3/21/98 * 1.00 Class A julian vereker 3/21/98 * 1.00 odious comparisons julian vereker 3/21/98 * 1.00 sense julian vereker 3/20/98 * 1.00 Aro julian vereker 3/20/98 * 1.00 NAPSC case julian vereker 3/20/98 * 1.00 thanks guys julian vereker 3/18/98 * 1.00 pre-amps julian vereker 3/17/98 * 1.00 Mountains julian vereker 3/17/98 * 1.00 Not Chord Co. julian vereker 3/17/98 * 1.00 power cords julian vereker 3/16/98 * 1.00 cd service julian vereker 3/16/98 * 1.00 hdcd julian vereker 3/16/98 * 1.00 In house julian vereker 3/16/98 * 1.00 120V julian vereker 3/16/98 * 1.00 Super Audio CD julian vereker 3/16/98 * 1.00 Brompton julian vereker 3/16/98 * 1.00 Windex julian vereker 3/16/98 * 1.00 CDI julian vereker 3/16/98 * 1.00 Cable supply julian vereker 3/15/98 * 1.00 Servicing julian vereker 3/15/98 * 1.00 video julian vereker 3/14/98 * 1.00 pre-amps julian vereker 3/15/98 * 1.00 US compatible julian vereker 3/15/98 * 1.00 haunting julian vereker 3/14/98 * 1.00 AQ julian vereker 3/14/98 * 1.00 1986 NAP 250 julian vereker 3/14/98 * 1.00 Colours julian vereker 3/14/98 * 1.00 video julian vereker 3/13/98 * 1.00 autos julian vereker 3/13/98 * 1.00 helpful? julian vereker 3/12/98 * 1.00 1997 julian vereker 3/10/98 * 1.00 cdx delivery julian vereker 3/10/98 * 1.00 Sailplanes julian vereker 3/10/98 * 1.00 music in the car julian vereker 3/10/98 * 1.00 Oh dear, autos julian vereker 3/9/98 * 1.00 (2) to live julian vereker 3/9/98 * 1.00 Active IBLs julian vereker 3/8/98 * 1.00 ...by magic julian vereker 3/7/98 * 1.00 AQ julian vereker 3/6/98 * 1.00 Music julian vereker 3/5/98 * 1.00 Our people julian vereker 3/4/98 * 1.00 AQ julian vereker 3/4/98 * 1.00 oh well julian vereker 3/4/98 * 1.00 maybe julian vereker 3/3/98 * 1.00 distance julian vereker 3/3/98 * 1.00 jitter julian vereker 3/3/98 * 1.00 AV1 etc julian vereker 3/3/98 * 1.00 sbl - more info julian vereker 3/3/98 * 1.00 "are you reading this Julian;-)" julian vereker 3/2/98 * 1.00 SBL aluminium pads julian vereker 3/2/98 * 1.00 Credo air gap julian vereker 3/1/98 * 1.00 ac-3 julian vereker 3/1/98 * 1.00 What if? julian vereker 2/24/98 * 1.00 the words julian vereker 2/23/98 * 1.00 Super Audio CD julian vereker 2/23/98 * 1.00 power julian vereker 2/21/98 * 1.00 music julian vereker 2/21/98 * 1.00 VA julian vereker 2/21/98 * 1.00 good news julian vereker 2/21/98 * 1.00 hiss julian vereker 2/21/98 * 1.00 Naim XOs julian vereker 2/18/98 * 1.00 CDX julian vereker 2/18/98 * 1.00 product history julian vereker 2/16/98 * 1.00 Old 52s julian vereker 2/16/98 * 1.00 un-named persons julian vereker 2/16/98 * 1.00 Life julian vereker 2/16/98 * 1.00 mods julian vereker 2/12/98 * 1.00 owner's manual julian vereker 2/12/98 * 1.00 sample julian vereker 2/12/98 * 1.00 cd3 v Stage julian vereker 2/12/98 * 1.00 faults julian vereker 2/11/98 * 1.00 foc julian vereker 2/11/98 * 1.00 xps etc julian vereker 2/11/98 * 1.00 P3 julian vereker 2/11/98 * 1.00 6 Volts julian vereker 2/11/98 * 1.00 Transformer noise julian vereker 2/11/98 * 1.00 customer opinion julian vereker 2/7/98 * 1.00 tuners julian vereker 2/7/98 * 1.00 dialogue julian vereker 2/4/98 * 1.00 Registration julian vereker 2/3/98 * 1.00 Time julian vereker 2/3/98 * 1.00 Old threads julian vereker 2/3/98 * 1.00 new model path julian vereker 2/2/98 * 1.00 on or off julian vereker 2/2/98 * 1.00 warm-up julian vereker 1/31/98 * 1.00 compatibility julian vereker 1/30/98 * 1.00 order julian vereker 1/29/98 * 1.00 Chord Solid julian vereker 1/28/98 * 1.00 multi-mains julian vereker 1/27/98 * 1.00 sound quality julian vereker 1/26/98 * 1.00 Volume discount julian vereker 1/25/98 * 1.00 money julian vereker 1/25/98 * 1.00 doing sums julian vereker 1/23/98 * 1.00 '00 julian vereker 1/23/98 * 1.00 Onix, Rega, QUAD & Sony julian vereker 1/23/98 * 1.00 download julian vereker 1/23/98 * 1.00 vinyl julian vereker 1/21/98 * 1.00 underfelt julian vereker 1/21/98 * 1.00 cable length julian vereker 1/21/98 * 1.00 pro-logic julian vereker 1/21/98 * 1.00 5.1 or surround julian vereker 1/20/98 * 1.00 communication julian vereker 1/18/98 * 1.00 napsc julian vereker 1/18/98 * 1.00 service julian vereker 1/16/98 * 1.00 dealer julian vereker 1/13/98 * 1.00 hf on the mains julian vereker 1/13/98 * 1.00 Women's music julian vereker 1/13/98 _________________________________________________________________ TopShow Thread Previous Next Date: February 18, 2000 03:22 PM Author: Chris Bell (RORSCHACH1@AOL.COM) Julian Vereker Engineer who led the specialist hi-fi field with Naim Audio JULIAN VEREKER, who has died aged 54, enjoyed the challenge of creative engineering in any form, whether cars or computers, boats or lighting systems; his outstanding achievement, however, was in the field of top quality high fidelity audio equipment. His company, Naim Audio, helped to give Britain the lead in specialist hi-fi equipment. Though it is possible to spend as much as £45,000 on a complete Naim system, there has been a steadily increasing number of buyers - especially in the United States and Germany - prepared to pay such prices, rather than make do with the best that Sony or Matshushita could produce. Vereker achieved success very much on his own terms. Charming and entertaining company with those who stimulated him, he could be abrasive when sympathy failed. He delighted in eccentric and innovative people; above all, though, his friends had to be practical, entertaining and fun. Enthusiasm was his driving force. His belief in free enterprise and individual freedom was matched by his unfailing kindness to causes or people he considered deserving. A natural showman, he was the best possible advocate for his own products. Julian Charles Prendergast Vereker was born at Oxford on May 7 1945. He had aristocratic antecedents, being the great-great grandson of the 3rd Viscount Gort. His great-grandfather had been Consul at Cherbourg and his grandfather a naval commander; his father Charles Vereker became Professor of Political Theory at Durham University. Julian therefore grew up in a lively academic family, which did not prevent him from becoming a rebellious adolescent in the Sixties. Though requiring four attempts to pass 'O' Level Maths, he developed a passion for engineering, and left Bryanston at 16 to design and build his own car. He then made improvements to a Mini 850 S which he raced for several seasons, notching up two victories in 1967. This experience convinced him that reliability was the essential basis for all engineering achievement. Naim Audio Visual began in 1969, its first product being a unit capable of switching 30kw of lighting on and off in time to music. Vereker loved making recordings of his friends. But he found results so poor that he could not distinguish different performers, or different kinds of guitar. After experimenting with other systems, he decided, characteristically, to make his own. The first Naim power amplifier was sold in December 1971, though at first it was only made on demand for friends and acquaintances. Then in 1973 Vereker won a contract to supply Capital Radio, which was just starting up, with single cabinets containing the Naim amplifier and speaker drive units. That July, Naim Audio was incorporated; and in 1974 the company moved from a basement in Salisbury to a 16th-century shop in the city. That same year, Vereker met Ivor Tiefenbrun, whose company, Linn, had been developing turntables. The combination of Linn turntables and Naim amplifiers, proved unbeatable, with sales greatly assisted by Vereker's and Tiefenbrun's confident pitch: "If you can't hear the difference," they would tell customers, "it's not worth talking to you." In 1980 Naim Audio (now with a staff of nine) had to move again, this time to 11,000 sq ft in Southampton Road, Salisbury, which Vereker initially considered far too large. But with the addition to the range of an FM tuner, success followed success. By 1985, when Naim Audio won the Queen's Award for Export Achievement, it was exporting to 26 countries, necessitating further expansion. Today the factory employs 90 people and occupies 40,000 sq ft. To render the work more interesting, Vereker ensured that each person separately built the equipment from scratch to completion. He also employed highly sophisticated computers for administration, manufacturing and testing. Vereker himself was probably happiest when designing boats. The prototype of his latest venture, with a triangulated mast and a computer-controlled system of active water ballast, was launched on the day he died from cancer. Recently he had been developing his own record label, featuring his friends from the music world. For some years Vereker was chairman of the British Federation of Audio. He was appointed MBE in 1995. He was twice married, and had a son and a daughter. (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=48047) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: January 25, 2000 01:34 AM Author: David Winter (D.Winter@bris.ac.uk) Subject: Julian Vereker This man had such vision and the courage to put his vision into practice. I s hall miss him. My deepest sympathies to his family and friends. (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=46162) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: January 23, 2000 08:08 AM Author: anthony s lighton (dlighton@cwcom.net) Subject: Julian vereker My sincere condolences to Julian's family and all at Naim. He was a great inspiration and will live on each time I have my usual "saturday afternoon session".Thank You for for the real meaning of Music. (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=46068) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: January 22, 2000 06:26 AM Author: John Channing (john.channing@cwcom.net) Subject: Julian Vereker This has come as an enormous shock to me, in fact when I read the first post I just didn't believe it, the fact that there were hundreds of posts following it made me realise the awful truth. I had no idea whatsoever that JV was ill, he always came across as such a busy person full of energy and with loads of projects on the go. He will be greatly missed. My sympathy goes out to his family, friends, and colleagues. (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=46030) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: January 21, 2000 02:57 AM Author: wmc Subject: Julian Vereker what a very sad loss to his family, naim and all of us who knew him through his postings on the forum. i am stunned, but somehow grateful that at least i own some of the equipment he made and knew some of his values. the hi-fi world will never be the same. god bless his soul and shield those devasted by this event...the process of recover is much longer. wmc (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=45985) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: January 20, 2000 10:11 AM Author: Jeremy Marchant (jeremy@marchant.com) Subject: Julian Vereker Like so many people I, too, was shocked to hear of Julian Vereker's death at a cruelly early age. I, too, only had the briefest of personal contacts with the man - in my case a telephone call to Naim, over 20 years ago, about a problem with my NAP120. I didn't realise with whom I was having a lengthy conversation until he modestly let slip who he was. I find the intensity of my reaction to the news almost disturbing. I am sure this is an indication of the influence (unrecognised until now) he personally had in a hugely important area of my life: the intrinsic quality of his work enabling music to satisfy and reward me so fully. My condolences to his family and friends. Jeremy Marchant (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=45965) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: January 19, 2000 10:59 AM Author: Damon S. Jack (d.jack@datacomm.ch) Subject: Julian Vereker -A great loss to family, friends and innovation I first met Julian some 20 years ago in my home town of Hobart, Tasmania where he painstakingly spent several hours in the sweltering summer heat trying to get (of all things) my then LP12/G707/FR1mk2 to play a tune - it finally did. He helped sort out several other problems over the next few years and I have remained a satisfied and loyal Naim user to the present day. We renewed our acquaintance just last June during a visit I made with my family to the Salisbury factory. Not only did he give me more than enough of his time that day as well but I was staggered (given the number of times he must have performed that set-up ritual in the early days) as to just how much detail of that particular afternoon in Hobart he actually recalled. He remained in my mind a remarkably innovative and very approachable man with an extraordinary range of talents - I will always remember him whenever I attend a "musicolour" party, see a racing Mini Cooper, watch an old 8mm sound movie, spin a disk or even just riding my Brompton bike around town. My sincere condolences to all his family and friends. Damon S. JACK Basel, Switzerland (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=45927) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: January 17, 2000 02:05 AM Author: Mick Parry (parrym@postoffice.co.uk) Subject: Mr Julian Vereker I still find this so very difficult to believe. Julian was one of those rare breed of men who had a vision, done what he intended to do and left the rest of us so much better off by the legacy of his equipment and the music it produced. He will be remembered by many people throughout the world for years to come every time they use those wonderful Naim products. It was a priveledge to have known him and he will be missed. Mick Parry (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=45801) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: January 16, 2000 05:56 PM Author: Dr Neville B Turner (neville.turner@btinternet.com) Subject: Julian Vereker I should like to offer my condolences to the family and friends of Mr Julian Vereker. The world has lost a wonderful man. Neville Turner (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=45779) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: January 15, 2000 11:24 PM Author: Stewart Cooper (scooper@cmgm.stanford.edu) Subject: Julian Vereker Sincere condolences to Julian's family, friends and colleagues. Stewart (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=45713) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: January 14, 2000 02:23 PM Author: Curtice A. Cornell (ckcornell@aol.com) Subject: Julian Vereker Having known Gene Rubin since about 1982, I learned and spoke earlier today about the passing of Julian. I worked with someone about Julian's age that passed away from cancer over a year ago and I know what a devastation it can be on family, friends and associates. We are all saddened by his passing. I mentioned to Gene that having owned naim equipment for so many years I knew that the company was founded by a man based on his vision, which made him unique. And that the company has and is successful makes that vision quite an accomplishment. But what set Julian further apart, in my mind, is that despite being a participant of an industry that literally overflows with ever-changing responses to the same goal (imagine the creativity of high-end audio applied to the auto industry or virtually anything else for that matter), Julian's vision as evidenced by naim was ever-so unique, never mainstream, and he wouldn't waiver from his vision. Quite a man. (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=45639) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: January 10, 2000 04:21 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: bones Sorry for the moment, there are no bones. But crumbs . . . No new amp between 135 and 500 planned, the 500 technology which would be applicable to a 52-5 are the transistor rooms that Roy came up with first in the CDSll. The rest of the crumbs got swept up - sorry. julian (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=45328) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: January 06, 2000 11:15 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: single speaker dem rooms In the early '70s we always had just one pair of speakers in the room at Salt Lane. John Teller (Studio 99) commented on a few occasions, that the same equipment always sounded better at Naim rather than at Linn. Ivor and I spent sometime trying to work out why. The two issues that caused the biggest improvements were the type of stands we used and the lack of several other speakers in the room. We talked John Teller into rearranging Studio 99 to include a single speaker demonstration room, The Concert Room, and that was the start of others acknowledging one pair of speakers in the room was best. julian (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=45099) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: January 06, 2000 10:30 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: differences They have different tweeters and crossovers, not surprisingly the Intro ll has the less expensive items. We have made a special effort with the Intro ll to make it more tolerant of the type of sources and amps it is likely to be used with in the beginning of the upgrade path. julian (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=45095) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: January 03, 2000 12:21 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: FAQ Paul It does say "without jolting", but I will get it changed to make the point more clearly. julian (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=44925) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: January 03, 2000 08:13 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: e-mail Please feel free to e-mail the factory. julian (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=44911) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: January 03, 2000 02:53 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: The Bug One of the forums that I sometimes frequent at http://www.ybw.co.uk/cgi-bin/forums/ym.cgi has a wonderful date that circumvents the norms. This year is now 19100 julian (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=44900) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: January 03, 2000 02:38 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: 500s Tim The 500s are near silent, and even when the fan comes on, it also is very quiet, but unlike the 135, the fan does not come on during normal use. The 500PS have huge transformers inside, and in my system they don't seem to make any more mechanical noise than either of the Supercaps or the XPS. The whole ensemble seems to be quite a lot quieter than the 6 135s that were in the cupboard before. julian (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=44899) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: January 03, 2000 02:26 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: fan In such circumstances, I have put the 250 on its side and pointed a domestic fan heater (set to cool) at the bottom of the amp. julian (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=44897) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: January 03, 2000 02:16 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: more is more Jonathan If good albums sound good, I would leave everything alone. In any event, more bass is more bass, not necessarily better. julian (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=44894) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: January 03, 2000 02:01 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: interested Tim I would be most interested to know which Naim tech support gave you the advice with regard to the "Lexion", since I cannot recall ever have had any experience of such a device. If you meant a "Lexicon", then our experience is that it is not suitable for use in a Naim system if you want hear what it is that Naim systems do well. We found it to be a piece of well made technological garbage, and there were some of their suggested connection arrangements which could prove unsafe. julian (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=44892) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: January 02, 2000 12:33 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: concrete Alan My only experience of your issues are that concrete walls tend to ring at all the wrong frequencies, and that plastered breeze block (cinder block?) walls work much better. julian (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=44861) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: January 02, 2000 12:13 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: standard All my interconnects are the 'as shipped' standard. If you think for one instant that I am saying "Do as I say not do as I do," then you are making a serious misjudgement, and I am clearly wasting my time posting here. julian (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=44860) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: January 01, 2000 10:01 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: size matters The problem of mechanical transformer noise is caused by odd harmonics being present on the mains supply and tend cause more noise on larger transformers. The early 250 (pre 1984) had a smaller transformer than the later one which is the same as the 135. I keep my all my power supplies and NAP500s in a cupboard in the hall. julian (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=44838) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: January 01, 2000 09:50 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: no rocking The important issue is to ensure that the mid box does not rock, if the pads are pierced a little bit this will not affect the performance. If all the pads are fully pierced on first assembly, it is likely that they will need fixing next time the SBLs are assembled. julian (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=44837) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: January 01, 2000 09:36 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: easy Bob, Nobody said it was easy, but we have put cross headed screws into the floor, adjust very carefully so the speaker doesn't rock and then use the Naim designed 'lifters' that were available to dealers to move the speakers. julian (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=44836) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: January 01, 2000 04:46 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: piercings Jo Sorry, but it seems that two ideas have got confused here. The aluminium pads should be dimpled on assembly, but when they get pierced it is time to replace them. (Or repair the pads with a hammer, fill the hole in the cabinet and re-staple). Due to the nature of 'things' all the tolerances appear at this gap and therefore a simple jig could not be used, but in any event your reason for it is not valid. I have found that with some care 5 or 6 moves are possible without any remedial action to the pads. I am sure that I have posted this information before - I'll go and search. julian PS Select 'search', enter SBL, check 'title & text', select Hi-Fi Chat, author: julian vereker, click on 'search' there are 21 posts, many of which have relevant info. (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=44822) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: January 01, 2000 12:08 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: set up Paul Being for a moment pedantic, the FAQ doesn't mention what one needs to do after having picked the SBLs up and moved them. There are ways of moving the speakers without jolting them at all using a specially designed 'lifter', which is how we do it in the factory, but I was trying to draw attention to the fact that every movement degrades the performance. As far as our dealers are concerned - 'one can take a horse to water, but one cannot make it drink.' The SBL is a remarkable loudspeaker that can offer a level of performance unmatched by most others, and it seems to me that having spent £2000 on them, it has to be worth taking the trouble to get the best from them. julian PS just testing the date rollover . . . :) (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=44811) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: December 31, 1999 11:25 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: seals Jo The seals are rarely the problem. If you want to move the speakers about the room, lightly smear dish-washing liquid on the top of the gasket and the matching underside of the speaker cabinet, the silicone will then simply peal off when you want to move the speaker. The bottom box will be able to be set in its new position and the spikes adjusted (as short as possible allowing for the carpet), remember to attach the speaker cable, then put the small bead of silicone on the gasket, next put the bass/mid cabinet on pressing down lightly but firmly for at least 30 secs, put the tweeter spacer in place attach the tweeter stand with its bolts and then try - you don't have to wait for the silicone to set. The correct set up of the speakers is hugely more important than the precise placement or toe-in. This is the ONLY way to move the SBLs without seriously compromising their performance. Judging by the comments on the forum, I would suggest that at least 50% of SBL users or tryers are not listening to them at remotely their full potential. julian PS Happy New Year. (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=44799) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: December 31, 1999 04:29 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: movement Ajaz Please watch my fingers: "If you move the SBLs AT ALL after set up . . . " minimal is some, and some is too much. As I suggested before, try search. julian (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=44781) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: December 31, 1999 01:21 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: search Much has been written on the subject of SBL set up - try the forum search. If you move the SBLs AT ALL after set up, it is very likely you will have the sort of problems you describe. The seal is very very rarely the issue. julian (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=44777) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: December 31, 1999 01:11 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: walls >>>>Your room boundary also needs to be made of something substantial (IMO): outside wall = very good, other brick wall = good, plasterboard partition = very bad. This is not the whole story by any means, it is the compliance of the wall which is the issue, and at what frequency its natural resonance is. This can often be adjusted with another layer of plasterboard (sometimes compliantly mounted) to take the resonance into the subsonic region. There are people who know about these things, but like all other fields of human endeavour, they are not all right! julian PS CDX - and I wasn't even thinking of hinting such a thing. :) (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=44776) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: December 30, 1999 10:08 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: SBL use Mick The SBLs need to be not more than 60mm from the room boundary in order to work properly. As one moves them away from the boundary, they become less accurate which is why it is sometimes suggested that they should be moved into the room as there is an amount of fault masking taking place, this merely indicates that there is a setup or equipment problem elsewhere. julian PS slight toe-in or not should not be a make or break aspect of setup, just a matter of choice and room acoustics. (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=44752) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: December 26, 1999 02:59 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: Are brown-outs harmful? No, not in Naim systems. All the voltages either decline smoothly or there are relays to isolate any damaging spikes. I live in a village that has had over thirty power cuts this year and no damage has resulted, so I feel our systems are fully tested in the field. This does not apply in some mixed manufacturer systems. julian (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=44614) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: December 24, 1999 07:36 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: DAB Chris Try the forum search, I and others have written on the subject. In short, our experience is that it is of inadequate quality and very expensive both to licence and to implement, not a good recipe for a Naim product. However, we will keep a watching brief. julian (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=44572) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: December 24, 1999 01:38 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: underselling Cliff wrote "3) I'm surprised at jv's post in this thread. I guess he still wants to sell DBLs, but he is seriously underselling NBLs IMHO. Perhaps a counter view from a Naim employee using NBLs at home is in order! I was just expressing my view on the relative merits of the NBLs & DBLs - I don't feel that your experience is in conflict with mine, I have listened to NBLs all the way through their development and for some considerable time to the final product in various of our listening rooms. The development time of the NBLs was extended a couple of times to get some of the detail performance such that we were thrilled by the way they work, instead of merely pleased. Your experience is our reward for the efforts of our R&D team. Sorry, no Naim employee yet has NBLs at home, we still are catching up with back orders. seasons greetings julian (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=44548) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: December 19, 1999 11:55 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: construction Alan The NBL doesn't require silicone sealant like the SBL or DBL, there are some transit locks that need to be removed but that's it. IMHO, the NBL doesn't come close to the DBL in terms of transducer accuracy, but there are many other criteria that are important, not the least of which is size and appearance. The 500 is assembled around an aluminium extruded heatsink to which copper heat transfer extrusions are bolted, the bits that you see are either machined from solid, extrusions or investment castings - it is in a different class from the 250 style construction. julian (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=44283) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: December 19, 1999 11:36 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: no problem Bob Please feel no guilt, we don't and will not be making a turntable, so in this case I feel not the slightest twinge! julian (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=44282) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: December 12, 1999 02:15 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Israel Omer Israel has about 2.5 x the Naim spend per capita of Australia - not a large market but in spite of both currency and import duty vagaries, it has been very stable. Since the last elections and more signs of peace there has been a noticeable up turn. julian (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=43795) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: December 10, 1999 12:37 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: Yes And also, unethical, however who is going to waste time in court when they can be out sailing or in enjoying some music. julian PS these tactics were common in the '80s all around the world. Sad really. (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=43751) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: December 10, 1999 12:34 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: no neither of you even say "yes" and then do something else. . . julian (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=43750) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: December 09, 1999 11:57 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: Thanks John Thanks for the time taken to reply, but in truth I don't think it's the money - there have been occasions in the last few decades when currency movements and 100% import duties which you have thought would have killed markets stone dead - they didn't and yet at other times, a little ripple in a market stance, and everything goes to pot. I have spent many months in Australia over the years, but I finally have left it to others, because although I love seeing and spending time my many special friends there, I had an experience with a dealer which left me totally cold. I had visited his shop many times and held musical evenings with him and his customers, shared wine and cheese, I thought he was doing a good job taking care of our customers, I thought he was like minded in the way he enjoyed music and in lifestyle ethic. Some visit later, I was told we wouldn't be going to see this dealer because had taken another company's distribution and stopped selling Naim in his shop. I phoned him and he explained that it was the money, so I asked him why he stopped offering the choice of Naim in his shop. He said 'they' wouldn't give him the distribution without him dropping Naim. So there you have one Australian who made a life choice based on blackmail and money - for me this is truly an asymptotic universe. Don't read too much into this, it is just a personal observation which has coloured my view of what drives some Australian dealers and how it has affected the market in that beautiful country. julian (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=43652) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: December 09, 1999 11:38 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: volumes Dear All, I wasn't being anti-Australian, only querying what's up with a market that in general doesn't seem to like some of our 'best' products and buys less than some individual customers do in a year - interesting really. NZ is one of our major markets, the volume is between Italy and France and has the highest spend on Naim per head of any market in the world. julian PS We will not be doing a TT or a cartridge. (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=43630) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: December 08, 1999 11:02 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: Question Paul I inferred a question. "I suspect that you consider that you have some special expertise that both you and your employer value probably very highly, and in these circumstances a customer tells you something is one way and you know and can demonstrate technically that it is another, you may allow your customer to voice his opinion but not accept its veracity." I would be interested in your reply. julian (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=43567) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: December 08, 1999 11:23 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: I do care to . . Ross This is one of those occasions where I had said what I meant and Vuk correctly 'analysed' it for you. I have a deep suspicion concerning the Australian market and maybe there are some 'walkabout' forces at work there. During the last twenty five years - It is the only market in the world, that for us, has not expanded. In 1976, we exported over a third of our production to Australia, now it accounts for less than one day's output from the factory each year. An observation only. julian PS thanks, Vuk. (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=43569) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: December 08, 1999 01:59 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: skin Vuk Skin on, always. julian (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=43497) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: December 08, 1999 01:35 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: pride Sorry Paul, I don't have an overweening pride the the perfection of all the things that Naim makes, in fact I, probably more than anyone else, is aware of their various compromises and short comings. I suspect that you consider that you have some special expertise that both you and your employer value probably very highly, and in these circumstances a customer tells you something is one way and you know and can demonstrate technically that it is another, you may allow your customer to voice his opinion but not accept its veracity. Luckily our Aro fell into the hands of Stereophile and won Analogue Component of the Year. julian (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=43492) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: December 08, 1999 01:03 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: sorry "In any test LP12/ekos/trokia,win's hands down!" Sorry pal, you're wrong. julian PS and that is apart from the fact that the Troika hasn't been available for years and anyway which Ekos - yours? (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=43490) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: December 07, 1999 09:13 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: quite happy to have an argument Mike I disagree, I have eaten in Canada as in many other countries around the world, the only continents I have not had a chance to sample the food are Africa and South America. The places where I have eaten regularly exquisite meals are those countries where care in the detail is part of the culture. Thailand and Japan for me are the most memorable, in Italy I can only remember one place that climbed into the elite pile and that is Harry's Bar in Venice. I would venture that the best French (style) cooking is to be eaten in London (England) although the general standard of eating out is somewhat more to my liking in France. Having spent some quite large chunks of time in various parts of the US, I have enjoyed some of the best Chinese in Chicago China Town and some of the best fish in Florida. I can recall several excellent meals in Australia, all which originated from the sea. One of the most extraordinary places to eat was Tahiti in the '80s - fresh fish from the lagoon, fresh fruit from the islands, French coffee and croissant for breakfast and French wine with other meals, just as well we had a distributor there that needed to be visited every year! julian (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=43460) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: December 07, 1999 01:52 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Aro v the rest Paul "A single sparrow does not spring make". Nor even a piano trill. . . julian (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=43428) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: December 04, 1999 12:59 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: .. re-curve : re-measure and print out filter frequency curves to check its correct functioning. julian (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=43332) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: December 04, 1999 04:31 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: xo Kevin The paxo is not part of the speaker, so if you don't like the ones they come with, blagg some newer ones off someone who has gone active . . . To unglue, clean board, change cables, check over, re-curve, fit new covers, seal up, pack, send out, would cost you about the same as a new pair. The price indication for 'current' IBLs is only a sign of a versatile computer system, not any indication of restarting manufacture. julian (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=43323) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: December 03, 1999 11:40 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Not exactly I think we do the old 52 PS u/d to s/cap at an upgrade price as part of the a complete mk1 52 u/d - not as a separate item. julian (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=43313) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: December 03, 1999 11:30 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: armchair Andrew "I put this down to the SBLs covering the whole back wall with their soundstage and the armchair representing a small proportion of that wall. This may well be correct, it is the sharp edges on the hi-fi and its furniture (and TVs) that cause most of the problems. julian (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=43312) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: December 03, 1999 11:17 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: measurements Jason We use many different ways of measuring speakers, both mechanically, using accelerometers, and radiated sound pressure using mics. The signals are analysed using a variety of software - 'Time delay spectrometry' has been a particularly tool over the years. In the design of a speaker there is no single 'answer'. julian (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=43311) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: December 03, 1999 10:13 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: 1 v 2 Ben I don't know where to get IBLs anymore, but the Mk1s can easily be updated to Mk2s at the factory (check factory for price), and there is a very worthwhile improvement from the collection of changes made. It might be worth observing that if the IBL was in production to-day, we would probably have to retail it (passive) at about £1350, ie rather more than Credo. julian (4prs IBL :) (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=43307) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: December 03, 1999 02:47 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: kan Jason, Sorry to be pedantic, but the kan wasn't a wide dispersion speaker, and it had its own diffraction raisers surrounding the drivers and a very anomalous frequency response - this is not passing any judgement on the enjoyment of listening to music using kans, merely technical observations. julian (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=43254) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: December 02, 1999 09:38 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: SBLs Neil I wasn't for one moment suggesting you change your SBLs for NBLs, the most common thing wrong with people's listening environment is how they manage to screw it up all on their own, eg putting 'things' in between speakers . . . What I meant to say is that all our speakers that use PARs have a completely different type of bass response, in particular it is consistent at different frequencies and levels - this is not true of other speakers. Roy George's ideas and maths behind the PAR were ground breaking and as yet (so far as I know) have not been reverse engineered (nicked) by others. One of the reasons is that they are very expensive to make, costing more than our 8" drive unit. julian PS sub-critical : less than critical : about 0.6 : well damped. (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=43201) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: December 02, 1999 09:15 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Sorry Jason, I don't care what hi-fi furniture you put in between your speakers: in the real (not Mana) world, this type of obstruction diffracts the wave fronts and produces a whole lot of 'apparent' sources from each edge, since these arrive at later times some can be discounted (in a big room, maybe) due to Haas effect, but the majority will seriously affect your soundstage especially when using speakers with wide dispersion and which are not set forward of the obstruction. julian (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=43196) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: December 02, 1999 03:59 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: placing things Neil A couple of points: it's better not to put anything in between your speakers as this upsets the soundstage. Maybe your underlay wasn't similar thickness to the NACA4 - hence it left a ridge? When I do this job, I put the cable round the edge of the room where people don't walk - usually 100mm away from the carpet grippers. julian PS the guys will see your post - thanks (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=43160) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: December 01, 1999 12:00 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: castors Vuk I suspect (from experience) that the castors provide the compliance that allows the cabinet to move at a subsonic frequency, and if one removes them, the frequency will rise into the audio band. julian PS I think Jim Burley has been doing similar things for about as long as I have - eh Jim? (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=43104) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: December 01, 1999 11:34 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: yes See Joel's post above - choose your poison. As soon as DAB gets into mainstream car production, I think you will get the same level of dynamic compression as FM and the data loss. julian (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=43101) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: December 01, 1999 11:01 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Maybe wrong. Mick Vuk is right, I may be wrong. In my defence I have been doing these things since the early '70s and have some hands on experience. Spikes and the importance of speaker stands rigidity all flowed from the Naim emporium in Salt Lane. When the LP12 was introduced to us we soon noticed sub-tables improved the performance when placed between the T/T and heavy hi-fi furniture. Over the intervening 28 years I have tried many solutions in many countries with many systems and I can assure you that my approach is worth a try without trying your sanity. julian (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=43094) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: December 01, 1999 09:09 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: rigid or what? Sorry Mick, not to start a new line, try re-setting your options. My suggestion is to leave your cabinet alone - it probably has a resonance (on the castors) which is well subsonic (try rocking it) 2-4Hz? If you fix it to the wall and put slates under it you will couple it into the room (house) and it will vibrate with much higher amplitude at room frequencies (just exactly precisely what you don't want). It is probably well worth trying a single layer decoupling table under the CD player and pre-amp for a start. (from Base, or Project and just in case you were going to ask, No Mana is not suitable in this application, in my view). julian (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=43074) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: December 01, 1999 08:38 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: DAB v FM Steve You and I must live on different planets, nay, universes! julian PS and you're wrong, FM does NOT use "MP3 like compression" anywhere. (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=43069) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: December 01, 1999 08:03 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: a bass note Neil It is possible to fix most systems to tell you more and more about less and less, that is not what Naim is about. Get a set of NACA5 cables made by your dealer and enjoy all the other notes on all the other CDs you have. :) After this it gets more expensive (XPS, Active etc), but I truly don't think you will make your system do what your friends does by fiddling with speaker cables. There is yet another issue, the speakers probably have completely different bass reponse. For example the SBL has a practically immeasurable bass resonance and a sub-critical Q - both of which are uniquely defined by the PAR and the volumes in the two cabinets. Other speakers have obvious bass resonances and Qs of varying values and magnitudes - these are defined by the DCR of the voice coil and the amount of copper in the gap - and here is the rub - as soon as one tries to reproduce a note, the coil get hot (DCR increases) and it moves, changing the amount of copper in the gap. So there you have a system which changes both bass resonance and Q as you play music - a recipe for a lack of fidelity. julian (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=43064) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: November 27, 1999 06:23 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: vaults again Date: 25-Nov-99 02:49 Author: julian vereker Subject: culled and edited from the vaults In the manual, we advise that you should use Naim loudspeaker cable with our amps. It is part of the amplifier output circuit which expects a certain inductance and a very low capacitance (see below). If your Naim amp is destroyed by using unsuitable cables, it is a clear failure mode and is not normally covered by warranty. julian PS pulled from the past: Date: 26-Aug-98 02:07 Author: julian vereker Subject: Cables Again Please can I draw your attention to the following notes: ****Ed's Note: MANY CABLES WILL 'WORK' IN PARTICULAR SYSTEMS, BUT IF THE SPECS ARE VERY DIFFERENT FROM NACA5, THEN PROBLEMS MAY OCCUR WITH CERTAIN SPEAKERS**** FOR INFO THE RELEVANT SPECS ARE: 1.3 - 1.5microHenries per metre (Loop) MAX 20picoFarads per metre About 25milliOhms per meter (loop) MIN Length 3 metres **ED** and: refering to Litz type high capacitance cables. *****ED's Note: DO NOT USE THESE TYPES OF CABLES WITH NAIM POWER AMPS IF YOU WISH TO HAVE NAIM'S WARRANTY - PLEASE SEE YOUR OWNERS MANUAL***** ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------- (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=42678) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: November 26, 1999 05:44 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: A Naim Jerome Repondre a Naim, s'il vous plait. julian (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=42539) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: November 26, 1999 04:02 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Non Jerome Simplement, Non. julian (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=42525) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: November 26, 1999 03:56 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Zobel The basic idea of a Zobel network is achieved using just a capacitor and resistor in series, there are more complex networks of this type but so far as I am aware an inductor is not part of this scene. The inductor that many designers put in series with the output of their amps very simply puts in an HF roll off which can help prevent the amps failing when used with low inductance speaker cables (or conversely high capacitance ones). julian PS all these adornments are there to try and ensure that the operating envelope for good musical reproduction is not impinged upon but once outside, the parameters become rather strictly defined. (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=42524) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: November 25, 1999 10:23 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: NAP 120 It's an amp I designed one Friday afternoon in 1974 to use all the odd components we had left from a failed design & build export order - the failure was their ability to pay not our engineering. It had an output of 60W + 60W into 4 Ohms, its appearance changed during its life and was replaced by the NAP110 in 1979. julian (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=42471) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: November 25, 1999 10:05 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Bias Cliff Igor may think that this network has something to do with bias - but I don't, and it doesn't. Zobel, Zobel. julian (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=42470) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: November 25, 1999 10:01 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Zobel Andrew This is known as a Zobel network (presumably after Mr Zobel)and is part of the stabilisation network. Full mathematical analysis can be found in good electronics design books . . . julian (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=42469) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: November 25, 1999 02:49 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: culled from the vaults Date: 7-Mar-99 10:39 Author: julian vereker Subject: bi-wire . . . In the manual, we advise that you should use Naim loudspeaker cable with our amps. It is part of the amplifier output circuit which expects a certain inductance and a very low capacitance (see below), if you bi-wire (even with NACA5) you double the capacitance that the amp 'sees' and this can cause a problem. If a crossover is designed for bi-wiring it is probable that it will sound better used that way (all things being equal), if a crossover is designed for single wire it will sound better used this way - BUT the crossover designed and used for single wire will sound better than the bi-wire design however it is used. There are number of interactions between the cables and the filters (in the crossover) and the mechanical parts (drivers) that can lead to unexpected resonances that can turn out being destructive. If you Naim amp is destroyed by using unsuitable cables, it is a clear failure mode and is not normally covered by warranty. julian PS pulled from the passed: Date: 26-Aug-98 02:07 Author: julian vereker Subject: Cables Again Please can I draw your attention to the following notes: ****Ed's Note: MANY CABLES WILL 'WORK' IN PARTICULAR SYSTEMS, BUT IF THE SPECS ARE VERY DIFFERENT FROM NACA5, THEN PROBLEMS MAY OCCUR WITH CERTAIN SPEAKERS**** FOR INFO THE RELEVANT SPECS ARE: 1.3 - 1.5microHenries per metre (Loop) MAX 20picoFarads per metre About 25milliOhms per meter (loop) MIN Length 3 metres **ED** and: refering to Litz type high capacitance cables. *****ED's Note: DO NOT USE THESE TYPES OF CABLES WITH NAIM POWER AMPS IF YOU WISH TO HAVE NAIM'S WARRANTY - PLEASE SEE YOUR OWNERS MANUAL***** ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------- (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=42421) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: November 19, 1999 12:09 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: Yes Cliff I have many times listened to tapes replayed on the Nagra and compared them to the master CDRs and to the final issue CDs. In this case one is comparing sources (and maybe inputs on the 52) - but the rest of the system is the same and doesn't really affect the comparisons. However, introducing the 500s, the comparison is really between one's memory of the performance and the captured recording, or the difference between the 135s and the 500s! I would say this wouldn't I . . . But the 500s are better in every area and when we get them out so that people can get a proper listen on their own choice of music in their homes, I suspect there will be some surprises. julian (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=42055) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: November 19, 1999 11:38 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Yes & no Andrew, Actually nothing has changed (much). What we have done in the 500PS is to take the AC mains and turn it into several raw DC supplies which are then taken to the 500 itself using new connectors of a type and rating which only became available a few of months ago. All the power supply regulation is in the 500 and is in fact even closer coupled to the power amps than in the 250. Just a subtle change of the rules. :) julian PS I've been wondering how long it would be before someone would draw my attention to that part of that interview - I think it deserves a free (Naim) CD - please email me at Naim with an address and a choice (if you wish). (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=42054) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: November 19, 1999 03:14 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: music From time to time, I rather wish that 'forumears' re-read other parts of the site (eg the label interview) every so often, just because memories fade. One of the less selfish reasons for setting up the Naim Label was to try and have a variety of music on CDs that sound better and better, the better the system they are played on is. Antonio's discs are studio creations and therefore one can't have the live v disc comparison (unlike most of Ken Christianson's recordings), but in spite of this I have been surprised how much closer to a performance his CDs have become as my system has been improved. julian (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=42018) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: November 17, 1999 05:37 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: huge Jason The difference was such that my wife came in from the kitchen to enquire what had happened to the music. julian (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=41909) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: November 15, 1999 11:31 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Yes Cliff Thanks for the copy - yes, well, I'm speechless. The original (1st track) is lyrical, tuneful and passionate, the copy has none of these attributes - but I guess it would pass muster in the car. Thanks for confirming my worst fears. julian with 500s, you can't get away with anything. (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=41838) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: November 13, 1999 07:39 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: RF Try the search facility - RF, --days, hi-fi chat, julian vereker. This should provide a few ideas for over the weekend and after try emailing us at Naim. julian (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=41752) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: November 12, 1999 03:29 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Naim Try emailing Naim, that's what we do. julian (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=41697) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: November 08, 1999 05:48 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: 500 Cliff This is one you will have to try for yourself - it is like the 135 passive v 250 active debate only more so. The only comment I have, is that in the factory, one can tell if a 500 is being used in a room without even opening the door. julian PS Paul S uses SBLs for his rears and I use IBLs, I am not sure the Epos wouldn't draw too much attention to themselves. (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=41422) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: November 08, 1999 05:19 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: thanks Cliff That is a kind offer, although I have tried a variety of HP surestores (incl the SCSI) there could well be something else in the chain causing the differences. The easiest CD to copy would be any of ours that was recorded by Ken Christianson (if you have one). In anticipation julian (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=41417) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: November 07, 1999 10:44 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: CD RW I'll have to try that - I still have a CDS l in my office and a number of HP CD burners. Thanks. julian (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=41374) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: November 07, 1999 06:58 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: comparisions Vuk I have always used either our CDs or our CDR masters made direct from the Nagra tape on to our old modded Philips CDR recorder. What I wanted was a replacement for this recorder (with its ADC) since it is on its last legs - and none of the new things I have tried have come close. By satisfactory, I meant: so that I can't tell the difference on my DBL system. julian (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=41366) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: November 07, 1999 06:33 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: belief You may not choose to believe my first para in my post above, but it happens to be true. I rather disagree with your statement " . . . since the primary goal of a speaker is to have a (near) flat frequency response" - in my view this is only one of a multitude of parameters that go to make a reasonably accurate transducer and it's probably the easiest to fudge. As a starting point in the design of a speaker system we take (or design) drive units that have a bandwidth well beyond what we want to use in the finished product, so that their own roll-offs (and phase changes) are out of band when they are fed from the crossover. This is exactly the opposite of (for example) Robin Marshall's Epos designs - he designs his drive units to mechanically provide the roll-off and then a simple cap to do roll-ons. There are probably as many approaches to loudspeaker design as there loudspeaker designers - but very few remarkable loudspeakers. julian (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=41365) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: November 06, 1999 10:34 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: phase Naim electronic crossovers are all 18dB/oct (3rd order) and linear phase. The passive ones are designed to mimic the electronic ones but, of course one ends up with some series 'resistance' between the amp and the drivers which result in some increase in harmonic distortion. There in lies one of the major reasons for going active - reduced distortion. julian PS I dug this up from Feb '98. PPS Linear phase means that the signal is not delayed differentially with respect to frequency. PPPS There are many different functions that one might use to design multipole filters. eg Butterworth - maximally flat frequency response, Chebychev - maximum roll-off and there are many others including a family of minimum phase functions. (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=41342) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: November 06, 1999 10:13 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Sorry Andrew I have edited my post to clarify, what you assumed I said was not what I had intended to convey. julian (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=41340) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: November 05, 1999 06:01 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: distracted John We are rather distracted at present getting the 500 into volume production - it certainly didn't cross my mind to do a 'silver' 250, I must ask at the next design meeting whether anyone else wanted to do such a thing. Unless KK chooses hi-fi totally with his eyes, I don't suppose he will like the 500 anymore than the 250. I have had 3 500s in my system for a few weeks now and there is much that I could write, but wont (it might be construed as sales). However one very obvious difference is that music has much more integrity at low levels compared with 135s but no less Naim-like. julian (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=41268) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: November 06, 1999 10:08 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: software The software that controls the CD mech in Naim players is written by us, and among other fancy bits, it has continuous checking of the reflectivity and the laser is adjusted on the fly to cater for varying discs (but not enough to read RW discs). I am very surprised by the experiences of others in this thread concerning the results obtained from CDRs. We have spent a huge amount of time trying to get good copies and none of the systems quoted that we have tried, gave us what we would call a satisfactory copy. What are we doing wrong? julian (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=41338) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: November 01, 1999 11:04 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Aerials It is not a just matter of signal strength, the phase/gain characteristics of the aerial seem to have much more influence on the final sound quality. The G17 sounds noticeably better than the G23 for example. I would suggest that you would be very surprised by the magnitude of the improvement from getting a G17, so if you don't need the extra gain and directionality of the 23, the 17 is smaller and cheaper. From experience (somewhat dated) Ron Smith's designs knock the Channel master equivalents into a 'cocked hat'. julian PS mostly copied from the archives. (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=40971) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: November 01, 1999 10:50 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: reliance? Fraser You asked "but surely one should be able to place some reliance of a hifi journalist's view. PM must know what he is on about, so there must be an explanation for our very different findings." I know that my view might be considered a trifle cynical, but a journalist's job is to write for papers and/or magazines and in general they are paid by the word and for their ability to keep readers reading . . . This doesn't mean that what they write has to give accurate information to the consumer of another consumer product - in this case hi-fi. If I* give you advice on purchasing some Naim equipment and you find it to be incorrect, you can ask for your money back*, and get it. Try that with a journalist! julian *in the UK and if I (or more likely your dealer) sold it to you. PS as far as the warm-up times are concerned, your experience is much the same as mine. (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=40970) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: October 30, 1999 10:15 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: Old, older . . . Stuart The 250 was launched a long time before the Nait l, 1974 for the 250 and 1983 for the Nait - the SC is recent (by our standards). The lingo has a switchmode P/S and is very easy to change input voltage, in fact many pieces of equipment, made these days, that use switchmode power supplies cope with 100 - 230v without adjustment. To maximise the performance we use the same transformer for both voltages with the primaries wired in parallel for 115V and in series for 230V. Although this could be achieved using a multipole switch, performance would fall and the price would go up. julian (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=40879) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: October 29, 1999 02:21 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: If Thomas If I was speaking to you face to face, I would at this stage say "Read my lips". Sorry you are wrong, noise cannot be eliminated, but even if you succeed in reducing it at a certain point, it is very easy, in the noisy environment inside of a CD player, to get the noise induced back into the data signal - it also happens that many of the chips one might use for data processing introduce their own noise (read 'jitter'). There is no one solution. julian 500s rule OK :) (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=40765) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: October 27, 1999 10:42 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: 1s & 0s The system is such that a positive going edge is described as a 1 when it crosses the 0v line, and similarly a negative going edge is a 0. The time at which this happens is the important issue. As one might imagine, if there is noise on the waveform, the time at which the crossing happens will not be exactly when it should be. This is one of the sources of jitter. julian (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=40639) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: October 27, 1999 02:48 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: 1s & 0s Thanks Joel, succinct as ever. julian 500s rule OK! (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=40604) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: October 27, 1999 02:32 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: Parcel Force We are not alone - South Today (TV in S. England) is doing an investigation into Parcel Force's failures this evening. julian (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=40603) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: October 26, 1999 10:48 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: digital? Thomas From what I understand you to be saying, I would suggest that you have it back to front (or from Naim's view point: wrong). julian (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=40589) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: October 26, 1999 03:47 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: Gas/Petrol Kenneth Sorry I was translating for North America. Although we do have both oil and natural gas production in the UK, our government taxes petrol/(gas) so highly it costs about £3/imp gallon - we are told that this will discourage us from using it, but I'm keeping my 4Lt Jaguar in spite of this pecuniary pressure. julian (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=40550) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: October 25, 1999 03:53 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: No sense Kenneth It doesn't make much sense, since after you got the equipment from the UK, you would need to send it to someone to get the transformer rewired, you would then probably need to get safety approval from Hydro to be able to use it legally in Canada (this is paid by our distributors when they do the import). You would not have the benefit of Dealer assistance since you would not have formed a relationship with one. It is one thing to have the box, it is quite another to assemble a whole system and get the max from it. Also, all our UK dealers have signed a franchise agreement that requires them to install Naim equipment in the customer's home (or at least to take responsibility for the installation in the case of existing customers). julian PS We can't buy gas at Canadian (or US) prices - do we complain? ;) (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=40463) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: October 23, 1999 12:02 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Us Chris I do hope you weren't having a go at Naim (or our dealers)? We design our things to last a lifetime - and go to some trouble to ensure that there is a 'maintenance path' even for really old equipment. A Naim customer is a Naim customer even if the they didn't buy it new - it was new once. julian (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=40367) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: October 22, 1999 03:49 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: double posting This occurs when one gets frustrated by the lack of action after one clicks on POST and one does it again in case the server didn't 'hear' the first time. If one has a very A-type personality, one may feel it's time to click on POST again - in this way one gets a triple post. Sometimes I feel duty-bound to delete these excesses, but today there are too many. julian (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=40302) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: October 21, 1999 03:39 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: car drag Ian I am interested by your comment on the wing drag, what sort of L/D ratios are achieved on F1 cars? I realise that if the wing is 'off' there will not be much in the way of drag, but if the downforce is of the order of 1000Kg which I have heard quoted - what then? I was, in my mind, just thinking of the parallels in yacht hull and appendage design. For example at full lift from the rudder (on my Windexpress at 10Kn say), its drag exceeds the hull drag somewhat. julian PS it's amazing what one can learn here. :) (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=40232) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: October 20, 1999 03:33 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: discounts Frank said "but as I understand it, we would be taken to task very seriously by the manufacturers (not just Naim) if we embarked on the practice of undercutting the competition since this is not in the manufacturers' interest from the distribution point of view. We don't and it would be illegal for us to do so, but I would suspect that the shop manager would have something rather serious to say if equipment was sold at a loss. The other issue is that if a dealer passes his income on to his customers, it is likely he will go out of business - not good for long term customer care. One could go on - a dealer who gives his income to customers (a discount) complains that he can't afford to stock a new product and can we lend him one, how do you think we would feel? julian (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=40194) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: October 20, 1999 03:11 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: following the manual Peter I am at present converting our manuals to searchable PDFs so that visitors may view or download the info. I don't think that we could give any more useful information here (or elsewhere) since in my experience every system that didn't 'work' satisfactorily could be fixed by simply following the manual. One only has to read in this forum the posters view of the relative importance of the spikes and the seal on the SBLs, or the discussions concerning cables. Some while ago a dealer persuaded a magazine contributor to write up a new crimp system for making speaker cables . . . the contributor phoned me up and said "Its amazing, have you tried it?" I asked what was he comparing it with, he replied that it was his everyday NACA5 that had been in use for ages. Being a reviewer, he was changing equipment all the time and the connections had got pretty daggi - I suggested he cut off the ends and have new Naim connectors soldered on, and then make the comparison again. When he called back he said words to the effect "Sod it, you're right again". I know of no way of encapsulating this sort of lifetime's experience without spending the lifetime doing it. That's why dealers earn their money. julian (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=40190) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: October 20, 1999 02:43 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: right cable Sorry, I was referring to other posts that I have made - when one designs a 'system' it is likely that it will work best with all the right parts in it. One could spend a lot of time designing the input of the amp to tolerate many sorts of cable, but it is easier (and cheaper) to design it to work with the cable to hand. OK? julian (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=40185) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: October 20, 1999 02:34 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: Parcel Ffff*** I too now ask if the supplier is minded to use Parcel Force, since they have the totally predictable ability to fail to deliver packages without a phone call to the depot and a day (or 2s) delay. Why don't people who deliver things use the Post Code - Naim's factory has a Post Code and even if the package has Windex Yachts on it (my boat company), the Post Code gets one close enough to read the name on the door. I have had this conversation with PF, and they say they don't have such a book (atlas, map or even cd-rom). julian PS just in case you are wondering - Parcel Force are unique amongst our suppliers in this inability. (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=40183) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: October 18, 1999 11:22 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: dead rooms In general dead things are not much good unless you want to eat them. julian (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=40080) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: October 18, 1999 11:13 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: Cheating? During the qualifying we noticed one of the Ferraris being pushed back into the garage and at the same time one of the Ferrari mechanics threw a cover over the offending body part - I wonder why? Overall I don't suppose that the total drag of the car is very different since most comes from the wings, but the shape of appendages such as these is important since the way in which they shed the vortexes can effect the drag and they don't play much part in downforce generation. What a waste of a season. julian (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=40079) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: October 16, 1999 12:24 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: IBLs Kevin I know nothing of the Xerxes, but the 82(with some hi-caps or Scap)/250 is a huge jump, and I still think it is worth a try. julian (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=39941) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: October 15, 1999 03:30 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: IBLs Kevin If possible, it really is worth trying the IBLs on the end of a CDX (or older equiv.) 82/250 system, the difference between this and the CD3/nait is huge. The IBLs (particularly in Mk2 guise) get much more rewarding as the electronics get better. I have 3 IBL systems which I listen to pretty much everyday: NAT02/NAIT2, CD3/03/NAIT3, and CDSl/52/NAXO/250s, if one couldn't see the speakers, I don't think you would guess they were all the same. Just a thought. julian 500s today :) PS my spello has just suggested the NAXO should be replaced by NAZI - I don't think so. (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=39888) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: October 15, 1999 03:13 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: While I was sleeping. Vuk Thanks for bringing back so many smiles, laughs and giggles. julian (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=39887) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: October 15, 1999 04:11 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: sorry again Vuk As I mentioned previously, Graffix have nothing to do with the forum stuff - this is a service provided by our site host, The RealWebSite Company and they have not offered to try and fix Allaire's limitations, other than make them aware of them. The RealWebSite Co regards keeping the site up and running with adequate bandwidth as the most important part of what they offer, and to my mind they have done very well considering the thousand fold increase in visitors since our early plans. I'm sorry that the forum software is imperfect, for me, allowing contributors to choose fixed-width font causes me pain everyday and I would love its box to disappear. Vuk - life is short, please leave this alone. julian (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=39857) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: October 14, 1999 04:04 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: unfair Vuk Please don't blame Graffix for the archived thread 'feature', it is not either their responsibility or fault. Allaire say that there should be a retrieval feature in the next upgrade - and what ever they said on the phone, the suggested fix was tried and doesn't work. So far some considerable time (and other people's money) has been spent, everybody is aware of the issue, if it is cost effective to fix, it will get done - if not, then sorry, but not. julian 500s tomorrow :) (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=39812) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: October 13, 1999 12:14 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: performance Cliff Sorry my post later in this thread was a bit on the terse side, I didn't mean it to be that way, I just got distracted. To try and rescue the soundstage from pedantry: some recordings try to capture the soundstage, for example Naim recordings engineered by Ken Christianson, but many recordings are made using multi-mic and/or multitrack techniques and in these cases (most) the 'soundstage' is created by the mixing engineer. julian Waiting for NAP500s (any day now) :) :) :) (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=39662) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: October 12, 1999 05:55 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: Yes Cliff, I have, and I think I have mentioned it before. julian (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=39646) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: October 12, 1999 05:39 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: Mana Jason I don't think that you are in the minority even though it may feel like here - the Mana users are a pretty vociferous group. julian (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=39644) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: October 11, 1999 10:52 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: 300 Thanks Mike, and to Will - the 300 uses components that are also used in the 250, but since it doesn't have regulated power supplies, it has a lot fewer than the 250. I suspect that if the NAB300 had been suitable for use at home, let alone better than the 250 we should have made a great deal more than 11. julian (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=39588) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: October 10, 1999 08:53 PM Author: julian vereker I haven't listened to a 300 in a hi-fi system for more than a decade, but so far as I can remember it sounds a bit like a slightly bloated 140 that goes a bit louder. I don't think that we actually sold* any of the NAB300s to retail customers, most of them were lent to musicians, so our normal practice of maintaining spares is not in place, but apart from a few unique components, mainly the parts are shared with the 250. On the odd occasions we have had to fix one, I don't recall any problems. The forum clock is in the server, which resides in Palo Alto, CA julian * I'm sure somebody will correct me - I do remember selling one or two but they got returned when they were found not to be anything like as good as a 250. (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=39512) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: October 10, 1999 04:26 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: news Adrian I look forward to hearing of your experiences - We found the quality of the screen to be rather important. I can't remember who's we use, but we did a lot of testing and I'm sure if you email the factory they will be able to make some suggestions. julian (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=39507) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: October 10, 1999 04:21 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: NAB300 Will It might be worth remembering that these amplifiers are all over 20 years old and almost certainly would need a service. Also I adjusted the power supply time constants to get a perceived 'hump' in the bass region to suit PA applications, you may not find this appropriate at home. julian (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=39505) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: October 10, 1999 04:11 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: Normal? The SBLs were designed to be as accurate transducers as we could make, the constraints were to do with size and positioning. As far as we are concerned the soundstage should be an integral part of the recording not the speaker. julian (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=39504) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: October 08, 1999 11:22 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: FAQ John I agree, the search facility (if that's the right word) is rather dated but we live in hope that the next forum update will make it better. There is a huge amount of valuable advice posted to this forum since we started it up and to try and encapsulate the enormous spread of information in an FAQ would probably have similar problems to the 'search'. (and take a lot of editorial work). julian PS I use a RAY-O-VAC charger which comes with AA batteries for my discman - they seem to last a bit longer than Duracells and recharge quite quickly, the whole kit cost about £8.99. (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=39478) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: October 02, 1999 04:52 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: Strange? It is not so strange when you consider that Kimber, Van den Hul and teflon hadn't made it to the market when I designed the NAP200/250 (1970). julian PS I know that teflon had been invented by then, but it wasn't available as insulation in cables on the market. (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=39024) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: September 30, 1999 07:39 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: Thank you Andrew, for a succinct and correct answer which reflects just what was in my mind when designing our amps. For some technical info try search for 'inductance' in the text and me as author. If you need more, post again. julian (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=38873) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: September 29, 1999 03:19 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: filters Ian said "As far as mains spikes are concerned, if an excellent filter could be designed that would stop the fast transients getting into the unit pretty much at all, I wonder if that solution would actually sound better. (I'm thinking along the lines of common-mode ferrite with multi-layer chip ceramics then two common-mode wound inductors with film caps.)" Our experience is that it always sounds worse. julian (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=38730) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: September 29, 1999 03:08 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: 2nd hand news Beau The site you posted seems to have lifted the NAP500 pic from our news page where it has resided for some months. julian PS something of an infringement of our copyright. (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=38728) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: September 28, 1999 03:26 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: sorry Mark The 'information' is in fact disinformation and the conclusion you have drawn is not correct. julian PS the statement "We're doing a new pre-amp . . ." is always true - in as much as we have an ongoing development program across the whole range. (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=38644) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: September 27, 1999 05:58 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: NAP500 Frank The NAP500 seems to be much more like a pre-amp, it takes ages to warm up - not at all like 250s or 135s. julian (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=38569) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: September 27, 1999 05:18 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: CE Ian The problem for us is that almost everything that is required to meet Criteria A in any of the EMC standards mitigates against good sound quality. So what we try to do is to tread a narrow path between what we hope our customers will find acceptable and excellent sound quality. In most cases we opt for Criteria B (no failure under test conditions, but may 'lose the plot'). What this means in practice is that under severe interference conditions the product may reset inputs or tracks but will not need parts replacing to make it work properly again. One of the more difficult things to deal with is static, which results from combinations of footwear and carpet, arcing to the equipment as one goes to change the volume or input. It took us some time to design out this 'random reset feature'. julian (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=38566) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: September 27, 1999 03:24 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: CE Ian All the safety testing on Naim equipment is carried out by an independent test house and we have certificates which several countries outside the EU require to be updated every few years (3, I think). We have our own EMC test facility including 8KV test generator. In actual fact the Swiss SEV have the most pernickety standards. It is as well to remember that far (about 20x) more personal injuries take place from physical contact with consumer durables than from fires, electrocution or burns. julian (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=38554) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: September 26, 1999 07:51 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: projectors My suggestion would be to have a look at the Epson range. The one I have is bright enough to view in a lit room, although sitting in darkness is more cinema-like. julian PS . . and an electric screen that 'disappears' when it's music time. (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=38510) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: September 25, 1999 12:13 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: CE Ian said "Unfortunately hi-fi manufacturers argued that it would upset hi-fi and managed to get exemption from some of the requirements". Sorry, but I think you have the wrong end of the stick. The only amendment to the standards was concerned with the susceptibility of the inputs to RF interference and in this case the manufacturer must specify in the declaration what this level of immunity is. In order for us to put the CE mark on our equipment we have to comply with the current standards which we do. The fact that we can do this without adding extra filtering components saves both space and money. Since the addition of filter components degrades the ultimate sound quality we can achieve I feel we all win. In fact if one looks at the standards for conducted interference one finds that the standard calls for the measurements to be taken above 150KHz and what happens below this frequency is open to exploitation. This gap (DC-150KHz) is filled with huge levels of RF garbage put out by switch mode power supplies which can noticeably degrade the performance of other equipment on the same ring main. As I mentioned in another thread the Linn CD12 conducts some 20dB more noise on to the mains than any of our CD players - try a search for the original post. There is also another thread concerning the poor quality of supply afforded by batteries and the reasons for it. Audio electronics is in fact the most demanding discipline for any electronics engineer, it requires one to design for at least 12 octaves and probably 135dB of dynamic range at the same time. Ian, what you perceive as 'poor PSU design' not only complies which all the world's standards, but also enables the CD3-5 to offer class leading musical performance - not too bad for a bit of 'poor PSU design'! julian (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=38437) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: September 22, 1999 05:45 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: speed I have read some rubbish in my time, but I think that some of the contents of this thread is right up there. Ross, Our amps are designed to amplify without audibly altering the music signal at all. The idea that we could somehow "emphasise the leading edge of transients" is ludicrous - this would imply a rising HF response which would be clearly measurable and contrary to our published specs or curves published in reviews. Although our amps were very 'fast' when I designed them in 1970, to day it is possible to design much faster amplifiers, for example the NAP500 is some 5 times faster. But the real art (which seems to elude you, Ross) is to ensure that the amplifier is not called upon to drive a load with a signal outside its operating envelope, and we go to great lengths to band limit (or reduce the HF content of) the signal fed to the power amp to make sure this does not happen. Our amps are not "forward or edgy", they merely amplify the signal fed to them unless one 'clips' them or uses them with speakers that have such a low impedance that the protection circuit becomes operational. julian (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=38131) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: September 22, 1999 09:47 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: toggle Yes, we like that - Simon W. says that he will write that and give it a try. I guess our heads were in the remote's micro forgetting the pre-amps - partly because it is only recently (in Naim terms) that all the pre-amps have our micros to do all the controls and IR decoding. I'll let you know. julian (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=38181) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: September 22, 1999 07:56 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: so sorry Mike Can't do that unless the remote's intuition was good enough to determine whether the pre-amp was muted or not - it's a toggle function. julian (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=38148) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: September 22, 1999 07:38 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: thanks for the font change Hold your horses! Nobody outside the company (until tomorrow) has seen the NAP500PS, maybe you'll like it when you see it. julian (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=38143) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: September 22, 1999 05:55 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: 52 It is possible that at some stage in the future we may put the 52 into a case similar to the NAP500PS, no decision has been taken. Mathias, is it possible for you not to check the 'fixed-width font' box? julian (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=38135) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: September 21, 1999 03:40 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: CDS2 technology When we refer to CDS2 technology, we are specifically talking about our discreet op-amps utilising 'transistor rooms' to obtain a very high degree of thermal (& other) stability. The power transistors go back to 1987, but at that time they were both too fast and too high current for me to characterise for secondary breakdown - so I just put them on one side. Recently a method was developed to do this, and the results were such that we could design a protection scheme that doesn't interfere with the music but does stop them being blown under full chat conditions into a short circuit. julian (waiting for 3 500s) PS No new super pre-amp under development. I suppose just by saying this will persuade people otherwise, but actually really not! (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=38046) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: September 21, 1999 03:05 PM Author: julian vereker I use a Pll 333 with a Creative Labs Encore DVD kit feeding an Epson 600x800 projector. The PC has a built in sound card which seems to suffice for the surround output. There is a site: http://www.visualdomain.net/ that has all the info and tools to fix macrovision and the DVD region nonsense. The noise issue is more difficult to address, but Plll PCs are always noisier than Plls or Celerons. (that's assuming the P/S is one of the new silent types). julian (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=38041) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: September 20, 1999 12:22 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: G17 It is not a just matter of signal strength, the phase/gain characteristics of the aerial seem to have much more influence on the final sound quality. The G17 sounds noticeably better than the G23 for example. I would suggest that you would be very surprised by the magnitude of the improvement from getting a G17. We may have DAB inflicted on us all for all our radio listening, and it may have merit for use in the car, but from our experience it is not yet in any way a quality challenge for FM. julian (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=38007) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: September 15, 1999 12:31 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: film etc Gary said "Do you see the flicker at the cinema? that's only 24Hz." Although the frame only changes 24 times a second, all the projectors I have ever come across have several apertures in the shutter and therefore the flicker is at least 48x a second and often 72x. I have recently tried to buy a new tv (needed to, didn't want to), I had a miserable time in Currys trying to get the same programs on the various choices and getting each one with similar setup (before somebody else changed something) in the end I picked a 32"WS Sony mainly because it speakers on the front which would have suited the place I wanted to put it - but "they didn't have one in stock, and I couldn't have this one" - after a continuing fiasco from the sales staff, he finally "let" me have a Philips 32"WS off the floor . . . I hadn't realised how much tv manufacturers had managed to put video cr*p into the picture in the last ten years - I have a 37" Grundig which had an excellent picture (if one is interested in the program not the definition) but one of the pots started tracking, and a call to Grundig revealed that they don't do their servicing and the company who does said "Do you realise that it's ten years old" - yes, what about the part? - "We don't have it in stock, may be we could get it" - maybe they can't, it's now 8 weeks later. Where do these guys learn about customer care? I could easily have bought Grundigs (yes, I need to replace 2 20+ year old B&Os and maybe the 37" as well) - I didn't even look. julian (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=37736) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: September 12, 1999 09:52 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: error correction There are two issues, one is the physical dimensions of the CD, the others are the errors that come from miss-pressing, scratches and other data related nasties. To get the last iota of performance from our players we take the Philips Red Book specs as gospel - to do otherwise would compromise the quality of all the correctly manufactured CDs. The addition of tubes to the older pucks may play more CDs, but to us the sound is compromised, and a better solution is to fix the occasional CD (as posted above). The data errors are dealt with in all our newer players as well or better than any on the market, our software dynamically adjusts parameters 'on the fly' while playing the CD in order to help achieve this. I think it is unreasonable to blame the player when the disc is out of spec. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: September 10, 1999 05:14 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: NACA4 Incidentally the Linn (K20?) cable was an illegal copy by BICC of our NACA4, BICC thought that it was their design and therefore started supplying both grey and black copies to other manufacturers including Linn - due to a change of staff/factory I believe. When this was pointed out to BICC, they settled out of court. We then spent the money on designing a new and better cable with another supplier under a secrecy agreement, and this is the NACA5. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: September 09, 1999 07:04 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: sorry But the changeovers were not a simple 'from this number' a different transformer was fitted. Also the data in the early '80s was not computerised and during the transfer, mistakes have occurred and later (usually) rectified in the individual product's record. The other issue is that we update the records when any piece of equipment comes back to us for service or repair and although it is rare, transformers do get replaced. So it is better to have the case opened if there is doubt or as I suggested before, call or email the factory. julian PS If you think this is unusual, some years ago a van ran into my (stationary) Jaguar and as part of the repairs, it needed a new steering rack. It later turned out that my car was on the changeover from one rack type to another and rather than doing a physical examination, the garage followed the parts list info as to the changeover car number. The steering failed as I entered a roundabout at about 40mph. The replacement Jaguar was very cheap! _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: September 09, 1999 06:29 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Poop Pete You are correct, mon stands for monitor and does just that, but magazines will be magazines and usually manage to locate non-existant problems. I still find it odd that people set such store by magazine reviews when they so often write such 'poop'. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: September 09, 1999 06:09 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: no The reason that it was dropped was that it wouldn't match the other 'New Look' equipment. The logo shone through, even if one couldn't see the knobs! julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: September 08, 1999 11:35 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: doors Well, our design team thought that a drop (or flap) down door would be an attractive feature, (a bit like a Panasonic vcr) which covers up all the knobs and buttons - a no knob pre-amp. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: September 08, 1999 11:27 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Yes Uwe, I do have an explanation - the 250 was launched in 1974, the 135 in 1984, the 52 in 1989 - and magazines seem to be mostly concerned with new products and I don't think that these products fit their bill. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: September 08, 1999 11:16 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: sorry Um, But I am not about to encourage anybody to break your countries (or anybody else's for that matter) import regulations. julian PS As it happens my computer company was an AST (Samsung owned) approved reseller, and over the years I sold and promoted AST to all my customers . . . Samsung closed AST in the UK with a weeks notice - this did not help me at all and there was nothing I could do about it either. _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: September 08, 1999 11:04 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: contact factory I am sorry but I don't have that info to hand. Between 1988 and now, we have changed transformer manufacturer - for the exact date please contact the factory. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: September 08, 1999 10:00 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Better? There are quite a few ways in which we would be confident in improving the Hi-Cap, but if one is to maintain the Naim case appearence, they would all cost more. As I think I have mentioned before, every DIY (or modified) p/s we have looked at, has had a measured noise figure worse than the standard product or the bandwidth has been seriously limited - sometimes both - and this before one looks at some of the more esoteric measurements My experience of listening to the effects on the music that are caused by these changes are that one can often pick a few tunes that could be perceived to be in some ways enhanced but I have never found it to be true over a broad spectrum of music. The comment concerning 'much having been written about power supplies' may be true but in my limited experience, much of it is rubbish (I could say all, but I haven't read it all). julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: September 07, 1999 04:18 PM Author: Um Keon-Woo (kwum@hotmail.com) Subject: Dear Julian Vereker Dear Julian Vereker >If you are unable to get NACA5, may I suggest as a safe >alternative, you take two single core 4mm multistrand >cables and twist loosely (about 3 twists per metre). Use >as NACA5 ie min 3.5 m long etc.). Sorry, I don't like make imitation NACA5. I only want to buy original terminated naim plugs 10 meter pair black NACA5. If not available, Would like recommend Naim Audio dealer in U.K. - Please check up available export sales. Regards. Um. _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: September 07, 1999 09:43 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: 250s Tim In 1984 we changed the transformer in the 250 and it is important to get one to match. So if yours is really 1983, then you need to find a 1980-1983 250 or if you propose to get a new 250 then you need a new transformer in your current one. I can't remember exactly when we changed transformer manufacturer, but a few years ago we had to change due to our supplier's bankrupcy and the transformers fitted since then are also slightly better. It is easy to check, email the factory, but it may take a physical examination. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: September 07, 1999 04:49 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Sorry Um, In your dreams! All the prototype 52s were in the same case that they are now, except there were a couple with electric drop down doors. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: September 06, 1999 05:45 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: LP12 From what I can recall, it is likely that the LP12 setup could be improved some to reduce the non signal related LF output which often accompanies some inexactude. Or the turntable support is not helping the situation. Or you like playing music very loud in which case the 135 was designed for you. julian PS Or 1st aid, turn the 250 on its side and (large) fan cool the amps underside. _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: September 06, 1999 03:36 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: fax Um I believe that you have been sent a fax with the information that you require. We have one e-mail address for all requests made to the factory to ensure that whose ever turn it is to answer them gets to answer all of them since at any one time at least two of the sales team will be 'on the road' and unable to deal with many of the issues. If you are unable to get NACA5, may I suggest as a safe alternative, you take two single core 4mm multistrand cables and twist loosely (about 3 twists per metre). Use as NACA5 ie min 3.5 m long etc.). julian PS Some days we get over 100 email requests and the more obscure ones which need information from an expert within the company may take a day or two to reply to. In this case it would have saved you a lot of work drawing wiring diagrams on the forum. _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: September 02, 1999 11:10 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: supply etc Um I will check with Paul Desmond to-morrow to see why he can't email a jpeg of the instruction sheet. I am really sorry about the supply of equipment and cables to Korea, but we have to have an 'import license' to send these things on a commercial basis and this has to be obtained by our distributors in Korea, if they choose not to, there is not much we can do except sack them and try a new distributor. I will ask Mark Tucker (Far East Sales Manager) when he returns from vacation what his plans are for the future. We will try to help, but your country's financial situation has made things difficult for all - I would expect most of all for your countrymen. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: September 02, 1999 10:55 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: noise is noise One of the things that without doubt improves the performance of any hi-fi system is to run a separate spur from the consumer unit (fuse box). This makes for a 'cleaner' mains supply. Many of you will have experienced this. What is happening when one plugs a Linn CD12 into the mains (wall socket) is that the mains is made 'dirty' with the reverse effect of the benefit that a hi-fi spur brings - silly really. julian PS the noise that the CD12 puts on to the mains probably adversely affects all the sensitive circuits in a hi-fi system to a greater or lesser extent. (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=36809) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: September 02, 1999 05:47 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: factory Um Why don't you email the factory and request the information sheet on the subject? julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: September 02, 1999 05:35 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Switchers & CE The relevent standard that one has to comply with in this instance is the conducted emmissions part. The standard call for emmissions to remain below a curve which varies with frequency, but starts at 150KHz. So below 150KHz one can put all manner of interference onto the mains - it not covered by the EMC standards at all! I guess that some major manufacturers lobbied the standards committees to ensure the manufacture of switchmode power supplies was not made too onerous. In the case of the Linn CD12, it outputs a huge amount of noise onto the mains with a peak at about 125KHz some 20dB (10x) above the 150KHz value called for by the standard. From our (quick) measurements it seems that the noise conducted falls below the curve just below 150KHz and so would comply with this part of the standard. Make of this what you will! julian (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=36742) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: August 26, 1999 05:17 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: normal Neville This sounds normal to me and is one of the reasons why I designed the 135. Clipping should not in itself be very audible under 'party' conditions since the amp just behaves as a fast peak limiter and this has the audible effect of compressing the dynamic range and making the sound rather 'harder' than in non clipping mode. The thermal trip is heated both by the case and by the mains current drawn, if it resets within minutes it sounds as if there was a measure of mains heating due to the amp being clipped into a low(ish) impedance speaker - must have been a good party! julian PS First Aid: stand the 250 on end and direct a large fan at the bottom. _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: August 26, 1999 04:47 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: stability Just a short note on this question of stability and to draw attention to the failure of the some of the circuit copiers to understand the relevance of this 'feature'. If a power amp oscillates ever when used for its intended purpose it is broken. Ours do not, however one of the many tests that our amps go through when returned for service (or recapping etc) is a thorough stability check because the drift with time of the performance of some components can lead to some instability within the operating envelope, and this can be a major source of amps sounding 'off'. All the copies and modified Naim amps that we have ever checked have oscillated within an operating envelope that we feel is representative of a hi-fi amps use. julian PS measurement techniques need to defined carefully since they are in general not representative of 'normal use'. _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: August 25, 1999 11:41 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: sorry Kevin I often leave a thread alone even when there is a clear answer because most times someone else explains what is going on from their view point which to my mind makes the whole forum a more interesting place. On this occasion the only legitimate complaint one could have with our description of the stability of our amps is that for this to be true they must be used as detailed in the owner's manual. The various suggestions concerning instabilty with unterminated NACA5 are not true. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: August 24, 1999 10:55 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: grounding The cases of all Naim mains powered equipment are connected to mains earth for compliance with safety standards. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: August 24, 1999 03:53 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Yes Greg This is the main reason, we used to have regular crashes which seemed to become much less often (and traceable to other 'features' anyway) after we edited all the hot links. The loss of the 'unpleasant' hot links was an added bonus. julian PS as I posted this the forum crashed, ironic? _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: August 23, 1999 01:49 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: SBL setup John 1st, is it possible for you to uncheck fixed-width font box on your posts? It makes for a more flexible presentation. I have posted before on the subject of the 'spike-protectors', there are a number of posts written to reply to several different questions. If you have a read of these and you're are still uncertain as to the design objective, please post again. Select 'search', enter SBL, check 'title & text', select Hi-Fi Chat, author: julian vereker, click on 'search'. As (I hope) you will find your premise of how this coupling works is not what we wanted to achieve. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: August 21, 1999 12:12 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: Options John Try setting your personal parameters in 'Options'. You could try checking in 'Global Settings' use frames and in 'Thread window' split thread frame. You can also set font size etc. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: August 20, 1999 10:12 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: 110/140 Later 110s were upgradable with the 140 PS and we have done a few, some need new poweramp boards as well to turn it into a pukka 140. The early 110s with the round mains plug cannot be upgraded with this board. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: August 20, 1999 10:07 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: aerials Ron Smith's G17 sounds better than the G21, so if you don't need the extra gain and directionality of the 21, the 17 is smaller and cheaper. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: August 19, 1999 11:41 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: weighty matters Frank SBLs weigh much less than a ton, and the seal is fine after the cables are plugged in. As I have said a multitude of times, the seal needs to be made, but the performance defining thing is the correct contact between middle box and the spikes. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: August 18, 1999 03:42 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: moving sbls >>I expect this will be of interest to anyone who in future is daft enough to try and move house!! On a serious note however this must be a complete nightmare for dealers who move them around a lot for dems and potentially means every pair of SBL's you audition have been compromised. If one puts the speakers down gently on a hard surface or screwheads the SBLs will go on sounding ok for several moves, but if the spikes have to be 'rocked' down through the carpet each time, the sound will be compromised for reasons I've posted elsewhere. If one needs to move the SBLs often and get the best performance, then the use of a little washing up liquid on the surfaces that the sealant is squeezed will enable easy dismantling and removal of the silicone seal ready for 'a separate box move'. If one is practiced, the reinstall can be completed in about 8 minutes each. It may be an an extra job for a dealer to perform, but we are talking about a precision transducer costing about £2k and part of system that might average £10k, is this really too much to ask? julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: August 16, 1999 01:37 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: archive Vuk I don't know who is responsible for archiving threads, but you could try emailing Raul, the webmaster or the guys at Graffix. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: August 15, 1999 10:28 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: failure In the early days of Naim, I spent some time trying to work out the failure mode of the amps when there was a thunder storm in the vicinity. It seems that near strikes raise the earth potential such that the input transistors receive an induced voltage sufficient to cause them to fail. I tried a variety of diodes to protect the input pair, but everything sounded worse. This implies the need to unplug the power amps for full protection from lightening. The other solution (not approved) is to disconnect the ground from the wall socket - this does seem to work under test conditions. Of course there is a remote risk of electrocution . . . julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: August 11, 1999 11:00 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Naim on TV Mana had a bit about their business success shown on a TV program this afternoon, and guess what, there was Naim equipment on most of the shelves - thanks John. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: August 11, 1999 09:57 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: yes Vuk Exactly so. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: August 11, 1999 08:41 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: £50,000 Vuk Looking at our sales figures, my guess is that the typical person doesn't come up with £50,000. :) julian PS But to put this figure in perspective, more than 17,000 Jaguars are sold in the UK each year at around this price. Their servicing costs are somewhat higher than Naims and after ten years, the Jag will fetch less than 10% of the purchase price. _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: August 10, 1999 10:37 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Costs Tony said "The percentage of contributors with true 'cost no object' systems is not that high Joel B, Jawed, Ron T and Julian (though I bet he gets his a bit cheaper!)." I supose you might say that over a £1,000,000 of investment and a lifetime of work could be construed as a bit cheaper, but signing a credit card slip for £50,000 seems cheaper and easier to me. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: August 07, 1999 06:37 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: control rooms Just in passing, I've been in a great number of control rooms over the years including Air, Mastering Labs, Abbey Road, and I have never heard anything that did as much for me musically as my Discman does in my car. There are many great musicians who use our equipment at home, and many times they have said how much better their music sounds at home than in the control room playback, I prefer their view! julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: August 07, 1999 06:19 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: veneers etc Chris All the SBL cabinets are made from MDF and have a wood veneer on both the inside and outside, since the inside is not normally seen a variety of utilitarian veneers are used solely for structrual reasons. We do not have a surround sound pre-amp anyplace in our pipeline. We have been looking at an AV2 with all the surround decoding standards (as well our SFX) incorporated, for us one of the problems is that the initial license fees for the Dolby, DTS, etc are more expensive than the cost of the whole development of the product and therefore unless we can amortise these fees over thousands of units, it doesn't look like a good bet. However, were are trying, and the design format is a unit that can be used as the AV1 in a predominantly music based system (with remote adjustments) as well as in the 'Home Cinema' 5.1 variety of modes. It is likely that all the 'Home Cinema' connections will utilise the common RCA connectors on the grounds that in lossy compression systems they are not going to be the weak link. More info Q1, 2000. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: August 06, 1999 11:35 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: so many things I am not sure I can remember all the issues that need clarification. (short answers) Don't move the SBLs once set up, the risk to the seal is minimal, the risk to the spike impression on the spike protectors is INEVITABLE. The bass/mid drive unit is now made by us and is a great improvement on the original and is available as an upgrade. (see product histories). The SBL cabinets have always been made from the same grade of MDF and have a balancing veneer. We have had three different cabinet manufacturers since 1986. We have no plans to discontinue the SBL. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: August 06, 1999 11:06 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: balance And the downside of balanced inputs is that they are inherently noisier than single ended, this doesn't matter too much these days - in the world of high level eg 2V for CD, - but in the days of vinyl, it was crucial. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: August 03, 1999 05:13 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: a view Joe In the past we tried various of the optical 'impedance' matchers, aperture definers and other bits of stuff that one sticks on to the lens. All of these devices, while making an obvious improvement on many other players, didn't work at all on Naim players. (much to the surprise of the protagonists). The one easy way to get an improvement is the stand the player is put on - I use a Base with the little rubbers removed from the Base's underside metal discs to put my CD player on, this works well for me. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: August 01, 1999 04:47 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: links If you search on the rest of the site, you will find links to many of our dealers, Billy Vee has a link and would seem to be the closest. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: August 01, 1999 04:43 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: filters Naim preamps have an HF input filter and if you use a lead with a series resistance, this frequency will be altered, maybe drastically. Try, of course, but don't be surprised if the balance is quite different. The overload is huge on our preamps - the absolute maximum that any CD player will output is 2.2volts, our preamps will accept more than 3 times this value. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: July 30, 1999 08:17 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: thanks David, Thanks. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: July 30, 1999 08:15 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: a few Chris, As I said, "just a very few pieces went out", could be tuners, CD players or separate interconnects. The new cable was designed to be as close as we could get to the old one, as Paul has said "it could be slightly better" but it is not in the same ball park as the improvement with the black burndys or SNAICs. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: July 29, 1999 06:29 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: grey interconnects This seems a reasonable place to comment on the din-din cables. The manufacturer of the cable we have been using for many years changed the design slightly - hence the new colour. But the performance of these cables is heavily determined by the construction and treatment. For example, a few months ago we discovered a very minor change to the length of a bit of insulation quite noticably affected the sound quality when using the CDSll or CDX and this was unfortunately after a few had been sent out - this may account for the some peoples' disatisfaction with the supplied cable. If anybody feels that this may be the case, please ask your dealer for another one to try, if there is a problem we will replace it through the dealer. Please do not try to contact the factory - WE ARE CLOSED FOR SUMMER HOLIDAYS. This only applies to a very few products sent out from the factory during (I think) April & May '99. Cliff's comment concerning the sound of the cables reflects our own experience. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: July 29, 1999 05:59 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: sick Frank, you are correct, Naim is on summer close down, and I should be on sailing holiday. But I am actually at home ill, I hope to get away once the docs have worked out what's wrong and how to fix me up, a real waste of the nice weather. So from my sickbed I can get (virtually) out for a few minutes each day. julian PS if anyone knows a doctor replacement website - I could try my hand at self diagnosis. (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=33981) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: July 27, 1999 10:00 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: truth Andrew I don't want to delve into Naim's Forum etiquette again - we did cover the subject in great detail some months ago. The outcome was that 'good manners' rule, OK? I feel that ascribing views to others could easily lead to difficulties, which is a can of worms we would rather not open. julian (one of the EDs) (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=33877) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: July 23, 1999 03:12 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: mono 110 Although it is possible to create a bridged mono from the 110 with the aid of a bit of wire and a resistor, it sounds much worse than an un-modified one, and doesn't really go any louder either. If using 2 110s in a bi-wire system, it sounds better to use one 110 for the left and one for the right, (IMHO). julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: July 22, 1999 02:22 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: HDCD Sorry, but the HDCD decoding takes place in the digital filter chip and since this is an integral part of the design it cannot be changed at a later date. At the time the CD3.5 was being designed the HDCD chip both took up too much space, and was too expensive to include in a player at this price point offering the level of performance on regular CDs that the 3.5 does. If we had included it, the overall performance would have been much less, although the 'magic' letters hdcd would have appeared from time to time on the display - we chose performance. We write all the control software for our CD players, and we could update that if there was a performance advantage to be gained in the future. Both the Naim CDX and CDSll are hdcd capable. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: July 22, 1999 04:45 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: NBL Sorry Cliff that the demo hasn't been able to be arranged yet. I don't know if it's any consolation, but the reason is so prosaic, I will tell all. The manufacturer of the cabinets was late (as usual), but promised to get us some of our order for NBL cabinets to us before they (and we) closed for summer holidays, they dispatched them to us and the lorry crashed. Most of the cabinets were damaged. Sorry. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: July 20, 1999 05:38 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: FR1 Fidelity Research. They used to make cartridges in the '70s. julian PS there is not single answer as to why the aro 'does it better', there are quite a few reasons as to why the others don't do it as well. _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: July 20, 1999 03:41 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Dealers In short, Naim have two guys on the road nearly the whole time visiting dealers and doing in-store training, regular musical evenings and other events, we also have a training manager who spends a proportion of his time 'factory training' the dealer's sales guys (a two day course). I guess the problem here is that an un Naim-trained person has got in the loop (summer hols, person off work, short staffed etc.) and has offered less than optimal service. Even in the best places these things happen, my advice is, walkout and e-mail us directly, that way it will receive our immediate attention. The other issue is the comment "I have a business to run". If anybody said that to me as a customer, it would be the last time I was ever their customer - EVER. You have a choice, don't give your business to people who have not offered you the service you require. You have rights as consumers, use them. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: July 20, 1999 03:12 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: ARO Phil, In reply to the first - listen for your self. It was a surprise to us when we listened to the first prototypes as to how big the difference was between the ittok and the aro in this area. Perhaps it is not a question of some magic that the aro does but more of what the ittok did less well. If one listens to a album using the ittok, the sound become much more compressed sounding and distorted as one approaches the end of the side, specially on long sides. It was quite a surprise that this was not a feature of albums played using the aro, in fact, to start with I found that the end of sides came rather unexpectedly - at this point I realised that one of the subtle clues as to when the end of the side was coming was the perceived increase in distortion and compression. On the subject of cartridge lifetimes, my own experience is limited to to cartridges in the last 12 years. I had a troika which I used for a couple of years (no cd player) and then passed it on to a friend who said it still worked well, since then I have used an FR1 mkll which has been used less now that it is not the sole source, but is still sounding better than my reserve FR1. The idea of the aro was to provide the best mechanical environment for the cartridge to operate in, and maybe these are the results of so doing. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: July 14, 1999 11:40 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Gfk Pete, the magic letters are Gfk, the market stats company. We don't subscribe to these market analysis figures, but from time to time people show them to us, and for the last year or so they show us as having the largest market share in the UK of electronics separates. These are only statistics though, and I am sure you know what people say about them! On a bit of another thread, the management at WHF did comment to us that they pay attention to the figures in Gfk as to a guide as to what is selling well and therefore products they should write about - so I guess that means when they say something is popular, that's where the info comes from. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: July 08, 1999 09:50 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: from the vault . . . >>>>the time only needs to be correct at the point at which the digital signal is converted to analogue, ie at the DAC. On the majority of Cds, most of the time, there are no uncorrected errors in the data stream. julian PS this is 'inside' information, ie looking at all the various pinouts on the chips, and logging the output. We needed to know this information and monitor it in real time since our control software dynamically adjusts the mechs operating parameters while playing a CD in order to get the best data quality. PPS >>>So it really doesn't matter if 96/24 or SACD is possibly better (and sorry Julian, I've heard some very convincing private demos although the jury is still out) . . . Since there is about 200 times more info on a 96/24 one would expect this to be a cut and dried issue - But as you say Nick, "the jury is still out . . ." I rest my earlier (see vault) case. PPPS The dot joining is one of the rather important bits that we do, it doesn't happen in the DAC, in any event it not really quite like that, the DAC outputs a current, the amplitude of which depends on the number in. _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: July 08, 1999 05:44 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: visit Cliff Actually, I am going to Fremantle - it's just I thought more people would be familiar with Perth. Our dealer in that part is Vince Ross Audio World is in between Perth and Fremantle. julian (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=33021) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: July 07, 1999 01:31 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: visit Warren hasn't yet arranged anything yet, but I am sure I will get to visit Harry, and maybe we will get to do lunch again. I am just going to Sydney and Perth on this occasion. julian (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=32951) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: July 06, 1999 04:48 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: not by me DAT is, for me, one of the worst systems to appear on the market from the point of view that musically it is noticably less good than other tape systems and yet somehow (convenience?) it has got into the music-business world and too many musicians have entrusted their (valuble) music to these hideous sounding gismos. julian PS You may detect that I don't rate DAT. _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: July 06, 1999 04:27 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: NAP500 Nobody outside the employ of Naim has yet heard the NAP 500. There is only one complete amp at present and we know where it is. Timing is always a difficult issue to discuss, since we could say the day is *** because that is when the project plan says it will be, but for any number of reasons it could be delayed. However our plans are that it is a 'this year' product and we are hoping it won't be too much of a surprise for you to be able to hear a tri-amp '500 at the Novotel show, I will be in Australia on a sales trip at that time so I will look forward to reading the posts to see if our guys made it. Hears hoping. julian (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=32942) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: July 06, 1999 07:10 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: No Andrew, it means that we don't even have them on a list, so far as I am concerned both systems are 'politics'. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: July 06, 1999 02:02 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: conjecture The trouble with comparing active and passive systems is that in an active system, the speaker distortion is reduced to maybe a tenth of the passive crossover/speaker combination, so the sorts of differences are much more open to personal preference and also tend to be very susceptible to the choice of system sources. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: July 06, 1999 01:44 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: tunes Pete, I really like your last para - nice one. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: July 06, 1999 01:39 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: 24/96 Who said 24/96 (or SACD for that matter) is better? There is a wealth of posts on the subject in the vaults - it may stretch one's ingenuity to get all the relevant stuff out, but you could start with 'in text' checked and search for '96' with 'author' blank. We have no plans (or even plans of plans) to get into 24/96 or SACD. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: July 04, 1999 03:03 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: locking rings There is a school of thought that holds that loosening the locking rings on the DIN plugs sounds better - its an easy enough thing to try for yourself. I suspect that the results obtained will differ depending on what the equipment is mounted on. However some people like the locking rings since they prevent their children pulling the interconnects out unexpectedly. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: July 04, 1999 10:44 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: AV1 Mathias I am sure that this has been the subject of an old thread, I have checked and there are a number of posts. If you do a search for AV1 (in text) and read the product info on the site, and the following, maybe it will be clearer to you. This time I will put it another way. In most stereo (2 channel) signals there is both 'in phase' information and 'out of phase' information, normally the 'out of phase' stuff is kept to a reasonable level otherwise it diffuses the soundstage*. In the AV1, we take the the 'out of phase' part of the signal, delay it by about 13ms, divide it into two, rotate the phase equally but in the opposite sense to derive the left rear and right rear channels. This put very simply is what happens in any 'surround' decoder, the differences are that in ours, we have full bandwidth rear channels and the maths is 20bit accuracy with the correct level of dither. Hope this helps. julian *(if I was being rude, I would call this american style 'depth' or 'air'). _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: July 02, 1999 02:16 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: AV1 The AV1 takes its signal from one of the spare signal sockets on a *.cap so that when the pre-amp volume is adjusted, it adjusts front and back together. The AV1 is self powered. I have a 140 and a pair of IBLs for the rear, Paul has a 250 and SBLs - he says better is better even for the rear. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: July 01, 1999 03:47 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: chips One of the boggest** problems with the Meridian approach is that chips (ICs) are all, to a greater or lesser extent, microphonic and the resulting mechanical interference is not signal related to the signal (ie it is apparent at very low levels). So perhaps the worst possible envionment in which to put a DAC is in a loudspeaker. If you look inside a CDS or CDSll, you will notice the huge effort we go to to mechanically isolate the pcbs carrying the chips, if one couples the mech or the chassis to the pcb the performance goes from sounding the way it was designed to, to dull, mushy, muddled . . . julian ** This should be spelt 'biggest' ED _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: July 01, 1999 04:41 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: Objective? Aljo I don't recall saying anything about being objective - I always listen from my point of view, I don't make any excuses for this and while I can relate what I hear to what I can measure this is only the result of 30 years of experience - others have different experience - one could say there is no right or wrong, but from my, now, quite long experience others have not been quite so consistant in their views. Shades of grey are supposed to delineate the shades of opinion between 'right' and 'wrong', perhaps it is more complex than this - maybe more like colours from a palette - more choice, more variety of choice. Ultimately the notion of 'right' is the accepted norm of the generation rather than any absolute. julian PS IMHO _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: July 01, 1999 03:33 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Supply Igor The most difficult problem with cables is getting a consistant supply - when the rest of the world regards them as a commodity. The other problem is that we get offered many cables every week and at first we suggested to the designers that they send a spec first, interestingly very very few complied, but the flow has continued and everybody is sure they have discovered some major new advance. To evaluate a cable it takes some number of hours - measurements need to be made, samples assembled, listening tests completed, manufacturers contacted. Who is going to pay for this, no contributor has ever suggested that they should? I, personally, will only be interested when someone comes up with a method of measuring the directionality of cables. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: June 30, 1999 03:40 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: Here's why Hans Here is the reason: as I mentioned above, the rated sensitivity of the line inputs (one of which is used for your CD) is 75mv and since the average level from the CD player is likely to be in the region of 250mv, this is more than 3 times the rated figure. In the case of pickup cartridges the rated sensitivites are much closer to the actual outputs and so the volume control can be turned up a lot more for an average playing level. julian PS Since pickup cartidges have the most difficult to deal with output, pre-amps have hitherto been designed to optimise the levels to get the big overload margins for them, also it is worth remembering that when I did the original designs for our pre-amps, CD and its high output hadn't even been dreamt of, and tape decks, tuners all were much closer to the 75mv sensitivity. In the next generation we will probably tackle it differently. _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: June 30, 1999 02:52 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: The Naim Context Much has been written, but not much of it accurate concerning pre-amp overload. All Naim pre-amps have a 40dB overload margin relative to their spec'd sensitivity: - explanation - Specified sensitivity: The minimum input voltage that will give rated output at full volume, this output when fed to a Naim power amp gets somewhere around clip (depending on the model). 40dB is the same as x100 in layman's terms, so with the line inputs on Naim pre-amps we have a sensitivity of 75mv and therefore the maximum signal that one could put in before clip would be 7.5 Volts (way above CD player's 2 Volt maximum). The volume controls on Naim pre-amps are specially selected to give at least 70dB of control so although they may be turned down to 8 or 9 o'clock, this is within the design envelope. For a typical listening level at home the pre-amp might only be feeding an average level of 100mv to the power amp. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: June 30, 1999 02:21 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: No Andy, the pcb is quite different from the one which was originally designed for the BNCs. We use 50 Ohm BNCs. Jim, We could have, but there would have price disadvantage which was not supportable, particularly on the Nait3. Also, in discussions (at Naim) it was felt that the majority of potential customers at this level would be using tonearms which would be fitted with RCAs and from experience, dealers are not very enthusiastic about changing these plugs, and from feedback, customers appear not to like adaptors. Many of the choices that we have offered over the years have ended up only being taken up by a minute number of customers - and for example where we have put a hole in a chassis with a blanking plug for some future choice, in this instance we have punched maybe 100,000 holes over the lifetime of a product at a cost of £17,000 which everybody pays for but maybe less that 100 utilise. - Is this an expensive facility for the few or a comfort zone for all? - This is the stuff of manufacturing. It's one of those: "You can please most of the people all of the time, All the people most of the time, but not all of the people all of the time". julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: June 29, 1999 04:37 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: BNCs v RCAs The 92 was originally designed with BNCs on the grounds that they offer superior performance over RCAs - the prototypes worked perfectly. However the sales guys at Naim said that unless we wanted near zero sales for the 'slimline' range, we had better fit RCA connectors. We did, but the performance was a serious downgrade and one of the fixes for the the noise problem was to put a loop on the PCB as a sort of hum-bucking coil - life's a bit of a compromise. We get so much adverse stuff written in the mags concerning our choice of connectors and many potential customers seem to get frustrated by the fact that they can't use RCA terminated interconnects, but here is the evidence of the struggle to get the b****** things to work (in our terms) - and still the BNC version of the board was better without any artifacts. julian PS No, you can't buy the BNC version. _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: June 29, 1999 09:22 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Service Dept Tim & Mick, it wasn't that we didn't want to include a picture of the service dept, but Sheila's and Mark's rooms are just too small to put the camera on its tripod in them. I will see if we can get some stills to put up on the site. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: June 29, 1999 09:06 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: RF So far as I am aware, the RF mods we have for the power amps work effectively, and the reduction in sound quality, while audible, doesn't degrade them to the level of other manufacturers' equivalents. If your experience is different, then I would suspect some other issues have come into play. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: June 29, 1999 02:14 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: short note to set to rest too much speculation. Naim power amps have always been numbered by the power they will deliver continuously into 4 Ohms - hence NAP500: 250W + 250W into 4 Ohms. When I designed the NAP 250 circuit in 1970, the speaker norm was 8-16 Ohms, so being able to drive 4 Ohms continuously was very unusual and the ability to drive 2 Ohms for shorter periods was unheard of in the hi-fi industry - one of my design aims was to create a voltage source, which again was not in the vocabulary at the time. In the 250/135 circuits there are very precisely designed protection systems which in the '70s were never obviously in action (except the thermal one), however there are many speakers now on the market which have impedances that fall below 1 Ohm, and far from going away, in some parts of the world they are dominating - we needed to pay attention. We have never managed to make amps using parallel output devices sound any good (this is the normal way that others achieve very high power outputs), so we needed to find an alternative approach. As I have mentioned elsewhere, we had been working with our transistor manufacturer and some ten years ago they came up with a device which was so fast and so strong it destroyed our curve tracer and neither of us were able at the time to properly characterize these devices. Times change, and last year ways were found to assemble this information. Other things change in 29 years, when I designed the 250 circuit, I kept the circuit as simple as possible so as to keep the maths within the bounds of what I could manage (with a little help from my friends - thanks Ellie), now with the aid of fast computers and powerful modeling software the designs can be far more complex and we could still have a good chance of ensuring there were no mistakes in the operating envelope, and even having the ability of extending the envelope somewhat. This is the first new power amp circuit from Naim in 28 years, it is not a simple replacement for the 250/135, I don't suppose the technology will transfer down the range, there are many of the ideas that Roy George developed for the CDSll utilized in the NAP500, these are not simple or cheap technologies - this is product of the late 90s squeezing the best from all the tools and materials available. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: June 29, 1999 02:29 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: PC DVD I have several PC DVD systems, including a couple of Encore versions. I take the digital out to a SVGA projector and let the card do the optimising, the picture is very stable compared with the video or Y/C connections - very watchable, but slightly odd controlling the thing with a mouse and not a remote. I have a current DVD box for comparison, will report back soon. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: June 28, 1999 03:22 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: X Willem, We do not even have any projected plans to make a multi system SACD or DVD player. If we do a DVD player, it will be for video only, not dual purpose - there are too many compromises otherwise. In order to play different types of discs, one would have to use a multi laser head mech - and so far these involve compromises which are marginal in mass market players let alone hi-fi products. But you could wait 5 years - maybe all the systems will merge together, - maybe they will fade away, - maybe . . . julian PS Meanwhile a CDX will give great musical enjoyment playing the millions of CDs currently available. _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: June 28, 1999 09:30 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: 2nd hand gear Pulled up from the archives: Date: 10-Jun-98 02:28 Author: julian vereker Subject: 2nd hand Just a first thought. There are several sites that already do hi-fi equipment. If the dealers are web-aware there is nothing to stop them posting a list of 2nd hand gear on their sites (they aready can or do have a link to this site). We have every interest in taking care of customers and their 2nd hand Naim equipment - it's not very ecological to make new equipment when it's not needed (yet). We would prefer that even 2nd hand equipment was handled by dealers who are in the customer's geographical area. I may think of more later... julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: June 27, 1999 02:58 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: RF Tim, welcome to the forum. 2 points If you search the hi-fi forum 'title & text' with no author, there are 93 references to RF. But it is likely that nobody will really be able to help, since your power supplies are your own, and are one of the good places for RF to be demodulated. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: June 26, 1999 11:15 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: No Snaics carry power as well as signal, this is not required for the connection between the CDSll and the pre-amp. There is something of a compromise involved here, the Snaic needs to have low DCR because it is carrying the current to power the device, this implies a large conductor, and at the same time low capacitance is desirable for the sound quality, and this (sort of) implies small conductors. There is no such compromise in a signal only interconnect, hence we use a different cable to make the audio CDSll to pre-amp interconnect. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: June 25, 1999 08:59 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Brian Attwood I have just unearthed an AES paper and a personal letter from the above gentleman dated 7th Nov 1979. Around that time Mr Attwood brought us his digital amplifer to listen to, it worked exactly as the TACT is described, he was touting his technology (and patents) around the industry. It worked exceptionally well, but it was rather sensitive to speaker impedance even though it was rated at 200Watts output, which at the time was a real problem since the Isobarik was the order of the day. I made some suggestions at the time and recieved a letter back again, thanking me and saying that he had reduced the load problems by a factor of two and reckoned he would be able to do better in time. From Naim's point of view at that time, it wasn't as good into Isobariks as the 250, and it would have cost more than twice as much, and that was apart from the development cost to turn the prototype into a reliable and manufacturable product. The last time I heard from Brian Attwood, he was in talks with Hitachi. julian PS So when somebody say something is NEW and never been done before, it may just be that someone's patents have run out. _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: June 24, 1999 04:32 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: our interest We have often invited amp designers to show us their products at our factory, not to show them up as some of you are suggesting, but to learn anything that there is find out from someone else's approach. We have never, ever said that you can't make a better sounding amp than ours - because we know this not to be true. We are, however, of the opinion that it would be very difficult to produce 1000s of amps a year that were both better, cheaper, as consistant and as long lasting as Naim. Over the years we have picked up many useful tips from others, and I hope we will keep an open mind and continue to do so in the future. On the occasions that we have had the opportunity to measure other peoples amps, we have, except once, found glaring techical failures in the operating envelope which has accounted for the quality of sound reproduced, there are no extraterrestrial materials required, no magic - just simple engineering with no mistakes. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: June 23, 1999 02:43 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Hi Mathias The UPS never shows a fault when it is tested, it only 'spikes' in the dead of night when it is sure it can destroy a computer power supply without anybody catching it. julian PS it took ages to find that it was the culprit. _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: June 23, 1999 02:37 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: No I would suggest that you do not remove certain diodes from the CDS PS, it needs all the diodes we put in it. The power supply noise floor is aready -135db, a dramatic reduction in this figure would either imply a reduction the bandwidth or a bending of the truth. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: June 22, 1999 03:22 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: UPS We bought a UPS to 'protect' our computer server and all the computers that were on the circuit were destroyed by a spike generated by the UPS. Lesson: Just because the supplier says that their product will do a certain job doesn't mean that it will. julian PS anybody want a S/H UPS . . . _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: June 19, 1999 02:08 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: EQ One could get more bass with a little EQ in the crossover - but this is something we (at Naim) don't ever do. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: June 18, 1999 04:15 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: 1nF >>>>I want to try this, but obviously I'm well aware that Naim amps don't like a capacitative load. Is 1 nf a safe amount to place across the speaker terminals? (I'm using 8m runs of NAC A5 from NAP135's into. . . Very likely ok, - on 8M this is more than doubling the cap, - but since the 1nF is at the speaker end, the amp has several microH in series with it, and so there should be no safety issue. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: June 14, 1999 02:48 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: tuners If you tried search 'tuners' and me as the author, then that covers the situation - if not, then try it, sorry I have nothing to add at present. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: June 14, 1999 08:28 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Old & new Small correction: the SBL cabinet is unchanged in design, and in fact, since it first went into production. However the cabinet has been made by three different manufacturers, and try as we might, I would suspect that differences are audible, but from my own experience all these differences pale into complete insignificance compared with getting the setup right or even a bit wrong. - just as a little taste: having the spikes adjusted too long, very audibly affects the bass precision. The major change (& improvement) came with the Naim designed and manufactured bass unit. (which is retrofitable) So no need to peer inside, all have a balancing veneer. julian PS much helpful info has been contributed over the years with regard to the SBLs - try search. _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: June 12, 1999 01:03 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: ratios At Naim there is one marketing person and 10 engineering staff in R&D plus a small amount of extra support from other depts as required - out of a total of about 90 employees. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: June 12, 1999 07:06 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: SNAIC stands for Super Naim Audio Interconnect Cable. julian (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=31640) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: June 11, 1999 02:49 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: patents etc We don't have any patents on any of our technologies, since to do so we would need to explain what we have done - secrets seem to work quite well. Also a patent is only a license to sue, and I can't think of a worse place to spend my time, in a court. I got quite enough of that second hand from Ivor when he was being sued over his bearing patent- (he won, but . . .) In the UK, 'Passing off' is an offence where the perpetrator describes his product as (for example) a Naim when it is only a copy (a clone would require identical genes, which is seriously unlikely), so far as I remember this becomes a criminal offence if the products are sold or distributed for commercial gain and the Trading Standards office will prosecute and confiscate all the offending items, a custodial sentence could follow a successful prosecution. Various companies have 'copied' Naim designs over the years - Onix comes to mind, their integrated amp's circuit board layout and components bore a striking resemblance to the Nait 2, as another example, Philips now have laser absorbing painted panel on their mechanisms, first used in our CDS. Copying is the sincerest form of flattery, but if it goes to the extreme of breaking the law (Passing off, counterfeiting or copyright infringement), the law is at hand. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: June 09, 1999 11:17 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Unfortunate Thanks for your considered posts, Andrew & Greg. I have a feeling that as much as anything, many of the 'disappearing posts' have not been deleted in their entirety on purpose, on several occasions when I have been editing my own posts, I have seen them vanish before my very eyes. Now I tend to be rather careful to copy them elsewhere before correcting my errorful spelling. Where I personally have removed or starred unwelcome expletives, the rest of the post has been left intact, but in the same way that several of you have got 'hot under the collar', there are others at Naim who have been incensed by the poor language 'in their home' and taken what they regarded as appropriate action - sometimes, as I think many of us feel, clumsily. This is a learning experience, there is no corporate agenda, the original reason for blotting out the unattractive language was that in the beginning of our web life, some people used the site to put messages containing bad language, first to test the waters, then to make assignations with an agenda that had nothing to do with either music or hi-fi. (I hope I don't have to spell it out). Incidently, I wrote something along these lines a day or two ago . . . and it dissappeared. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: June 09, 1999 01:32 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: respect For my money, Andrew Boshoff has posted the most susinct analysis. There, to the best of my knowledge, has never been any intentional editing (or removal) of any post discussing censorship. The occasional loss of a post appears to be a hazard of 'lossy' (or crashy) software, not intentional - sorry. As far as other issues raised, I think that it is very important to separate out the idea of freedom on the web (you can do what you like on your own site) and the Naim Forum, our site. I note that many industry forums don't post in realtime, posts are vetted by the moderators before they appear in 'public', and still there 100s of contributors. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: June 08, 1999 05:41 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: EU Pronouced "Eughh", will unfortunately preclude the un (or low) funded startups that were the basis of much of the UK Hi-Fi industry, Naim was started with £500 and for the first year speakers were made in the garage and amplifiers in a corner of the bedroom, safety standards were optional and EMI was only a problem if it interfered with others. When these issues were being discussed as part of the implementation of the EU directives, I said that these regulations would reduce customer choice, increase the price of quality products and give the volume manufacturer additional marketing advantages (both pricing and model lifetimes). Another one of those 'you choose, you lose' things. On the subject of our IT, our main system uses TSX-32, an OS from S&H of Nashville, a small organisation (www.sandh.com) that has been writing OSs since the '70s and it has three big things going for it, it is fast, it doesn't fall over and it doesn't support viruses. We also have attached some windows boxes as terminals and a bit of Unix (Solaris flavour). Further support from the small specialist comes with LexElite (integrated envionment) written by Ace Microsystems Ltd of London. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: June 07, 1999 03:25 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: hearsay Try 'search' for 'farlowe' and 'julian vereker' as author in the hifi chat forum then show thread for an answer to the first question. For an answer to the second you would have to trace John to his Thai beach to ask him, but I suspect that there is no truth in that bit of hearsay either. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: June 07, 1999 11:12 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: guidelines In the solid world, if one says something that the person one is talking to finds unacceptable, one may find that one gets smashed in the face or the phone slammed down - there are no rules as such, one learns by experience. Here, in virtual space, if one posts something that a number of readers object to, it will get edited, and I don't feel any further discussion or explanation is required. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: June 07, 1999 04:13 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Factory tour I believe that there is some evidence of such a thing in the factory tour. julian PS We do have other places to visit on this site which would probably be the formal place to put information regarding new or forthcoming products. PPS From the time that the first prototypes of an electronic product exist, apart from all the usual fun of turning them into a manufacturable thing, one now (EU) has to get the products through tens of thousands of pounds worth of safety and EMC testing. This was supposed to be a self certifying thing only open to trading standards investigation if there was a problem . . . But it now turns out that if one has products 'on the market' one may have to produce a certificate and evidence the measurments - not to do so is a criminal offence - so much for level playing fields and the decline of bureaucracy. _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: June 06, 1999 11:47 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Not so. We still have Aromatics, and although I can't remember exactly how many hundreds we have sold, it is several and I can't say that I have ever heard any comments concerning the reliability. There have been quite a few customers saying that once they got used to the arm, they didn't feel the need for the Aromatic, but that was about it except right at the beginning of production when we had some urgent requests for a lifter due to the 'wobbly' nature of the arm. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: June 06, 1999 11:24 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: measurement I only mentioned 10-100Hz as the range that was useful to measure to locate the system resonance, which so far as I can remember was 24Hz (this is going back more than 20 years, so I may be a Hertz or two out) - there is no useful acoustic output below this frequency. Very few loudspeakers will reproduce (at audible levels) frequencies much below 30Hz without non hi-fi levels ( A huge amount of nonsense is spouted about the LF output of speakers - try an organ in a cathedral to get a handle on the real thing. On the subject of narrow (hi-q) resonances, in general if one wants to 'compensate' for these it is quite difficult since the amplitude tends to be rather ill defined. Linn didn't ever do this in any event. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: June 05, 1999 01:15 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: NZ There were several amps and pre-amps assembled in NZ in the late '70s and early '80s. These were based on the NAC22, NAP120, NAC42 and NAP110. We supplied the most of the critical parts, but unfortunately there was usually an unseemly rush to get each batch assembled and 'out the door', and none of these (or maybe almost none) met our performance standards. On several of the occasions that I visited to check the local manufacture, I found everything from 'improved wiring layout', 'better cable' and wrong thickness copper on the PCBs. They are all marked Assembled in New Zealand, and any way none look like the equivalent Naim numbered product. The reason for licencing was the very high import duty on anything without local content, or a quota system which was value based and so was used to import Denon (or similar) by the 100 rather than half a 250. The NAB 300 was designed as a studio monitoring or PA amp, but by the time we made it, studios were into KW not W. I think that there are 10 or 11 of them. Fan cooled 150+150W into 4 Ohms. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: June 05, 1999 12:36 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: An isobar is a line that connect places of equal pressure - the Isobarik principle is that the volume of air contained between two equally driven drivers should remain at the same pressure if there was no distortion (in the general sense). But since all things are not equal the pressure does change, and the clever bit that Ivor came up with is that he filled the volume with 'material' that reduced the pressure change - a sort of adiabatic* feedback, that reduces LF distortion. If one measures the impedance of the Isobarik (10-100Hz), one will find a very narrow peak in the impedance, indicating a hi-Q resonance. Ivor always held that this was better than a resonance that spread over a larger part of an ocatave. julian *I think that is the right term . . . _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: June 02, 1999 04:38 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: yes I have a lot of knowledge about the quite interesting NAB 300 and also about the much less interesting Naim amps and pre-amps made under licence in NZ. What do you want to know? julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: June 02, 1999 02:20 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: SBL setup "When checking out these speakers be careful. The bass driver box sits on 4 isolation spikes. These cannot be adjusted and rely on the bottom of the base driver box to be exactly level. . . . . . The spikes have to pierce an aluminium cap but any more force and the result is oppersite to that intended.Too much force will couple the unit rather than isolate it. It's an easy problem to cure". There is some misunderstanding here . . . the bass box should be pressed onto the spikes such that the box does not rock, end of story. - The aluminium pads were an afterthought solely to make the setup easier and more repeatable. The connection between the bass box and the spikes is part of the design - it is not one of isolation, but defined contact. julian PS One of the reasons for some people's perceived 'lack of bass' from the SBLs compared with other speakers is that the LF resonance is pretty much designed out and so there isn't the LF peak that is common in other speakers, also the LF distortion is much lower without any frequency doubling below resonance - more tunes, less boom. (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=30963) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: June 01, 1999 04:59 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: Small speaker against the wall? From the thread's name, I suppose one should start with Linn's Kan. The first issue is the one of 'a box sealed is the solution to everything'. There is no evidence that this is the case - the drive unit's resonance (which varies with the temperature of the motor) is altered by the air volume in the cabinet and tends to result in a rather hi-Q resonance somewhat above the free air resonance of the drive unit. There is not much useful output below this resonance and so most of what one hears is the second and third harmonic of the bass output of the instrument, of course, supplemented by the rising distortion as the frequency approaches resonance. ie not much 'fundamental'. but quite a good impression of 'weight'. But even this is affected by how loud one has been playing, since the system resonance may have risen by as much as 10Hz (about 20%). The hi-Q nature of the resonance of the drive unit in a small sealed box can make the performance of the system very sensitive to outside influences - other speaker systems in the room, stands etc. IMHO both the Kan and the Isobarik are liked for a combination of attractive features which don't have a lot to do with accuracy - but attractive they are. Since Linn started to get some of their speakers made in the Far East, they probably had to change their design criteria to suit available manufacturing techniques, but I can't imagine that this is the reason for abandoning 'the sealed box', it is just that it has as many compromises as 'unsealed' cabinets do. So far as I can remember the drive units for the Rega Kyte were made by Royd, who have a low cost environment from which come excellent drive units, but I believe Joe Ackroyd is the designer, creator etc of the Royd drive units and as a 'one man' band (no rent, some helpers) his costs are a minute fraction of Linn's or our's. In the ultimate, foam grilles offer the best acoustic front to loudspeakers, and one has to work very hard to get any of the woven materials (and their supports) to equal the foam. But from what I hear, most people dislike the foam - we listen. The problem with speaker manufacture is not so much the issue of profit, but more the one of numbers. Cabinet makers have machinery that takes some while to set up and so in order to get cabinets for a sensible price at the cheaper end of the market, one has to order 500 or 1000 at a time, these take a huge amount of space (not just for the cabinets, but all the packaging as well) with all the concomitant costs. This leads to another of manufacturing's wonderful cleft sticks - less is more, in this case a 'cheaper' product costs relatively more than an 'expensive' one. We could again make the IBL bass driver, we wouldn't need to buy it from any of the erstwhile suppliers, we could re-model the cabinet and stand to fit more closely with the declared desires expressed here and elsewhere, we could re-engineer the baffle to use woven material, but I would keep Roy's 'resonance-less' system derived from the SBL and the low bass distortion, and probably potential customers would still say "not enough bass". We strive for accuracy in reproduction, the compromises involved for us are the ones which are defined by the way the physical world appears to us and 'bending' the rules to make something appear to be something it isn't is not high on our agenda. Reactions? julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: May 31, 1999 03:29 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: Martin Sorry I can't help, try e-mailing Naim for specific help. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: May 28, 1999 10:44 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Small speakers Thanks for all the thoughts, I have been a bit busy during the last couple of days, but I will post more fully soon. Please keep the thoughts coming. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: May 26, 1999 02:11 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: minis We have looked a several approaches to the idea of some small speakers, but there has been no clear agreement at Naim as to what to develop. In order to bring something new to the market, it would involve using our mechanical isolation technology and maybe some eye catching cabinetry - this means expensive components and a possible price of £1200/pr, plus the requirement of stands for many users. The IBLs offered this sort of performance and while non-hi-fi enthusiasts seem to enjoy them not only for their reproduction qualities but also their appearance, most hi-fi purchasers wanted 'more bass'. It is possible to 'tune' the bass end of a (small) speaker to give the impression of bass quantity, but usually this is at the expense of accuracy and tunefulness. I can't somehow see us making a kan replacement, in my view it is better in memory than in fact, especially after years of listening on IBLs. More comments? This is the place to do it. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: May 24, 1999 04:01 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: Voltages The transformers are the very same ones, the primaries are wired in series for 230v and in parallel for 115v. A simple rewiring job needed to be done with some care to avoid future electrocution. julian PS Dealer in Portsmouth needs, at the very least, a patch, and maybe complete re-programming. _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: May 23, 1999 09:33 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Dolby surround The AV1 does a pretty good job of decoding Dolby Surround and it also resolves the out of phase signals in other formats that are not recorded as discreet channels. This can give a very good representation of sounds from behind the audience. It is worth remembering that Dolby 5.1 is a lossy compression system with a data rate of 384Kb/sec for all 5 channels and the sub, this compares with about 1.4Mb for the 2 channels of CD. Maybe a question of less being more. julian PS I seem to remember the AV1 delay is 14ms. _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: May 23, 1999 09:06 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Oh dear me. I wonder how one would amplify the positive and negative half cycles together? I suppose Heisenberg must have got at them. I don't suppose anybody at what hi fi has ever designed any sort of amp, class A or B. Maybe the suggestion that technical terms could be found at whathifi had better be sought from more reliable tomes. julian (pure B) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: May 15, 1999 09:02 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: grounds Most problems with the understanding of the interconnection systems used with Naim arise from forgetting that the ground is the 0 volt part of the power to the component, and where this is referenced is crucial to the 'tuneful' or correct working of a Naim system - if it ain't in the book, it won't work. It is perfectly possible to earth the equipment's case, for safety, and not connect this earth to the 0V ground in the equipment, or not connect it in a way that causes a loop. When we design the equipment, we have to take many 'realife' situations into account particularly with respect to safety and EMC standards, and some of these preclude 'alternative' uses of the supplies, others are simply loss of coherent reference. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: May 13, 1999 10:56 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: lite answer Got to go, so short reply. Naim amps are safe to be on without a load attached. Naim amps have a small bias current 12-18ma (when cold). Naim amps all have power protection ie: the protection circuit senses voltage & current and integrates these with respect to time to generate the control signals. The larger amps have a thermal trip as well. (70degC) The amps with regulated power supplies also have a current and time trip built into the supply. (trips at more than 18 amps for more than 9microseconds). julian PS qualifications: none. _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: May 13, 1999 10:29 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Wilsons I have a little light to shed on the Nordost speaker cable at Innovative - apparently the Wilsons that they like to sell have an 'unfortunate' impedance and the additional impedance of these cables makes it a 'reasonable' compromise with Naim amps. I rather feel that if speaker designers design their products with certain amps in mind (in this case Krell or something?) it would probably be more helpful for customers if that was what mostly got demoed. Innovative have been a Naim dealer since they opened in the fall of 1997. I have to say that I'm not impressed by this lack of repect for the customer, one of their guys is here in Chicago, I will try to have a word. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: May 13, 1999 09:50 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: serial # Everybody to whom it was possible that it was a problem should have been informed, I guess the dealer wanted to leave things alone until he got more CDSlls in - and since the customer didn't comment and it was a loaner . . . julian PS I'm in the US at present, so I can't check #, email Naim if you're concerned - it only affected a few of the very early production. _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: May 13, 1999 09:35 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: points Class A or B, What I meant was that if 'a' designed a class A amp and it worked, and he then went on to design a class B amp it probably wouldn't work or it would work less well - because class A masks a lot of design issues that one has to address in class B. Next if 'b' designs a class B amp and it works, it is probable that his class A design would also work as well, but would get a lot hotter and cost a lot more. Ultimately Class B brings you closer to the design edges and requires one to address many issues with greater precision than class A, and so it is very likely that a class B amp will be better - but that is apart from the detrimental effects of heat and size in a class A. Many of the comments about power amps' power supplies forget that these come in several flavours, for example: unregulated, and regulated plus a combinations of these. In our best amps we have always used regulated power supplies, and I'm sure I said sometime that it didn't make any sense separating power amp from supply. I thought a Nuvista was a noval ceramic valve (tube) in the '60s, I wonder if it is still a registered name? julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: May 13, 1999 09:02 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Installs Nobody (at Innovative) has really had the guts to say that they don't use NACA5, but it appears that they don't. . . very sad. Why, I ask myself, would you want to sell one of the most exceptional products out there, and then change its level of performance to the 'average'. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: May 13, 1999 08:47 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Sorry I have no plans to visit CO in the near future, I did try to arrange a tour taking in Stereophile before the show, but an invitation was not forthcoming (could be a sea-change there since Wes left?). In any event you have CK in the vicinity most of the time, and he's the best! julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: May 12, 1999 10:32 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Not so. Bob said "It is, to put in mildly, a project. It came with a Mayware Formula 4 tonearm (forerunner to the Hadcock arm) and . . . " The Mayware Formula 4 was a (sneaky) copy of the Hadcock made in Japan for the 'Ready to Wear' clothes company's boss as a bit of 'on the side' business. I can't remember the name of the guy, but I met him several times and he explained the full story of how he was a hi-fi buff and while on a (clothing) business visit to Japan he was introduced to a Japanese manufacturer of badged tonearms . . . julian PS his name might have been Brearman? _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: May 12, 1999 09:45 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Cable position We did have a few early CDSll which one of the internal cables came mis-positioned and caused the problem you descibe - fixed now. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: May 12, 1999 09:42 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Speaker cables Sorry, but I was so disappointed by the way the NBLs sounded at Innovative - I couldn't really think what to say. So, I'm sorry I missed some of the visitors, when I went into the room I just felt very sad that we had put so much work into getting these speakers really good, and with the cable used they sounded very average. julian PS If you are wondering why I didn't do anything about the situation, it was that there was no soldering iron large enough to make a set of NACA cables. _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: May 07, 1999 02:16 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: show dates Check the NANA site or Stereophile, I'm not sure what the public days are. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: May 06, 1999 05:02 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: visit If anybody is around in NY or Chicago, I will visiting Innovative Audio on Saturday 8th, pm with the NBLs. Then I will be at the Stereophile show in Chicago where we will have NBLs and several of our bands will be playing live. I look forward meeting up with some of you there. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: May 06, 1999 04:32 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: another view > Class A sound better in theory or in practice? Maybe it depends on whos theory and who's designing julian PS I'm not sure one should be dogmatic. :) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: May 05, 1999 04:48 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: For the record The Flash was not broken, just that it didn't 'start on the right foot'. If after having inserted the batteries there is no proper display, remove the batteries and leave Flash for about 5 minutes (time for the caps to discharge). Re-insert the batteries and usually the Flash starts up fine. It seems that it was one of those things that never happened in development, (or if it did, people just popped the battery and tried again without thinking of the implications). Such is manufacturing. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: May 05, 1999 04:28 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: Gary & Tony are both very able and smart people and were well able to see the commercial milage in carrying both Linn and Naim. Even if a only small percentage of customers chose Naim, they stood to make a comfortable amount of money from those sales since, as you point out, our prices were higher than Linn's. For them to throw away this source of income would not have been smart, unless they were they were put into a situation where they 'had' to. (Which is what happened) Audiophile Systems spent a great deal of trouble to take care of the transition of the distribution from them to NANA and were very helpful in NANA's early days, they also took great care to do a good sales job on the US dealers to try to ensure that they continued to buy from them now they were a one company distributor. They had a choice, either to loose 30% of their sales (Naim) or 70% of their sales (Linn) since Linn told them to choose, and at the time the LP12/Ittok/Troika was a large seller and also they were a 'full line' company - Audiophile were put into a situation where they they would have had to be very brave to tell Linn to p*** off (a large number of employees etc). Sorry John, I think that you swallowed the party line of the time, but that is not what actually happened. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: May 05, 1999 02:13 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: not correct John said "The US importer eventually dropped Naim because they also prefered the Linn amps. Yes there were initial problems with the LK2 amp, so I guess not all original amps may have sounded 100%, but Linn did find the problem and all amps were replaced with new boards. I think it was a sourced part that changed specification that caused the gradually failure of the amp." First, Gary & Tony (of Audiophile systems) after they dumped Linn had several conversations with me to see if there was some way that they could take up the distribution of Naim in the US again, during which they said much that indicated your first sentence to be untrue. Second, the thermal insulation washers under the power transistors in the LK2 didn't change spec, it was just that they didn't (ever) perform to spec. I tried them a year or two earlier since they would have made assembly a lot easier, but found that the spec sheet rather exagerated their capabilities. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: May 05, 1999 01:48 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Some ghost I shouldn't take this seriously, but since this was a lie that John Farlowe perpetrated within his company to the point that his employees believed that this was truly the case, I feel it deserves a short airing. When Billy, (latterly John's friend & employee) left Exposure a couple of years ago, he turned up at Naim asking a very similar question. I showed him the Exposure file from our records and let him read it through - it shows that Exposure was a customer of ours in the late '70s. ie a long time after the 250 was designed and first on the market. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: May 03, 1999 03:35 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: Class A (pure or otherwise) Class A in a poweramp is grossly wasteful of non renewable resources and that is one of the reasons why any new amp that Naim launches will be class B. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: May 03, 1999 03:24 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: Right! At this very moment I am listening to a play on R4 using a NAT02 and a Nait2 and a pair of IBLs. (works for me) I recently had a call from a Malaysian friend, saying that he had recently run into John Farlowe (apparently now ex of Exposure) whilst on a visit to Thailand, where he apparently is now living with a new friend. What will happen to Exposure without its founder? julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: May 03, 1999 11:12 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: 2 points Yes, I started from the recording view point, (not pro though), designing a mixer desk, monitor speakers, and helping Magnetic Tapes with the development of the Chilton 100S - I have many 100s of hours of tapes from those days. Ross - Naim is unlike Apple and its Macintosh computers, we are the number one in the UK market place (I don't have figures for other countries) for HI-FI separates, according to a well known stats company. From month to month, we are a point or two ahead of Linn and Arcam. Another point, Linn launched the LK2 in 1985 and touted the 'fact' that it was a '135 beater', the 135 having been launched in 1984 and was the 'then standard'. I can't even count the number of new amps Linn have launched into that area of the market since, and still the 135 is unchanged (in electronic design) and continues to sell in undiminished numbers. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: May 01, 1999 07:17 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: interesting thread This is a really divergent thread, I like it. I will keep my comments to matters of fact, many of these things happened many, many years ago and quite a lot of the 'information' is hearsay. Ivor and myself were introduced in 1974 and very quickly set about collaborating on many levels, technical, sales and the general excitement of running manufacturing companies. Naim stopped making speakers in 1976 and concentrated on the electronics side of the (unofficial) partnership. Linn expanded their range of speakers (Sara & Kan) and developed (with Japanese partners) the Ittok and Asak (arm & cartridge). As time went by we spent more effort on joint/shared marketing and by the early '80s we did almost all of our distribution through the same outlets. When Linn told us that they were about to launch an amp and preamp in April 1985, we were disappointed that they had not been able to trust us with the knowledge so that we could have helped with a smooth transition that would not have been so difficult for all of our outlets to handle, and on the technical side to try and prevent them financially embarassing our outlets with products that didn't work reliably. When they launched, their claim was for a better than '135' performance for less money - but since the first 600 (or so) power amps failed in the field (due to an obvious and predicted - by me - design error), our worst fears were confirmed. This caused so much stress in the market place that Linn finally demanded of our outlets that they had to choose between selling Linn or Naim. Almost all the distributors who went with Linn are now out of business of have subsequently dumped them (I think Canada is the sole exception). After the dust settled (a bit), We (at Naim) decided to get back into the speaker business (SBL in 1986) and put all our turntable parts into production (Armageddon, Aro, prefix) and set to thinking about digital. In many ways the split has allowed us to make the systems we always wanted to, and to develop the company in the way we wanted to. Trying to get a common position between two companies with (slightly) different agenda can be frustrating. For example at Naim, 'better is better', 'bigger is not necessarily better', etc. I don't think that we are as driven by money as the guys at Linn seem to have been, and I think that many more people at Naim are driven to make great products because that's what we want at home. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: April 28, 1999 03:04 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: try Naim Our Thai distributor is not a secret, try emailing Naim for detailed info. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: April 28, 1999 03:01 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: out of sight (in mind) Cliff, your right, I have had a design in mind for some long time, but Philips keep on discontinuing vital components needed for CD player production and so our (now) large R&D team have been at full stretch for (it seems) years - and nowadays, it is they who do all the work. The information that you requested, will be forthcoming this year. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: April 27, 1999 02:42 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: brilliant I am not sure that we have ever suggested that it was the brilliant power supply that was responsible for the audible degradation when using various linn pieces in a Naim system - I rather think that it could be due to the mains input filtering. julian PS in a cynical mood "Does it really matter with the keltics anyway?" _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: April 27, 1999 02:33 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: balance The connection and correct value of balance control is rather important to the correct signal conditioning (safe driving of the power amp) that the preamp does. julian PS Less is not always more. _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: April 27, 1999 02:13 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: availability I probably did say something like that, but I designed the 135 in 1984 and things have moved on since then. On that subject, I think I did post something somewhere about serious transistors recently. :) julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: April 26, 1999 12:30 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: CDI Will, Correct, the CDI had to change part way through it life due to a Philips shipment going astray (Philips said they sent a pallet of mechs (uninsured), we paid for them, but they never arrived - maybe somebody knows the whereabouts of this pallet?). Then Philips stopped supplying the servos, so having spent a lot of time designing the CD3 servo, we went over to the CD3 style drawer (which contains the servo), this then became the CDI replacement, the CD2. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: April 26, 1999 01:58 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Just a number Damping factor is just a rather poor way of describing the output impedance of the amplifier. The figure is derived from the impedance of the speaker divided by the ouput impedance of the amplifier - since most speaker impedances vary by at least 10 to 1 over their bandwidth, particularly in the bass region where 'damping factor' is supposed to be useful - I supect that it is a very unhelpful & misleading number. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: April 25, 1999 03:58 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: misrepresentation & mis-quote. TanaisFox, have you no shame, I didn't say (or write) any such thing, look again. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: April 22, 1999 11:31 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: tuners John, sorry but there are no plans to advance the state of the art with regard to tuners from Naim. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: April 19, 1999 02:44 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Cliff Just a quicky - Naim pre-amps are class A and therefore the current stays pretty constant (except when switching on the relay switched ones). secondly, the figures you quote for the mains variations are about 10%, naim power supplies aim to achieve 0.0001%. & finally, the transformer noise story can be found in search. julian PS sorry to be in a rush! _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: April 18, 1999 05:21 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: lead acid Cliff, May I suggest you look at the noise on the output of a lead acid battery when delivering a few 100s of milliamps (like a pre-amp) with a microvoltmeter (1Hz-100KHz BW) connected to a scope, you will notice little steps in the output voltage, I haven't looked at a Ni-Cad, but I would expect a similar result. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: April 18, 1999 05:14 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Nigel said "However HiFi manufacturers can tune their products to emphasise what they consider to be the crucial elements - the naim forward mid-range sound is a classic example." This may be your opinion, but you are mistaken - Hi-Fidelity is the design and manufacture of equipment that is truthful to the recorded sounds, not the attempt fix the result according to personal taste, this also has a place in the market but it is not Hi-Fi. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: April 17, 1999 05:33 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: direction Here follows a cut & paste from an earlier post of mine. "I can't tell you why cables sound different one way round to the other, but I do know when the 'directionality' happens in manufacture. It doesn't seem to matter how the bundle (of copper) is drawn, single direction or mixed direction, but as soon as the insulation is extruded onto the bundle, the directionality is established. This means that one can mark the insulation and it will always be the right way round. I suspect that the hot plastic insulation anneals the copper in some way, and this affects the crystaline structure. But all our attempts, over many years, have failed to find any measurement to show the directionality or indeed whether one cable will sound better than another (other than the obvious - resistance, capacitance and inductance) Maybe someone out there knows?" I am not sure about being an ex Physicist, I would have thought 'Once a Physicist always a Physicist'. However one thing that is often missed by the 'profesionals' is that audio electronics design is the most difficult discipline of all - one has to design for 10 octaves and 130dB at the same time - a huge envelope, and much larger than any other area of electronics endeavor. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: April 13, 1999 03:34 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: I want one! Vuk, can I get one for me? About ten years ago, I was testing some new and very exciting power transistors which had the potential of being able to be utilised in larger power amp. The problem was to try and characterize what is known as 'secondary breakdown' for the devices in order that we could design the 'Safe Operating Area' protection system in a potential new product. The suggestions from the manufacturers of this development of the NA001 were that this was an extraordinary device, and so, with great trepidation, I plugged it into our (newish) Tektronix transistor curve tracer, set the parameters, switched the switch and BOOOMFFFFF big flash, lots of smoke. It transpired the Tek had been destroyed (3 days inside warranty) - I have been very circumspect concerning switches ever since. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: April 13, 1999 03:47 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: Base I have some of my system on Base, (the visible bits), it was easy to assemble and seemed the right size for what I wanted to put on it. julian PS I had to take the rubbery feet out from under the shelf with the CDSll on it (for the sound). _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: April 12, 1999 02:34 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Sorry Cliff, I didn't mean to look a 'gift horse in the mouth', I was just try to take responsibility for what I feel we are responsible for. :) julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: April 11, 1999 05:18 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: RealWebSite Cliff, sorry to be pedantic, but we do 'run' the Forum, what we don't do is 'host' it, the server resides in Palo Alto and it ably run and maintained by Raul. We pay him to keep the whole forum online, the reason the search engine is sometimes a bit slow is maybe due to the fact that there are now several 100MB of data. Raul has, I think, done an excellent job of keeping up with the the growing traffic on this site. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: April 11, 1999 04:38 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: User error? Ron, I suspect that you couldn't find the thread where the MANA cd was discussed was user error. You need to set up your choices in 'Options' and since that thread is more than a month old it probably just dropped off the (your) end. julian PS It seems that MANApeople have rather short fuses, and while your contributions may be welcomed on our forum, I would be grateful if you didn't shout. _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: April 10, 1999 07:33 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Yes Chris, I can comment, we don't have a new mono amp under development. julian PS The NAP 300 was a couple of separately power supplied 160 channels in a large fan cooled case - giving 2 X 150 watts into 4 Ohms. I used bobbin transformers (not toroids) to help get a 'fat' bass sound for PA use. _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: April 06, 1999 04:27 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Hadcock Although the Hadcock is (and was) often descibed as a unipivot, in actual fact it had a collection of balls (in its various guises, 3, 4 or 5) to couple the tube to the pivot. This means that there isn't a single point of contact. The Hadcock was designed to try to overcome the problem with the KMAL unipivot which had mercury contacts that tended to stop making contact, but that arm also used balls. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: April 06, 1999 04:11 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Aro-matic The Aro-matic is still available, either to suit knob type raisers (eg P3) or lever (as in LP12). It is much easier to use than arm mounted devices, since it is attached to the non moving plinth. We spent over a year trying to make a cueing device that didn't degrade the sound at all, we got very very close. Weight and coupling foams were to prove crucial. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: April 02, 1999 02:53 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: age Ron, how old are your DBLs? The earlier ones had tweeters that used ferro-fluid in the gap. We found that after a period of use at very high levels, the fluid migrated out of the gap and dissolved the adhesives used in holding the assembly together with the consequent failure of the tweeter. When we dismantled the failed drive units, there was no heat damage or broken leadout wires, this had us wondering for some time as to what had happened. DBLs are now fitted with tweeters that do not use ferro-fluid, and mine, anyway, have remained intact since. This is the converse of what the purveyors of ferro-fluid would have one believe. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: April 01, 1999 02:06 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Grace Cliff, and others, The Grace that supported so many Supex cartridges in the '70s was a gimbelled design. In an ideal world records would be flat and there would be no problems for (most) gimbelled arms, but since they are not (almost always they have more warp than the size of the groove - .002" or 50microns), there are non signal related movements applied to the cartridge all the time due to the warps and the offset bearing axis and 'sticktion' in the bearings. With the ARO, the bearing is designed such that the contact area is defined to ensure that sufficient pressure is applied so that it will not 'chatter', also the axis of movement of the arm is through the cartridge generator and so any movement does not generate non signal related output. Arm tube: If one listens an opera, in particular the soprano holding a high note - in life the whole note will have a character (an envelope, a life?), try this with different tonearms, most arms 'bloom' out, after the first part of the note, the quality of the note is lost (the breathing etc) - different arms do this with different sopranos (& different notes). This is an obvious divergence from fidelity to the live performance. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 30, 1999 02:40 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: gimbels Paul Davies I am happy to both explain and demonstrate that all gimbelled tonearms have a serious design handicap, the fact that you prefer this type of arm (as manufactured for Linn) is not open to question (IMHO), but the design and realisation of the ARO is demonstrably better able to provide a platform on which to mount a cartridge to replay the music on albums. Just because a product is better at doing its job does not mean it will get the widest acclaim or sell best. Choose your own example. julian PS I am quite interested to know your view of your company's position re the workstations you manufacture, and also Solaris v. NT - I thought that Scott said he wanted to dominate the WS market? _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 30, 1999 02:17 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: One World? Vuk You're right, one could make a CDS ll with a suitable variable output to plug straight into a poweramp or SNAXO, but mostly (from the regestration cards), people who have CDS also have other sources that they want to be able to use. The art of spreading the huge design & development over as many identical products as possible is part of successful manufacturing - this unfortunately is where compromise rules, OK? julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 25, 1999 05:10 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: work Roy left Uni and then went to Goodmans for some time, then worked on his own for a while. While we do take people on for work experience and placement, it usually is from our locality since we get dozens of CVs, there has to be something arbitary in the selection process. Otherwise it's a 'right place, right time' thing. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 25, 1999 03:38 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: students Roy George bought his first Naim amp when he was a student, and now he's the head of R&D at Naim. Not only did Roy steadily upgrade his system, but he bought his friends in to get Naim as well - Dealers should be 'student aware'? julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 25, 1999 03:21 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: metal feet The little metal feet that you refer to, are positioned in the plastic part to within one thousandth of of an inch (25 microns), the precise positioning affects the sound dramatically. Moving the pins is not the answer - suggest you accept Mark's offer. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 19, 1999 04:01 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: 10sp Tarik The gearbox is called a Mountain Drive, the best version from my experience is the type 2, it feels more robust and it has an overlap between the top 5sp and the bottom 5sp which makes it easier when starting up a hill. Florian Schlumpf Masch. Ing. HTL, Dorfstr. 10, CH - 7324 Vilters, Suisse. (tel:+41 817 23 8009) julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 22, 1999 02:08 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Flash I have had a 'New Remote' for a while, - ergonomics are something of a 'art' so perhaps the favoured layout of the buttons on a remote is what one gets used to. However Flash feels great. The 'pictures' on the screen come on when one picks the remote up and if the ambient lighting is low, the screen is backlit. We have had a nightmare with various suppliers of mouldings, plastics, paint . . . - now solved, Flash should start to be shipped by the end of this month. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 19, 1999 03:48 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: LOUD & quiet Joe DBLs do loud, I have never heard IBLs sound congested or loud. While I enjoy listening to all sorts of music on my IBL systems, and for example, Charlie's bass lines are easy to follow, indicating an ability to go low, I would never say they had deep bass. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 19, 1999 10:49 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: IBLs I had hoped that it would become clear from the systems that I regularly listen to that IBLs work fine with smaller amps, but because they are such fine speakers they just get better and better when they are fed with a better signal. The point to remember is that they are small driver speakers and if you are a bass freak or 'have' to have scale, then you will be disappointed - otherwise they are like miniDBLs. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 19, 1999 10:30 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: So sorry Mathias, I don't have any info on professor Otala's papers - they are buried in long archived files somewhere, but I seem to think that the TIM paper was sent to the IEE in the late 60s and the TII paper was published in the mid 70s. Both these transient distortion mechanisms are easiest thought of a failure of the negative feedback to control the circuit parameters to their steady state values. julian PS I have never published anything about amplifier design, and before you suggest it, I am not going to either. _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 18, 1999 03:36 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: minor addition Also I have a CD3, Nait3r, 03, IBL system. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 18, 1999 03:22 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: feedback What follows may seem to be a bit flip, but it is true - and it draws attention to the lack of imagination that permeates the audio press. Any piece of equipment is only as good as its worst parameter, so picking on one particular design number and ascribing it with undeserved importance does not lead anywhere useful (IMHO). Naim amps have exactly the right amount of negative feedback to work properly. As it happens, when I designed our poweramps, there was a huge movement towards low feedback designs following the published work of Matti Otala, but when I did the maths, I decided to balance my design out using speed and a high level of negative feedback. This approach seems to have stood the test of time, the first Naim poweramp was sold in 1971 and the circuit configuration has remained unchanged, only a few values have changed a bit and of course the output devices are a more robust technology, but with the same useful qualities. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 18, 1999 02:33 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: same token Peter, I suppose you're right, we had better get right to it - place your orders now! julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 17, 1999 02:29 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: goalposts We haven't changed our recommendations at all, just offered a requested choice. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 17, 1999 02:06 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: batteries Batteries (lead acid in particular) generate electricity in response to demand using a chemical reaction, and this reaction tends not to be very smooth, if one looks at the noise on the battery terminals, one can see small 'steps' in the voltage as the reaction proceeds in 'jerks'. I suppose this happens a bubbles form in the electrolite and are then dissipated. Low frequency noise & narrow bandwidth are not suitable qualities for an audio powersupply. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 16, 1999 02:26 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: both Yes, I have listened to both. The Bill Beard amps rather depend on when they were made, the company has had a very checkered history which is somewhat reflected in their sound quality - much the same applies to the Electro. I don't consider myself to have been lucky in this instance. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 10, 1999 02:28 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: filters I have not delved into the whys, but when we were first forced to look in detail at the EMC regs and the effects on our designs, we found that the easy way to solve the mains borne interference was to use a mains filter. However the effect on the sound quality was disasterous, so we had to solve the problem at the source(s) inside the equipment. A filter in one piece of equipment appears (electrically) across the mains supply to the whole system. As I have said before, the simple fact of plugging in a Lingo (or more obviously) a CD12, one can clearly hear a degradation of the overall musical performance - (not using either of those components). In your system, one is discussing several choices which have obvious contra-indications. The Lingo has the filter, the Valhalla is very noisy, the Ekos is a gimbelled arm . . . (I have no home experience of any of these products for at least ten years, but I do get to hear them in the factory and at dealer's) julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 08, 1999 03:41 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: used to be Joel, Kristin used to sell them at various craft markets in and around Sarasota FL USA, but I have no idea what happened to her after her Dad (Lars Bergstrom) died two years ago. Lars was a very well known yacht designer and I had the pleasure of working with him for nearly twenty years. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 08, 1999 03:16 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: IBLs We had to do an early fix on the cabinet to correct a supplier's error, then we did a major upgrade to the speaker which involved several small changes, all of which added to the cost of manufacture, but all added to the performance. e-mail directly to Naim for info. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 08, 1999 02:35 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: T-Shirt Henk, It's not abstract at all, Kristin (Bergstrom) buys fish at the market, paints them and then presses them onto the t-shirt which are then hung out to dry. They smell a little fishy when new, that is until they have been washed! julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 08, 1999 02:24 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: sorry Jonathan, this is info I am not going to share. julian PS First define what your circuit configuration requires to work satisfactorily, then review available technologies, then choose the most suitable - just takes awhile, that's all. :) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 07, 1999 10:39 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: bi-wire Don In the manual, we advise that you should use Naim loudspeaker cable with our amps. It is part of the amplifier output circuit which expects a certain inductance and a very low capacitance (see below), if you bi-wire (even with NACA5) you double the capacitance that the amp 'sees' and this can cause a problem. If a crossover is designed for bi-wiring it is probable that it will sound better used that way (all things being equal), if a crossover is designed for single wire it will sound better used this way - BUT the crossover designed and used for single wire will sound better than the bi-wire design however it is used. There are number of interactions between the cables and the filters (in the crossover) and the mechanical parts (drivers) that can lead to unexpected resonances that can turn out being destructive. If you Naim amp is destroyed by using unsuitable cables, it is a clear failure mode and is not normally covered by warranty. julian PS pulled from the passed: Date: 26-Aug-98 02:07 Author: julian vereker Subject: Cables Again Please can I draw your attention to the following notes: ****Ed's Note: MANY CABLES WILL 'WORK' IN PARTICULAR SYSTEMS, BUT IF THE SPECS ARE VERY DIFFERENT FROM NACA5, THEN PROBLEMS MAY OCCUR WITH CERTAIN SPEAKERS**** FOR INFO THE RELEVANT SPECS ARE: 1.3 - 1.5microHenries per metre (Loop) MAX 20picoFarads per metre About 25milliOhms per meter (loop) MIN Length 3 metres **ED** and: refering to Litz type high capacitance cables. *****ED's Note: DO NOT USE THESE TYPES OF CABLES WITH NAIM POWER AMPS IF YOU WISH TO HAVE NAIM'S WARRANTY - PLEASE SEE YOUR OWNERS MANUAL***** _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 07, 1999 10:13 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: NAT 301 This was our first attempt at a 3 band tuner and dates back to 1981, 3 were made, one I have, and is in daily use in my office, one was in the posession of Gary Warzin (Audiophile Systems) when last heard of, the 3rd was gutted and a new FM pcb was fitted and is currently on loan to Louise. julian PS Louise, where are you, haven't heard from you for ages? (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=25048) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 06, 1999 03:19 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: interference Just a little re-cap, it is the mains input filter in the lingo that seems to cause the problem, since it is not just enough to turn it off, it needs to be unplugged. This also applies to the CD12 to a greater extent - the difference here is quite shocking. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 06, 1999 03:00 AM Author: julian vereker Jonathan Sharp said re Naim Clones, "Inevitably there are two sides to this. A Naim amp is a Naim amp. A clone might use the same circuit topology and almost identical components eg commercial BUV20 transistors instead of the ones with the Naim logo, but it is not a Naim, because seemingly small details will make a difference. . . ." *****jv: I guess it's one of those small oversights, the BUV20 series of transistors are not even the same technology as our NA001s, but they do reside in a similar sized case. A case of similarity being just skin deep? julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 05, 1999 02:58 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Iain 1) It is not a matter of preference, just an observation mainly concerning the style of a recording versus the seat I sat in. 2) No, I don't have a pair of NBLs - we only have two production(ish) pairs of cabinets - besides which all the rooms have systems appropriate to their use, and I am not about to replace my DBLs. I would suggest that the listening experience will put the NBL in a slot between the SBL and DBL, closer to the DBL though. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 03, 1999 01:32 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: a watt So far as I can remember, an large orchestra has a output of about one acoustic watt, so it rather depends on the efficiency of ones speakers - average maybe about 0.1%. The last time I measured the peak level at home with my DBLs, the figures were 126dBspl with about 6hp driving them. (6hp : 4.5KW - not rigorous 'cause I am mixing peak quantities and average). julian PS Vuk, we're working on it, we have the devices, we have the oversize case, we have the technology and with a bit of luck we will launch it on April 1st 1999. :) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 03, 1999 01:18 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: live v dbl Joe, when I get home after a concert, often I put a disc on intrigued by the differences between live and recorded, I'm not disappointed, it's often the sort of difference between listening on headphones or speakers. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 02, 1999 03:48 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: clarification Bruce said: Julian: I'm wondering what you mean by 'within an order of magnitude of our delivered performance envelope." How are you defining your performance envelope? For example, it is relatively simple to extend the band-width of your amplifiers by an order of magnitude. ***** jv: delivering a certain levels of distortion within bandwith/dynamic range/power output parameters. So your suggestion of widening the bandwidth is 'outside the envelope', and in any event it is not a helpful way to go since this makes all the 'stability housekeeping' much more difficult and some of the 'Naim ratios' impossible to maintain.**** Bruce: And such a modification mates well, i.e. produces more music, with some other components. **** jv: this is somewhat contentious. Bruce: You will likely argue that this is not the case if a Naim preamplifier is used and I accept that until I hear otherwise. But then I don't see how you can define your performance envelope for your amplifier alone. (I realize of course that what you were talking about was a complete grounds-up attempted copy of your amp.) **** jv: I'm talking bench testing. Bruce: Another question I've wanted to ask you. You are rightfully proud that your electronics are basically unchanged for the past 25 years or so. It's a pretty remarkable fact and speaks volumes about this crazy industry, something you know much better than I do. But, if you were starting fresh NOW to design and prototype some audio electronics, with the goal of the very best possible system, would you use the same technology you began with in 1972? Would you not take advantage in some way of the much higher speed components that are available today? **** jv: what higher speed components? There are many higher speed devices about (as there were in 1970), but speed is not all. I am sure I've said it before, but I will say it again - It doesn't matter how good the best bits are, only how bad the worst bit is. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 02, 1999 03:16 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: NAIM Please, if you have a specific query refering to equipment you own (or wish to own), e-mail NAIM directly (with serial numbers if poss). julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: February 26, 1999 07:02 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: ping, ping When the dampers are actually touching the top, the case should not ping. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: February 26, 1999 06:39 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: home-made specials I know that people who make 'copies' of commercial equipment derive pleasure from the fact, but try as they might they are not Naim clones. Over the years many engineers (and others) have shown us their handy work, and we have put their efforts through 'test' - none have come within an order of magnitude of our delivered performance envelope. Although we don't actually make the transistors we use in the 140 - 135 amps, they are our design and unique to us, as are our transformers. If you think that you are able to buy 'better' on the open market, I think you will be disappointed, I have found there is no substitute for getting the wafer diffused by the best diffusers, and buying the best headers, followed by the most suitable cans and then getting the best assemblers to put'em all together - this is way beyond what even the smaller hi-fi companies can achieve. please please yourselves, but don't delude yourselves. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: February 23, 1999 04:10 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: a team John Thanks for your good wishes, but we feel that Naim works because it's a team, I know it started out as a one-man-band, but companies move on and Naim comprises 90+ individuals who work sucessfully together. The main management team spans a couple of generations, we don't have compulsory retirement, but we have extended the areas of responsibility as people grow into them. The main reasons for selling a company that one has started, I would guess, are that one intended to do that from the start or the company has run out of money and the name is worth more than the assets - neither is true at Naim. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: February 23, 1999 02:33 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: light, jitter & other things A signal appears to travel at about .6c in copper, ie in 10ps : 1.8mm. This means one has to be rather careful with the design of the pcb in the area around the input to the DAC (to put it mildly). The signal only needs to be 'without jitter' at the input to the DAC, one can tollerate timing errors elsewhere in the player - in fact the data coming into the fi-fo memory is not very accurate at all, but it is important to keep the noise in the system down to stop it affecting the signal in the important places. The Tektronix scope we use to look at this signal has a 500ps/cm resolution when used with a very low capacitance probe. The trace from the CDX jitters about 380ps peak-to-peak (135ps av), with the CDS the trace looks unjittered within the thinkness of the trace - less than 1mm on the screen - say 33ps peak-to-peak (11ps av). All this is a bit academic and open to experimental errors (maybe +/- 20%), but the point I was trying to make is that the CDSll is a whole lot better than the CDX in this area, and that Paul Miller's test system is not definitive (just excellent). julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: February 23, 1999 02:06 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: that's the one, try your dealer or e-mailing us. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: February 22, 1999 04:07 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: toughbook? With my computer hat on I've supplied lots of laptops: AST, a few failures - one inside warranty, fixed am the following day, two outside: one cost £250 to fix, one BER. Fujitsu, no failures. Panasonic toughbook (with magnesium case) no failures. Assorted others have been delivered with a DOA among the shipment and have been returned unsold. If Naim made a laptop, I would expect a serious case, a serious (external?) p/s and a green light - not sure about the rest. julian :) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: February 22, 1999 03:33 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: damper The damper has been fitted to most of the large case equipment for at least the last 15 years, if your pinging equipment doesn't have one for some reason, please call or e-mail. To stop the pinging, just slide the damper up so that it touches the top. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: February 22, 1999 02:37 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: connection If one mechanically connects the case top to the chassis with anything except the plastic extrusion fitted to most of the large case equipment, the sound is very noticably degraded, and even sliding the 'case damper' up, so that it makes contact with the case top and damps the ringing, affects the sound in subtle way. Boring, but true. . . julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: February 20, 1999 06:21 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: jitter I suspect that 130-140ps is the limit of Paul Miller's system, we get similar figures using it. But on our direct measurements of the jitter on a music signal the CDSll is about 10ps, less than a 10th of the CDX figure, however both players give similar results using PM's kit. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: February 20, 1999 06:14 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: s,k & e NANA is correct. The S & K are the same circuit but with different input RC networks (filters), we opened up the bandwidth on the K boards with the arrival of the Karma, which has (along with the Troika) very low out of (audio) band output. So it follows that other excellently designed cartridges would probably sound best using K boards. The input filter on the S boards rolls off the HF hash that comes from less well engineered cartridges. The selection of the types of capacitor suitable for use in this position is critical. The E board has lower gain to suit EMT based cartridges. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: February 19, 1999 03:50 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: 323/523 Most of the changes were to do with changes in manufacturing methods, particularly increasing precision required by robots. Other changes were forced upon us by changes in components. Prior to the robots, the biggest differences in sound depended on who made them. (this goes back a long time) julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: February 16, 1999 04:01 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: READ THE MANUAL >>>>>>>Anyway, I'll try fiddling with the speaker cable (according to the "don't biwire" advice) though I don't expect this to make a difference; I see no reason why it should, really. In which case, it's time to ring the dealer and start swapping boxes. I am amazed by your words above: The speaker cable is part of the output circuit of the power amp AND MAKES A HUGE DIFFERENCE - WAS THIS EQUIPMENT INSTALLED BY THE DEALER? I am speechless (although not typeless). Astonished! julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: February 16, 1999 03:48 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: A Level Cliff said "BTW, from my recollection of A level physics, the real issues in conductors of long lengths are: 1) voltage drop (more a problem with DC than AC) and 2) inductance (More a problem with high (AC) voltages and bad sheilding) and 3) resistance (which of course has a direct relationship with item 1). Capacitance is not normally an increasing problem with distance. The main capacitance effects come from interconnects (especially RCA types) and the sleeves of the cables rather than the cable lengths (assuming high purity conductor in all cases of course)". This is exactly as I remember the text books too, but they are wrong. julian PS in relation to audio performance. _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: February 16, 1999 03:30 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: . . . >>>>the time only needs to be correct at the point at which the digital signal is converted to analogue, ie at the DAC. On the majority of Cds, most of the time, there are no uncorrected errors in the data stream. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: February 16, 1999 02:12 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: lo-cap Naim interconnects are lo-cap. The Chord Co used to use similar cable to us, but the last time I checked it was slightly higher capacitance than ours. For some installations, customers have to have long cables, but accept that there will be a small price to pay in terms of sound quality. We made a 10m interconnect (not SNAIC) to go between pre and snaxo and found that although it wasn't a patch on a 1.2m black snaic, the system sounded fine. SNAICs are only suitable for short runs since this is the way the design of the cable was optimised. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: February 16, 1999 01:55 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: cd mechs Two quickies: jitter is not really an issue at this (early) stage of a cd player - the time only needs to be correct at the point at which the digital signal is converted. Secondly, the signal that comes out of the mech pre-amp looks very 'analogue', rather like an RF (radio) signal. Plenty of opportunities for things to sound different! julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: February 15, 1999 10:36 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: DANGER The hiss could be the amp objecting to the bi-wire cabling, I WOULD TURN IT OFF NOW. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: February 15, 1999 10:28 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: 3m A 3m cable will have 3 times the capacitance, which will make it a more 'difficult' load, and very likely to sound a bit different from the 1m one. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: February 12, 1999 04:08 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: jitter Paul Miller's excellent jitter measuring system is very useful to help isolate sources of jitter in a cd player, but taking a picosecond number is rather similar to the THD figure that gets quoted for distortion - not very helpful. Paul's system sorts out all the different sources of jitter, including jitter causing mechanisms within chips, and makes reasonable suggestions as to where they originate. We are now able to look at the actual signal going into the DAC and can see & measure the jitter, it is this figure which in the case of the CDSll does not equate with the figures that Paul's system reports. This could be because the CDSll's measurement is some 10 times less than the CDX and is below the resolution of his system. Paul has put an extraodinary amount of work into his system, and I can't think of any other 'tool' that has saved so much time isolating problems in the development of our second generation cd players. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: February 12, 1999 03:29 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: 52 inputs The original 52 had input 1 as phono with changeable boards - and now is usually shipped with NA526. Input 2 has two sockets in parallel, straight in - no boards - one with power (for prefix), one without, - and still is. Input 3 was (and is) straight in. Input 4 was (and is) straight in and out (with unity gain buffer). Input 5 & 6 were in and out through either NA526 or 528 boards (customer choice), now they have wire links which can be cut and boards installed on either input and/or output. NA526: straight through. NA528: adjustable gain, some roll off. So there is not a lot of truth in what the dealer says, but what I find interesting is that at the start of production of the 52, we had lots of versatility in the choice of input and output boards, we had the changeable labels on the buttons of both the preamp and remote - and yet it seems that none of these things are really used much (looking at sales records and market driven changes to the 52) - am I right? julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: February 11, 1999 02:25 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Yes Vuk, is "non-audio pop-sociology" similar to "psychobabble" of yore? julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: February 11, 1999 02:06 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: simple? As always, if one doesn't know, one doesn't know. It is not the soldering of the socket that requires any special skills (other than soldering), but there are special tools required to remove the knobs - otherwise the pots can get damaged, one needs to be familiar as to where the cover needs to be connected (electrically), and where it mustn't. If you think I am being picky, you should see the wrecked things that arrive at our service dept. julian PS 'retrograde' was a joke - the opposite of upgrade . . . _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: February 10, 1999 11:16 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: what? >>>So why is German distrubuter allowed to do it? He is supplied with kits as he, and his technicians have been to the factory many times for training and product familiarisation. julian PS did you mean the 'retrograde' - if you did, then I would say that there is no accounting for taste. After all we drink flat warm beer here, and in Germany, it is mainly cold and fizzy. _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: February 09, 1999 02:57 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: to Robert on cords >>>>>>>I suspect your view that we can't improve the power coming from the outlet is not true, to the extent that I doubt that the power is free of interferences of various kinds that can't be usefully filtered out. But, as I've said at various junctures during these proceedings, I haven't a technical clue what I'm talking about. Your last sentence is spot on. The first is wrong in our experience, filtering is acomplished only at a price. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: February 09, 1999 02:47 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: wear >>>>>Perhaps Naim could explain why the capacitors do go wrong from time to time, Perhaps you could explain why the tyres wear out on ones car? julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: February 09, 1999 02:40 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: retrograde I am sorry, but in my book, splitting a Nait is not an upgrade. It is much better to buy a NAP90, the kits need to go to trained personel to be fitted. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: February 09, 1999 02:29 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: e,k,s >>>>One suggestion a dealer made recently was to try using 'K' boards. This stuck me as mad as the 10x4 produces 2.0mV and the board has a sensitivity of 0.1mV (or 20 times less). He reckons that this is no problem and overload will not occur. He is wrong. (Is he a Naim dealer?) julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: February 07, 1999 09:45 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Class A, A+, A++? Just to confuse things, in the current issue, Stereophile says that the CD12 is the best thing ever - (Wes Phillips) and in the next issue is a similar review saying that the CDX/XPS is the best thing ever ever -(Michael Fremer). But then there are comments that CD player sales are 'very slow' due to the arrival of 24/96 and DVD which is in direct contrast to our experience of a 25% growth in the last 12 months. - Somebody must be wrong! They haven't had a CDSll yet. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: February 07, 1999 09:29 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: pre-out Jim Try e-mailing Naim for information on availability of the upgrade kit, or would this spoil your fun trying to do the job by trial and error. :) julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: February 06, 1999 11:18 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: worry not. The prefix is only suitable for low output MC cartridges. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: February 05, 1999 03:33 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: from a DBL user >>Don't DBL owners find this sense of wonder time and time again? Yes, the hairs on the back of neck rise each time I go into my music room - Pavlov or what! julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: February 05, 1999 03:40 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: design >>>but can over spec eg. 20000 microF rather than 10000 microF to achieve increased performance We are of the view that 2+2=4, getting 5 is not better, its wrong. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: February 05, 1999 03:18 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: the last word? As a sometime purchaser of expensive toys, I can well appreciate the frustration when one of them does not work as one thinks it should, reading the manual often fixes the problem - but from time to time there are issues that remain unresolved, FAQs are just that 'frequently...', I find that they never answer my question. Eventually I ring the company concerned, fearful of being put in an endless queue, but I am often surprised (maybe I shouldn't be) and delighted when I get to speak to a real person in a reasonable time (less than a minute) who is then able to answer my problem. It seems that as more customers search for anwers on the internet, helplines are less busy. But please keep using e-mail to contact us - we do take pride in giving a speedy service. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: February 05, 1999 02:37 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Lingo again? We have had quite a few calls recently saying that having a Linn CD12 plugged into the mains (same spur?) as the rest of a system on which a CDSll is being compared was clearly audible - adversely. Anybody else noticed this? julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: February 03, 1999 04:54 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: pucks Cliff, if you had simply contacted us describing your problem, you would have got a new puck in the mail. I am well able to 'admit' that not everything that we make is perfect - it isn't, but the first year we made 250s, over 30% of them failed, and to start with all of them failed on test. Now its about 0.2%, better but not perfect. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: February 02, 1999 02:27 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: faults Cliff, No drunks, if people give indications of being drunk on the shop floor, they are given positive advice (which does not involve making things). Every piece of equipment is thoroughly tested and then listened to before dispatch, and everytime a 'new' way is discovered to make something that doesn't work properly, our test procedures are changed to encompass these, but accidents happen and new ways of screwing up seem to be invented on a regular basis. But, as I am sure anyone who has visited our factory will tell you, we do take great care to try and ensure that what we ship works. Sometimes we fail, we're sorry, and we will fix it ASAP or sooner. julian PS As often said in restaurants, "If you're happy, please tell others - If you're not, tell us". It is also the quickest way to get the problem fixed. _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: January 30, 1999 04:05 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: moving sbls This is a copy of a prievious post about SBL aluminium pads. When the speaker is first assembled, the woofer box is pressed onto the spikes to make indentations in the aluminium pads to make it easier to locate the woofer box after the silicone has been applied. The woofer box is then pressed down firmly after the silicone has been applied to ensure that any excess is spread out and is not pushing the woofer box up. After the assembly has been done a number of times, the holes may become enlarged in the spike protectors which in itself doesn't matter as long as the seal is remade, but it is important to check that the foam gasket does not touch the underside of the woofer box when it is placed on the spikes (i.e. there must be a gap for the silicone). If you have any doubts, read the manual or check with your dealer. This is a very important part of the correct operation of the SBL, and if the woofer box is not firmly on the spikes, the sound quality IS SERIOUSLY degraded. I hope this gives you some clues. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: January 30, 1999 03:52 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: lost puck Just a little thought, if one loses the puck from ones CD3 - CDSll, in an emergency (eg silent party) one can take a paper clip and slightly bend it so that when it is put on the platter the tips hold the disc on the platter enabling it to play. julian PS this is just an emergency fix. _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: January 28, 1999 07:06 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: pucks I don't often feel compelled to be abusive - but Trevor YOU ARE WRONG. If we could have done it in any way that was as good music-wise and easier or invisible to use, we would have. In future I suggest that you check your suppositions before talking out of your a***. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: January 28, 1999 06:45 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: mumetal Mumetal is expensive and is used sparingly in places to screen sensitive circuitry. It is also very difficult to use, since if one bends it or makes up boxes from it, it loses its properties and has to be annealed again. You will find it in Naim equipment used as described above - but not as a sales gimmick. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: January 25, 1999 09:47 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Battery speakers I have a pair of Sony, which are entirely satisfactory (for the purpose), they list at about 50GBP. They are quite good on my computer too. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: January 22, 1999 10:48 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Discmen, again Colin, I've tried or listened to thirtysomething of these devices and the Sony D-345 was the only one that made a decent job of Patrick Noland - with its blob-in-the-ear headphones(?). It was so good, I bought a second one to see if it was chance, it wasn't - the second one was just as good. julian So, I would take a cd (and some batteries) into a store which sells the things and listen to them, starting with the cheapest - (The D-345 was the most expensive at the time about £170.) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: January 18, 1999 02:39 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: clean up Maybe if people put their 'clean up' instructions in this thread, then some of us at Naim can start the job - (in unused minutes . . . ) julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: January 16, 1999 04:24 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: theft Sorry to hear about your burglary - just for info, Naim products have their serial numbers secretly inscribed as well as on the back panel - so if, as is usual, the serial numbers are removed from the back by the thieves, we can confirm the original number to the police for identification purposes. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: January 14, 1999 04:19 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: assistance As it says at the header to the conference - e-mail us directly. julian PS I am sitting in a London Hotel filling in time before going to sell Bromptons at the Boat Show - so I am unable to help, not trying to be unhelpful. _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: January 14, 1999 04:13 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Flat stuff Naim sold its first power amp in December 1971 to a Mr G Threader of Green Lanes . . . and at that time I was well aware that the source was the source. In those days I spent most of my time making better recordings using better recording equipment and better musicians. By the time I met Ivor (Tiefenbrun) in 1974, we (at Naim) had well established source first, single speaker dems, and the importance of speaker stands - these ideas were very much in line with Ivor's experience - this was the start of the Linn/Naim common marketing approach. The first 'flat earth' dems were long before Ittoks, Basiks, Kans etc. We used Grace G707/Supex on the TTs and MS Carnivals. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: January 13, 1999 04:59 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: puck Yes, I am reading this thread, but I had hoped someone else would (re)provide the answers. The precision press that assembles the pucks went out of adjustment a while ago, and I think that a few marginal pucks left the factory which may account for some CDX playing problems. But the two main reasons are dirty pucks and slightly raised 'flashing' around the hole in the cd. Putting anything between the puck and the cd will degrade the musical performance - the pressure applied to the cd affects the sound quality to a large degree - the puck is a precision part. If the puck is dirty . . . if the cd has flashing round the central hole, take a hard edge and remove it. I don't have CDX, but following the above on my CD3, CDS or CDSll has never failed, maybe I'm just lucky. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: January 13, 1999 04:36 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: projects Apart from saying that everybody is very busy in R&D, I'm not flying any new kites today. But funny so many posts about fridges, I have recently been designing a fridge/freezer for the Windexpress (yacht) that will store enough 'coolth' to maintain the correct temperature for 24 hours on just one hour of compressor operation - just needs testing now. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: January 13, 1999 02:29 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: age Stephen wrote: "CD3.5, 32.5,Snaps(of such a great vintage,it proberbly was Julians O'level electronics project!!)160 power amp. Advise please... Actually transistors had only just made it onto the market when I did my O levels (in the form of the XB104, the better known OC71s were later) and integrated circuits had not yet been invented - the SNAPS uses two ICs. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: January 13, 1999 02:12 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: WA dealer Last time I was in Perth, Vince Ross Audio World was the Naim dealer - and had been for decades - Vince was always the most helpful of guys, try yellow pages. ( I would look it up for you but I'm at the London Boatshow at present.) julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: January 09, 1999 04:29 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: skin The skin effect is one of the many, many important variables in cable design - and it is not one that has escaped our notice. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: January 09, 1999 04:26 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: DIN Andrej, So sorry, but you are mistaken. The charateristic impedance of a DIN is mostly defined by the spacing between the pin and the surrounding screen of the plug body. (and of course the dielectric constant) julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: January 07, 1999 05:23 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: recommendations Robert wrote "Periodically I switch back to Naim recommended Chord Cobra II, and while everything calms down, . . . , To set the record straight, Naim (the manufacturer) does not recommend other manufacturer's interconnects - Chord or anybody else. . . One of the reasons for this is that although a cable from a particular batch maybe suitable, mostly the variations in other's products do not make them recommendable. Its one of the most variable supplies we have and one of the most difficult to maintain consistancy. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: January 07, 1999 04:56 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: monitors Sometimes we use IBLs, and sometimes we use SBLs in the studio for monitoring - I usually check things again at home (off CD-R) on DBLs. What other monitors are you thinking of? julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: January 07, 1999 03:53 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Monitor? Sorry Mathias, I know nothing of this. Happy new year to you too. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: January 06, 1999 02:02 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: installation etc. ..."the others seemed to believe that I was capable of installing my (admittedly) relatively simple system on my own. This may be the case, but it is contrary to Naim's (signed) dealer franchise agreement and if an unsatisfactory situation arises that is brought to our attention - ie if we have to sort out a system that has not been installed by the dealer, - the dealer could loose his Naim franchise, or he may be surcharged, or required to attend a training session at the factory. These arrangements are in place to try to ensure the our products give satisfaction to the purchasers. Cheapest price is rarely a guarantee best value. julian PS, I'm sure I've said this before somewhere . . . PPS, Good on Grahams. _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: January 05, 1999 02:09 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: pricing As you may have noticed, the UK is not giving up the £stg just yet, neither are the French giving up french and Naim is not giving up our hard built up network of European distributors, Euro or no Euro. In spite of the all the media attention on the Euro, I feel that it going to be VERY difficult for this EMU to succeed in the medium/long term unless most of the peoples that comprise Europe change their spots. Put very simply, currency variations between countries have been determined by markets in response (mostly) to the state of (financial) play between those countries - this is, in electronic terms, a 'negative feedback situation' and generally will be long term stable, - If the market driven variations are removed, bureaucratically determined tinkering will be required to cater for these cyclic movements and these will probably be politically driven, I don't think I need say any more. The Naim franchise agreement requires that the dealer installs the equipment in the customer's home (or at the very least is responsible for its satisfactory installation), so even if it were cheaper in the shop in one part of Euroland, you may very well find that the installation charges make the system more expensive than going to your nearest dealer. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: January 04, 1999 02:29 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: Naim r&d There are many companies that use Naim equipment as part of their development programmes - this does not mean that we have any input at all to the products so described. Sorry we can't help from a position of knowledge, and I not going to try and guess, sorry. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: January 04, 1999 01:40 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: techs Joe wrote "Either way, have NANA service the 250, not the local technician, unless this person is particularly competent." Competance is not the whole issue here, Naim trained is. Our products are not particularly difficult to service, but it is vital for the tech to be familiar with the rather unusual things that are special in the designs. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: January 03, 1999 10:06 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: 12ft Sorry for being pedantic but 12 feet converts to 3.648 metres. 3.5m is our suggested minimum, about 11ft 7in. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: January 03, 1999 05:37 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Aluminium Allan wrote "Regarding material chosen for construction of case-work, this is described as 'non-magnetic extruded aluminium'. Perhaps someone (from Naim) could comment on the significance of the 'non-magnetic' bit." Simply, aluminium is non-magnetic. The use of magnetic materials distort the fields surrounding (particularly) transformers - this alters the current waveforms and therefore the sound. To quote "Every little helps". Happy New Year everyone. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: December 29, 1998 03:14 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: on . . . off . . . on Mark, sorry I know nothing of this. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: December 28, 1998 05:30 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: CDSll Chris, the CDSll sounds amazing out of the box, after an hour, it sounds softer, easier, more together and then just goes on getting better (for a few days anyway) - if this is not the case, something is wrong with it, or the system (or setup) - please contact your dealer, that is what he is there for. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: December 21, 1998 02:18 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: P3 For me, the only way the P3 cuts it, is with the Aro and the NAP3PS to power the motor drive circuit. I have listened to most of the other combinations, including their selection of cartridges - disappointing. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: December 20, 1998 02:25 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: links All, it's the embedded stuff we would like to steer clear of, please. We had quite a problem with embedded things in the early days of the site. If we ever have a full time site maintenance person, we may well be able to be more flexible, but for the moment I guess we will have to be more explicit in the Intro. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: December 20, 1998 05:50 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: sales Vuk, it's the weekend, and anyway it's a request from a guy in a country which has the most severe non-tariff barriers and yet exports stuff all over the world. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: December 15, 1998 02:58 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: history on site There are some bits on site already, also Peter Sutheim's and Malcolm Steward's interviews. A few years ago there was a piece in the Gramaphone, if we can find it I will try to get it as a pdf download, meanwhile we are in the process of setting up a download area for manuals and I will try to include other pieces of interest. Watch The News. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: December 15, 1998 02:26 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: spl prefix Sorry, but there are no plans to change the prefix at all, just fix it to the underside of your turntable as close to the cable outlet as possible. If the prefix was in a stand-alone case, it would not be so easy to have a very short input cable - one of the most important features. In spite of the huge number of words posted to the forum concerning vinyl issues, our total sales of all vinyl related components is about 1% of our total sales and declining, while we realise the importance of these few components to the customers who purchase them, the revenue does not allow us to spend anything much on development, it is just about sufficient to maintain our ability to keep them in our product line - and this is much harder to do than to say. julian PS I have a prefix, and I don't have an LP12 - truly this is a non issue. _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: December 10, 1998 06:02 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: No idea Sorry, I have no idea, I rather lost interest in the LP12 when I found a turntable that didn't need a tune up every week. I don't think that you're right about the date of the Valhalla, I seem to remember that I had one a couple of years earlier, but they were hiliariously unreliable - about 1 in 3 failed - originally Ivor said that he wanted to have one model of LP12 for both UK & US markets, since at that time we both knew that an armageddon style of supply was much superior, that probably was the reason for its appearance. The LK1 & 2 appeared as prototypes in the summer of 1985 and made it to market in a somewhat catastrophic manner later that year. The first 600 (or so) LK2s failed. They may have made their electronics more reliable since then but I hear that one still has to get one's modern LP12 fixed (tuned) rather often if one wishes to maintain performance. Most of the people who worked at Linn during the period which the close working relationship thrived have left Linn and we (at Naim) still are very much 'in touch' with them. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: December 10, 1998 02:38 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: phase To find out about the phase of your bass drive units, put the preamp into mono (important) then try one cable one way then the same cable the other - the low frequencies should be apparent and centered (listening equidistant from the speakers), with the connection the correct way round, and the bass will be much less and indistinct when the connection is wrong. If the bass disappears when you switch to mono, then the recording engineer got it wrong(ish). One of the worst sounding problems with the SBLs is when the bas/mid driver box is not sitting on its spikes properly, please contact your dealer or us for more info. I think I may have covered this in detail in the forum before, try search. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: December 09, 1998 05:11 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: valhalla death This used to be a common feature of the board, my preference, in default of an Armageddon, is for the original capacitor divider/phase adjuster fitted prior to the Valhalla. I found that the Nirvana mods were the ones that really made the difference at that time. Gimbelled Arms have bearings that can (and do) wear out and/or can get brinelled (flat spots) which rather spoil their performance. (this includes Ekos & Ittock). julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: December 07, 1998 02:46 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Oz It must be something in the beer or electricity supply in Australia. Our total sales there are quite a lot less than an average UK dealer, I can't believe that the makeup of the australian hi-fi purchaser is so different from elsewhere in the world. Any views? julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: December 07, 1998 02:36 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: picky The information I posted concerning Rogers is (to the best of my knowledge) correct. The fact that 'Rogers' named products are available from HK does not affect the sad demise of British made Rogers. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: December 07, 1998 02:28 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: another minor point And the ESL63s aren't a patch on the 57s. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: December 06, 1998 06:41 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Disagree As an owner of P3s (both Planar & Phonosophie) and CDS (both l & ll) I feel that you may well have been unlucky in environments that you made your comparisons. In musical terms, I find the CDS and the Ph.3 pretty much indistinguishable, both someway ahead of the Pl.3 and the CDSll better than all three. I wish the CDSll had only cost us $20,000 AUS! Just in case you were thinking 'well, he would say that wouldn't he', I would say that there are a lot of people who have chosen to spend their hard earned cash on high performing & expensive CD players (both Naim and others), but judging from the posts to this forum, not many in Oz. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: December 01, 1998 04:17 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: shut down Some of the Shahinian speakers have an impedance that falls to 0.9 Ohm at 13kHz (if my memory serves) if not, it was very low anyway. This is sufficiently low to trip the power supplies in the 250 and 135 when playing Techno and other music with high levels of high frequencies, we spent some while (10 or so years ago) to help Dick (Shaninian) to fix this, but he didn't much care for the sonic result, so they still do this so far as I know. When I designed the amps, 8 Ohms was the norm, 4 Ohms was an occasional thing, the idea of less than this bought severe approbation from the technical reviewers and so I didn't think to design for a continuous 'short circuit'. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: December 01, 1998 04:03 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: master tape Just a quicky, the master tapes in question were the Gary Boyle 15ips 2 track master played on a Studer, and more recently, the Union 7.5ips 2 track played on the Nagra 4S that it had been recorded on. On another subject, with an analogue system, signal correlated sounds below the level of system noise can be readily be heard probably 20dB into the noise, this is known as the 'cocktail party effect' when it happens in real life. (ie not recorded). If one considers that the ones & zeros that comprise the music are the whole story, one would be mistaken, the contribution of 'noise' (dither) and its management in the system is a vital ingredient in the success of the reconstruction of the signal. There are so many issues that come around to something that has been discussed before - I am trying not to repeat myself. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: November 29, 1998 04:51 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: Opinions > I have not yet encountered a CD setup based on > the current red book standard that comes > close to a top flight analog system. > > Julian Vereker is a manufacturer of digital gear, He is > not totally objective. Remember his opinions > are not the gospel where LP (analog) playack is > concerned. > > George George, you may, of course, post your own opinions in this forum - but I would be grateful if you leave mine to me. Thanks julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: November 27, 1998 02:33 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: CDSll CDSll exceeds the performance of the CDS in every technical area, partly due to the fact that we had the designs of several more CD players under our belt (and redesigns), so our skills have improved somewhat. Some of the improvements come from outside suppliers of silicon (Burr-Brown, Pacific Microsonics . . .) but these have alternatives, the main things that we have done in the CDSll fall into two catagories: 1) a jitter reducing circuit configuration & 2) a very refined discrete op amp, which offers all the advantages of a chip but with the control over operating parameters to suit our application. Some performance advantages are gained by controlling the player with our own software, but the immediately obvious features are ergonomic - quick track access, better track programming etc. The CDS was a time controlled project - we wanted to have it on the market as soon as possible after we found out how to make an acceptable player - this took about 12 weeks. This time we had to struggle with the less good signal to noise output from the current generation of mechanisms and a host of control and supply issues, but we took the time required to get the results, hence the gap of a year between the CDS and the CDSll (not very sensible commercially). We are now up to speed on production of CDSll, with 100 players a month coming out of the factory to try and satisfy the back orders. The CDS and CDSll are really the same family and although every single bit (almost) is different, the style of the product remains the same, which is much like the 52. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: November 27, 1998 01:23 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: mains There should be no problem with power cuts and from early days Naim was designed to handle quite large mains overvoltages. - (to cope with W Australian mains which can go as high as 265V). I live in a little village which has had over 30 power cuts this year - none of my Naim equipment has suffered. Finally this summer the village has been rewired with insulated cables and this seems to have fixed the problem. julian PS Don't you have insurance on your hi-fi? _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: November 26, 1998 05:06 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: Flashy thing The Flashy thing is a multi device IR controller (at least 4 anyway)- It should hit the streets before Christmas programmed (initally) to control naim CD players and pre-amps. It will come as part of the CDSll pack, but will be available separately as soon the early CDSll customers have had theirs. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: November 26, 1998 04:59 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: Rogers Sadly, Rogers went into administration (or liquidation) a week or so ago. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: November 25, 1998 03:07 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: "to quote", dave . . . >>>>>I guess I'm a bit skeptical about a few things concerning vinyl. First of all, it was Julian who remarked that vinyl is somewhat colored and doesn't really sound like the master tape. If this is so, then perhaps all along vinyl has been giving us . . . . . But the one thing that vinyl does do is that most of the distortions are harmonically related to the music unlike the things that go wrong with digital. These things are sent to try us, but I do wish 'people' (the media) would stop saying that since its digital its perfect. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: November 25, 1998 02:42 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: cds Pete The CDS used the CDM4 mech which has a better signal to noise than the VAM1205 used in the CDSll (as discussed in posts gone by). So I would guess that the CDS is OK for this use - in any event there aren't any spare CDSlls to hack about at present, they are all going out to our dealers as fast as we can make them. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: November 24, 1998 03:42 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: watts I can't quite understand what all the fuss is about. The difference between a 30W and a 50W amp (all other things being equal) is trivial, the maximum output voltage goes up from 15.5 to 20V which is less than a 3dB increase - TRIVIAL. But all things are not usually equal - A more powerful amp is usually more expensive with consequently larger, more competant parts within. If you really want a Naim 50W integrated - try blutaking a 102 & a 180 together. You may raise the issue of price, Exposure has just been taken over - I believe one of the reasons given was that it didn't have enough resources to invest in product development (ie didn't have enough money). I would suggest that if you charge less for the products you sell, then it is unlikely that you will have money to invest in the company's future. You have also said that we are not always right, we would be the first to agree that we make mistakes and are mistaken about certain things, however Naim is still (after 25years) under its original ownership, has the largest slice of the UK hi-fi separates market (GFK data), sells several million (US) dollars worth of equipment in the US and we are profitable - this is a unique collection of attributes, so I feel that we get more right than the others. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: November 24, 1998 03:07 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: exceptions Peter, there are other exceptions, one of the early Mary Black albums was recorded on DAT, but the difference between the original recording and the master tape (the mix) is often huge and any simple recording carefully mastered is likely to be better than many of the run of the mill multi-track mixdowns. This doesn't alter my experience or view that the format, as currently implimented, is flawed. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: November 24, 1998 02:19 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: recording From the perspective of a person who is involved in a record label on a daily basis, DAT from the production point of view is useless. We have heard a large number of 'possibly' good performances on DAT that are too poor to issue when listened to on a half decent monitoring system. One of the surprises is how many people in the business use DAT even for mixing down to, thereby commiting the whole work to this medium with no digital or analogue backup, which usually means a lot of wasted effort. Less noise means better music - not! julian PS A Nagra 4S is one of the really good recording machines, Mics - choices abound, but for most classical things, a pair of Cardioids for modern variations of the 'crossed pair' are a good start. _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: November 23, 1998 03:06 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: Source 1st >>>From what you say I understand that you think that the CDS is better than the CDX/XPS, but that the CDX/XPS may be the best long term investment. Now I am totally bewildered, hell, what shall I do? This will be my last big spend in ages. (girlfriend/new house etc). No, that is not what I was suggesting at all. I was merely trying to suggest a course of action that was tryable at your dealer, to enable you to test the idea that the source was the most influential item. If you find it so - then buy the CDSll, if not then the original CDS (2nd hand) will suffice. My own experience is that the CDSll is such an advance and has such an impact on the quality of the reproduced music, one has to have it in the system if one can afford it - and you can! julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: May 26, 1998 03:14 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: julian's systems Sorry to take so long to post, but I've been away in France and the new local call service for Compuserve doesn't work - eventually I got a special phone number which is apparently a local call from anywhere in the world! Anyway, my systems which I have listed in other places, so none of this is a revelation. Music room: Phonosophie P3/Naim PST/ARO/FR1 mkll/Prefix, CDSll, NAT 01, Chilton 100s tape recorder, Philips LaserDisc, Panasonic S-Vhs HI-FI vcr, Creative Labs DVD in Fujitsu Pll333 PC, & Sony Walkman Pro. Then 52, SuperCap, AV1 (nap140 & IBLs) SNAXO/supercap, NAP500 x 3 and Ebono DBLs. Epson video projector. (13ftx27ftx7ft6") Office (at home) Nat02 Nait 2 IBLs. Office (at Naim) CDS, NAT301, 52, naxo/hicap 2x 250(1974 vintage), IBLs Garden room (home) cd3/nat03/nait3r/ibls. TV room (home) Grundig monolith(broken)/Panasonic S-Vhs/satellite, 82/psc/hicap, naxo/hicap 2x250 SBLs. Barn (home - for parties & BBQs) ?/mixer/2x 135s/ Martin VRS800 (PA speakers) Windex 92 (30ft Yacht) Sony car cd/radio with tape input for Walkman Pro & protoype ADS aluminium speakers. Jaguar (car) Alpine standard fitment with Sony D-345 cd player. Distributed around the place: about 1000 LPs, 2000 CDs, 65 (mostly unique) cassettes and 30 (odd) original recordings that I made in the 60's. julian Updated 22-Oct-99 (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=10853) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: November 23, 1998 11:18 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: CDSll Mark, since you ask, I would suggest that you listen to the CDSll compared to the CDX. If you find that the CDSll is a huge step forward, then you might find that the most satisfying system is split in a rather unequal way with nearly 6K spent at the front. You need to try it yourself, but the CDSll is at the begining of its life and although I find the original CDS better than the CDX/XPS combo it is still nearly half the money (of the CDSll) and when it needs a service it could cost quite a bit. You are not in the position of just buying a piece of equipment at a time - you can afford the CDSll, it's just that you need to cut down on the rest. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: November 23, 1998 11:02 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: yes & no Yes, I did choose my words with some care - eg there are very good technical reasons why the SuperNait is not a goer, but the limitations on making a bigger (& better) power amp than the 135 are component limitations and may one day be sorted. And now back to my DVD investigations! :) julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: November 23, 1998 02:04 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: jitter Sorry John, I don't in general read the mags (except where the sales people put an article in front of me for comment) so I am not really familiar with how Paul Miller presents his figures in them. Paul's system displays a series of peaks on the screen which represent the different frequencies of jitter and their amplitudes which makes for a very useful analylical tool, what I was describing was the peak value of all the jitters. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: November 22, 1998 09:20 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: snait/ibl The SuperNait has been discussed many times over, and it is not (in our view) a reasonable proposition to make a higher output amp in the same box as the preamp and achieve a better musical performance. I was in a dealer's a week or so ago and they had a pair of s/h IBLs, and they said they get them in every so often in part-ex for SBLs. IBLs are not forgiving of poor set up and not for bass enthusiasts, but otherwise have a thrilling precision only bettered by the DBLs. (just my opinion). julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: November 22, 1998 03:55 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: small correction > The effect is very easily demonstrated with the 250 and 135. > The amplifier circuits are the same. The power > supply section of the 250 has one regulator > circuit to drive both channels. The 135 has the > same regulator circuit driving just one channel > so no cross channel interference and more oomph > available. So the 250 is like when I turn on the > cold tap in the bedroom basin whilst my wife is > in the shower - the cold water pressure drops in > the bathroom and she gets burned (and I get > hit!). The 250 has 4 regulators (2 positive, 2 negative), the 135 has 2. So the effect Jo describes is due to the sharing of the transformer and filter caps. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: November 21, 1998 11:01 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: bigger amps Hugo Sorry not true - we haven't made a larger amp than the 135 because we couldn't make it better as well. But that doesn't mean that we won't stop trying. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: November 20, 1998 07:43 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: I don't know >>BTW: How do these audiophile >>people manage to sterilize >>the music so effectively? I suppose it could be done the same way as one does it to milk before giving it to one's baby. julian PS Really, I don't know, but it was a feature of the first digital recordings that came onto the market in the late '70s. _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: November 21, 1998 04:23 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: jitter Kevin This is actually a little bit more complex than it first appears. When we started our research ('88-'89) into digital reproduction, one of our early bits of 'thought engineering' was that 'time was of the essence'. This was some time before 'jitter' had entered the CD vocabulary. In the design of the CDS one our our aims was to get jitter down to sub nanosecond level, which was achieved. In order to do this we had to have methods of measuring jitter, which due to the difficulties, had to be a derived measurement (or sideways looks). It was not till some years later that Paul Miller designed his excellent software driven measuring system and commented to us that our players all had surprisingly low jitter. We examined his system and purchased it, it is a very useful tool, providing powerful analysis of various souces of jitter causing noise. Time moves on however, and we now have other tools that enable us to 'look' at the jitter on a music signal, and this indicates that the jitter for the CDSll is less than 10 picoseconds. This is confirmed by listening tests but not by measurements on Paul Miller's test system. Roy George (Naim's head of R&D) has been in conversation with Paul Miller concerning the equations used in the analysis - there is no outcome yet, but one should remember that a software test system is only as accurate as the software (as well as the hardware) whereas a hardware system only has hardware. We do tend to trust our ears, and if we can hear something of relevance, we assume that we should look further into the measuring system, rather than assume that we are deaf. It is worth remembering that these are very very short periods of time we are talking about. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: November 20, 1998 03:13 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: more watts More on watts: What I said was that the average level of power required for (normal) listening levels at home is about 1 or 2 watts - BUT, the the peak to average voltage is typically of the order of 17dB (if my memory serves) and this implies for an average level of one watt the peak power would need to be about 50 watts. There are many other considerations: the way in which an amplifier clips - does it run into problems before clip? - how does it recover from clip or overload, how long does it take to recover? how sensitive is the amplifier (or its power supply) to the impedance of the speakers. One can go on for a long, long time on such subjects. It is not, however, just a question of watts - they may be useful to describe the heating effect of an electric heater but not much use to descibe the performance of an audio power amp. On a related issue, the ESL57s have a rather extreme variation of load impedance, and therefore the sound quality from them improves very markedly with amps that are less sensitive to this. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: November 20, 1998 03:23 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: JVC XRCD I have some of these CDs given to me by a friend of the guy who was responsible for making them. And I agree that they are dynamic and clear, but they give me the impression that the 'music' has been treated with antiseptic and there is not a trace of life left on them. A shame really, rather like frozen chicken. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: November 18, 1998 01:17 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: DVD nonsense The region stuff built into DVD players is in my view a complete nonsense costing (mostly Hollywood) billions of Dollars in lost sales. It was a lost opportunity to standardise the format. However most DVD players are fixable to get round this limitation - try a Yahoo! search for DVD, Regions - there are many companies offering a variety of fixes. Since Region 1 DVDs are available from a multitude of Web based companies, maybe this restriction will fade (some hope). julian PS I would suggest that one could get similar (or better) performance to the Mm player at less than half the price but plus the cost of the region fix. _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: November 17, 1998 03:28 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: FL1 You could try search for 'FL1' for a little history on these speakers. They had electrostatic bass & mid with a ribbon (not horn) tweeter. They did everything well! julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: November 17, 1998 03:15 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: CDSll Mathias Roy and his team have, in my view, taken the CDSll into quite new territory, some long way beyond the original CDS. I hope you get a chance to listen to some music played on one soon. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: November 17, 1998 02:53 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: same The 135 is pretty much unchanged since its launch in 1984, but the 250 was changed in its construction method in 1980, the circuit diagram of both are unchanged. I would suspect that any new vinyl related products from our design department will be spin offs from other work rather than a new instigation. It is probably dissapointing for vinyl-heads to read, but vinyl (solely) related products represent a very small part of our sales. Our R & D have been (and) are frantically busy with the CDS II, flash, NBL and all usual stuff of new interconnects, suppliers etc, but in spite of all this, I hope we will be able to offer a surprise or two at Bristol (feb 99). julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: November 15, 1998 03:15 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Power This is a can of worms. Power handling of a speaker is its ability to dissipate this amount of power (in heat & sound) mostly it will be heat since speakers tend only to be a few bits of a percent efficient. Music programme is just that, it is the rating while the speaker is playing music not sine waves, ie not a continuous tone. Since the average power required to drive speakers at reasonable (home) levels is 1 or 2 watts, power in itself is not usually the problem. The ability to handle complex loads is an issue. However mostly a better amp will sound better unless the system is limited by the abilities of the speaker - not generally the case with SBLs. The worms say that speaker power ratings are a non-issue in the Naim universe. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: November 14, 1998 01:02 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: lingo Ron Try search 'words and text' lingo (hi-fi chat forum) and 'author' julian vereker There are problems, but they are covered in the posts. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: November 12, 1998 03:50 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: light The Armageddon never had a light since there is no low voltage supply in it. But for some while the fascia has a bright green ink behind the logo to try to 'fool some of the people some of the time'. :) julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: November 09, 1998 05:36 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: finishes Peter Thanks for your input, I hope we will get these things fixed in the near future. Funnily enough I have just come from a meeting where I raised your point about different finishes not being shown - hopefully that will be fixed soon too. Part of the reason for the revamp is to introduce a few other services such as download of manuals (PDFs), factory visit, inside equipment, (at last) soldering speaker connectors, and of course new products - FLASH is in hand. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: November 09, 1998 05:26 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: sorry Sorry Joel, sorry Jawed. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: November 08, 1998 03:42 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: ebony Ebony is Ebony and Piano is Piano the two are quite different. Ebony is one of the standard wood veneer finishes on the Credo, and Piano is a polyester hi-build coating that is then polished. I have had Black Ash, Piano and now Ebony DBLs at home for some period of time, the Piano were the most expensive and sounded a bit slower than the others. The Ebony are from our new supplier as a try out and look and sound fine. The difference was slight, and Piano looked great. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: November 08, 1998 05:33 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: stands Vuk Stands are such a personal thing and also house/appartment construction dependant that we have always (at least since the mid '70s when were trying to make the Isobariks work) left that to other (local) companies to satisfy the market. I think that the original CDS is more comparable to analogue if that is what you want, the CDSII does both. Is there a planned launch of the CDSII in your locale? julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: November 05, 1998 06:03 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: a day later . . Hi Jeff, Have just returned from a second night of partying, same place, different team. I spent the rest of my time in London visiting dealers, and I suggested to them that they might use their web site as a good place for them list second hand equipment, one, Thomas Heinitz, said that they would put that in action from the opening of their site - next week, I believe. Very much enjoyed talking to you, good party. julian PS, I'm not a fan of the large Epos' either. _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: November 03, 1998 01:34 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: New cheap CDR machines The limitation only applies to the new cheap domestic CDR machines, not to computer based or pro recorders. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: November 02, 1998 10:41 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: silver or not This performance variation only applies to CDRs not to the sort that you buy with music on. There has been a long running argument concerning 'home taping is killing music' - well it's not dead yet. But the argument that a digital copy is perfect (rubbish) and therefore there needed to be some means of stopping multiple digital copies has surfaced again - the recorders will only copy one generation and one has to pay for the pleasure (unlike with tape, but they nearly got us there in earlier times) and so Graham, you are caught in the backwash, and having to pay - life is so unfair. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: November 02, 1998 10:21 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: visitors The hits seem to stay at about 50,000 per month - they show quite large variations during the week, the biggest day is Tuesday. When visiting dealers to give a talk or something, I find that the visitor/contributor ratio is about 10 to 1 in the audience . . . Don't be shy - please post. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: November 02, 1998 10:10 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: CDR The best sounding discs are the green 63 minute ones, then green 74 minute then (probably) gold, silver, blue. The consumer audio ones have marker to show that some mechanical copyright monies have been paid (into a general fund). As regards digital out - this has been done to death in the forum, try search 'digital' and me as author. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: November 01, 1998 10:12 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: expertise Tuan Nguyen said > Yes, we all want Naim Audio makes decent remote > controls for their CD players starting with the > CD3 (its remote control looks and feels cheap). > However, not for 600 US$. If Naim Audio has > difficulty of selling this design to this > audience (Naim fanatics) I personnaly think that > Naim Audio will have a lot of difficulty selling > it to the "normal" people. If it costs so much to > design it as Julian said it may be because Naim > doesn't have people to do the right job at the > allowable time frame. Development of expertise in > house is essential, it just too bad that they > dumb the huge total cost on potential buyers. Actually you are right & wrong: We don't have specialist design skills inhouse of the sort that are required for this sort of product, so we employed the best design house that we could find and they have an enviable record of world class designs to their name. They did all the specialised design for the case mouldings, buttons and button matt - We have done all the electronic design and the software writing. We have tried to get the best people together to make a suitable accessory for the best CD player (and the best pre-amp), would you really want us to do otherwise? julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: November 01, 1998 05:11 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: worthwhile That's why we programmed the feature in. julian -By design, not chance. _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: November 01, 1998 04:59 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Thanks Paul Thanks Paul, but I've got Ebony DBLs now, and I do prefer them. I seem to remember one of our female dealers pressured you into 'finding' a pair of rosewood SBLs all those years ago - correct? julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: November 01, 1998 04:53 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Dan's Krell Krell may carry a lot of weight in the US, but over here it's just heavy. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: October 31, 1998 05:33 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: hdcd Damian, I am sure I did mention our hdcd tryout, the outcome of which was that while hdcd may well be fine (their filter is excellent), the quality of the master is actually determined by the quality of the ADC and ours is better than theirs. This may be due in part that it is more difficult to make a good 24bit ADC than a good 16bit one (potentially more than 200 times larger dynamic range to screw up). julian PS try search for: hdcd & author: julian vereker _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: October 30, 1998 04:55 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: music first I have to say I'm with the those who have commented "what's a remote to do with musical enjoyment", but we have had a large number of existing customers request that we make 'Naim' remote of a suitable quality (not a badged job) to control both their 52s and their CDSs. We have taken this request seriously and I hope that those who took the trouble to write and phone us will enjoy the result. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: October 30, 1998 04:23 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: rosewood sbls Yes I had a pair at home - looked great - but Paul sold them, and I don't know who has them now. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: October 29, 1998 09:58 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: price, features I can't tell you the exact price in USD but 600 sounds about right. Flash will come with the CDSII, but it will be available as a separate item for those who want. Vuk, it seems that you have something that suits you (and your pocket) so you wont need one of ours, will you :) We purposely did not engineer in 'learn' facilities since our market research indicated that the majority of our customers couldn't be bothered with 'fiddly' stuff like that and the minority who were interested in those sorts of gizmos already had a learning remote. On talking to various players in the field, we understood that there was a considerable 'support issue' with learning remotes and we don't have the resources to address that one. As I said before - we write the code for Flash, and it will be updateable as new products become available. And just in case you are thinking that we might be profiteering with Flash, I would draw your attention to the fact that it has cost about $100,000 USD to design, develop and tool (with most of the money going on tooling) and we do have to amortise this somehow (somewhere). Vuk, most of the above is for other visitors, since I know you are happy with your choice. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: October 29, 1998 09:14 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: plugs We spent some considerable time and money to find the best plug for our systems - one of the many important issues was the plating of the base metal, so far as I know, nobody else uses the same materials as those that we do. We get very funny looks when we order these sorts of things from new suppliers - they say "but nobody does it that way . . ." Well, we do. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: October 28, 1998 03:54 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: NACA5 Ravvie Always use Naim loudspeaker cable with Naim Amps whatever anybody says. Try search on the subject - it really is very important if you want the system to work and go on working. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: October 28, 1998 03:49 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: NACA5 BEND THE CABLE! It won't break, and the Nait sockets are robust and firmly fixed to the printed circuit board. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: October 28, 1998 03:40 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: info We wrote about this in most our brochures for most of the last 20 years - I will try to find what we said last time and put it here in the next day or so. It's what we call 'fault masking' julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: October 28, 1998 11:16 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: as before Mathias, Nothing has changed since I posted in "systems analysis" except the CDSII. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: October 28, 1998 02:08 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: NACA5 Be brave, BEND IT! julian PS It won't break. _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: October 28, 1998 01:50 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: yes Hello Vuk, I am here, I haven't deserted the forum - even though I have so many things to listen to on my CDS ll. regards julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: October 28, 1998 01:43 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: cheap 5.1 Yes, Alan, stick with stereo. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: October 27, 1998 10:43 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: DAB I couldn't find a reference in the search to indicate that we have had an antenna put up on the factory to get the DA Broadcasts, anyway we have. And we have a development DAB receiver, which sounds pretty poor. Please try search on 'dab, lossy' and author 'julian vereker' for quite a bit more relevant opinion that might help put this in context. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: October 27, 1998 10:24 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: 2nd hand Mathias If you read Michael's first post, you will see that he says that he bought most of the system 2nd hand - in this instance our dealers will usually be delighted to set the system up, but they will of course charge for their time. I don't think a bottle of wine will suffice, but it might be a delightful adjunct. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: October 26, 1998 02:04 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: SBLs SBLs should be sited, leveled, and then assembled - it is VERY unlikely that they will work properly if moved AT ALL after assembly. Try search, and/or try a Naim Dealer. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: October 25, 1998 05:18 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Malcolm Malcolm's name is Steward and he is alive and well editing The British Audio Journal - a trade news magazine. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: October 24, 1998 05:22 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: CD display OK, I have checked how the software is designed to work. It was thought that if the player output was muted by the 'P code' it was fine to turn the display on, the 'P code' is the encoding of a silence usually between tracks and is part of the Red Book standard. This means that if the CD is mastered strictly according to Red Book, there will be a complete silence between tracks for at least 2 seconds and our players will display the track number for at least 2 seconds. (i.e. A feature) However, I personally hate to have a complete silence between tracks, mostly because on a system that is played loud (mine), the difference between the background tape noise and digital silence is very audible and I find this distracting, so Naim CDs don't have silence between tracks, and I suspect that others don't either. So that's why sometimes you get a number and sometimes not. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: October 22, 1998 10:52 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: upgrade Jawed, Don't worry, if you come straight here, no problem - no changes. But I wanted it to be easier to navigate from the forum if one wanted to look at other info on the site without loosing one's place - for example checking on a FAQ. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: October 22, 1998 02:54 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Java There will be a choice at entry, OK? julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: October 22, 1998 02:45 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: another world When we were launching the Intro & Credo, our sales team gathered a selection of other speakers that were on the market to listen to. I put Patrick Noland on while listening to a system with the Kelidhs on the end - THE PIANO SOUNDED BADLY OUT OF TUNE - how could this be, I tried another disc - where I had been at the recording and knew the piano was spot on, it also sounded out of tune. So we changed the speakers, and found that this is one of the most common failings in other people's speakers - most don't really do pianos! So "blowing away" must involve something other than playing music. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: October 22, 1998 02:27 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: CDS ll The CDS ll is already creeping out of the factory, at present to the various launchings around the world. Production is ramping up, with quantities starting to be shipped the first week in November. A few issues have needed addressing following the pre-production run, but none that will cause a hold up. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: October 21, 1998 02:23 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: AV1 The Nait would need to have the pre-amp external power socket fitted and a *CAP used to get the signals out after the volume control. This gets the best results for both music and film, other decoders tend to get connected in the tape loop, but these adversely affect the sound quality to the front speakers when it is in use. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: October 21, 1998 02:06 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Check Have I got this right - with the display set to 'off', track numbers sometimes flash up but most times don't? Sounds like software - I will check with Simon. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: October 21, 1998 02:01 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Flash Please see my post in "What Next" julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: October 21, 1998 01:55 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Aro As with most things, for some reason or another, people prefer to believe what is written in magazines by 'independant' persons rather than the people who are actually responsible to you (the customer). The only crucial setup point is the tracking force, and this is really an 'final adjust on listen' job. Very small changes in the tracking force affect the VTA more than quite large changes the pillar height (simple geometry) and the maximum anti-skating contributes less than 10% of the force on the stylus, so any change in anti-skating will not have a radical effect. There is no substitute for final adjustments to the setup being made by listening. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: October 20, 1998 03:05 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: Yes I'm sure we put this info somewhere . . . NAC 52 - Naim Audio Control (model No) 5 2 (channel) NAP 250 Naim Audio Power (125 watts + 125 watts into 4Ohms continuous) = 250 etc. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: October 20, 1998 05:45 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Yes Yes, maybe more than one. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: October 20, 1998 01:12 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: BNCs Joe, BNCs are available to suit several different sizes of cable - the ones that come from Naim sources suit Naim arm cable, but others are available, stick out for the right thing. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: October 18, 1998 03:13 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: Flash Flash will only be shipped with the CDSll, but will be available as a separate component to control all the (remote) preamps and CD players. Otherwise we will continue to ship the existing remotes. We have parts to fix the older (made inhouse) remotes. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: October 17, 1998 07:56 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Flash Flash of IR controls remotely! Flash will come programmed by us to control, initially, Naim pre-amps and cd players, but there are two more buttons for future use. This is not a user programmable device, but we will be able to update the software as the future unfolds. Java etc: We have all sorts of systems at Naim (Solaris on Sun, NT on PCs, W95, W98, TSX32, DOS and even 3.11) none, in my view are perfect, in fact none are even excellent - arguments concerning merits of the various choices is a bit like discussing the qualities of a punctured tyre - however much fun they are before the crash (puncture). Many of the other sites I visit have all sorts of new toys to make them more fun and I had thought some of these things were appropriate for our site but after the firewall comments we will endeavor to provide a HTML only navigation as well as the pretty java stuff. One of the reasons I wanted to change the site navigation is that quite a few of the questions raised in the forum are answered elsewhere on the site and I felt it easier if one could flick about without leaving the forum. We had hoped to have the revamp ready before the show season so as to compliment them and provide info and pics of the new things. Ah well. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: October 16, 1998 02:04 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: site etc Read my (lips or words) - the NBL has not yet been signed off for manufacture, so it may be out of the bag but there is lots of work yet to do. We have been testing the site revamp (which has pics etc of the NBL) - you will need to be java equiped to utilise all the new navigation stuff. Do we need to leave a non-java site in place or have all of you kept up with the technology? In any event before the NBL hit the streets, FLASH, the new remote, will be out there. James - THERE WILL BE NO TURNTABLE. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: October 13, 1998 03:30 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: dampers Actually we stick those sort of things on the inside of all our speaker cabinets - looks better, and works just as well as on the outside. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: October 13, 1998 02:56 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: Quoting Tony . . . "...the legendary jazz bassist Charlie Hayden, who suffers very badly with tinnitus, and also finds volume profoundly painful. He certainly gave the impression that he is able to hear well enough to enjoy both live and recorded music. He also has a Naim system (possibly a free one, as he records for the label!)." Charlie had his Naim system some years before the Naim Label came into existance. - julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: October 13, 1998 02:40 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: So sorry George I can't help, we have never looked at proacs with a view to activation. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: September 26, 1998 02:01 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: linn linn did it back to front (or front to back). To quote myself "NBL has bass drivers back to back". The DBL will produce 8Hz at 96dB at less than 1% distortion, I don't suppose the NBL will be quite as good. julian (now on holiday for two weeks). PS I have to say that I am delighted by the standard of posts by way of advice from our customers to our customers and some of the show comments were a great read - thanks to all you contributors. _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: September 26, 1998 05:45 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: not quite The lid is different, and there are other slight changes to the fascia. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: September 26, 1998 05:19 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: NBL I am sure that we will put pics & specs on the site soon. We are in the middle of a major site revamp - new pics, new navigation, new products. The NBL has not yet been signed off for manufacture, but as those who visited Hi-fi '98 or Live '98 in London should be able to tell you, it is a three way floor standing speaker comprising three nested boxes, one has the tweeter and mid, another has two 200mm bass drivers back to back and the third is the bass loading cabinet. It is likely to be available active or passive (like our other speakers). Price: we have not yet finally costed it, but the aim is to get under £6000. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: September 23, 1998 05:49 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: DIN/RCA Hugues Benoit wrote: "Regarding DIN connectors, why on earth do all the manufacturers except Naim of course do use RCA connectors? Are they all wrong?" I suspect that they are bowing to market pressure from customers and/or dealers who want to use/sell expensive interconnect cables - there maybe many other reasons, but none in my experience are concerned with the quality of music reproduction. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: September 23, 1998 05:36 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: mental health Do you remember the cartoon which shows a sign on the door into the Mental Health Ward saying "Do Not Disturb Anymore" julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: September 22, 1998 05:20 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: puck loss Generally only reviewers loose pucks, and even then, usually only once. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: September 22, 1998 05:06 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: matching It seems that if one wishes to match left and right speakers in a mirror fashion, one quite often gets a beech which the grain makes the speakers look different in terms of light and dark from different angles even though the pattern matches. This does not happen with some other veneers to the same extent or to the manufactured veneers. That's life I guess, vinyl is more predicable but less attractive. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: September 22, 1998 01:19 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Epos Yes Damian, We have, in the past, looked at Epos speakers with respect to making an suitable NAXO - but their drive units are designed to mechanically limit their frequency response, - (this makes it possible to have a very simple passive crossover) - and this is how we were able to confirm our belief that this was not a way to go. So, no, sorry. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: September 22, 1998 01:13 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Glitches The apparent glitches on track 1 of Ted's cd can be heard to be aggressive use of the strings - but if you're in doubt please feel free to return the CD for checking. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: September 21, 1998 01:39 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: DSP etc I guess that would be rather like the Texas DLP (Digital Light Processor) - all them little mirrors flipping back and forth - it works for them . . . julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: September 21, 1998 01:34 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: active I was going to say try search, but having done just that I found that none of the old posts were really explicit. In general other speaker manufacturers use the crossover to equalise the drive units output or they mechanically limit the frequency response of the drive units and in our experience one cannot make an acceptable active loudspeaker using either scenario. i.e. If you really like the NS1000s leave them alone. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: September 19, 1998 02:09 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Class D We were shown a class D in the mid '70s and offered the technology, after much investigation we decided to give it a miss for a reason which still would seem to limit it's attractiveness. Speakers are still analogue and therefore one needs to have an output filter to get rid of the digital switching signal, even after some considerable work in this area we could not reduce the influences of the filter to an acceptable level. It is a subject that has come up several times over the years, and we have spent quite a lot of time looking at things digital including switching power supplies (class D power supply?) but so far nothing has taken our fancy. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: September 19, 1998 01:52 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Beech John As I said before, there are A pair of Beech SBLs - Paul doesn't know everything! I have received several differing views here (at Naim) while investigating the veneer story. The buying department has been given instructions to buy certain veneers based on the historic sales (by the sales department) and the dealers have recently been advised of these changes (by the sales department), but unfortuneatly these two lists do not agree . . . - this is clearly a subject which will be addressed on Monday's management meeting. An update will follow. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: September 19, 1998 01:38 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: done before This issue has been covered before, try search. When the updated site comes online, this is one of the items that will be in the FAQ. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: September 19, 1998 12:53 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: yes Joel, I did say 2 orders of magnitude, that is one hundredth in my book. This seems below the limits of Paul Miller's test suit but we have puchased a very fancy probe that allows us to look at the waveform with a music (rather than a test) signal. The limits of measurement on our scope are really defined by the 1ns/cm resolution - the CDX shows a bit less than 1ns peak to peak on this test and the CDSll shows no deviation within the thickness of the trace (less than 10ps). This, as always, is not the whole story - but we think it helps. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: September 17, 1998 04:11 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Beech John If you place an order NOW for beech SBLs, we have one pair of cabinets left. We have actually discontinued beech, because of too many serious problems with mismatched veneers, (the cabinets are very expensive and rejecting them puts up the overall costs a lot) but we are looking at other light wood possibilities for the future. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: September 17, 1998 03:48 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Mastering The Sonic (as it is known) is a programme that runs on an Apple, and in the last 5 years that we have been doing the label, all our CDs have been mastered from this piece of kit with no fatal crashes, lossed tracks or any other problem. When we started out, I was deeply suspicious of the system, but we found the audible problems came from the studio's ADCs and not anything we did in the Sonic. Analogue, for the present, seems to be the way to record, but editing in the digital domain is not only easier, more versatile but also more transparent than cutting tape. The idea that more bits more often will "fix" the sound quality of digital is a dangerous premise - both these things make the job much more difficult in engineering terms - bigger window, more cr*p. We have felt since the beginning of our investigations into digital, that the critical issue is TIME. And this is now encapsulated in public domain as jitter. With the CDSll, we have reduced the "jitter" by two orders of magnitude compared with the CDX (already one of the best measuring players) and the prime effect of this to our ears is that the listening experience now has lost the last vestiges of "digitalness" - several of the visitors who have listened have commented that "...it sounds just like the tape". Of course it is not the only issue. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: September 17, 1998 02:44 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: DIN It is easy to be confused over this impedance issue. A long time ago it was normal to match the source, load and cable for maximum power transfer (the origin of the 600Ohm scheme) this was held to be a sensible way to go when using matching transformers. As time went by and low source impedance transistor amplifiers became the norm, the "600Ohm" source got bridged by 22KOhm loads (which were now easy to design using transistor circuits). However the above should not be confused with the characteristic impedance of cables and connectors. The main issue here is that the cable and connector should have similar characteristic impedance if there are not going to be reflections in the interconnect caused by the change in impedance at the connector - one could think of this as a sudden change in the diameter of a pipe carrying water for example. OK? julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: September 15, 1998 03:21 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: cables Please tell me why I would know? julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: September 15, 1998 01:44 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Wind Dave, there was wind and sun, but the music won out. I sail a Windex 92. julian PS I will put up site for the yacht company later this autumn. _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: September 13, 1998 03:48 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: yes Mathias No problem Talk to our Distributor (or your dealer) It may take a while to get it back to the UK to get it done But It May be possible to get it done in Germany But it would probably be cheaper to do it yourself with a drill and a and a soldering iron. Email us directly, for further assistance. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: September 12, 1998 04:23 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: manual Why not email us at Naim, to request an owner's manual? We would be happy to send you one. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: September 12, 1998 04:19 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: separate inputs The pre-amp inputs that use the DIN socket are suitable for all Naim source components except the ARO which is designed to use the BNC connectors. There are no other combinations that offer the optimum performance. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: September 10, 1998 03:46 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Connections Mathias, The Naim tuner has a common ground inside (common to both left and right channels) and will perform less well if used with an interconnect other than the DIN to DIN. This has been discussed in the forum sometime ago. On another subject: Chord Co may say in their Literature that Naim recommend their cables - but this is not true as a general claim, as I said before there are situations where a member of our staff or a dealer, or a distributor may recommend a particular interconnect from The Chord Co for use with our equipment, but this does not apply to all their products. If this is confusing I will get them to change their literature. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: September 10, 1998 03:31 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: sometimes There are some cds, (many of the those recorded by Ken Christianson) which were recorded using a simple pair of microphones and with these, one can get a whole lot more of the feeling of the space in which the recording was made when using the AV1. Sometimes I switch it on and sometimes I don't. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: September 09, 1998 01:40 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Chord Co Naheed said "Chord cables are recommended by Naim,. . . ". To clarify the situation - Naim do NOT recommend Chord Co. Cables as a blanket statement. There are situations where a specific Chord cable is suitable, for example DIN to RCA interconnects where other manufacturer's equipment needs to be connected. There are other interconnects that may suit as well, but in general they are more expensive than the Chord Co ones, hence the specific suggestions (NOT recommendation). julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: September 08, 1998 01:51 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: laser life I have checked with our service dept, and they report that there is no sign of laser failure being a significant cause of CDSs needing service. There are two main reasons for attention being needed - 1) The black (Nextel) ring on the platter gets worn off and 2) The mechanism 'wears out' and its ability to find tracks gets into the 'too difficult' area, both these things require a new mechanism. So check the Nextel and ask how much the player got used - I have a feeling that I read somewhere in the Philips literature that the CDM4 had an MTBF of 20,000 cycles - that is a Mean (average) Time Before Failure of 20,000 CDs being played - To put that into context it means playing 6 CDs everyday for more than 9 years. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: September 07, 1998 04:07 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: AV1 Hans I use an AV1 with my computer based DVD player, and I don't forsee a problem with any future DVD players, ours (if & when we make one) or others, unless you want to reproduce the rather 'lossy' AC-3 data stream in its 5.1 form. I personally much prefer the 'surround' track decoded by the AV1 than the AC-3 decoded by any of the many boxes that I have listened to. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: September 07, 1998 05:42 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: no such Naim preamp sorry Mathias. julian PS We made an NAC 32, an NAC 32-5, but NA 323 are mc input cards for all the Naim pre-amps that have vertically mounted boards. _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: September 06, 1998 05:36 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: thanks Thank you Pete. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: September 06, 1998 05:31 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: cd playing Sounds to me that the cds that you are trying to play have a little 'flash' left in the central hole of the cd causing it not to seat properly on the platter, you should not put another cd on top as the increased mass may well damage the mechanism - try clearing the 'flash'. julian P.S. unless you have pushed the platter on the mech down on the spindle and this is stopping the puck from fully pressing on the cd. _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: September 05, 1998 08:18 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: puck position The reason that the CDS (& CDI) puck located was the design of the platter allowed this to happen, the VAM1205 mechanism does not allow this to be the case, and to still achieve the level of performance that we wanted. Slight off centre positioning is not audible and has not caused any problems in our accelerated tests on the mechanisms. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: September 05, 1998 08:12 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: addresses are fine But please don't put links in the forum. Thanks julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: September 03, 1998 07:25 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: dealer training We do have a dealer training scheme, which involves a two day practical course at the factory (for UK dealers) and the attendees recieve a Dealer Manual. But just because we spend considerable resources (including a Training Manager) on training it doesn't mean that they all wish to apply what they have learned, or remember it for that matter. I suspect it is similar for most suppliers to the retail trade, 80% of the business is done by 20% of the dealer network and those 20% of the dealers are the ones that do the best job both for the customer and us. But if we only supplied those few dealers, I suspect we would get many letters of complaint asking why isn't there a dealer near me? If you do have an observation concerning the performance of one of our dealers, please let us know, you can email us directly rather than airing it publicly here. julian PS it is easier for most people to read the post if the 'fixed-width' box is left unchecked _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: September 01, 1998 03:48 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: boring but true Unfortunately one cannot take any one parameter in isolation. Its not the total inductance that is the controlling factor, it is the relationship between this and the capacitance and the resistance (and the surface area of the copper. . . .) I (and we) have spent many hours and tens of thousands of pounds on this issue - it is not trivial. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: September 01, 1998 02:33 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: X,S & ll Damian asked "I'd love to know what Naim themselves think! So many people seem to have so many opinions - sometimes I wonder if they are all listening to the same kit!" Julian comments: I expect you would get a variety of answers from Naimies as well, different people really are turned on by different aspects of music, for myself, I felt no temptation to change my CDS for a CDX/XPS in spite of its inability to find tracks until it had played a couple of CDs (in a session). However I now have a (prototype) CDS ll and I have hardly left my music room since - it is the first time I have ever heard music (from a CD) at home as if there is no player, just people playing music - (I didn't even go sailing at the weekend). Damian, I don't suppose this answers your question, but it is one view. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: August 31, 1998 10:27 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Sorry Sorry Lawrence, my slip, the correct inductance is between 1.3 and 1.5 microH/m loop (with a min length of 3m) this gives a minimum of about 4 microHenries. The maximum value is determined by the HF roll off and not by the amp. So the 0.66 microH is about half what it needs to be for safety. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: August 26, 1998 02:07 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Cables Again Please can I draw your attention to the following notes: ****Ed's Note: MANY CABLES WILL 'WORK' IN PARTICULAR SYSTEMS, BUT IF THE SPECS ARE VERY DIFFERENT FROM NACA5, THEN PROBLEMS MAY OCCUR WITH CERTAIN SPEAKERS**** FOR INFO THE RELEVANT SPECS ARE: 1.3 - 1.5microHenries per metre (Loop) MAX 20picoFarads per metre About 25milliOhms per meter (loop) MIN Length 3 metres **ED** and: refering to Litz type high capacitance cables. *****ED's Note: DO NOT USE THESE TYPES OF CABLES WITH NAIM POWER AMPS IF YOU WISH TO HAVE NAIM'S WARRANTY - PLEASE SEE YOUR OWNERS MANUAL***** _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: August 27, 1998 11:20 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: mains leads Naim (UK) mains leads normally have detachable plugs, with Crabtree being the most common plug. If they are not UK type, then the distributor may have a better idea. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: August 27, 1998 02:41 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: RF To quote Jim Bailey: "Naim also suggest that the RF problems are endemic to "wide internal bandwidth required for good amplification." I have no idea what that means but I'm pretty sure Naim is not the only manufacturer out there that uses "wide internal bandwidth" in the design. Spectral, for one, makes a similar claim, and their stuff is dead quiet. So, bandwidth doesn't seem to be the whole story". >>>>>From julian: Just because a manufacturer makes a claim such as this - it is not necessarily so, for example one manufacturer claimed the same sort of thing and on investigation I found that although the circuit was a neat, fast (wide bandwidth) design (on paper), on the pcb there were a variety of capacitors and some long (inductive) tracks that made the product rather slow. Jim again: "I don't think anybody fully understands what causes RF problems. For example, the folks at Naim will tell you that RF problems can sometimes be solved simply by substituting a different amp of the same model (i.e., substituting one 250 for another 250) They will also tell you they have no idea why that is. In my situation, I've had the experience of different 250's being less susceptible to RF, but I've never had one that was acceptable in terms of noise level". >>>>From julian: We do know very well what causes RF interference, what we don't know is how to solve it in all cases without losing the musical plot - I am surprised that anyone a Naim suggested changing the 250 since that is extremely unlikely to effect a change (for good or bad), however, it is very likely that the plugging and unplugging of the interconnect and speaker cables and their subsequent slight change in position to cause a (sometimes very) noticable change. The Prefix is an extreme case having wide bandwidth, lots of gain and attached to some antennas (the interconnects) and since some of its performance advantage comes from being in the turntable, it is not in an ideal environment from the RF perspective, but it is where it needs to be for performance view point - difficult. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: August 25, 1998 03:00 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: NBLs Please remember these is a development project and has not cleared any of the internal approvals for manufacture, however one point I would make is low frequencies of the the order of the ones that come from the opposing side drivers in the prototype NBLs are not directional. Also it is a 3-way speaker. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: August 24, 1998 03:29 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: 115/230V Mathias Our transformers are designed with two primaries which are used in series for 230volt and parallel for 120volt with no loss of performance (twice the current in the primary for 115volt and twice the copper). julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: August 24, 1998 03:10 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: Nested . . . . . . as in russian dolls . . . julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: August 24, 1998 02:16 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: NBL N is for nested at present . . . julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: August 20, 1998 05:54 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: hot 250 Colin If the 250 turns off without music being played then something is very wrong. The bias might be set too high, but if this were the case I expect that it would have been corrected at last service - it needs checking by a qualified person in any event. It is also possible that the separate passive crossover is introducing an unacceptable load in some way, but this would normally only result in a hot amp after some loud music playing. This is also a feature of using our amps with unsuitable loudspeaker cables... Please let us know. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: August 05, 1998 02:14 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: iso age David They do to me. julian PS actually when we first made the SBLs I put them in at home to replace active isobariks, and I remember being really surprised how many of my albums that I had discarded were fine - the first record I put on was Joni Mitchell, the difference was stunning, gone was all the garish, harsh mid to her voice replaced by a seductive woman. _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: August 05, 1998 02:04 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: visit Steven, if you do visit Shahinian's factory, please give Dick my regards - we have been mates for about 25 years. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: August 04, 1998 02:33 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Malcolm If you go to the welcome page of this site, you will notice that the web hosting is provided by RealWebSite and in the middle of the page Graffix provides Site design etc. Click on GRAFFIX - it will lead you to Malcolm Steward in his current abode. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: August 03, 1998 03:59 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: choice To quote Dave "- but I agree that their electronics are amazing, although their speakers apear to be a matter of preference." I think that the SBLs are also amazing, but that doesn't detract from the fact that everybody has a choice and many will have different preferences with regard to electronics as well as speakers - otherwise other manufacturers wouldn't get a look in. The area in which the SBLs are exceptional is their ability to reproduce any category or type of music without bias and a minimum of colouration. It is not too difficult to make a speaker that will enhance the 'sound' of a particular type or piece of music, but in my view it does nothing towards the understanding of the performance of the piece, and therefore is likely to become a 'one week wonder'. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: August 03, 1998 01:35 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: early 63s Phil, These speakers should not be used with Naim amps - their protection circuits randomly short out the power amps, NOT good. At some point during the late first or early second year of production they fixed the problem. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: August 02, 1998 02:43 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: try it Philippa. Please try a naim cd player before dumping the excellent Kytes. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: July 28, 1998 04:23 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: improvements With the CDS, we had a 'flash of blinding light' during the first year of manufacture, and the resultant upgrade was offered to all (at a modest cost). There were no further changes until it was discontinued. This sort of 'new understanding' is built in to the CDS II. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: July 28, 1998 01:43 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: yes Peter The Intros are made to the same tolerances as the DBLs. But rather different techniques are employed - instead of accurately weighing the wool filling as in the DBL, the filling for the Intro is accurately precut into pieces before being put into the cabinet, the effect is the same degree of accuracy. Differences at the design stage such as the drive unit's pole piece - in the Intro this is a mass produced stamping from the Far East, in the DBLs, the pole pieces are turned parts that cost more than ten times as much. Similarly the cabinets are high volume vinyl covered MDF as opposed to balanced wood veneer in all the other speakers. These are the things that make the difference in price and performance - not making them less carefully or accurately. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: July 27, 1998 05:37 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: QA in depth If this post sounds terse, it isn't meant to be. There is no difference in levels of QA at Naim - all products go through the same system. There are many components that go through the same selection and matching procedures regardless of which product they end up in. The difference between the lesser Naims and the greater is in the design - the lesser are much simpler to make. The compromises we make are at the design stage, not in the manufacturing. There are many components that we measure and match to levels totally unpurchaseable, this means we can squeeze thet last ounce of performance from our State-of-the Art products in a predictable way. On another subject - money - Although we (as a well managed, resourced company) may very well be able to survive a few months without a large selling key product, our distributors and dealers mostly have much smaller safety nets, also any product not shipped when ordered, is probably a sale lost since customers have got used to 'off the self' and the dealers will try to sell something else since they have to sell to live. You may wish to think that this is a cynical view, however it is very close to what happens. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: July 27, 1998 04:52 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: As before As we have done before (with the CDS), if we come across another major advance, we will offer an upgrade. However, in this instance the CDS II is the 3rd CD player we have done in a row and the skills are rather well honed at present - besides which, having listened to the new player I wonder what more there can be . . . the sound of the guys making the instruments? julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: July 27, 1998 04:38 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Robert's view Robert said "My point is that Naim could easily produce a 5.1 decoder and do a great job. They could easily make it link to a preamp and also easily produce either a 3 or five channel amp. I'm not talking comprimised sound. I'm talking about doing the best there is today". Sorry to disagree, but we couldn't easily turn Dolby Digital into something we would be happy to listen to - I'm really sorry to tell you that we have not yet found a way of resurrecting 'lost' information. The CDS II is something else, I think most who listen to normal CDs played on it will be astounded as to how much music is on them and hitherto unrealised. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: July 23, 1998 11:27 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: crystals Tuan The crystal we used was NOT inferior, just very very slightly higher frequency - actually about 1 second fast in 25 minutes which I defy anybody to detect without mechanical (or electronic) aids. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: July 23, 1998 10:50 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: business Simon, cash is cash and profit is a matter opinion! I didn't say they were in deficit, just hadn't made a profit. One can still make a profit even if one owes money, but from one year to the next, the accounts show much reduced borrowings but not much increase in profit - ie they were doing low margin work, but being paid quickly for it. julian PS sorry, trying not to be 'technical'. _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: July 22, 1998 10:20 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Linn Simon said "Or the competitor is trying to buy market share, in that case as Julian suggested that company may not be around long. Since Linn has been around a long time I doubt that it is deliberately selling gear on the cheap". As a matter of public record Linn have not made a profit for the last 6 years (if the figures are aggregrated), the last published figures showed that their cash position had been 'rescued' by a large sub-contract export (Loewe?) - not normally core business for a hi-end hi-fi company, - but their profit record was not much improved. julian PS the point I am trying to make is that one's room for manoeuver if one doesn't make a profit is strictly limited, and selling what one has manufactured at 'any' price may be the best option. - Also, manufacturing time consuming high investment products such as the Isobariks tend to be replaced by products that are driven by other imperatives. _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: July 22, 1998 01:44 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: not a chip problem It was, last year, a shortage of the crystals ordered, so we used (after very careful checks) one of the choices that were available. It's called 'manufacturing'. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: July 21, 1998 04:44 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: red & black Red is + and black is -. The blacks are connected together inside the amp and one of the reds will be left and the other, right (it depends which way round they were soldered when the amp was made - in the late '70s some things were less exact). julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: July 21, 1998 04:27 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: clocks The CD3-5 that Stereophile tested was from a batch that used crystals which were a touch fast (insignificant from any audible view point) since these were available and the ones which had been ordered (more accurate) were delayed 12 weeks. It's the sort of decision that gets made every day - can we on an 'in depth' listening test tell the difference? - if not, then we use the available component, as we have said many times before, Measurements are for Machines - Music is for people. Also, we think there is a minor problem with the jitter measuring software at low levels of jitter - we await confirmation. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: July 21, 1998 03:58 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: nice guy Truly, Todd IS a nice guy, and he cares. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: July 21, 1998 01:36 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: death Robert I doubt that home theatre will kill off Naim, unless it also kills off music as well. If you check in 'Systems Analysis', you would find that I have an 'expensive' home theatre system which I enjoy as much as the the music system, but unlike yours it is mostly Naim. At present I have great difficulty with the lossy compressed methods of audio delivery (AC-3, MPEG, DAB, ATRAC etc), I find them grossly inferior to the uncompressed systems, and until we find ways of making these systems acceptable (to us) we will not have taken the industry on a step and that is one of the things that drives us on - make it good for ourselves, then share it. Please don't think that for one second we have our heads in the sand and hope that 'it' will go away - we don't. But I don't feel that Naim will survive by 'going with the flow'. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: July 20, 1998 05:41 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: AV1 "Are there any plans for a upgraded / upgradable AV1?" It is not Naim's normal way to introduce a new product that performs worse than its predecessor, even if it is what the customer wants. We are looking at DVD and AC-3, but the technology has to settle a bit before we can commit much in the way of resources. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: July 20, 1998 02:39 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: distribution Terry, Sorry to spoil a bit of your argument, but we do have all the acoutrements of a distribution company (and the expense) - 2 full time reps on the road, one full time tele-sales person, transport costs, advertising, shows etc. There are some big differences, size of market is a major influence and dealer markup is another - the UK is a low margin market partly from competitive pressures and partly lower costs. I wish that we could buy petrol (gas) at North American prices (roughly a third of the UK price), but we can't! In any event the North American market (US in particular) is now fastest growing export market and is our largest foreign market. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: July 19, 1998 04:17 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: New CDS Sorry, but I've been a bit pre-occupied in recent days with my yacht project, but we're just making the first batch of CDS IIs which are used to set up pre-production manufacture (copies, board assy & test programming etc), the first ones will be able to be auditioned at the autumn shows, and first deliveries should be in early October. There are many new ideas in the CDS II, it is not similar to the CDX except that it uses the XPS as a power supply and in sound terms I think it is as big an advance as the original CDS was in 1991. As I mentioned earlier, it is a very full box of electronics so the price will be much more than the old CDS. We close for our summer holidays at the end of this week - so roll on September and the new CDS - I hope you will be as thrilled as I am. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: July 19, 1998 03:34 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: 'good?' Truly good products do not happen by chance, they are the product of good management, good engineers, good buying and careful manufacture - a company can fail by selling the product too cheap or that not enough of them work in the field, these are the result of poor management and I would suggest that if one were to spend ones money on a product, however good, it would be nice to have confidence that the company would be there in the future to take care of it when it needs servicing, which is unlikely if does not make a profit. julian PS or you can sell all or part of yourself to another (larger) company or investor (as have Arcam, Audiolab, Quad, Roksan etc) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: July 15, 1998 03:40 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: every country different We supply the best mains cables that we can get, fitted with the best available plugs, the reason for this thread is that some people have found alternatives that they prefer. But the world is a dynamic place and most countries have different mains arrangements, some of which are very susceptible to the type and placement of the connectors used. At some point you have to make your own choice if you don't accept what we ship. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: July 13, 1998 11:03 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Thanks Thanks, I'll tell Paul, he's the marketing guy! julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: July 13, 1998 07:16 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: No bananas We haven't used 4mm banana connectors for many years, the Naim loudspeaker connector has been checked and we have certificates to show its compliance. . . . Speed limits are not conducive to really fun driving, but they are part of the 'well' regulated society we live in. (now I remember travelling down the newly opened M1 at 187mph in a TVR Griffith with no hint of a jam sandwich . . . ) julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: July 13, 1998 07:01 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: No Actually, No. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: July 13, 1998 02:55 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Not Politics It's not politics that keeps us silent. The problem of mixing it with the CE demands for safety and EMC is such that YOU ARE ON YOUR OWN, and it may even be illegal to change these cables or modes of connecting your equipment if these things are compromised. The further problem is that to check compliance of each alteration could cost thousands of pounds - if our systems are used with the cables supplied plugged into wall sockets, they do, to the best of our testing (&belief), comply (for better or worse). This is the regulated world we live in. not very political julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: July 13, 1998 02:26 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Cinema Ads The nub of the problem is that it costs a lot to have different prints with the dealer's address on them. So we thought that we could have one print to be shown all over the country with standup cutouts containing this information in the cinema foyers (with leaflets) - Like the ones that are often used to advertise next weeks film. The answer was NO, the managers were not to be moved by Paul's persuasive tongue or Naim's open cheque book. Sad. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: July 13, 1998 02:12 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: The Linn Conference I rather feel that these last few post belong on the Linn Conference not 'used Isobariks'. If you share our view of what comprises 'music' then one day you will hear a Naim system that will convince you that all this talk of 'Linn Hi-Fi' is so much pap. Free Speech - WhaaHey. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: July 10, 1998 02:52 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: not the speakers again.. In general fix the source first - it's been said a thousand times before, but that's because it's true. The speakers only reproduce what is fed to them, try a CD3 (+flatcap) or CDX (+XPS) - these four upgrades will clearly demonstrate that these little speakers are not short of bass (information) although they maybe short of quantity. Given the choice, I would always go for quality. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: July 08, 1998 05:19 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: p3 The Phonosophie P3 does do 45 and it adjusts from on top, but it does need a new belt each year. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: July 08, 1998 05:12 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: an answer Yesterday I wrote a full explanation, but the database got full (100MB of posts) and my post got lost. I'll try again after the British GP. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: July 08, 1998 05:05 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: transformers Yes, we have not only tried but also used a variety of non toroids over the years. But ultimately the toroid gives the lowest field and the highest power to weight/(size) ratio of any type of construction. So far as I can remember nobody else was using toroids in 1970 when I designed the Naim power amp - I chose a toroid since it was the only way to get the required VA rating in the case I had designed. After Naim became better known, our transformer manufacturer used this info to sell to the rest of the industry, and others found that size for size the toroid offered better performance. Except that transformers without an air gap are more susceptable to odd harmonic distortion on the mains and the core can rattle under certain circumstances. The Naim NAB 300 power amp had a frame transformer, and in order to get the VA rating, the case was twice as tall as a 250, and the regulation was still not as good.... julian PS when magazine people write and explain some 'wonder thing' is the answer to better sound, I am always surprised that they don't go and manufacture a product utilising the 'thing' and I find out if the others agree in the market place. _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: July 07, 1998 02:23 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: speak for the rest of them.. I go dancing most weeks, and the disco is full of others doing the same. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: July 07, 1998 02:18 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Cinema ads Jawed said "(H'm, Naim, if you're gonna do moving-image adverts, how about making them 15-rated, for cinema release only? That would be a fun challenge for a good advertising agency. And it shouldn't be sexist (as if I need to say).)" That's what we felt - we got the film company, the director, the budget - but the cinema owners turned us down. Shame. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: July 05, 1998 08:53 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: naxo The NAXO you have is a 2-4 (ie it can be used with 135s) and is an improvement over the earlier plug-in type. It was made and shipped to the USA in March 1988. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: July 02, 1998 02:23 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: FAQ All the questions you have posed have been discussed and (mostly) answered in this forum - try search. We really do hope to have an FAQ in the next redesign of the site. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: July 02, 1998 02:20 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: not kidding People produce recordings, not studios. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: July 01, 1998 02:22 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: monitors The post production studio that we use for our record label has several different sizes of Genelec active monitors, but when we want to know what we are listening to, we use a pair of IBLs and a Nait3. (much better) julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: June 30, 1998 02:32 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: no I just spend 30 minutes some mornings while listening to some music at home, but when traveling and stuck in hotels around the world I have been known to spend longer (assuming no live music or parties). julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: June 30, 1998 02:22 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Too cynical Andy As with all our products, the price is a function of the cost of components, time taken to assemble and test them and finally to bear a proportion of the overheads including the R&D effort (which is one of the largest individual overheads at Naim). For information from the component point of view, the most expensive parts of the equipment are the case, the pcbs and the transformer, so it makes sense to maximise the performance/features for a product in relation to the expense of the immovable bits, this is what we would call value for money. If we made a stripped down 52 with three inputs, no remote and stepped attenuators it would probably cost exactly the same as the current 52 and satisfy many less potential customers - this is not sound business. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: June 30, 1998 01:26 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: more info Jawed asked "This raises the point that maybe Naim could use a part of its site to show *detailed* system connection diagrams. These diagrams would make it quite clear to potential purchasers what products have to be combined to make things work and would clear up the confusion we all suffer from time to time, trying to remember which socket on the back of which box is best for this that and the other." We have a plan. . . At the present time Graffix are redesigning this site to include more system info and better navigation. The system info diagrams have been drawn, so the project is under way. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: June 29, 1998 05:40 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: 51 Thanks Joel, so susinct. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: June 28, 1998 09:44 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: sales We would be grateful if you would use your own site for commercial purposes, which people will find a link to from 'CONTACT' elsewhere on this site. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: June 28, 1998 09:41 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: moved to Linn Conference _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: June 26, 1998 09:06 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: hearsay I think some of you believe the rumours that the DBLs take up a lot of space and that one needs a large room to enjoy them. If you cut out 2 rectangles of paper 65cm x 40cm, (this is the size of the base of the DBLs) and put them on the floor next to the wall with the 65cm side along the wall - this will give you and idea how much actual space they occupy. The fact that they are visually imposing should not affect most people since it is my impression that many listen in subdued lighting or with eyes shut. julian :) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: June 26, 1998 03:08 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: space Roy (the DBLs designer) uses his DBLs in a room 9'10" x 10'1"...... julian PS it does have an alcove for the 135s and power supplies. _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: June 25, 1998 02:50 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: contact Please contact naim with your serial numbers, and our service dept. will be able to advise you. But, unlike most of our other products, we don't let compatibilty issues interfere with developments in the 52, and so some of the changes are very expensive to impliment. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: June 25, 1998 02:44 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: xo We do not recommend the use of linn x/o with naim amps - at all, ever. Could easily result in terminal instability. The naim naxos are tried and tested over 20 years... julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: June 23, 1998 02:25 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: scale As in 1:1 scale. Quads manage about 100dBspl peak, a full orchestra does (on some music) 125dBspl peak - the DBLs will go to 130dBspl peak on the end of 6hp (peak). julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: June 23, 1998 02:02 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: lite Less is not necessarily more... consider the supercap v. the flatcap. We have spent a huge amount of time on the subject of volume controls. When we were forced to change from pots specially made for us to the Alps part, we investigated dozens of things, and one of the observations we made was that the plating of metal parts affect the sound in a very marked way and the (for example) to get a switched attenuator made using our (current) plating arrangements is not practical (and probably not better anyway) and in our experience the Alps pot (optimised in our circuits) is not the weak link in the 52. As mentioned in another thread, the 52 is a development product and is being continuously improved - so every part of its design and construction is constantly being scrutinised. On the subject of inputs: they really can't be added later, so we have tried to put as many as 98% of customers require and in themselves they don't add signicantly to the price. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: June 22, 1998 01:38 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Quad57 John We have a pair of these speakers and they are wonderful on the end of any of our power amps - but the 250 & 135s should have their power supplies adjusted to +/- 36volts so as not to apply more peak voltage to the speakers than they can handle. This does not stop audible damage, but it does reduce the covert damage to the tweeters which reduces their output (eventually to zero). In case you are wondering why I don't have them at home since I think they are 'so wonderful', it is because they 'don't do scale'. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: June 19, 1998 03:45 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: you tell me Nile I think that this is one you have to tell me - you're the customer! Do you make your choices more based on cosmetics now than you used to? I suspect that as people get confidence that a product range will deliver an adequate level of performance, then they start looking for other attributes - just a suspicion - what do you think? julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: June 18, 1998 03:50 AM Author: julian vereker Tuan I am sorry, but you are mistaken in suggesting that a certain power is required for a particular speaker, this is simply not generally the case - there are many reasons why a certain amp may suit particular speakers, but this is a different issue. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: June 18, 1998 03:41 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: sorry Very sorry, but no, we will not be redesigning the prefix for that or any other turntable. For turntables that do not have space for the Prefix inside, it can always be (on a slightly longer lead) placed behind or beside the turntable. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: June 17, 1998 04:04 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: phased It's not that they are being phased out, its just that many many more people are choosing the slimline range. Since I designed the 'midi' size cases, I would rather see them proliferate in our range not just in other manufacturer's. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: June 17, 1998 07:25 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: measurement Life would be so easy if it was the obvious that was the weak link in any system, but it is usually the one thing that was overlooked at some stage during the creation of the product, and is different in (almost) every case. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: June 17, 1998 07:15 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: average power Tuan says: ".... the normal listening is about 25 w/channel." This is really not so - the average power for 'normal' (loudish) listening is about 1 - 2 watts. It is the peaks which require the higher output and even this can be seriously ameliorated by careful treatment of the overload charateristics of the power amp. This is why in practice one can play 'rather loud' with a small power Naim. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: June 17, 1998 02:27 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: credos etc Nile asks "It would be interesting to find out > how the Credos sell in terms of revenue compared > to the other speakers in the Naim line." From julian: The credo is our biggest selling speaker, so I don't think we will be discontinuing them just yet! Nile adds: "The small chassis look is very cool > and unique, but it's too bad that Naim doesn't make a CD player > with it to compliment the other small chassis products > in the line. I'm hardly qualified to comment on > the idea from an engineering standpoint, but > maybe it could be done with a top loading design > and a separate small chassis power supply like > the NAT 01. There would obviously be further > issues like where it would fit in the product > line and such, but has the idea ever been > pursued, and what were the financial, > engineering, etc. roadblocks?" The small chassis was introduced in 1979 and in recent years has rather been passed over in preference for the slimline range, so there hasn't been any real pressure to develop the range. In fact there really isn't space in the box for the mechanism and circuitry to do a decent job even if the power supply was a separate item. (unless of course we HAD to). julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: June 17, 1998 01:57 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: taste & measurement There is no accounting for people's taste, but in the case of the Linn LK1 & 2, both products had gross technical problems which were easy to both measure and hear, in the case of the LK2 the first 400+ failed due to poor thermal design (Charlie Brennan told me that it was more like 600). Maybe I have it wrong - incompetance rules. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: June 17, 1998 01:37 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: 135 sockets Jawed said "The reason, so far as I can make out, is that Naim was forced to use a 3-pin socket on the back of the 135 (and the 250) because European safety regulations prevent the use of a 4-pin DIN (which the smaller power amps have)." The reason is more historical than this. Back in the early '70s when vat was 8% on some things and 25% on others, a pro amp was defined as over 100 watts and with professional connectors (XLRs) and was rated at 8% vat. So we fitted XLR input and mains sockets on the 250 to avoid the higher rate vat. The mains socket got changed when the higher rate was removed but the XLR remained on the 250 and was used on the 135 for compatibility. When the left and right interconnects were introduced, we could have changed the 135s to a single socket, I can't remember why we didn't (haven't), but the cost of re-tooling the chassis and label probably wasn't justified. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: June 16, 1998 01:40 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: LK1 My Linn doorstop has taken to letting my office door close on its own - is this a further product failure? julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: June 12, 1998 04:23 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: yes Exactly so. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: June 12, 1998 02:15 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: No actually... Pete We did look at some of the other vinyl finishes, but nobody liked them as much as the black. The other issue is the volume that the vinyl cabinets have to be bought in, and we just don't have the space to stock two or more finishes of these cabinets. The credo cabinet costs about twice as much and is made by a different company in a different country and is available to us in smaller quantities in mixed finishes per shipment. The credo drive unit, although it looks similar, has quite different motor metalwork which costs about ten times the intro drive unit metalwork. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: June 11, 1998 12:12 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: bi-amping Jawed has answered this in his first para. We did start off making the Intro & Credo with splitable crossovers that offered a bi-amp upgrade in response to market demand. However better is better and we very soon dropped this arrangement for our tried and tested crossovers. It's one of those performance v. percieved convenience issues where performance wins. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: June 10, 1998 02:28 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: 2nd hand Just a first thought. There are several sites that already do hi-fi equipment. If the dealers are web-aware there is nothing to stop them posting a list of 2nd hand gear on their sites (they aready can or do have a link to this site). We have every interest in taking care of customers and their 2nd hand Naim equipment - it's not very ecological to make new equipment when it's not needed (yet). We would prefer that even 2nd hand equipment was handled by dealers who are in the customer's geographical area. I may think of more later... julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: June 10, 1998 01:58 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: digital in Joe, I read with interest all that you say about home theatre, as this is an area which I personally enjoy the end results almost as much as music. We are looking at dvd, ac3 etc. but one of the problems with ac3 is that it is a lossy compression system with only 384Kbits data rate, this may mean that if the whole system is too good one will hear the artifacts of the 'compression'. Also, as yet we have not been able to satisfactorily send and recieve digital audio between pieces of equipment so that it sounds really good at the output. There is much to do, and until it is done, I will continue to use the AV1 for the ambient and rear information and leave the fronts to reproduce un-mucked about stereo. julian PS I don't ever feel deprived of the 'other' channels, even on movies that I have seen in a 5.1 environment. _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: June 09, 1998 05:22 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Linn conference This must be the simplest thing any customer has ever asked! julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: June 09, 1998 05:06 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: AV1 Sounds about right to me, mine are set to about 2 O'Clock. julian PS they are input controls and therefore don't always have exactly the expected effect. _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: June 08, 1998 02:21 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: isobarik, keltic & SBL Ken, you've taken the words right out of my mouth! julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: June 07, 1998 05:51 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: few It may be a relative concept, but work is proceeding well. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: June 04, 1998 02:57 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Old 250s How old is old? The 200/250s were first made in 1973 (early 200s could & were upgraded to 250s) and carried on with many small changes in components until 1980 when the case changed into the current extrusion and the pcbs changed into the current shape. In 1984 the transformer was changed to make it the same as the 135. This means that a post 1984 250 can be brought up to current (sound) spec, 1980-1984 250s cost more to do the same, and pre 1980 (screwed construction, transistors on the back) cannot be updated to to-day's spec, (but still sound excellent - I still use two in an active ibl system). For more detailed pricing (and serial numbers) please contact the factory (or dealer, or distributor) julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: June 04, 1998 02:30 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: ... Euruuhhr. _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: June 04, 1998 02:25 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: yes we have both items in the playpen. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: June 03, 1998 04:42 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: need for speed That's fine in France, but in the UK the traffic is too slow, and the cloth seats get soaked. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: June 03, 1998 04:26 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: futureness Tarik said, "This increase in sales is excellent news for the company and people but will they be able to cope with increased demand as well as delving into new practises and formats?" Actually the better our sales are, the more we can afford to spend on R&D - and we are doing just that. julian PS the dvd player in my computer really doesn't rate as a music device at all, (even with a short lead to the 52). _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: June 02, 1998 03:37 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: warranty Just a quicky, if a dead power amp is returned to us after having been used with an unsuitable pre-amp we would not repair it FOC. Failure modes are reasonably clear, but if there is any doubt, we would give the customer the benefit. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: June 02, 1998 03:27 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: AS/400 me julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: June 02, 1998 03:19 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: digital out Yes, no, maybe etc. My post was not an anti Exposure dig, it was anti digital out, and its (maybe) effect on sales. In any comparisons of the sort that have been raised, I presume are price bracketed - and on this basis (according to trade stats) we somewhat outsell Sony in the above £1K cd player market. I do enjoy driving the Alfa (on roof down days), but the Jaguar (owned by Ford) is also huge fun. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: June 02, 1998 02:02 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: dealers are human As an update to Scott's post, it appears there is another side to the issue - as is usually the case. John Reel - the dealer is question - has a had to take care of his sick mother in recent months, and for this reason he has been unable to devote his full attention to his business, this is one of the unavoidable facts of life - and I feel that it is a hard person that cannot make allowances. Further It turns out that Scott lives some distance from John's place of work and does not have a car, and so has been relying on John's good offices to collect and deliver his LP12 during the upgrade process. I sometimes think that one should consider whether one should expect others to do what one might be unable to do in similar circumstances. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: June 02, 1998 01:40 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: comparisons may be odious And alfas break much more often than fords - (I know, I have one of each). julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: May 29, 1998 01:44 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Brompton Tarik The problem for Brompton has been making enough bikes, so r&d has been sadly lacking in recent years. But there are a several people who do make light bits for the bike, and it's possible to get the weight down to 10.3Kg, we do have a prototype single speed which is abit lighter still. I use a 10 speed with dynamo for the winter and light-weight for the summer, both are over 12.5Kg - I get the bike to take me rather than carry it, so for me, the gearing is more important than the weight. I have a project with an american friend who has been making a carbon 'Brompton', but in order to make it into production we have to commit to a large number of bikes, and at present we don't have the capacity to make that number - also there is a price issue - maybe £1450 for a 8Kg 6 or 7 speed. julian PS I'll check up on the link - the site is put up by our US distributor. _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: May 29, 1998 01:22 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: two power amps There is no problem to connecting two Naim stereo power amps to the outputs on the Hi-Cap. But waiting for the amp in use to warm up may be a bit frustrating, and I am not sure of the effect of one amp turned off on the sound quality of the other. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: May 28, 1998 03:58 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: multiroom chez julian the DBL system is pleasantly audible throughout the house (including the bathrooms) if one wishes. julian (http://conference.realwebsite.com/Forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=16&Message_I D=10977) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: May 28, 1998 03:48 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: Windex Yachts The yacht thing started when I had a yacht built in the 70s and it didn't work the way I thought it should, so I went to discuss the boat with the designer and he showed me the drawings which indicated that the builder had used some rather unartistic license. So I started building the designer's (Bergstrom & Ridder) yachts in the UK - I used the demonstrator and built one boat every other year through the 80s. We wanted to do something new in the 90s, so we designed the Windexpress 48 and I have been project managing this yacht into production - due for launch July '98. (brochure available, call 01722 426 624. I have lent the prototype to Robin Davie (a noted round the world sailor) to compete in the upcoming 'Around Alone' yacht race starting from Charleston USA on September 26th. He has a site on http://www.sailsc.com (not a wonderful site, but has some info) we will probably get linked in due course. The Windexpress is a very fast luxury cruising boat suitable for a couple to handle, julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: May 28, 1998 03:52 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Synchrolite Lawrence You may not know, but in 1968 I made a device called the Synchrolite, which was the first multi-channel mains 'disco light' switcher. It would switch lamps on and off in time with the music in three frequency bands, 10KW per channel. I hired it out to a couple of film companies in the late 60s who made 'Buttercup Chain' (lit the disco scene) and then 'Say hello to Yesterday' (lit the boutique scene). I had the time of my life during the making of these films mixing with the likes of Jane Asher, Leigh Tayor-Young, Jean Simmons.... I also made and sold a domestic version which switched 1KW per channel, I still have the large one in my office. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: May 27, 1998 04:43 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Isobariks If one was reading this thread as a newcomer, one might think that Linn's dropping of the Isobarik was a capital offence, so wonderful was the speaker. As an erstwhile user and integrator, I am rather aware of its shortcomings. They have a series of hi-q resonances which cause two problems. A sensitivity to other speakers or transducers in the room seriously affecting the performance, and also several sorts of music are so seriously coloured as to render them completely unenjoyable. The mid-range units are in a sealed boxes and if one listens to rock at a realistic level (a likely occurence) the air heats up inside and displaces the cone from the 'normal' position and drastically increases the level of distortion. The top speakers are not cat proof (dispense with the pet or put up with regular driver replacement bills), and neither are they back proof (many older Linn dealers can attest to this). The variability of the build of these speakers has resulted in wildly differing opinions, almost all of which are valid. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: May 27, 1998 04:20 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: design time Tarik During the design, it was never invisaged that the Headline would have an internal power supply. A headline/psc let alone a Headline/hicap will be much better than a Nait for headphone use, very low noise is a extremely important consideration when using phones. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: May 27, 1998 04:07 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: hdcd Joel wished, "Put a manual defeat on the HDCD circuitry in the CD players. HDCD is a menace, to these ears at any rate." Sorry, but part of the agreement for using the excellent digital filter is that if the cd being played is hdcd encoded, the hdcd decode must be enabled. But the upside is that we found that if the cd was encoded, it sounded better decoded than played 'straight', that is not to say that using a better ADC wouldn't have sounded better still. julian PS some other things that come to mind: It is very unlikely that there will be any changes to our tuner range until the DAB situation becomes clearer - tuner development is very expensive and the sales of expensive tuners is small. The design of a 'perfect' remote is on the agenda. We tried a half-ARO, the place where we could save on production costs was the finish. The resultant product didn't pass potentional customer acceptance tests. I know of several customers who have replaced their 52s with new ones each time there has been an improvement, so I assume there must be the occasional second-hand market. (unless they just get relegated to the children's room) A big power amp has been on my agenda since the early 70s, but I cannot bring myself to again (NAB300) make an amp which has more power just for the sake of it and not actually sound better than the 135. (but the idea has not gone away). A 'simple' 52 would not save enough money to make the pain of adding another product to our list worthwhile. end of PS for the time being. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: May 26, 1998 03:01 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: under the carpet NACA 5 was conceived so that among other things it could be placed inconspicuously under the carpet in a groove cut into the underfelt - this has been done dozens of times in many many installations. Although at first glance NACA 5 may seem to be difficult to conceal, it really isn't so bad specially since any bends can be heat set into the cable. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: May 26, 1998 02:19 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: naim Exposure sell very few CD players compared with Naim. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: May 20, 1998 04:30 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: retailers Sorry Scott, we have no retail practices - we are not retailers. We try very hard to get our retailers and distributors to do a good job for our customers, but we can only do this by discussion and education. Please can you email us and we will try to locate where your order has gone astray. with apologies julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: May 18, 1998 11:03 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Speaker cables Alan As a matter of courtesy, we measure, and if reasonably safe, listen to samples of cables supplied by their manufacturers. I, as Paul accurately says, am not very interested personally, but I am told that the cable mentioned sounded poor, and could not be recommended for use with our amplifiers. As reasonably suggested elsewhere in this thread, Naim is best with Naim and 'Others' suit 'Others'. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: May 18, 1998 10:51 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: ARO v other arms BIGGER julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: May 14, 1998 08:19 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: reissues Vuk Probably, yes. But it would depend on the original tape - listen to Gary Boyle, that's a 'reissue'. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: May 01, 1998 01:43 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: tried, tested & rejected Sorry I wasn't more clear - I tried the new Philips CD-R machine and after a warm-up, several tries, I put it back in the box for disposal by one of our very nice dealers. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: May 01, 1998 01:32 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: D-345 Ken I bought them nearly two years ago, which may mean several model-years in Sony terms - sad! julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: April 29, 1998 04:03 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: digital radio I guess you mean something new rather than the way that FM has been distributed around the UK for the last couple of decades? This new system is called DAB (digital audio broadcast), and it is a rather cunning multi carrier MPEG-2 compressed variable data rate multi channel system which is broadcast in some parts of the UK (not Salisbury). At present the cost of the bits and the exorbitant licence charges mitigate against its uptake. But the system does have lots of things going for it if used in cars or portables. As we learn more we will report further. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: April 29, 1998 01:48 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: CDS price Looking at the fullness of the prototype box and the cost of the state of the art silicon involved, I would guess that it will be (allowing for inflation) noticeably more expensive than the CDS of last year. The other issue is that the CDX + XPS will cost a similar amount to the old CDS, so you can expect a considerable improvement in performance from the CDS replacement and that it will cost more than the CDX + XPS combo. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: April 28, 1998 11:21 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: CDS The next CDS is in development. There are some major steps we have taken in the design of this player, and we don't want to launch the product with these ideas half developed, so that others could 'borrow' them before the full goodness has been derived for the benefit of our customers. Which is a roundabout way of saying we will tell you 'when', when we know. We have 5 people working pretty much flat out on the player at present, and I expect to be able to give some indications of when it might be ready, in a month or so. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: April 28, 1998 11:09 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Super Audio CD etc There is a lot of political hot air in this area, as to who will 'win' this particular battle is still very much an open issue, but it is possible that the 'next generation' is not yet on the playing field. The Philips system is backwards compatible, ie existing players will play the new discs, but not to the new standard. The DVD audio grouping has another set of proposals. In truth the answer is, that nobody knows, but from our perspective none of the new systems that we have heard offer as good a result as we get from our Naim CDs (yet). I don't think that the increased data rate of the new proposals will actually make much difference to the majority of listeners, especially as to get a better result, much greater care will need to be taken at all stages of CD production. So I suspect we will be able to go on enjoying the music we have without any sense of frustration. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: April 28, 1998 10:53 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: music grade The music grade CDRs have a little bit of code in the pre-TOC area to let the recorder know that that the copyright money has been paid.... all of which means the new cheaper CD recorders will not record on data CDRs. Is this what's called 'hidden technology'? julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: April 28, 1998 01:53 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: There's a word for this Jawed, Pete, Tks. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: April 28, 1998 01:45 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: AV1 Dirk There have been long threads on the AV1 during the last year or so - try search. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: April 27, 1998 02:31 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: didn't look Sorry Andy, I didn't look to see which A2D they use in the new £500 CD-Rs, but I found the sound (however used) very disappointing, and the disks very expensive (they have a built-in copyright charge). Not at all like the original CD-Rs. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: April 27, 1998 02:21 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: chips It seems that the suppliers of the digital filters for the CDX are now on target, with a delivery recieved last week. But we are still about 4 weeks behind as a result of their late shipping. While we will make every effort to catch up, we are rather busy on all fronts at present so we can't redeploy people to make extra CDXs. The XPS is in its pre-production stage at present and providing all goes according to plan we should be able to announce its launch in June. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: April 27, 1998 02:46 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: this again Andy Sheen wrote: "I'm not so convinced... I would expect a CD-R machine to have fairly cheap A->D convertors so I'd expect an analog(ue) copy of a CD to be worse than a direct digital copy in a realistic home system . The only thing that can happen to the digital signal on an SPDIF interface is that jitter is increased. ****First: the Crystal A>D in the original CDR machines were excellent, second: Jitter in the digital domain is THE THING and causes non signal related distortion - very nasty!******* To quote Andy again: "Who is to say that the "cheap" CD-R machines that are just starting to come out have any better jitter path on their analogue sections than their digital sections. ******Jitter is not an issue in the analogue domain***** I also don't understand what Julian was mentioning about turning an analogue signal to digital then back again in the article you refered to. Surely, the data is all digital anyway (I am very aware that digital data transmission at MHz is effectively an analogue process but...). Comments Julian? *****I can't remember either, but in general taking an analogue signal out of one place and into the next seems to result in a better transfer even if both store the information digitally.****** ****julian**** _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: April 27, 1998 02:31 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: discmen Ken, I've tried or listened to thirtysomething of these devices and the Sony D-345 was the only one that made a decent job of Patrick Noland - with its blob-in-the-ear headphones(?). It was so good, I bought a second one to see if it was chance, it wasn't - the second one was just as good. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: April 26, 1998 08:15 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: plug Male Coax. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: April 26, 1998 08:12 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: ICE Sorry, but the car is a very undemanding environment and our R&D dept is really stretched - this combination does not bode well for a new departure for Naim. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: April 26, 1998 08:06 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: 2 spurs Probably better to forget one of the spurs, use the other. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: April 23, 1998 05:29 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: old thread Using 'search' type 'bi' in the first box, set forum to 'hi-fi chat' and then type author 'julian vereker' - don't set the 'days' bit. You will get a selection of my posts, choose the one that seems to be about bi-wiring and then use the 'show thread' button. There was a thread call Bi Wire or similar which had all sorts of technical stuff in it. (I've just checked). julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: April 23, 1998 03:03 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: all present & correct Jawed, thanks for all that hard work, the new cd p/s will be the XPS. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: April 22, 1998 03:47 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: BNCs David The BNCs are better than RCAs for the phono inputs, and where the signals and grounds are separate they are as good as DINs, but DINs are better where the ground is common as it is between most bits of electronic equipment. I strongly advise against the continued use of bi-wiring. The Windex sailplane does take off under its own power and the Windextreme achieved 257Kn in a steep dive (apparently they don't use Km/Hr in the US). julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: April 22, 1998 03:13 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: do we... I have asked several times to get an FAQ facility built in, but it has not been forthcoming so far, please join me in having patience. Maybe Raul will try pressing the software providers harder. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: April 22, 1998 06:30 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: bi wiring Mark, please search the forum for info on speaker cables and bi wiring - they have been covered in depth in the last year. If you still have doubts, do post again. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: April 22, 1998 02:10 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: easy cds Philip, It is true I mostly use CDS players (at home and office) but I also use a CD3 quite bit and a Sony D-345 in the car. Our DP dept is replete at present with a manager(ess), an assistant (printing and help systems) and a hardware person (me). Sorry! julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: April 21, 1998 10:59 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: needle wear Philip It hasn't worn out yet, but it doesn't get a huge use (only 100s of hours a year) and I have one more when it does. The retipped ones are much less good than the originals, we tried to get a modern copy made but the makers of such parts said it was an out-of-date technology and it "wouldn't be worth it". I have no additional info on the subject, sorry. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: April 21, 1998 10:48 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Steve Thanks Jon, I had dinner with him a few weeks ago, and I am expecting him in Salisbury again soon. (to choose a new hi-fi). I really enjoyed the gig as well. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: April 20, 1998 07:26 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: a sort of reply Steven Too many imponderables. . . . One, I haven't tried an LP12 for more than a decade. Two, if it was a desert island there probably wouldn't be any walls to put the SBLs against - so that's not much good. When I've been on desert islands, they quite often don't have much in the way of mains electricity either, so usually I have the ubiquitous walkman and a box of batteries. As for the music, there are some obvious ones like Keith Jarrett and Beatles, thereafter, Brahms 1st, early Janis Ian, Steve Harley, Charlie Haden, Antonio Forcione, Early Allegri playing Mozart. . . whatever I could grab from the sinking boat! julian PS the cartridge I use at home is an FR1 mkll from the '70s. _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: April 16, 1998 03:01 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: power Mathias, The analogue output of the CD3-5 may be separately powered using any of our *.cap supplies. There are no other parts of the player which may be externally supplied. The 'remote part' is not a separate part of the CD player's circuit since the whole player is controlled by a microprocessor which runs all the time that the player is switched on, and it is also responsible for all the remote functions as well. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: April 16, 1998 02:34 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Correction Neville, I hope you enjoy your new Naim system as much as we enjoy making it. The addition of a *.cap power supply to a CD3-5 actually powers the analogue output stages. When you get the Flatcap, you can try it on both the 92 and the CD3-5 and choose which you prefer - but remember that it probably takes a few hours till the equipment has warmed up enough to make a valid comparison. Unfortunately Mathias' post is mostly incorrect: a NAPSC is not suitable for use with the CD3-5, it hasn't enough voltage to enable the regulators to work in the CD3-5, also the remote section of the CD3-5 is not a separate part of the cd player in power supply terms. julian PS maybe you will need two flatcaps? _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: April 15, 1998 01:16 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: consumption I covered power consumption within the last 3 months - try search. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: April 14, 1998 09:53 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: pete I like it. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: April 14, 1998 02:30 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: prefix Bruce, I feel you need to be much more specific when you say this or that product is better - It is in reality only better in the system tested and in the circumstances which pertained. The design of phono pre-amps is susceptable to a number of mathmatical modeling issues which most designers overlook and under test these issues become apparent. I have come across one or two copies of my circuit over the years which have worked reasonably but most have measurable flaws. From what has been written I suspect that there is a mismatch with the exposure pre-amps input. We do suggest that under no circumstances should a Naim poweramp be used without a Naim preamp. Just because another manufacturer say it's ok, dosen't make it so. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: April 14, 1998 01:57 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: large nat02 I am not keen on waste. So, unless there is an overriding performance advantage, I would always choose to use the minimum of material resouces to make a piece of equipment. It is often a discussion item at Naim, the issue of money put into performance versus money put into the appearance, the balance over the years has continued to vere towards appearance. This is the influence of the market place over my personal interests. The large Naim case is hugely more expensive than the midi one, not just because of the extra weight of aluminium, but also because there is only one company in Europe that has a press that can extrude a section of this size and therefore there is premium on the cost of the section. In order to make a change of this sort, one would have to start with a complete of mechanical drawings, not just the case and chassis but also the internal fixings, front and rear labels etc. Then a few prototypes would have to be made to check that the whole is manufacturable - each one of these costs something like 10 times the retail price of the item to make. Then one has to spend several thousand pounds getting the 'new' product tested for safety and EMC. All these costs then have to be amortised over the product life. Not trivial. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: April 08, 1998 07:35 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: robust Ian Naim equipment is quite robust in terms fo dealing with spikes and surges - some places (W.A.) used to have over 260V most of the time, and even though other equipment failed we had no problems. I have run my system off my 5KW generator on occasions (during power cuts - often in my part of the country) and in spite of 20% variations in voltage it copes well. I have no experience of the regulators working satisfactorily, maybe others have? julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: April 08, 1998 02:10 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: flying Matt Does that mean that it might be better not to fly this December 31st - if one has a choice? julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: April 08, 1998 02:26 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: mains Very likely the use of a voltage regulator will make the system sound poor all the time rather than good some of the time and not quite so good the rest of the time. The japanese have the most miserable mains, it is so limp that when you plug an electric heater into the wall, you find that all the electricity can manage is to ignite the gas from a concealed gas bottle and run the thermostat! So it is possible that they are not the best people to supply 'brute force' mains regulators. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: April 08, 1998 02:17 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: xps - supercap These are completely different types of power supplies, the supercap is a multiple set of positive voltage supplies, the xps is a multiple set of both positve and negative voltage supplies - THEY ARE NOT INTERCHANGEABLE. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: April 08, 1998 02:02 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: cables Tim I would suggest VERY strongly that you use input 2 on the 72 (or 3 on the early 72s) with the cable that comes with the CDX - the BNCs are not really suitable for this source. Or get a DIN fitted to the preamp. All Naim cables are directional, we don't know what the mechanism is, but they are all marked which way to connect them. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: April 07, 1998 02:08 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: wong system Vuk, this guy has a complete Linn system - no Naim bits at all - so it's not totally surprising he comes to unusual conclusions. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: April 06, 1998 01:37 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: serial numbers Per Please email (or phone) the factory for information on particular pieces of second-hand Naim equipment. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: April 05, 1998 10:57 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: ONE SPUR Richard, The earth has nothing to do with this issue. So far as I remember from the deep and distant past, once one had cleaned one plugs with duraglit they needed to be cleaned all the time to keep the system working - as I said before pushing them in and out 2 or 3 times cleans them mechanically and works till the next holiday (when one might turn one's system off). julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: April 03, 1998 02:15 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Music at home The simple explanation of why Naim works, is that we don't make any stupid mistakes, ie it's not how good the good bits are, it's that there aren't any bad bits (or if there are, they are masked - a technique we call 'fault masking') You may think, "it can't be that simple", but actually we can take any piece of another manufacturers equipment and show a measured parameter that is maybe only 20-40dB down and clearly audibly affects the resultant sound, whereas one probably needs to be 60dB down to get reasonable music. ( each of these steps is an order of magnetude ie x10) julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: April 04, 1998 08:28 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: past posts Damian The subject of cd mechs was aired in the forum last year. But the key issue is that in a digital system it is possible to rescue a poor signal (with some heavy duty processing) but with a cartridge, all the bits have to be right, and in the right place. I hope you enjoy your first w/e with your CDX. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: April 03, 1998 02:36 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: computer journos Jon I mean what else would you use them for otherwise? julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: April 03, 1998 02:26 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: yes but Damian, you are right, but only when (we think) it makes commercial sense. julian PS that's ok. _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: April 03, 1998 02:18 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: choice Mathias You have listened to these different systems, you don't need me to tell you. :-) In any event it's your choice. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: April 01, 1998 10:44 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Zetex Zetex were absorbed into another conglomerate last year, I think, and are one of our good suppliers, they still make the same devices for us that they did 25 years ago. Tom Heinitz died last year, he made The Times obits, but I never met him. My (late) godfather was a great mate of his, so I heard quite a bit about him in the '70s. The P3 is 33/45 - a simple switch. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: April 01, 1998 10:35 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: a deck Tarik, of course I have considered the possiblity of doing a whole turntable, but at the point when vinyl was becoming a enthusiasts item, we had done the Armageddon, the ARO and the P3/PS and the prefix, and the difference in musical terms between any of the top turntables equiped with these items wasn't great. So while I can see some small things that could be done to improve matters, and these mainly things that some manufacturers have got right and others haven't. It's not like the CD Player or the Tuner, where others had, in my view, missed the point entirely, the turntable is, I feel, in a reasonable state of development. We did try to do a cartridge a few years ago, but it was like wading through mud to get parts made specially for us rather than the parts bin approach which was on offer. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: April 01, 1998 10:23 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: different time Philip, the time Bill Z Johnson was talking about was time in the analogue domain - ie phase coherency or linearity, what I was talking about is that the signal is stored in terms of time in the digital domain and therefore one must be very accurate when one does the conversion. The issue is not just is it a 1 or a 0, but WHEN is a 1 or a 0 - the 'when' business is handy to get right to better than 100ps, not easy. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: April 01, 1998 05:11 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: wiring kabers Paul Desmond tells me that one should take the NACA5 to the tweeters and then with links made from NACA5, to the two bass connections - I hope this makes sense - Call Paul (at Naim) if in doubt. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: April 01, 1998 01:22 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: EW Neil D Self's writings (along with several other 'experts') in EW were one of the reasons for cancelling my sub. The guys who write in the mags on the subject of audio design, do it with such certainty and I (we) know that it just isn't like that. For example they never seem to discuss the PCB which is as important a part of the circuit as anything else. All our preamps are single ended class A (mainly for noise considerations and of course, simplicity) julian PS I may be being unfair, but isn't there a saying "Those who can, do and those who can't, write about it". _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: April 01, 1998 01:05 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: yes >>>>>>>>> Do you mean that I should consider buying a superior amp (NAP140/180)instead of going active with NAP 90/2s? Yes, definitely. And then a cd3. (but I would do that before a flatcap) julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: April 01, 1998 01:02 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: lps >>>>>> I'm keeping them in case JV designs a record deck that sounds........ I won't, I promise. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 31, 1998 02:47 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: reference Sorry Nile, you will need a separate supply for the preamp, if one tries to get the power from the power amps in this instance the ground reference is compromised, and any advantage from the activating will be lost. But I still hold the view that a better amp makes more musical sense than activating until one gets to the 250. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: April 01, 1998 12:55 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: sorry Peter, sorry I can't help any further, except that bi-wiring should be avoided (see thread of a few months ago). My own experience with the kabers was not sufficiently rewarding to expend any (personal) time on trying to make them sound reasonable (just try a solo piano like Patrick Noland, the piano sounds all out of tune), but I will try to get one of our sales people to post. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 31, 1998 02:56 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: ONE SPUR Peter, plug them all into one spur, and exchange the 90s for a 250 (or if you must a 180), I'm told by our sales people that if you must use Kabers, the way they are wired is crucial. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 31, 1998 02:43 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: ONE SPUR No, with Naim one spur is much better. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 31, 1998 02:41 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: DPA Are they back in business? The reason we don't put a digital output is not so much the extra circuitry, but if one enables the digital out, noise is radiated around the place which increases the jitter. Jitter wasn't in the audiophile's vocabulary until we started to make single box players and drew attention to TIME in the digital domain. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 31, 1998 02:26 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: tools Tarik I didn't say that I thought it had got easier with the modern toys, just more fun! We have used ZTX transistors ever since Ferranti developed the copper lead frame and the silicone encapsulant (a chip is just a chip unless you put it in a good environment). I have used a Phonosophie P3 since its inception (and since we developed the power supply, I remember the day clearly - but not the year!) All the P3 needs is a new belt each year - set up is easy and with an ARO, no repetitive resetting. julian PS a slide rule is a device for adding (or subtracting) logarithmic distances. HAH! PPS I think Alester visited Naim the other day, but I was a bit frantic and didn't have time to catch up with the news - can you show him how the forum works? (he must have a computer, mustn't he?) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 31, 1998 03:42 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: spice Tarik Not only was there no Spice when I did this design, the electronic calculator had not yet appeared (well, not quite true, you could get a Sumlock Compucorps with NIXIE tubes for about £1200 and the size of an electric typewriter) and so everything was calculated using a slide rule. When I got my first PC, I got a program called ECA which was a precursor to Spice, but in reality one could not model elaborate enough circuits to be really useful, but Roy (head R&D) did find it useful in speaker design. But today with CAE, the toys are definitely better. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 31, 1998 12:56 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: mains cables Alan Use the ones supplied - it does make a difference. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 31, 1998 12:51 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: P3 PS Vuk, you're right in your recollections, I use a Phonosophie P3 at home, and this uses a power supply that we make specially for this turntable - it isn't an Armageddon - it is a 24volt high current device and is better used on the same spur as the rest of the system. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 30, 1998 01:33 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: separation So far as I know the Armageddon should also be on the same spur as the rest of the system, but since I don't use one I don't actually have direct experience of trying it on a separate spur. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 30, 1998 12:13 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: separate spurs >>>>Gordon Fraser wrote: We use two separate spurs. Power amps get plugged in to one feed and power supplies in to another. This has been found by others (including us at Naim) to be a very poor idea - the whole system should be run from one spur. The only exception to this is (maybe) plugging a lingo into a another spur due to its effect on the rest of the system. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 29, 1998 04:16 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: fault If one can't make amplifiers because of a shortage (due to whatever reason) it doesn't matter whose fault it is, only how can we get back into production. Life is too short to spend time blaming other people, when actually it's ones own fault for choosing them in the first place. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 29, 1998 03:55 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: Oh dear! Jawed I think this is a question of a little knowledge being a dangerous thing, anybody should know if you have a difficulty at 22KHz and it is not so hard at 21KHz or even easier still at 20KHz, go for the easy option, it is more likely that one will succeed in doing the job in a satisfactory manner. It is not the outer edges that make or break a good hi-fi. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 29, 1998 03:29 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: stories Pat Sorry to go on, but just because you read these things in text books while a university does not make them any 'righter'. When I started to teach myself electronics, I bought a standard text book to learn from, but at every stage when an example was given, I tried it out in practice. What I found was that mostly the writers were repeating stuff they had learnt when they were at university AND IT WAS ALL RUBBISH (not quite all, Ohm was good, as was Hertz and Fleming and a few others). So I started working backwards using real components which inspite of what they are called, all turn out to be a mixture of things, eg a transistor is mostly resistor with a bit of capacitance and a touch of inductance, a capacitor is a capacitor with quite a lot of inductance mixed in. . . you get the idea. I generated a series of algorithms to describe what's going on, and to this day all the Naim gear is based on this series of understandings. I have lifted bits of other engineers (published) work where I have been able to fit them into the Naim picture, there are some issues that have aquired names and protagonists after I had found solutions (eg Transient Intermodulation Distortion & Matti Otala) but nothing I have seen published addresses the starting points or sets the ground rules in a way that (in my terms) is likely to result in amplification suitable for playing music. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 29, 1998 07:11 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: op amps Op amps suitable for audio didn't exist when I designed our power amp circuit and even today one can probably do better with discrete transistors. I feel that you have been misled by published stories concerning class A and class B, our amps are class B and do not exhibit crossover distortion, nor is it inevitable that a class A (or more usually AB) amp will not suffer from crossover artifacts. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 29, 1998 04:07 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: no editing Jawed No, I didn't wipe it - promise. but I did miss it, so maybe the NT server took exception? julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 29, 1998 03:55 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Bias All Naim power amps are class B and they have as low a bias as we can manage, just a few milliamps. There are two reasons for doing this, in order to make a good push/pull power amp, the two halves need to match very closely since there is only one common feedback loop - this applies whatever the 'class' of the amp. If one achieves this degree of precision then one only needs a very small bias current. Also it is extremely wasteful of resources making class A power amps, since they use large amounts of electricity even when they are not playing music, this means the waste heat has to be dissipated into the atmosphere without overheating the components and thus shortening their lives, which implies large heatsinks, big heavy and expensive in terms of resources pieces of equipment. There are quite a few power amps about, that are called class A for marketing reasons, but are in fact to all intents and purposes, class B. (Save the planet - buy class B). julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 27, 1998 11:01 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: ixo Andrew The IXO has two ganged level controls, one for the bass/mid and the tweeters, so the levels of the bass/mid relative to the tweeters can be adjusted. Very small adjustments can make surprisingly large differences to the music. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 27, 1998 10:55 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: power consumption The 62 needs 24volts not 220v and it draws about 150ma (so far as I remember) which equals 3.6 watts. The 135s are class B amplifiers, and so they draw more power the louder one plays, when the music is off, it is about 20 watts and at maximum volume (4 Ohm speakers) it will be about 200watts. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 27, 1998 10:40 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: self preservation Lawrence If a supplier is to stay in business, he will probably have to deal with the 00 bug, asking him for assurances that he has taken ALL the neccessary precautions is likely to be self defeating - either he has, because he knows what is involved and he wants to stay in business, or he doesn't know what's involved and therefore our request is redundant because everybody knows that they must say 'yes', they have it sorted. Sorry to be so cynical, but I find it less depressing to expect the norm and be pleasantly surprised when all comes out well. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 27, 1998 02:23 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: a small disagreement Vuk B***S**T. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 27, 1998 02:20 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: 2038 We have retired our DEC 11/73 which has a count-the-seconds clock, so that shouldn't cause a problem unless the 'tax police' decide that they need to see company records for the previous 50 years, anyway we might have buried it by then . julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 26, 1998 05:31 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: pads etc Martin Try the thread 'SBL'. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 26, 1998 05:53 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: hdcd >>>>> I'd like to know what Julian thinks of the reproduction available from a piece of music that is HDCD-encoded versus the "traditional" variety. We have tried the HDCD encoder, we tried all its settings, we flew Ken Christianson over from Chicago with his Nagra & master tapes, we spent hours on the phone to their techies. Having put the hdcd chip in the cdx (although mainly because it is an excellent digital filter) we did want it to 'work' as an enhancement, but even if it does 'work' it turns out that a better ADC gives the better result and our ADC is the better by far. So you will not be seeing Naim CDs with hdcd encoding unless something pretty dramatic changes. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 26, 1998 05:35 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: 2000+ There are micros in our equipment, and all the programs (that we have written) are dateless. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 25, 1998 02:18 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: great Ulrich I have heard this many, many times, but on every new occasion, I still feel just as delighted as I did the first time. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 25, 1998 02:06 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: computers The 102 doesn't have a record lock like the 52. But all we can surmise (barring simple mechanical problems - such as a button stuck in - on either remote or preamp) is that the micro that controls the preamp (decodes the IR, arranges all the switching & lights the lights) had crashed, and turning off and on again would re-boot it. If you didn't turn the preamp off, then it probably wasn't that. I was called out to a customer's house because their cd player had gone wild and they were about to have friends round and wanted to listen to music. I put a cd on the player and the music started - no problem - as I turned away from the player to say "there you go, what's the problem?" the music stopped and the the disc started at the beginning again. As people moved around the room, so the track would restart at different times. The remote had fallen into the basket of wood beside the fire place and the play button had got jammed on with the remote pointing up and with its (nearly) all seeing eye the CDI started the track from the beginning every time one moved away from the player unmasking the IR sensor. Sorry, I have no better explanation. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 25, 1998 01:33 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: choice I could have said things along the lines of what you discovered for yourself (ie I disagree with Dave @nana), but it is a choice, and there is one case where the active (without 250s) system might please more, and that is if you are troubled by difficult acoustics and the simple adjustment on the IXO can help. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 24, 1998 02:25 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: no Actually, No & no. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 24, 1998 02:03 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: balance control >>> I suppose Julian will tell us that all pre-amps feature the balance control as an intrinsic part of the circuit, and its removal would send the thing into oscillation. Exactly so. julian PS, I suppose that a bit of history comes in here, in the early days Linn found it very difficult to make speakers with the same sensitivity, and I can't tell left from right (hence ch.1 & ch.2), so the balance control was pretty useful - and then in 1983 when we introduced the NAIT in which the balance control only changed the balance by +/- 3dB there was a general outcry. Also, from a performance point of view, it doesn't matter whether the control is there or not there as long as the circuit is designed for its inclusion or not. _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 23, 1998 04:12 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: watt I think that Tannoy mean other people's watts not Naim watts. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 23, 1998 04:09 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: yes I heard these rehdeko speakers at Paul Messenger's home, and they were the worst speaker I have heard in a long time, they made pianos sound seriously out of tune, and orchestral stuff got very confused, but they seem to suit Paul and he likes them a lot. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 23, 1998 03:58 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: older 250s George Please get in touch with our service dept for specific advice on a particular 250. We have data on all the amps that we've made, so take the serial number and call (phone, email, fax...) for info. All are serviceable, but earlier ones will cost more than those of more recent manufacture to fix up. Pre extruded case (1980) 250s cannot be 'upgraded' to current spec at any price, but should be cheaper. (I use 2 on my ibl office system, still fine!) julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 23, 1998 01:29 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: hi-fi stereo on vhs The recording system for hi-fi stereo on vhs uses a companding system based on the extreme dbx noise reduction scheme, which is generally regarded as less satisfactory than dolby (from the sound quality point of view). As far as I can remember, it has some 30dB of noise reduction. Make of this what you will. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 22, 1998 10:01 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: advice steven Thanks for your post, but the sort of advice you are asking for is the province of your dealer, he will be better aquainted with other manufacturer's gear apart from all the other considerations. But you may, of course, get some useful suggestions on this forum. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 21, 1998 10:08 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: servicing of older Naim equipment We are well able to to re-invigorate old 250s ourselves, and you get a warranty with the serviced unit. We have seen a few of other people's hi-cap copies, and apart from the level of noise (some 10, some 100 times more), the arrangement of the wiring is such that the overall performance is miles away from a Naim device. If you want Avondale buy Avondale, if you want Naim buy Naim - do not confuse the two, it always seems to end in tears (and I hate explaining to customers that they have been stuffed by these (and other) cowboys). julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 21, 1998 05:36 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Class A I think that Stereophile had the CDS in the list for 3 years or so, but they said that they had dropped it because they hadn't reviewed for a while.... julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 21, 1998 05:25 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: odious comparisons Evan Jay said: >> I use to own active Isobariks with three 250s for ten years and my Naimed LP12, 52/Supercap driving a current pair of Active ATC 50s is better and more musical in every way. That's not hard, things have moved on a lot since the variety called Isobariks were made. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 20, 1998 11:40 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: sense Vuk, who said anything about being sensible? julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 20, 1998 01:23 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Aro Start at the begining - ARO, then armageddon. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 20, 1998 01:13 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: NAPSC case I have a feeling this has been touched on last year, however.... The napsc started life as a plug-in-the-wall block, but when we tested quite a few of these devices, they were noisy, got hot, poorly made etc. There was one which was ok, but it was a separate box with a cable to the plug - so we thought if 'they' could do it at that price, so could we. Price is a very strong influence, the extrusion is extremely expensive, the other issue is that if was in a smart case then there would be the temptation to put it 'on show', whereas it is designed to be 'behind the scenes' away from the other equipment. But if *you* think we should pay less attention to price and more to appearance, here's the place to tell us. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 18, 1998 01:59 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: thanks guys Thanks guys. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 17, 1998 02:59 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: pre-amps I hope others will come to my aid on this subject, my fingers are getting tired and the hull and deck for my yacht project arrive to-morrow. The pre-amp bandwidth and rise time define the operating envelope of the power amp. Most every other manufacturer's pre-amps are designed to drive their power amps - not Naim ones - for obvious reasons. We go to very great lengths to match the two parts of the system, unfortunately most of the other pre-amps (particularly those of US design) have wide or very wide bandwidths (DC to Light...) these are TOTALY unsuitable for use with our power amps if you are interested in music rather than appearance, features, RCA sockets or Lemos. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 17, 1998 02:43 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Mountains I am content just to look at mountains, not that we have any in Wiltshire. I enjoy riding my bike on roads, paths and tracks and I am not really prepared to accept the efficiency compromises involved in ATB (etc) type bikes. Almost every time I go cycling with friends, I set the fastest speed, (most of the rest of the group ride Cannondales and the like) and I have no difficulty in being in the leading group (in spite of an age disadvantage) such are the benefits of a well made bike with high pressure low resistance tyres and I can take it into the pubs (a feature of our rides) - Compromise, PAHHH. julian PS Maybe "compromise is in the eye of the beholder" _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 17, 1998 02:17 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Not Chord Co. No, they don't actually manufacture cable either, just assemble the bits. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 16, 1998 04:41 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: power cords We spend a lot of time choosing and supplying the best cords, all the others are less good, but I don't know why - they just are. And Vuk, every type of line conditioner that we have tried has sapped the music, again (sorry) better is better. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 16, 1998 07:00 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: cd service If it doesn't work, it could be good to service it! Otherwise we haven't been making them for 10 years yet, so watch this space as we get experience. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 16, 1998 06:56 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: hdcd try www.hdcd.com for info. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 16, 1998 06:53 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: In house Our whole year's requirement for interconnect cable would be made in less than an afternoon. (Unless we knitted by hand). Not a sensible use of space. And this is one of the reasons why it is difficult to get what one wants - not enough quantity. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 16, 1998 06:47 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: 120V Impedance of the mains source is an issue here, for the 120Volt supply to be as 'good' as the 230V one, the current capability should be twice that of the 230V, ie 26amps... usually in the US one finds 10amp or 16amp sockets which imply the source is about twice the impedance that we are used to this side of the Atlantic. Our transformers are designed for 50Hz and therefore are somewhat overspec'ed for 60Hz, this may help a little, but using 230V (across 2 phases in North America) as do cookers, would probably improve the situation. The ground is not an issue. Unfortunately better is better. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 16, 1998 02:27 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Super Audio CD This subject has already been aired - try search. Since Pacific Microsonics are unable to deliver sufficient chips for our production and have seriously held up our deliveries of the CDX, they are, at the present time, on our 'black list' as a supplier. So we would not be keen to put this chip into the CD3-5 and not be able to deliver these either. But it is possible that there will be a second source which might alter our view. The other issue is that at present the HDCD chip is too expensive to put into the CD3-5 without adversly affecting the conventional CD replay quality. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 16, 1998 02:16 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Brompton Yes, I have a 10 speed Brompton in the boot, and it gets used very regularly. There is a German lady who has modified a Brompton into a folding recumbent, but recumbents don't do it for me - you can't jump kerbs. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 16, 1998 02:08 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Windex Yes, I'm sure about the 257Kn (pilot: Steve Coen), I don't care for flying myself, but I am told that the Windex 1200 is the business (33:1 glide ratio, +12G, -9G etc) and a 3 cylinder engine with feathering prop to get you up. The Windextreme is a special version with a continuous carbon spar. (rather than a two part demountable). The production is being moved from Sarasota (FL, USA) to Sweden in the next few weeks. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 16, 1998 01:49 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: CDI All the early CDI players had the cdm4 mech as well as the same chipset as the CDS. You can tell simply by the fact that the puck on the cdm4 mech is a 'top hat' thing and the cdm9 puck is like a thick coin. We changed to the cdm9 pro when we ran short of cdm4s. (due to Philips 'losing' several hundred cdm4s while they were on their way to us.) julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 15, 1998 10:55 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Cable supply The company that has been making some of our cables has stopped. Finding a new supplier means looking at, then measuring and making a lot of trial interconnects which then need to be tried out in different setups. Very time consuming, not much fun since the existing cables were fine. This is an ongoing trial for our design dept. since suppliers are always 'improving', changing or discontinuing components that work well and we use. This is what might be called 'boring but vital'. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 15, 1998 10:46 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Servicing Probably every 7 to 10 years. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 14, 1998 09:43 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: video We have got some NTSC videos but we would have to get some PAL tapes copied from the betacam master. It is an 8 minute factory visit - not a Naim Feature Film. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 15, 1998 06:32 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: pre-amps Yes julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 15, 1998 06:31 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: US compatible The NTSC VHS is the one for you, and I have some on my desk. PAL is for UK, Australia, Germany etc, we don't have SECAM (France) though. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 14, 1998 09:52 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: haunting And I shall be haunting you wondering what on earth you were listening to, to come out in favour of the linn electronics! AAAGH! julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 14, 1998 09:30 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: AQ No, paul had one too. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 14, 1998 09:27 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: 1986 NAP 250 Yes & no. There are no major changes in the circuitry of the 250 since 1984/5 but there are many small things that add up to a worthwhile improvment after a service. Please feel free to contact our service dept. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 14, 1998 09:21 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Colours We have a very difficult time getting cable that sounds good, particularly at present, so the thought of trying to get it in colours as well, would I think, fill our buying department with feelings of doom. And of course there would be customers who would find that one colour sounded better than another. It's not the money. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 13, 1998 03:45 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: video Mathias wrote: PS: Is it possible to watch the Naim manuractur? If so tell us a bit more about the how.... We did have video made showing the manufacturing process at Naim, but it is now nearly 10 years old. Not much has changed except the factory, we now make cd players and we all are 10 years older. If thats what you meant I guess we could get some copies of that video made (it costs a lot to make a new one but if the demand...) Let us know. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 13, 1998 03:33 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: autos Smooth is easy, being in the gear of choice smoothly is more difficult. The box in the XK8 which I think is networked with the engine micro is rather good and makes me smile everytime I drive one. (A lot better than the already excellent one in the xj6) julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 12, 1998 05:39 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: helpful? From: > Hartmut from Munich/Germany > They simply changed the gain of the line stage to > half or third of the normal gain, I think it is > just done by changing one resistor in the > feedback path in the line stage. It was in Naim > Nait 3, BTW. I do not know whether this was a > Naim approved modification, or just the helpful > hand of a technical knowledgeable > dealer. > This is not an Naim approved mod, but if one reduces the gain of this stage in the preamp, it will of course reduce the noise by the same amount as the gain reduction, but unfortunately there would be insufficient gain to be able to listen to records, which I feel most users would regard as unacceptable. It is easy to say "just change one resistor" and for the non-thinking person to assume that it is a trivial change, and why didn't Naim do this in the first place... I would like to correct this view, every circuit has been very carefully optimised and making such a change will radically change the stability margins and probably frequency response as well, it will alter the distortion spectrum and may introduce various types of transient distortion. The reason Naim sounds the way it does, is because we take extreme care of every single detail. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 10, 1998 06:51 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: 1997 That was last year, Antonio Forcione is on the front of the current issue. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 10, 1998 06:48 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: cdx delivery Sorry, not our fault, the delay is caused by the HDCD people who were a month late delivering ICs and are still somewhat in arrears. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 10, 1998 06:35 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: Sailplanes One of my other interests is sailing, and for the last 20 years I have represented B&R Designs in the UK. Their main claim to fame is the design of the Windex wind indicator and in the air, their Windex 1200 Windextreme sailplane is the fastest in the world at 257Knots. But I prefer the sea. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 10, 1998 01:35 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: music in the car I have the standard jag issue with a Sony D-345 discman for listening to CDs. (I spend a lot of the time listening to 1st edits and demos, hence the single cd player). A car, even a quiet one, is a relatively noisy environment and therefore the possible dynamic range is severely limited, and in my view this rather limits what it is worth doing by way of serious hi-fi. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 09, 1998 10:02 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Oh dear, autos In this case the sludge-box is dead. The autobox that Jag (and BMW) use, has a micro that detects ones intentions (through the throttle pedal - both rate and quantity) such that one can precisely choose the gear that one wants to be in at all times with out all that thrashing about with levers and pedals. Since it still requires skill to get it right, I don't feel deprived of a heavy clutch pedal and a clunky gear lever. But I do have one of the other sort - Alfa Spider 1750 for the occasions that open motoring is the thing (together with a slow (until hot) 5 speed manual gearbox. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 09, 1998 02:07 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: (2) to live Hey, I didn't kill ANY of them. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 08, 1998 11:02 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Active IBLs My daytime favorites.. a standard SBL naxo or snaxo is the required electronic crossover. A DBL one will not work with a sub since the LF roll off is far too high for proper integration. The levels need to be adjusted slightly, I use a piano cd and fiddle till it plays a tune. Have fun. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 07, 1998 10:32 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: ...by magic You guessed. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 06, 1998 08:20 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: AQ I have it - Vol 1/No 1! julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 05, 1998 01:39 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Music Barry, you're about right - Paul just gave me a Ministry of Sound disc which I was sampling while I downloaded an HP printer driver... On the other matter I'm told to-day is the day. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 04, 1998 06:13 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Our people If only we knew how clever they were, we would know what they were going to leave out of the box and when. We, also, are protected by Dr Solomon. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 04, 1998 06:06 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: AQ To-morrow, what else can I say. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 04, 1998 01:57 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: oh well ..and some people prefer convenience food. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 03, 1998 09:25 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: maybe Maybe we left them out since we knew that you often visit this site and that you can register equipment elsewhere on the site - 'Contact us' and then 'registration'. julian (tongue in cheek) _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 03, 1998 09:21 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: distance Sorry, no I can't, it depends on the exact thickness of the foam gasket and how far the woofer cabinet is pressed onto the spikes. This is why we have to use a silicone seal to take up these tolerances. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 03, 1998 09:03 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: jitter This scenario has been suggested by many, many people over the last 15 years, nobody has made it work better (ie with less jitter) than we have (without the RAM) in our cd players. There were a multitude of difficulties measuring 'jitter' until Paul Miller produced his measuring system last year, and many people were misled by poor measurement technique in the past as to the true value of the jitter in cd players. Again, this subject was more fully examined in past threads. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 03, 1998 02:01 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: AV1 etc A couple of new points otherwise I feel I am repeating myself, so if you want more info, try 'search'. First, the current CD data rate is about 1.4Mbits/sec for two channels, AC-3 is (I believe) 384Kbits/sec for 5 channels plus sub-woofer, since many people are arguing for a better standard than the existing CD, eg 24bit 96KHz or Super Audio CD at 2.8Mbit/sec/channel, it should be clear that there is a general feeling for increasing the data rates not accepting a massive reduction. Second, one is much less critical of sound quality if one is watching a picture at the same time - and vice versa. The other issues have been covered elsewhere in the forum (I think). julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 03, 1998 01:30 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: sbl - more info >>>Paul Byron wrote: From your explanation above, I believe I would be correct in saying that the bass/mid cabinet must sit firmly on the spikes and must not show any signs of movement up and down (rocking motion) on the spikes. Could this not be done without the aluminum strips and the spikes then bedded directly into the wooden cabinet (as long as there is no movement)? This is entirely correct. The aluminium strips are really there for repeatability, and to help prevent 'chewing up' the wood on the underside of the woofer box - having pressed the woofer box down before the silicone is applied, a small depression is made in the aluminium which is easier to 'find' each time the box is reassembled. If the strips get large holes in them and the wood underneath gets 'chewed up' such that the woofer box sits down so far that there is no space above the foam gasket to allow for the silicone seal, this can be repaired by taking off the strips, filling the holes in the woofer box with plastic wood, and then putting new strips on. All clear? julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 02, 1998 09:10 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: "are you reading this Julian;-)" yes julian P.S. AC-3 decoders need to manipulate the data some, since it is a 'lossy' encoding system unlike 'surround'. _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 02, 1998 02:12 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: SBL aluminium pads When the speaker is first assembled, the woofer box is pressed onto the spikes to make indentations in the aluminium pads to make it easier to locate the woofer box after the silicone has been applied. The woofer box is then pressed down firmly after the silicone has been applied to ensure that any excess is spread out and is not pushing the woofer box up. After the assembly has been done a number of times, the holes may become enlarged in the spike protectors which in itself doesn't matter as long as the seal is remade, but it is important to check that the foam gasket does not touch the underside of the woofer box when it is placed on the spikes (i.e. there must be a gap for the silicone). If you have any doubts, read the manual or check with your dealer. This is a very important part of the correct operation of the SBL, and if the woofer box is not firmly on the spikes, the sound quality IS SERIOUSLY degraded. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 01, 1998 09:25 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Credo air gap >>>>Nick Maire wrote: The mention of felt pads being placed over the back of the driver, I'm guessing, is similar to what Naim asked of Mourdant-Short (sp.?) on the original SBL driver that Naim replaced The driver that M-S made for us on and off since 1975 never had felt anywhere... When Roy George joined Naim and designed the SBL, he put a metal/foam sandwich on the back of the magnet to damp the motor assembly, maybe this is what you were refering to? >>>>Nick Maire wrote: Anyway I would be delighted if Mr V could explain a little more about it, but there's no pressure. I'm sure I said quite a lot about speaker design in the Peter Sutheim interview downloadable from this site. >>>>Nick Maire wrote: This leads me on to my own question. What's that air gap doing for my Credo's? Is it seemless a reflex port? Yes. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: March 01, 1998 08:14 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: ac-3 If the press releases are to be believed, Dolby Digital (AC-3) is the world wide standard for DVD movies. I haven't tried MPEG-2 compared Dolby Digital, so I have no view on that matter except that lossy compression systems don't come high on my list of desirables, but it is irrelevant comparison anyway since Dolby is the one. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: February 24, 1998 02:13 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: What if? Vuk, One can 'what if' here, (and in the pub), but in real life one needs to have components to make things with, and as yet we have no indication AT ALL when these will (or may) be available (or even exist). As before, we will try to keep information flowing. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: February 23, 1998 04:40 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: the words The AV1 does not process the speech part of the signal and therefore I would suggest you look elsewhere for the lack of intelligibility during your demonstration. Having watched nearly 100 films (from all different sources) on my system which includes an AV1, I have never, with any film or tv programme, had a problem with hearing what the actors are saying, the signal that results from the SFX processing in the AV1 is solely fed to the rear speakers to give a better feeling of the live acoustic (and of course rear occuring sounds). julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: February 23, 1998 04:14 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: Super Audio CD Yes, we have had Super Audio CD demonstrated to us. The technical side was covered (as far as I can remember) some time ago in Stereophile, and is a 2.82Mbit per stream multichannel system (ie 2.82MHz bitstream, this is slightly more data than the alternative suggestion 96KHz 24bit - 2.304Mbits) and is reportedly more future-proof. There may well be potential in this system, but demonstration of the various systems on offer were unconvincing, and as I have mentioned before, this is a two part system and one has to be able to get the signal that has been encoded on the disc off. From our first experience of this new system, which is envisaged to be fully compatible with the existing CD standard, we would say that any of our existing cd players will do a better job than the protoype Super Audio CD player. As more tangible information becomes available, we will try to keep you all informed, but I suspect the premature release has more to do with the politics of standards than technical readiness. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: February 21, 1998 09:57 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: power The word is that the Headline works fine powered from the 52, not as good as a Hi-Cap, but better than a psc. But the perfomance of the 52 is marginally affected, and the Headline is powered all the time it is connected to its power supply, not just when the music is playing. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: February 21, 1998 09:52 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: music Yes - the music! julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: February 21, 1998 05:58 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: VA The 250 and the 135 now (since 1984) share the same spec transformer and so the VA ratings are similar. Pre 1984, the 250 had a slightly smaller rated transformer, this is probably where this infomation originated, but it is not now so. Of course, one could say 2 is better than 1. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: February 21, 1998 05:31 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: good news On arrival back in the UK, our buyer, Annie Jeans, has told me that the chips are at Stanstead (airport) awaiting customs, and will be at our factory Monday 23rd. (at least 4 weeks late). 'Lean' is not to blame here, the first few production periods of a new product are a ramping up to a maximum which continues until the 'pipe is full', only then do the production orders put onto factory floor fall in line with the incoming dealer orders. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: February 21, 1998 05:11 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: hiss The hiss from the speakers is quite normal, specially when the phono input is selected. There are two issues, one: the DBLs are very efficient compared to most other speakers and therefore the hiss will sound about twice as loud as it would for the same volume setting using other speakers. (and the music would also be about twice as loud if you happened to be playing music rather than listening to the hiss). Second: the way that our pre-amps are designed, the noise is such that it is always masked by the noise from the source, ie the background noise off vinyl (the worst case) is some 6dB noisier than the pre-amp noise. The 52 has a remote control - try reducing the volume or pressing 'mute' to reduce the hiss when not listening to music. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: February 18, 1998 12:22 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: Naim XOs Naim electronic crossovers are all 18dB/oct (3rd order) and linear phase. The passive ones are designed to mimic the electronic ones but, of course one ends up with some series 'resistance' between the amp and the drivers which result in some increase in harmonic distortion. There in lies one of the major reasons for going active - reduced distortion. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: February 18, 1998 09:07 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: CDX Eza I am sorry for the delay in shipping CDX, but it is NOT OUR FAULT. The delay is solely due to one company's inability to deliver components to an agreed schedule. The company is Pacific Microsonics - the HDCD people, it has already caused us chaos (I am sure that you can imagine 100s of players on racks filling every part of our assembly floor waiting for ONE small CHIP), and regretably it shows, yet again, how we are at the mercy of our suppliers. Perhaps we shouldn't have gone with the HDCD since they were the sole source of the chip, but in tests their digital filter was among the best and you (our customers) said that you wanted the HDCD feature. So we all have to be patient, and if it is not sorted by the time I gat back to the UK (20th), I shall have some strong words to say to the guys at Pacific, but it probably won't make any difference. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: February 16, 1998 01:14 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: product history Tony We do have a product history - if you go to the 2nd page and select HI-FI, there is then a PRODUCT HISTORY choice. It is not very elaborate yet, but I hope we will be able to find some time to fill it out & bring up to date. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: February 16, 1998 12:46 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: Old 52s Jawed, I think your view of old 52s is a bit extreme, I have an original 52 with ps that I use most of the day in my office (with active ibls) and I listen to music at home using a current(ish) 52 with Scap, so I do get to listen to both regularly, and I don't feel that one would be dissappointed with an old 52 providing the price was appropriate and allowing for the future Scap upgrade, there is still life in the 'Old dog yet'. As I have mentioned before, the pre-amp itself can't be upgraded - there are just too many subtle, but all pervading changes that have taken place over the years. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: February 16, 1998 12:34 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: un-named persons I was refering to a couple of the various people who modify naim manufactured equipment, who then do not (or will not) fix it if then goes wrong. Our repair dept quite regularly receives modified equipment from customers who ask for it to be sorted out. The customers know who they are, and the modifiers know who they are, I don't propose to go into the subject further. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: February 16, 1998 12:22 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: Life Thanks Afzal, that was the word I was looking for. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: February 12, 1998 09:40 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: mods Tony We have had a few pre-amps into the service dept which have had McBride mods, and I was truly shocked to hear how much of what we understand as Naim's ability to make equipment that 'plays music' had been lost. I also find it odd that he can modify our equipment for 'improved performance', but he is unable to fix even the most minor problem that would not defeat any competant technician. As Jerry once said, "You choose, you lose". julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: February 12, 1998 09:16 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: owner's manual Or you could read the power supply manual. email naim if you don't have one. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: February 12, 1998 09:09 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: sample Vuk No, my point was that there are many many more visitors than posters, and I suspect if it was a simple form to fill without any attribution, we may get a useful number of respondants. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: February 12, 1998 08:57 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: cd3 v Stage Joe I don't have cd3-5, but last time I listened to a Micromega Stage 5 in comparison with a cd3, I found that to satisfy my interest in music the cd3 does it, the micromega doesn't, so I guess we must have different expectations. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: February 11, 1998 01:42 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: faults Alan I think you have been very unlucky. Some of the things you describe could be transit damage (CDI & SBL), but the other items... We do monitor the 'infant failures' as well as all other repairs we perform at the factory and I can assure you that the failure rate has fallen in recent years, not risen. But the failures of mechanical things beyond our control (cd mechs) do mean that the failure rate of cd players is a bit higher than other pieces of equipment. julian PS I do hope everything is working properly now. _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: February 11, 1998 01:25 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: foc Vuk We do host this forum at no charge to you... However, aside from that, when I was at some Naim seminars recently, I was very surprised to find that the ratio of visitors to posters was about ten to one among the audiences, and since we have had getting on for 100,000 visits in the last year, I feel that your fears are unfounded. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: February 11, 1998 01:13 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: xps etc Alan The key issue here is that while we may have the expertise to design supplies for analogue circuitry, we have been on a learning curve in regard to supplies for digital circuits. Also the CE standards have changed what we are allowed to make somewhat - for example it is not really practicable to make supplies with two transformers of widely differing sizes in the same box - so the designs have had to change. It took us some time to appreciate how quiet it is worth making the supplies, and in the case where we use double regulation (not usually a good move in the analogue domain), how one balances the noise versus the frequency response of each of the parts. These issues are not trivial, and there are always things to learn. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: February 11, 1998 12:56 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: P3 The Phonosphie P3 was designed from the early days to accept both the ARO and the prefix. The ARO-matic is also available to fit using the existing Thorens type knob. We make a power supply for this table, it is a low voltage device not like the Armageddon. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: February 11, 1998 12:45 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: 6 Volts The walkman pro needs 6 Volts, much more than this will damage it beyond repair. We are very happy to change the output of a SNAPS to 6 volts and Chord Co make the required cables I find that the player is better from cold on its batteries but after some minutes of use on the SNAPS this is then better. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: February 11, 1998 12:37 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: Transformer noise I put all the boxes of my 6-pack system in a cupboard in the next room - with a hole in the wall for the cables. The problem with toroidal transformers, is that they have no air gap and therefore are very sensitive to odd harmonic distortion on the mains - if the mains is clean, the transformers are quiet - we have, over the years tried many different types of noise reducing devices without any great success on the noise front, but always a loss of sound quality. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: February 07, 1998 03:22 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: customer opinion We have been turning over the idea that you could 'vote' for the dealer you were pleased the the service from on this site. It would need some safeguards (one vote, one person etc), but it might interesting to be able to see your favorites (world-wide) without any intervention or manipulation. There are considerable software issues, maybe someone has some expertise? julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: February 07, 1998 02:56 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: tuners Neil, There have been a couple of long threads on tuners in the last year, try the search function. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: February 04, 1998 02:34 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: dialogue It reminds me of a comment from a (m) friend's (f) lover after a night of excess (drink etc). "You lot talk more and more about less and less". julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: February 03, 1998 05:11 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: Registration Richard Try emailing the factory - it might bring a newsletter. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: February 03, 1998 05:09 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: Time The post time is 'server time', and at present the server is in California, so the time (24 hour clock) is west coast US time, ok? julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: February 03, 1998 08:33 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Old threads Tim, the maximum number of threads that the Forum software will show is 300. This takes one back to Sept '97. The first of the threads that I can find is "replacement for cd3" which was started in March '97 when rumours of the impending cd3-5 was doing the rounds. If one uses a little imagination with search routines, one can usually find what one wants to. In this case I used 'mech' in the content and 'julian vereker' for the author... happy hunting Tim, julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: February 02, 1998 11:30 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: new model path We have done this subject to death - the last very lengthy thread died some 4 months ago, try search. When you say that Micromega do it better, I am concerned since one can always make a show of having a logical path, but several other manufacturers fell into a hole and had to withdraw many players from the market while trying to do just this in a market place where we (the manufacturers) have no control over what components our suppliers are going to make. These players had random inability to find tracks, and this was a built in problem in the Philips 12.04 mech. I think just about every aspect of the problem of succession was covered in the old thread - I am sure someone will be able unearth it. But equally I feel it is very important to realise that just because there is a newer model, this does not in anyway degrade the performance of the player that you have and hopefully enjoy. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: February 02, 1998 02:21 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: on or off Does that mean that one should turn the fridge and freezer off when one leaves the premises? We all have to meet similar safety standards. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: January 31, 1998 07:51 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: warm-up One thing one should take into account is the time taken for the equipment to 'warm-up' when doing this type of comparison. We try to encourage our dealers to keep their dem gear switched on, since it takes some 24 hours before the results are comparable with a system that has been on continuously for a period. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: January 30, 1998 01:05 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: compatibility No good reason that we know of. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: January 29, 1998 03:38 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: order No, you are right, they get sent out in numerical order - actually key number - which is the data entry number on our system and relates to when the original entry was made. Ok julian PS sometimes there is a small confusion on the floor, but I think they should all have been dispatched by this weekend. _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: January 28, 1998 02:14 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Chord Solid We provide a suitable cable with the CD3, I would suggest using it. The Linn speaker cable is a direct (physical) copy of NACA4 but with slightly too soft insulation and probably wont be the cause of the brightness, but due to the loss of musical information, the brightness is the thing that attracts attention. So if using the correct cable between CD3 and preamp and speaker cables doesn't go some way to fixing the problem, look elsewhere. (the setup or the speakers?). julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: January 27, 1998 03:56 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: multi-mains So far as I know the hydra thing came originally from us as a way of getting a predictable result at musical evenings where there often is only one mains socket available which was known to be on the same ring (or spur). I took one of these multi mains things to Martin Colloms some number of years ago when I went to check a review system and found he had arranged the system with power amps on one spur and the pre-amp on another and a third for the rest... So far as I remember he wrote favourably about the transformation. So no disapproval here, just a niggling worry about the safety aspects. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: January 26, 1998 02:30 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: sound quality I am sure that I've covered this before, but on a 'search' I couldn't find it, so here goes again. I guess there is an inbuilt desire in the human make-up to want a 'magic' solution to physical things. I don't think that 'things' work like that. What comes next needs to have the above born in mind. First, most people don't have a cd player system that realises the full potential of the signal that can be put on the cd. Second, not many cds have an excellent recording encoded onto them. The same things apply to vinyl but with a different set of ways of screwing up the final result. Another issue which has to be appreciated, is that the record/replay system is a two part thing that needs both parts to work to a similar accuracy if the potential is to be realised. Hi-Fi is already the most demanding design area in electronics (larger dynamic range and more octaves of bandwidth - at the same time - than any other discipline), to increase both parameters significantly is likely to lead to greater expense and/or a larger playground to screw up in, and still very, very few will enjoy the vaunted (but maybe unrealisable) improvements. In short, maybe putting more on, does not necessarily mean that you can get more off. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: January 25, 1998 02:54 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Volume discount Colin You can ask, but I suspect that if you have built a relationship with your dealer, he will have taken care of your upgrades in a sympathetic way, which is more than we could do on a one-to-one basis - few staff, many customers. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: January 25, 1998 02:43 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: money Paul Since you haven't had any money separated from you in relation to the age of the cd, I not sure you are allowed to ask this question! Sorry. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: January 23, 1998 02:02 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: doing sums Power supply values are a matter of fairly simple maths, various flavours of equations can be found in most electronics design books or from power supply component manufacturer's tech notes. The only difficult bit is to decide what equation to solve - ie what result do you want. But in direct answer to your size query, it is just that, a 1KVA transformer wouldn't fit in the box and neither would the caps. We do listen to everything to check the sums. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: January 23, 1998 01:49 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: '00 No, just saving us entering name, system etc manually and also offering relevent items for download. nothing sinister. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: January 23, 1998 01:34 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Onix, Rega, QUAD & Sony Further to marks' observations, the Onix is something of a Nait copy not only having a similar topology, but most of the components were the same. When I asked the designer why he hadn't 'done his own work', he said that since the Nait was the best, it was the one to copy and anyway copying is the sincerest form of flattery! Also, in the early days of the rega amps, Roy Gandy was often on the phone for advice. The only system I ever heard from another manufacturer that did anything for me, was the late production QUAD ll, 22 and '57 statics with master tapes as the source. I am often entertained by a Sony discman D-345 and sometimes even plugged into Sony £50 portable speakers.... On my boat I have an old Sony car cd/radio which gets played most of the time when we are on board. One of the interesting things that continues to surprise me is that if one spends a hour or so listening to 'ordinary' pieces, often there is one item that 'works' well but the next issue of the same product has lost it. Odd life. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: January 23, 1998 01:11 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: download Julian We could, but it raises two issues: One is that the presentation and finish of the Newsletter is important to us, and that can't be recreated from a pdf download (probably being printed on an inkjet). The other, is that we prefer our customers to fill in their registration cards when the purchase is fresh in their minds, not just when a newsletter is about to be published. But, if we can get some automatic customer data aquisition and download to our main system, we may do some more pdf things like my interview. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: January 21, 1998 10:29 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: vinyl This is not a 'no' post. We are at midem '98 in Cannes at present, and we thought it would be interesting to suss the vinyl market to see if it is economically possible to release music on vinyl any more, and we found that for most of the companies we talked to, they are looking at runs of 500 to 2500 as a world wide sell in a reasonable period (maybe 3 years). The very popular albums may sell 2000 in the first 18 months, this is a minute number considering the initial charges for making the cover let alone the cutting and pressing. So I suspect that when you find vinyl from a small company, it is done as a labour of love, without much hope covering its costs. I would prefer to spend any money that we make from the sales of discs on new recordings rather than a few vinyl pressings. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: January 21, 1998 09:54 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: underfelt The NACA cables were designed so that they could be taped to the floor and the underfelt could be cut either side of the cable run and the carpet laid on top, as I suggested in an earlier thread, it is better not to put the cable across a often used walkway because it is harder than the underfelt and one notices it if one goes barefoot. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: January 21, 1998 09:44 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: cable length This has been covered before, (try search), but to restate, NACA was designed for a nominal 10m length so that 5m - 20m would be fine, but 3m is the shortest recommended. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: January 21, 1998 01:49 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: pro-logic Sorry Robert, but I feel we have slightly crossed wires - I have less than no time for pro-logic, the dolby surround encoding is the track that is relevent to my proposition. Also although I do have a crt tv, the main movie system I use has an 84" diag screen and a dsp (in a pc) processed signal fed to an epson vga projector (no lines, no jaggies, no smear on dvd). julian PS speakers such as you describe will be investigated this year to see if we can do a product like this - but don't hold your breath. PPS I think the .1 counts as a speaker (and an amp?) - not required with dbls. _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: January 20, 1998 05:14 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: 5.1 or surround Many of the pertinant issues have been covered in this thread except that so far as I am aware all the LDs and DVDs that have been issued with a 5.1 sound track also have a dolby surround sound track as well. Since Dolby Digital is now the prefered world standard sound encoding for DVD I suspect that this will continue to be the case. I have listened to a full blooded 5.1 sound system with huge Velodyne subs etc (and naim amps) also another 5.1 of lesser stature, and at present I am more than thrilled with my own system with the surround info being decoded using our AV1, I find the vastly more believable front sound stage more than compensates for the slight lack of positional (off screen) sound info watching/listening to Laser Disks or DVD (mostly US NTSC). In my view 5.1 is not a unversal panacea, merely one option which seems to me to work in favour of the speaker manufacturers. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: January 18, 1998 10:17 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: communication Vuk, If you say things like that, I am not surprised there are few female correspondents. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: January 18, 1998 10:11 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: napsc This is really a piece of history. The 82 was launched some years before the 102 and the 82 HAS to have a napsc in order to work at all, so it seemed logical to include it in the package. In the begining the 82 was to have had one of those plug-top power supplies available at a throwaway price, but even if one was to pay a lot more than that, their performance was completely unsatisfactory, hence the naim manufactured napsc. In the past, where a problem of this sort has arisen, we have found a way around it. I assume we will again. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: January 16, 1998 04:07 PM Author: julian vereker Subject: service It would seem that the 82 needs to be serviced, or fixed - that is not the way it should be. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: January 13, 1998 02:49 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: dealer Joel, That's very generous of you not to mention the dealer's name. A truly shocking performance. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPreviousNext Date: January 13, 1998 03:02 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: hf on the mains Has anybody detected any effect on the sound of their hi-fi systems when using mains born IR trancievers or baby alarms? Hopefully the level will be low enough and the frequency will be high enough not to cause a problem, but no doubt we will get to hear from those who live in the areas where it first gets used. julian _________________________________________________________________ TopShow ThreadPrevious Next Date: January 13, 1998 02:41 AM Author: julian vereker Subject: Women's music Sorry Vuk, you will have to look in the music section for female posts - I guess you were right - music rules with womankind. julian