Top positive review
5.0 out of 5 stars... and what I got was an education on how good powered all in one units could be
Reviewed in the United States on February 22, 2015
I expected excellence and what I got was an education on how good powered all in one units could be. This will be an ongoing review as I have only had the unit for a few days but suffice to say it is the best $1500 I have ever spent....so far. But I must quell my excitement and give a balanced review including what went wrong or less than stellar. This is my first Naim product and I was warned by another reviewer that it would be the gateway drug to their equipment, most of which is far more expensive. I should have listened but it's too late to turn back now...more to come.
FEB 25th: Garbage in, garbage out. If you think this will turn a cruddy mp3 and etc into perfectly golden ear candy then keep dreaming. The more you upscale and I mean USB jitter correctional units as well, the more you'll enjoy. I've heard the unit sound coldish and I've heard it sound like a million bucks. All dependent on my source material and what presented it. Rejoice in that. It's an adventure.
Feb 27th: How you position the unit will have a lot of effect on how it sounds. Ear level-Off Ear Level all sound different. Experiment. Closer to walls mean more bass, of course. Had a special night of watching the snow fall as I sat at my windows and the Muso was so captivating in its quality that I felt some sort of transformation within, not just enjoying the music but evolving in a pleasurable way. Delicate strings and thunderous bass---this thing sounds like its creator worships MUSIC not frequency responses---that's for sure. Had quite a few out of bodies while lost in the sound earlier in the day. Basically the Muso is a drug. Listening to it while writing this and I'm glad to be alive. I am trying to stay away from flowery language and be objective but it's difficult to do because the pleasure won't stop.
(Oh developing a 'cobra-like dancing neck' sometimes when the complex rhythms do their thing. Happens automatically INTO it. Thank you, Naim.)
Put on the iconic soundtrack 'Finding Nemo' and now I have a newfound respect for Thomas Newman. The tapestry of moving colors that was revealed! My widening eyes while being caught up into the musical wind only to be sat down gingerly in a swinging arc. It was like coming in for a graceful landing! Ludicrous! I am ashamed I haven't felt this way before! Keep in mind I'm listening to the TIDAL music streaming service WITHOUT ANY TONE CONTROLS WHATSOEVER---which can't be happening. I've always been an EQ man my entire life. I still am...but the Muso can live happily Flat. How I loathe the connotation of that word in audio --FLAT. It should be called NATURAL instead. Sigh..ok enough poetics for today. I feel conned. Surely this child-like joy is the result of some sort of trickery? I need a nap.
(More to come....but it's starting to feel pedantic to go on...)
March 1st:
Put 9 serious hours on the M and I can hear it breaking in---becoming more refined. More clarity meaning more 'out of the black background' emergence...a saxophone burnished out of nowhere today, slithering satin brass down the side of my face and my eyebrows reached for my hairline. Bass is taking on more texture with the impact becoming more localized vs. disembodied. I'll probably buy another M to keep as a back up. That's not hyperbole either. The M is part of my life now and I will call 911 with a code ADAM if it goes missing. Windows within the music are starting to open meaning if I allow myself to follow this instrument or that then the entire song is enjoyed from a slightly different perspective---meaning you hear the song AS the bassists then AS the pianists then as the singer--- It's something we did as children quite naturally.
Thought I heard a rattle from the speaker--it turned out to be a synthesizer from a song I had heard dozens of times before but never to this degree of detail. The Break IN phase is happening. Geez.
*Tried the FLASH DRIVE MODE feature with WAV files burned from CDs in ITUNES (Meaning you put music files on a FLASH DRIVE and play them from the USB port) You can control the track changes via the WHEEL OF SEX atop but not even the track number is displayed so you have to use the NAIM app to see where you're going. The app screen layout is sparse so you get the name and number of the track and that's it. I would have liked more features such as a RANDOM button. Also of note: If using a wireless device to control the track changes make sure it's set to NOT fall asleep or else it will take the music into the arms of Morpheus with it.
FLASH DRIVE MODE shows you what the Naim is capable of without all of one's ancillaries to change the sound quality. It was simply beautiful and dynamic, so you don't need a laptop or wires to play true CD quality music. The DAC handled WAV files burned from CDs with ITUNES perfectly. Again NO tone controls and it sounded fantastic NOT thin or lacking in bass or treble or midrange. (OH...perhaps I lie here...within the NAIM app I did have the loudness ON and the wall placement option was set to further than 25cm from the nearest sheetrock meaning it would give more bass to compensate.) Did I just confess to being a BASSHEAD??
