Naim Nait 1 Revisited

Letter from Hong Kong (23-2): ELO on How GOOD is GOOD?

Naim Nait I Revisited.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2a06ch6BlZw

I watched a YouTube video recently that really speaks to my heart. It is a review of a piece of vintage equipment that I was the proud owner of some 35 years ago, 1987 to be exact, and which has become legendary in the meantime - the original Naim Nait. In the review, one thing he mentioned struck me so much that I could not nod my head (and heart) enough in agreement: the music that comes out of this humble little box makes one think the performance of the musicians amply justifies their pay! This was exactly my belief! I got the same experience in my room of an apartment shared with friends when I first started to work after I graduated from college. Back then I used a Rega Planar 2, Naim Nait and Linn Kan, all first generation. Man, what a wonderful experience playing some cool jazz music (which was chic that time for a young lad trying to act like a mature person - before I actually fell in love with jazz). I then became a stereo salesman selling cheapo stereos to the mass. I often asked my customers to imagine that they were sitting in the room with a whiskey on the rocks in their hand, with lights dimmed out and with cool and smoothing jazz music playing through the stereo (what a lovely moment!) This description was simply based on my actual experience!! And as a result, I sold lots using this same storyline, LOL. Anyway, my Nait1 was given to my sister in HK and I got it back a few years ago but sadly lost it during office relocation...Luckily, recently I was offered a recapped unit for trial thanks to a generous music lover! Hopefully, I can measure how far I have gone from my 初心 [Editor: "Initial Heart", meaning one's goal or determination early on, with the connotation that they get weathered or even lost with time]!

During the search for Audio Nirvana, the road is rocky, and often I lost my 初心 or even sometimes came to a point of complete standstill, only to revive after a period of hibernation (much like what Dr John had gone through recently). Mind you, I have many different hobbies as well as personal issues to deal with - enough to be distracted.

Recently, like many music lover/hifi enthusiasts, from time to time, I have been asking myself or re-evaluating the question of what I am looking for in a stereo system. Am I contended with my current setup? Any room for further improvement? What is my ultimate goal to achieve in my system? Self-doubting is a disease, or simply a common character for a "ma fan" (troubled) hifi enthusiast. We were thought of by others as trouble seekers!

How much detail is needed for a music lover to enjoy music, or is it just the audiophile (running the mill like a Guinea pig in a cage) just endlessly chasing the last bit of irrelevant detail from the recording? There must be a point in the chase when one has to call it a stop....

Like me, other friends I know have been consistently upgrading their systems, with different speeds and each with his own holy grail (there are surely numerous trails). Some like to upgrade bit by bit and enjoy the slow burn; some try to leap to almost the end point by acquiring top gear regardless of any monetary concern. Some stripped out hifi attributes and search for pure music enjoyment by using vintage gears. While some focus on certain trees in the forest, opt for certain types of music, say, those with less dynamic requirement, in a smaller listening environment. Whereas for me, I am fascinated by 刀仔鋸大樹，i.e. using cheap equipment (not necessarily cheap sound) and cheap tweaks to achieve effect of acquiring mega buck equipment and I stand by keeping my inventory minimum by NOT collecting more equipment than I actually need. 

I think I am the greedier one, as I simply want it all but would spend only minimum amount of money! That's a tall goal and, of course, the road is even more rocky and painful, as well as fun. Perhaps deep down I don't want it to end soon and hence set this almost unreachable goal!

With each addition or subtraction of equipment, cables make a difference, but whether it is favorable or not, one need to really put his ears on to listen critically. I am all for cheap cables but somehow a well-designed but expensive cable does make a huge improvement. I don't like blanket statements, such as expensive gear are overpriced only because of audiophile demand and vanity. When I test a cable that is uber expensive to me, I won't deny that it has transformed my system's performance if that's the case! 

Do I need every musician standing in my living room to play the music? Or do I need to hear the singer exhaling the faintest air into my face? What about the deepest bass; pristine and crystal clean treble that do not pinching your ear; midrange that is lush and with intensity? How good is good? 

I had been eagerly waiting for the arrival of NAIT and hoped it can humble me and be a beacon for me in search for Audio Nirvana! Yesterday, the NAIM Nait 1 finally arrived, and I immediately hooked it up to my WEA. I used DIN adaptors with my "Studer" cable for interconnect. For the speaker cables, I used the newly acquired Viard HD12 bought at a sale. I used it in lieu of the other loaner Luna Orange cable, which I think is superior to HD12 but Nait1 does not take spades and only banana plugs...LOL

Nait 1 surprised me with its capability to drive my Dynaudio Crafft  to an acceptable level with volume knob dialed up to only 9 o'clock! I am enjoying music coming out of this setup. With adequate dynamics and intensity, and it can play music at a realistic level!

I began to test music (both Youtube and Tidal) played through my Bluetooth (TV, Laptop and Cellphone) on my Aiyima A08 and they are also very enjoyable as well; even if my laptop has a slight edge, I can live with all three devices! If I am not critical about the imaging, the depth of soundstage (by all means already quite acceptable to me), I can surely spend all day listening to music from BT!

Suddenly, I remember a scene a few years ago, when my friend, who is a committee member of HKIPF, a respectable photo organistion in HK that holds high quality photo exhibitions from abroad as well as promote local artists, asked me if I would want to hold a photo exhibition. At that time, I had only picked up photography for only slightly more than a year and I had never dreamt before that I could achieve this goal so soon. But he asked me a very interesting question: do I mind loose, out of focus and blurred images in my works? I said I don't mind as, if done well, it could add a special feel and ambience to the works. Suddenly I felt relieved and eventually held my first solo photo exhibition based on his great help!

Since I am not a "pixel peeper in raw file" type photographer, naturally I am also not the type of hifi people who must chase down the last bit of detail in the recording. As long as the music is true to the original recording (as far as practical), there's no point in chasing the perfect sound - just sit down and enjoy the music! 

Now I am more at ease. What's the point in chasing the extra detail retrieved, the clearest high's or lowest low's or truest in-your-face mids? As long as the picture is portrayed well enough and holistically, that will be more than sufficient; the others will be nice to have, once the fundamentals are achieved.  When in doubt, music always comes first!!

So much for the conundrum, and I hereby wish everyone gets closer to their own holy grail and reach their own Audio Nirvana in Year 2023! Just remember, it's the process that one should cherish and enjoy. Hifi is the means only; enjoying music is the main goal!!