Building my friend's Naim/Linn System

[elapsed]

A friend of mine recently ran into some money and is looking to fully replace his 2-channel stereo system as an early retirement gift to himself. He has $50K to spend on speakers, separates and turntable. I've priced out the ultimate Naim/Linn system for him within this budget:

Naim CDX2 CD Player: $5,600
Naim XPS2 Power Supply: $5,000
Naim NAC 282 Preamp: $6,250
Naim HiCap2 Power Supply: $1,900
Naim NAP 200 Poweramp: $2950
Naim Allae Speakers: $5,000
Naim Fraim Shelving: $2,400 (2 base) + $6,200 (8 shelves)
Naim Hi-Line Interconnect: $1,000
Naim NACA5 Speaker Cabling: $230
Noisetrapper NANA Powerstrip: $350

Linn LP12 turntable: $2,030
Linn Ekos SE tonearm: $4950
Naim SuperLine phono stage: $2,950
Naim NAPSA2 power supply: $1,700
Dynavector DV-20XL cartridge: $680

Total: US$49,190

So much fun to spend someone else's money!

cheers,
elapsed

[Mr Peabody]

That is quite the system. Hopefully with a deal like that he can broker a discount.

[elapsed]

In this economy, I imagine he could get the system down to $45K including taxes. Plus his existing system should sell for around $10K on the used market, so all in all this would set him back around $35K. Or better yet, keep his existing Rega P9, which would trim another $10K off the price.

cheers,
elapsed

[Feanor]

A friend of mine recently ran into some money and is looking to fully replace his 2-channel stereo system as an early retirement gift to himself. He has $50K to spend on speakers, separates and turntable. I've priced out the ultimate Naim/Linn system for him within this budget: ...
...
elapsed

Heck of a nice system, elapsed, although with $50k at my disposal I'd come up with a totally different list.

Which makes me think it would be a good thread topic: "Your 50 Grand Dream System". (Oh, sorry to bore E-Stat, et al., who already have >$50k systems.)

[audio amateur]

I think you're a little nuts to base that 50K around a 5K speaker. It's not a bad speaker, I've heard it, but for that kind of money he could get something waaaay more exotic (that sounds better, too.)

Funny that even if I had that kind of money I'd never spend so much on audio equipment. Well that's just me.
I bet you're having fun in the process so enjoy! (Oh, and helping the UK economy can't be a bad thing :D)

[audio amateur]

Heck of a nice system, elapsed, although with $50k at my disposal I'd come up with a totally different list.
I understand :p

Which makes me think it would be a good thread topic: "Your 50 Grand Dream System". (Oh, sorry to bore, E-Stat, et al., who already have >$50k systems.)
haha!

and yes, you should start that thread!

[Ajani]

I think you're a little nuts to base that 50K around a 5K speaker. It's not a bad speaker, I've heard it, but for that kind of money he could get something waaaay more exotic (that sounds better, too.)

Funny that even if I had that kind of money I'd never spend so much on audio equipment. Well that's just me.
I bet you're having fun in the process so enjoy! (Oh, and helping the UK economy can't be a bad thing :D)

Agreed on all points...

I've heard people claim that you should spend 10% of your budget on cables, but never on Speakers... That just sounds like a really strange allocation of funds.... I can understand using expensive electronics with cheap speakers if you plan on upgrading the speakers, but for a dream system it seems questionable.... But hey, the real issue is whether the buyer likes the sound of that setup....

And a thread about what system you buy for $50K sounds like fun.... Though I have to admit that I'd be just guessing what I'd buy, since I haven't auditioned enough products in that price category to make any kind of decision...

[elapsed]

Good point on the speakers! Hey my friend asked for all Naim/Linn, this is the best he can spec on a $50K budget. I'm not a fan of Naim speakers myself, if this were my system I would probably tone down the LP12 and instead put around $10K towards another set of speakers. Also keep in mind that the above system has an $11,000 CD Player (and quite a brilliant one at that), but for a fraction of the cost one could purchase an oustanding streaming music server and outboard DAC.

cheers,
elapsed

[audio amateur]

Good point on the speakers! Hey my friend asked for all Naim/Linn, this is the best he can spec on a $50K budget. I'm not a fan of Naim speakers myself, if this were my system I would probably tone down the LP12 and instead put around $10K towards another set of speakers. Also keep in mind that the above system has an $11,000 CD Player (and quite a brilliant one at that), but for a fraction of the cost one could purchase an oustanding streaming music server and outboard DAC.

cheers,
elapsed
Whatever happens, i want pictures of it when it's all setup! Nothing quite like an array of Naim gear on 8K$ of rack:yikes: isn't that just a bit too much for a bit of 'furniture'?:crazy:

[Feanor]

I think you're a little nuts to base that 50K around a 5K speaker. It's not a bad speaker, I've heard it, but for that kind of money he could get something waaaay more exotic (that sounds better, too.)

Funny that even if I had that kind of money I'd never spend so much on audio equipment. Well that's just me.
I bet you're having fun in the process so enjoy! (Oh, and helping the UK economy can't be a bad thing :D)

Well, I dont' have as such a big problem with 10% on speakers, but it sure as heck depends on the particular speaker. There are a few speakers that might warrant that approach, IMHO, that might include the Magneplanar 3.6R.

Thus my $50k stereo music system might look a bit like what follows -- I haven't confirmed the prices of all items which could be a lot higher or, less likely, lower. One constraint is that it must work in my current 12' x 20' listening room.

Magneplanar 3.6 - $4800
Rythmik D15 SE subwoofer - $1000
Pass Labs XP-10 preamp - $5000 ??
Pass Labs X250.5 power amp - $7500 ??
Ayre C-5xeMP universal stereo player - $6000 ??
Ayre USB DAC, (forthcoming product) - $8000 ??
Transparent inteconnects - $3000 ??
Transparent speaker cables - $2000 ??
Dedicated Vista or Win7 music computer - $700, plus
24" monitor - $300
2 TB NAS, RAID 1 - $750
Foobar2000 - free
dBpoweramp Reference - $36
Tag&Rename - $40

Total, (loose estimate): ~$39,000.



Of course, to make up the $50k I could upgrade to Magneplanars to Sound Lab, Quad, or Analysis Audio, but then the premise of a low speaker ratio wouln't apply.

[audio amateur]

I like it Feanor :thumbsup: Are you not gonna get any room correction for the sub? A nice Velodyne SMS-1 would be appropriate.
I still think this deserves a thread :D

[elapsed]

Much easier to build my dream $100K system, would look something like this

Sonus Faber Stradivari Homage loudspeakers: $40,000
Naim CDX2 CD Player: $5,600
Naim XPS2 Power Supply: $5,000
Naim NAC 282 Preamp: $6,250
Naim SuperCap Power Supply: $5,950
Naim NAP 300 Poweramp + 300PS: $10,750
Naim Fraim Shelving: $2,400 (2 base) + $6,200 (8 shelves)
Naim Hi-Line Interconnect: $1,000
Naim NACA5 Speaker Cabling: $230
Noisetrapper NANA Powerstrip: $350

Linn LP12 turntable: $2,030
Linn Ekos SE tonearm: $4950
Naim SuperLine phono stage: $2,950
Naim NAPSA2 power supply: $1,700
Dynavector DRT XV-1S cartridge: $4,500

Total: $99,890

cheers,
elapsed

[Ajani]

One constraint is that it must work in my current 12' x 20' listening room.

Why?

By the time you have $50K to blow on HiFi, room size probably won't be an issue... you'd build the room around the setup....

Ever notice how many Statement products are clearly designed for massive rooms? I guess the logic is that if you have that kind of money to spend, you're probably very well off and room size isn't a major concern to you...

[Feanor]

Why?

By the time you have $50K to blow on HiFi, room size probably won't be an issue... you'd build the room around the setup....

Ever notice how many Statement products are clearly designed for massive rooms? I guess the logic is that if you have that kind of money to spend, you're probably very well off and room size isn't a major concern to you...

From time to time I've given some thought about upgrades but always within the constraint of my current room size. That is, I was better prepared to make a list appropriate to that circumstance.

Furthermore, for me the hifi challenge has always been value for money. Although $50k is arbitrarily higher than anythink I could afford, but in a sense it's more fun to work within some constraint, in this case room size.

[Mr Peabody]

So Elapsed, you are trading your CD5 for a music server? To think I was going to give you crap over using a mere $688.00 cartridge with a LP12 :) These guys gig you on the speakers. I believe you are one of the few here that is also a source guy though. One thing to keep in mind you aren't buying the largest power amp either, so the $5k speaker may just have better synergy than a more expensive pair. Sometimes if you up the anti in one area the other needs to see it to keep the level.

With $50k I'd have to do some auditioning, it would be hard to decide whether to go with CJ's Premere 140 watt monoblocks and ART preamp or T+A tube hybrid preamp into Clayton Audio Class A monoblocks. T+A's tube CD player at about $8k would probably be my source and hands down my speakers would be the Dynaudio Sapphires.

[elapsed]

So Elapsed, you are trading your CD5 for a music server? To think I was going to give you crap over using a mere $688.00 cartridge with a LP12 :) These guys gig you on the speakers. I believe you are one of the few here that is also a source guy though. One thing to keep in mind you aren't buying the largest power amp either, so the $5k speaker may just have better synergy than a more expensive pair. Sometimes if you up the anti in one area the other needs to see it to keep the level.
Hehe.. good catch Mr Peabody. Okay here was the philosophy behind the first system:

1. You know me well, source first approach. Speakers are secondary, though its just as important to have balance and synergy

2. I'm not a fan of the CDX2 by itself (actually prefer my cheaper CD5x), it really needs an XPS2 power supply to shine. Or if you spend too much time on the Naim forums you'd end up talking yourself into an $8,600 555PS

3. Naim 282 is really the ultimate pre-amp for me, anything more than this and you really need to move into 500 Series gear to get an improvement (at 4x the cost)

4. Naim Allae speakers don't need anything more than a Naim 200 poweramp, this is perfect synergy as it is. Instead of purchasing a 250 poweramp for this system I'd be more inclinded towards purchasing a Supercap for the 282

5. As for the LP12, I'm of the opinion that the tonearm and power supply are more important than the cart. I honestly couldn't imagine spending more than $680 on a cartridge (not to mention I would be stressing everytime anyone were near my turntable).

cheers,
elapsed