• Punchy, insightful and organised sound
• Packed with features
• No USB Type B input
• Power supply upgrade is very expensive
$13,500
Hi-fi is full of dogma. One prime example is that great sound is only achieved by having a separate box for each step in the signal path. The logic is understandable, in that a dedicated component only has one thing to do and therefore should do that job better. Such an arrangement also means that there are fewer opportunities for unwanted interactions between the various sections of the system, thus optimising performance.
Over the years, Naim Audio has been a master of such a purist approach at the premium end of the market, separating power supplies from the preamplifier section and offering standalone phono stages, headphone amps and DACs, all in the name of performance. The results justify the strategy, or do they?
What if someone with a generous budget wants great sound but not a pile of boxes? If truth be told the pickings have been slim, but there is hope in Naim’s new streaming preamplifier, the NSC 222. Just add a suitable power amplifier, loudspeakers and cables, and you have a complete system. This is still separates hi-fi in the sense that the high currents and other interferences associated with power amplification are kept away from the sensitive
