The saying “it doesn’t get any better than this” is pretty much the story for one of our customers in Florida. A Naim Audio owner for many years, he recently decided to upgrade to a new Naim system. When he did, he went all the way.

The setup you see here is optimized for both performance and appearance. The racks and center speaker are enclosed by a custom cabinet. This cabinet does not touch the system racks or speakers (for vibration control) but allows full access for use and service.

The two tall racks of equipment house the best of Naim’s gear, including the CDS III reference CD player, the 252 reference preamp, and three NAP 500 power amps, which are connected to active crossovers (the Naim SNAXO) to drive the mighty Naim DBL reference loudspeakers. There is also a Linn LP12 with Naim tonearm, phono stage, and power supplies.  When he’s watching a movie on his new 50-inch plasma TV, he utilizes the new AV2 surround sound processor and additional Naim power amplifiers, which drive the new Axent center channel speaker and a pair of Naim SL2 (the second generation of the famous SBL) as the surround sound speakers.

Setting up a large active system such as this is no easy task. The DBLs must be carefully assembled from three large separate enclosures each. The racks must be carefully adjusted to minimize vibrations. It is also critical to organize the connector cables and speaker cables so that they do not generate noise, because Naim reference equipment is so sensitive and responsive that you can tell big differences depending upon how you place the cables.