Naim's opening Statement

The 2014 SSI witnessed the official North American introduction of Naim Audio's mighty $200,000 Statement amplifier system (which John Atkinson previewed in his coverage of the 2014 CES). I experienced this behemoth at the unveiling party thrown for it by distributor Plurison Audio, and was struck not so much by its undeniable power but by its very nuanced performance on subtler material—such as the classic "Helplessly Hoping" by Crosby, Stills, and Nash. During the chorus, when David Crosby's low harmony was the last to enter ("They are three together. . ."), the audible tension and release were palpable—and very impressive. The Statement is something that neither I nor the vast majority of you will ever enjoy at home, but . . .wow.

COMMENTS
Rick Tomaszewicz's picture

...but what was the associated gear?

Axiom05's picture

There won't be space in the room for any other gear. :-)

Bill Leebens's picture

...as Focal owns Naim, and Plurison/Audio Plus distribute Focal.

tlathrop1's picture

The source was a Naim NDS network music player. The speakers were Focal Stella Utopia EMs. The amp is actually an integrated amp, as the preamp is built in.

I heard one of the demos that Naim did for the general public at the Montreal show. Doug Graham, the head of sales for Naim, shared that the production of these amps for 2014 has already been spoken for, by customers from all over the world. So someone can afford these things, even if most of us can't.

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