Naim Home Cinema / Multiroom

Well well, what’s all this then?!  The supreme champions of two channel audio, branching out into multichannel?  Ferrari will be making offroaders next!

I think Naim have grown tired of seeing their systems corrupted by other people’s processors and have decided to show the industry how to do the job properly.  So, say a big “Hello” to the AV2 processor (£2600) and the NAP V175 three-channel amp! (£1475) 

Both units are clad in the popular 5 Series die-cast case and exhibit the usual exemplary Naim build quality.  However, this is where the similarity ends, because each of these new products represents a massive departure from anything the company has ever produced in the past.  The AV2, for example, is an excellent straight-forward two channel preamp, but it is also a top flight processor, with full on board Dolby/DTS processing and four surround sound audio modes.  This means that it could either be added to an existing Naim system, or it could be used instead of the preamp in any Naim system.  Either way, in order to get full surround sound, you’d need the matching three channel V 175 to drive the centre and rear speakers.  This ‘three in one’ amp is based on the highly acclaimed NAP 150, which means that it sounds streets ahead of even the most expensive Japanese A/V offerings. What’s more, it is ‘voiced’ to match any existing Naim combo, so it dovetails in perfectly, with top end systems - most processors stand out like Linford Christie at a eunuch’s convention.

So now, at last, music lovers can keep their treasured stereo system in tact and un-corrupted, yet enjoy state of the art Home Cinema.  Not cheap, I know, at £4075 the pair, but if Ferrari did produce an off roader, I bet it wouldn’t be cheap either!