Super confused after a recent audition at a london high end dealer:
Lyngdorf 1120 + dali menuet se / kef ls50 meta / Amphion Argon 1
vs
Bluesound Node 3 => Naim Supernait 3 + same speakers as above
Completely different sound ‘feel’. The lyngdorf was not set up for RP. I used the Music 2 voicing. Speakers were placed close to wall so as to simulate my living room limitations (cannot have speakers away from wall). Had to reduce bass by 3db using the Bluesound Eq to avoid bass boom.
I am going back to the dealer next week to listen again and hopefully decide on a combo to purchase. This time they will set up the lyngdorf for RP so I will be able to listen to it properly.
I can see what some reviews mean about the ‘soul’ of the Naim. Very punchy and rhythmic. The lyngdorf is much more restrained but also quite warm in some ways. The technology is marvelous and the room correction is probably what modern living rooms need. The Naim will never go obselete however
Very difficult to decide between the two (totally confused after 1.5 hours of listenign and switching between the two).
Anyone compared between Naim and Lyngdrof?
PS: Naim buzzed a bit through the speaker tweeters when set in AV mode (transformer noise amplified most likely). Lyngdorf totally silent.
Though not an exact comparison I went from a Naim Atom + LS50 to a TDAI 3400 for those same speakers. Absolutely blown away and that was before I set up RP. Once I set up RP I was even further impressed and can’t see myself living without room correction now and Lyngdorf’s is the most plug and play of any of them. I’ve never been more impressed by an audio purchase.
RoomPerfect is huge compared to whatever difference between different amps. Make sure you audit with RP. Also, you can add/subtract warmth with a custom Voicing (DSP).
Frankly, you cannot have a good living room system without room correction. Even if you are to go with the Naim you should still use Roon DSP to fix some room modes, perhaps with the help of REW.
I used to have a Powernode N330 with the LS50 Meta’s. The sound was mediocre at best. Then I got a TDAI-1120. What a difference. Now the Powernode is for sale.
Just wanted to touch base and offer an update. I know the Lyngdorf is loved by many and I ended up ordering one for an extended home demo. I had it for 10 days and while i did not keep it, I am highly impressed by how versatile and adjustable it is. I was running it with a pair of Dali Oberon 1 and also Dali Menuet speakers. Over a period of 10 days I became well acquainted with the functionality and used it with Roon, Airplay, Spotify and HDMI (Netflix, amazon prime). There is no all-in-one device that does all that the lyngdorf can do. The amount of customisation, eq options, input setup etc… .just amazing. Unfortunately though, I just could not get used to the sound. I ran Room perfect three times and made sure to follow instructions to the letter. Overall and to my ears, the resulting sound was warm and comfortable but vocals seemed to be drawn backwards (away) and dynamic clarity suffered. There was no bass boom as Room perfect did an excellent job dealing with my difficult room but the resulting sound lost dynamics and clarity (to my ears). Tried applying voicings, additional EQ filters etc. Roon streaming to the Lyngdorf sounded best overall but I still felt the sound was overly warm (even with neutral setting) and lacking in dynamics. I struggled for days but in the end I decided to not keep it as I felt that I was not enjoying the music so much. I since replaced it with the Marantz 40n which gave me the sound flavour that I like. No room correction but luckily the resulting sound seems just right for me and I am keeping it.
Of course this is all subjective and I am sure that objectively the Lyngdorf works well at correcting the sound in difficult rooms. I can also see tons of positive reviews by users so please consider my subjective review in that context. Most people seem to like the Lyngdorf.
PS: I have also briefly auditioned the powernode N330 with the LS50 Meta and found the sound sterile and fatiguing.
If it doesnt sound good without RC its not worth it in anyway. Any amp should still sound good compared to another with no RC unless the room truly is horrid and they all sound gash. Naim have a house tuning that does feel rythmically better than a lot call it musicallity PRAT whatever but it engages you in a way some amps just dont. Add in RC to that and its the icing on the cake. Which I have done with help from HAF and Roon.
I owned a Lyngdorf TDAI-3400 for a brief period of time and never could get used to its sound. Despite using RoomPerfect, the music always sounded veiled and without dynamic punch. I moved to class A/B and was happier.
