Sitting beneath that identikit grille are six drivers, redesigned in collaboration with Naim’s sister company, French loudspeaker specialist Focal. Here’s where the Mu-so 2 starts to meaningfully deviate from the unit it replaces. This feels every bit the premium item its price tag suggests – and, from the burnished aluminium wrapping the top and sides to the pleasingly weighted glide of the big control wheel, there’s no arguing with the way the Mu-so 2 is built and finished. One area where there’s absolutely no question about the Mu-so 2 aping the outgoing Mu-so is build quality. Shouldn’t a £1300 speaker come with the customer’s choice of grille colour? It’s finished in grey/black as standard, with some other, more lively finishes (peacock, olive and terracotta) available at a cost (£50, which seems a bit tight). Naim has spent a long time deciding on the type of acoustic cloth fitted to Mu-so 2. That contoured speaker grille is all-new, too, although the design brief would appear to have insisted on it looking very much like the old one. The heatsinks that run along the whole of the Mu-so 2’s rear panel are more compact than those of the outgoing model. The cabinet has been reengineered to deliver an additional 13% internal volume, while the internal bracing and baffle moulding have been redesigned to aid rigidity and control internal vibrations. To be fair, the Mu-so 2 design is a little different to the old Mu-so in some ways. But regardless of the changes that have gone on under the skin, would you be happy to pay a chunky premium to buy a new and improved model that looks virtually identical to the old one? I’m not sure I would. ![]() There’s no doubt the Mu-so 2 looks like a handsome, purposeful and premium piece of equipment – just as the outgoing Mu-so. Naim has demonstrably invested a lot of time, effort and money into transforming the Mu-so into the Mu-so 2 – so I’d have thought it might have made a little more of a visual statement about all the trouble. The world of consumer electronics seldom thinks that way, however. It speaks of a belief that the original Mu-so is such an iconic piece of industrial design that it’s nigh-on perfect. In some ways, revamping a product to the tune of 95% of its parts, upping the price by a hefty percentage, but making such minimal changes to its overall appearance that only a forensic scientist could tell them apart, is an extremely bold move. Virtually identical in appearance to original.And so here it is: the Mu-so 2nd Generation by Naim. Nevertheless, five years is a long time in home entertainment, no matter how quickly it seems to have passed – with a refreshed, reinvigorated and reimagined Mu-so probably overdue. Ever since, other brands have tried to compete for just a sliver of Mu-so’s credibility and profitability. Then Naim whipped the covers off Mu-so and demonstrated that the wireless speaker could be a desirable piece of proper, authentic hi-fi. It is a great option if you are on a budget or are wary of investing in a notation program you may not use often.Time flies, doesn’t it? Has it really been five years since Naim launched its Mu-so wireless speaker and created a whole new product category at the same time?įive years ago, a “premium wireless speaker” was something that cost over £200 and didn’t fall to pieces inside six months. If you are looking for free music notation software, this is the one we'd suggest. What's more, unlike some free music notation software services we reviewed (such as Sibelius (opens in new tab)) MuseScore doesn't restrict your use as an entry-level program, to encourage you to sign up for some less restricted paid-for software. ![]() Should you try MuseScore?Įven though MuseScore is free, it has many of the features found in the for-pay software we tested. The program also allows you to share your score online by pressing the Save Online button – MuseScore then generates a URL you can share with anyone. For example, you can export a PDF or graphic file to share with people who don’t have a notation program. ![]() MuseScore also has a good variety of export options. When you export your work in one of these formats, you can share it with other composers or musicians, even if they use a different program. This software supports standard MIDI file and MusicXML file import, so you can edit an existing score with the input method of your choice.
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