Naim Nait 50 Anniversary

[RoA]

I’m tempted to buy another one @ £999 as a standby just in case…. Or to use elsewhere (where???)…

Probably a future classic or at least it should be. When all these streaming amplifiers seem like yesterday this yesterday will still happily pump out tunes.

 

[matthewpianist]

What speaker cable and plugs are you using with it, @RoA ? I only ask because of the messaging that always appears on the back of Naim amplifiers.

 

[RoA]

What speaker cable and plugs are you using with it, @RoA ? I only ask because of the messaging that always appears on the back of Naim amplifiers.

I believe the little Naim is pretty cable agnostic. I use VdH CS122 Hybrid but I have this lovely new ribbon cable I will try too. I used it quickly with my Arcam and it seems very good too.

 

[davidf]

It was always a niche product. No remote, no features compared to others. Doesn’t appeal to many and it didn’t to me but I am glad I did not listen to myself.

To me, it just doesn't feel like the right approach to the product, replicating the original, warts and all. You can easily pick up the original or Nait II for less than the reduced price, and it's all standard parts, so cals can easily be replaced to give it a refresh. With Naim's modern approach to hi-fi after the take over of Focal, they should've modernised it. It would've been very easy to add a remote control, which I think is unforgivable nowadays unless something is being used as a desktop/PC system. And even if they didn't want to add any digital inputs, they could've modernised the available inputs

But they did change one thing - the sound. Tonally it sounds more like other amps now, whereas the original had quite a lean, detailed sound (which I quite liked at the time), probably more like typical Class D amps. Why change that aspect when everything else is nigh on identical?

I don't think anyone else's retro product has bombed in such a way as the Nait has. It'll be interesting to find out the exact reasons why. Maybe any future anniversary products will be more carefully conceived and priced.

 

[davidf]

I believe the little Naim is pretty cable agnostic. I use VdH CS122 Hybrid but I have this lovely new ribbon cable I will try too. I used it quickly with my Arcam and it seems very good too.

Unless things have changed, Naim amps never paired well with solid core cables, and it was usually best to use their own cable to maintain amplifier stability.

 

[matthewpianist]

Unless things have changed, Naim amps never paired well with solid core cables, and it was usually best to use their own cable to maintain amplifier stability.

I had a used Nait 3 for a while, and went to the expense of buying properly terminated NAC-A5 for it out of fear I would damage the amp using anything else.

 

[RoA]

Unless things have changed, Naim amps never paired well with solid core cables, and it was usually best to use their own cable to maintain amplifier stability.

That was for old Naims.

 

[RoA]

To me, it just doesn't feel like the right approach to the product, replicating the original, warts and all. You can easily pick up the original or Nait II for less than the reduced price, and it's all standard parts, so cals can easily be replaced to give it a refresh. With Naim's modern approach to hi-fi after the take over of Focal, they should've modernised it. It would've been very easy to add a remote control, which I think is unforgivable nowadays unless something is being used as a desktop/PC system. And even if they didn't want to add any digital inputs, they could've modernised the available inputs

But they did change one thing - the sound. Tonally it sounds more like other amps now, whereas the original had quite a lean, detailed sound (which I quite liked at the time), probably more like typical Class D amps. Why change that aspect when everything else is nigh on identical?

I don't think anyone else's retro product has bombed in such a way as the Nait has. It'll be interesting to find out the exact reasons why. Maybe any future anniversary products will be more carefully conceived and priced.

Not to defend Naim (it is the only product I own by this manufacturer) but what you are saying was not the point Naim tried to make. The brief was to make the best possible product using modern manufacturing whilst keeping looks/features as close to the Original as can be. The inclusion of headphone socket was as large a hint to outward modernism as they could manage. I agree about the R/C but again, that was not in the brief for a reason and I overcame my initial misgivings quickly about this particular 'issue'.

As to sound, it does not make sound like my other (modern) amplifiers hence it stays. Would it sound the same I would not keep it, naturally.

 

[jjbomber]

I’m tempted to buy another one @ £999 as a standby just in case…. Or to use elsewhere (where???)…

A headphone amplifier?