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Post by Deleted on Jan 8, 2015 21:25:59 GMT
So I have been considering getting myself a Naim Nait... I love the shoebox sized Nait 2 but they seem a lot more than the Nait 3.
The amp would be used in my second system where I currently use a Cyrus I Mk II which has begun playing up.
Partnering equipment will be an 2007 iMac 24" Intel running iTunes and Applelossless files into a Beresford Caiman Gatorized, through the amp into some Wharfedale Diamond IV speakers..
is the Naim a little exotic?? would an Audiolab 8000a or equivalent be more sensible?
Paul.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 8, 2015 21:59:59 GMT
I've wrestled with this myself as I like Naim amps but didn't fare too well with Naits.
In the Naim pecking order? I think it might come down to how sensitive your speakers are and how loud you listen. Some people have found them to be as good as bigger Naim's, yet they fell well short of any naim pre/power except 92/90.3 for me. I like a bit of drive and I found them just too weedy and breathless, but maybe if less is asked of them, they may deliver. I'm talking here of Nait 1 and 2 as I really didn't like the slimline Naims (Nait3, NAC92/NAP 90.3). I've never tried later Naims except Supernait.
Versus other integrateds? Personally I preferred Exposure X, Onix OA21, MF A1 and Myst TMA3 out of the competitors of the day. I wouldn't rule it beyond making magic though. I'm sure if it's sympathetically matched, it could surprise me still.
VFM on the used market? I'd not spend current asking prices because I could either save money and buy one of the above amps that I like more, or I could buy a 42/110 or even 42/140 for the same money. At least anyone buying a Nait will get their money back if they choose to sell on.
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Post by julesd68 on Jan 8, 2015 22:13:05 GMT
Paul, please don't waste your money on an 8000a as I did a few years back for a bit of 'nostalgia.' Truly the worst amp I have ever bought. I had it serviced by an Audiolab 'specialist' but it still had about as much finesse as a holiday at Butlins. I didn't like the Nait either as I remember it ... I heard it in a Linn Axis / Index system back in the 80's and it sounded very thin and brittle. Way too 'forward' for my taste ...
The Cyrus II with PSX easily kicked both of them into touch for me. My favourite integrated of that era used to be the MF A1 which of course could double up as a griddle ...
Have you tried any of the Sony ES amps? I had a 670ES quite recently which was excellent VFM. Perfect for a second system. I would have kept it for that very purpose but needed the cash at the time.
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Post by MikeMusic on Jan 9, 2015 9:03:58 GMT
I had a Nait 1 until it was nicked* Next up was a Nait 2 which I think I may keep forever as it is so cute It happily drives Kans - and Saras, with an Arcam MCD on the front The prices for the Nait 2 recently continue to amaze me I also have a Nait 3 and that sounds better to my ears than a 2, but it's not so cute to look at  Are Nait 2s going to 'collectors' ? You want a serious integrated amp ? My Chord CPM 2600 drives Isobariks very well indeed *along with the lovely little Nakamichi with the cassette that came out to tun around, a computer and all the phones. I was on holiday that week so I didn't spot some silly cow had left the ladies toilet window open and the thieves climbed in |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 9, 2015 11:55:43 GMT
Paul, please don't waste your money on an 8000a as I did a few years back for a bit of 'nostalgia.' Truly the worst amp I have ever bought. I had it serviced by an Audiolab 'specialist' but it still had about as much finesse as a holiday at Butlins. I didn't like the Nait either as I remember it ... I heard it in a Linn Axis / Index system back in the 80's and it sounded very thin and brittle. Way too 'forward' for my taste ... The Cyrus II with PSX easily kicked both of them into touch for me. My favourite integrated of that era used to be the MF A1 which of course could double up as a griddle ... Have you tried any of the Sony ES amps? I had a 670ES quite recently which was excellent VFM. Perfect for a second system. I would have kept it for that very purpose but needed the cash at the time. I am really surprised Jules. I had a 1992 Audiolab 8000a in my main system (admittedly driving Linn Nexus speakers, which weren't anything to shout about) until I upgraded to the Exposure and Epos combo and I have to say that I was always impressed with the sound the Audiolab produced. Did you by chance have a pre 1992 model? - in 1992 they did an upgrade to the amp which 'softened' it slightly and included gold plated phono connectors and a black front (although not top and sides, which always confused me), although that came along in around 1994 when not that long before they discontinued it... it also had a pretty decent headphone amp built-in. As I said in my earlier post I currently use a Cyrus I Mk II which is ok but a little thin sounding to be honest, although that is possibly due to the speakers too, the recent introduction of the Beresford Caiman made a huge difference to the overall sound Decisions, decisions. Paul. |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 9, 2015 12:00:46 GMT
I had a Nait 1 until it was nicked* Next up was a Nait 2 which I think I may keep forever as it is so cute It happily drives Kans - and Saras, with an Arcam MCD on the front The prices for the Nait 2 recently continue to amaze me I also have a Nait 3 and that sounds better to my ears than a 2, but it's not so cute to look at Are Nait 2s going to 'collectors' ? You want a serious integrated amp ? My Chord CPM 2600 drives Isobariks very well indeed *along with the lovely little Nakamichi with the cassette that came out to tun around, a computer and all the phones. I was on holiday that week so I didn't spot some silly cow had left the ladies toilet window open and the thieves climbed in Now that is not good, losing out on any personal item is bad but Hifi!!! I think I'd cry for eternity... I agree re the prices of Nait's, the 1 and 2 certainly hold their value more so than the later models, interesting comment re the Nait 3 as I was a little wary of getting one of those as I had heard it wasn't a patch on the 1 or 2. P. |
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Post by MikeMusic on Jan 9, 2015 13:16:45 GMT
I was more than a little teed off
All because this stupid girl insisted on having the window open, then forgot to close it, right next to external stairs !
When I bought my Nait 3 they were more than 2s on Ebay.
The improvement is not night and day, worth having though.
Assume the Nait 5 is better still but not heard than
When I started on Ebay in 2005
Nait 1s were £100-160
Nait 2s were £200 and up (already had mine so that was academic for me)
Nait 3s £200-300
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Post by Deleted on Jan 9, 2015 13:42:19 GMT
Bad luck with the Nait. At least your Isobariks won't be disappearing through an open window unless the thief brings a crane with him!
The Nait really does polarise opinions, so I wonder if Paul could blag a loan of one from someone local to him. Like you, I love the look of the Nait 2. There were so many designs of the 80s that I feel are beyond cool. The build and design are still a factor for me today.
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Post by MartinT on Jan 9, 2015 15:12:44 GMT
Did you by chance have a pre 1992 model? - in 1992 they did an upgrade to the amp which 'softened' it slightly and included gold plated phono connectors and a black front (although not top and sides, which always confused me), although that came along in around 1994 when not that long before they discontinued it... it also had a pretty decent headphone amp built-in. As I recall, the 1992 mods to the 8000A centred around improved RFI rejection which made it sound a lot better in some systems, while others hardly noticed a difference. |
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Post by MikeMusic on Jan 9, 2015 15:24:00 GMT
Bad luck with the Nait. At least your Isobariks won't be disappearing through an open window unless the thief brings a crane with him! The Nait really does polarise opinions, so I wonder if Paul could blag a loan of one from someone local to him. Like you, I love the look of the Nait 2. There were so many designs of the 80s that I feel are beyond cool. The build and design are still a factor for me today. and the Nak and the Amstrad PC I think it was and all the phones, and the stamps, quite a few quids worth, probably other stuff I can't remember now 20 odd years later Of course my lovely people didn't double lock the front door either so it was not forcible exit Who'd run a business eh ? I was doing a weeks Aikido in Cambridge at the time. My last holiday Managed an ex gratia payment for a part of it |
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Post by MartinT on Jan 9, 2015 15:51:29 GMT
So there were some benefits, then? |
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Post by MikeMusic on Jan 9, 2015 21:37:57 GMT
Ha ! |
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Post by julesd68 on Jan 10, 2015 18:13:21 GMT
Paul, please don't waste your money on an 8000a as I did a few years back for a bit of 'nostalgia.' Truly the worst amp I have ever bought. I had it serviced by an Audiolab 'specialist' but it still had about as much finesse as a holiday at Butlins. I didn't like the Nait either as I remember it ... I heard it in a Linn Axis / Index system back in the 80's and it sounded very thin and brittle. Way too 'forward' for my taste ... The Cyrus II with PSX easily kicked both of them into touch for me. My favourite integrated of that era used to be the MF A1 which of course could double up as a griddle ... Have you tried any of the Sony ES amps? I had a 670ES quite recently which was excellent VFM. Perfect for a second system. I would have kept it for that very purpose but needed the cash at the time. I am really surprised Jules. I had a 1992 Audiolab 8000a in my main system (admittedly driving Linn Nexus speakers, which weren't anything to shout about) until I upgraded to the Exposure and Epos combo and I have to say that I was always impressed with the sound the Audiolab produced. Did you by chance have a pre 1992 model? - in 1992 they did an upgrade to the amp which 'softened' it slightly and included gold plated phono connectors and a black front (although not top and sides, which always confused me), although that came along in around 1994 when not that long before they discontinued it... it also had a pretty decent headphone amp built-in. As I said in my earlier post I currently use a Cyrus I Mk II which is ok but a little thin sounding to be honest, although that is possibly due to the speakers too, the recent introduction of the Beresford Caiman made a huge difference to the overall sound Decisions, decisions. Paul. Hmm ... I'm not 100% sure Paul but I don't remember it having a black front, so most likely the old one. I wasn't a huge fan of the amp 'back in the day' - always found it a bit 'glassy' and harsh, but I remembered it has having some strong dynamic capabilities and quite an 'open' sound which is why I bought the one a few years back. So I was surprised it sounded as grim as it did - maybe it's that old synergy thing going on and it didn't like the rest of my gear. Thankfully there are always people looking to buy them on ebay so it was easy to move on. Yes, the Cyrus 1 was a little on the thin side but I thought it made a nice sound with speakers that were on the 'warm' side. For the money it was certainly a budget classic and a lovely bit of design. The Cyrus 2 + PSX were in a different league though, which you would expect as they weren't cheap if you bought the pair. A bit like the Nait though, the early Cyrus amps can sell for really silly money, and I expect there is better value to be had elsewhere ... Let us know what you end up with! |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 11, 2015 0:19:25 GMT
Sounds most like you had a pre 1992 model Jules to be honest, although I did find the Audiolab a little picky when it came to partnering speakers… For instance it failed dismally in driving my Epos ES-14's… just didn't have enough juice and also in my earlier years, for a very short period I had a pair of Rega Kyte speakers which sounded appalling when powered by the Audiolab and using a Marantz CD player… bright was an understatement, minimal bass and sibilance gone mad…
Think I am going to keep my options open for a bit, not in any real rush to get a new amp for the second system but I am happy to let you and the rest of the forum know what I punt for in the end… have to admit that I am still very tempted by a Naim Nait though!
Paul.
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Post by mjw on Jan 12, 2015 17:59:40 GMT
I still own an early 8000a, bought it second hand 20 somthing years ago. Not been plugged in for a while thou.
With a rega planet CD player it made great music through some Epos es11's and was tremendous fun through my Ditton 44's. In fact the sound through the celestions is probably what I use as reference to this day.
As for the Nait... I auditioned one once and seem to recall being rather disappointed. Maybe I expected too much after reading all the naim hype at the time.
Regards
Martin
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Post by Weecrackpot on Feb 17, 2015 11:32:06 GMT
… bright was an understatement, minimal bass and sibilance gone mad… Think I am going to keep my options open for a bit, not in any real rush to get a new amp for the second system but I am happy to let you and the rest of the forum know what I punt for in the end… have to admit that I am still very tempted by a Naim Nait though! Paul. Thats how i remembered it, auditioned one back in the day and honestly thought my Aiwa music centre sounded better, my opinion that and the Pioneer A400 (i believed the hype and bought one) was the biggest let down in hifidom.  I have a mint Nait2 which i always thought a great wee music maker whenever i pull it out to prime the caps every few months, while good but it's never £400+ good, i'd rate it around the £150 bracket, when the Supernait drops to below 1k level second hand, i might be tempted to let my baby go. |
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Post by jammy on Feb 17, 2015 14:05:22 GMT
No idea....But since the old one was "Rip off tat" I would expect the new one to be slightly better...
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Post by Deleted on Feb 19, 2015 20:44:58 GMT
Ended up buying a Amptastic Mini-1 amp from someone on another forum. It arrived safe and sound today and I am seriously impressed, it's blown my Cyrus I Mk II completely out of the water which its replaced.
Paul.
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Post by John on Feb 19, 2015 20:55:49 GMT
Read the T Amp thread Paul. Lots you can do to take it even further
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