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Post by tim1750 on Nov 18, 2017 17:19:28 GMT
NAIM NAP140 Stereo Audio power amplifier ,china clone does anyone have any experience with that Chinese amp need advice before buying one please
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Post by gariboldi2012 on Nov 18, 2017 18:10:30 GMT
Hi are you looking at a full amp, pre-built boards or self build from bare PCBs. A link would be useful. I don't have any direct experience but I would be careful about quality of semiconductors, i.e. are they genuine there are a lot of fakes. Bare PCBs could be an option with semiconductors from qualified sources. Also I would recommend using an output protection board. This will protect against turn on thumps and DC in the event of a failure. The Wellemen K4700 would be suitable.
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Post by tim1750 on Nov 18, 2017 18:37:50 GMT
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Post by MartinT on Nov 18, 2017 23:29:44 GMT
Tim, are you sure that you like the sound of the NAP140 before you proceed?
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Post by gariboldi2012 on Nov 19, 2017 0:22:14 GMT
Looks attractively finsished and internals pretty neat. The volume control potentiometer is an Alps device known as a Blue Velvet. They have a nice feel and sound pretty good from my own experiences. Looking at the feedback for the seller in general seems to be good. There is also a note about using pre-used output transistors that are genuine parts so may be fine. However Martin is right regarding the sound and since virtually every component is from a different manufacturer the amp is likely to sound different to a genuine NAP140.
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Post by tim1750 on Nov 19, 2017 7:18:09 GMT
Tim, are you sure that you like the sound of the NAP140 before you proceed? Hi Martin, no I haven't listened to a Naim amp before I thought for the money it was worth the risk, do they have a very destiked sound to them ?. It seems that people who buy them really love them what do you think about them ?
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Post by Deleted on Nov 19, 2017 7:24:35 GMT
First thing i would be doing is scrapping the Transformer & buying a UK made jobbie
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Post by MartinT on Nov 19, 2017 8:09:17 GMT
Hi Tim, it's not for me to say what I think, it's just that Naim polarises opinions and I want you to hear one before you order blind.
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Post by tim1750 on Nov 19, 2017 8:56:31 GMT
Fair enough mate, thanks for your advice
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Post by julesd68 on Nov 19, 2017 12:52:33 GMT
From my own experience, I would definitely get it checked out by an engineer to make sure everything is safe.
Very good advice I think about adding in some protection circuitry too.
This might seem strange when part of the object is to buy cheap but I'd prefer to do that than risk frying my speakers!
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Post by Mr Whippy on Nov 19, 2017 13:24:03 GMT
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Post by MartinT on Nov 19, 2017 15:07:46 GMT
Pity - James' knowledge is superb.
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Post by Tim on Nov 19, 2017 18:57:07 GMT
Unless you are comfortable with a soldering iron and can 'pimp it' where needed, I would only say go for it as long as you are happy to lose £165.00 of it's a pile of poo.
If you are handy and knowledgeable of electronics, then if it is disappointing at least you can turn it into a project? If it's a complete punt in the dark and you aren't good with a soldering iron, I personally wouldn't bother. Plenty of good solid amps on eBay for that money that are sold by UK buyers. If you get a problem, the Chinese can be a tad tricky to deal with, unless it's from a Hong Kong seller.
Ultimately though . . . . up to you.
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Post by dsjr on Nov 19, 2017 19:13:39 GMT
Back in the NAP140's heyday, I thought it by far the worst of the bunch, the 135's and Nait 1 being head and shoulders above it for musical reproduction - even the mid period 250 sounded 'forced' in comparison with the amps top and bottom of the range and this was shown up even more when the 180 was new, our demo 250 needing to go back to the factory for adjustment*. I do appreciate that decades of use and several 'services/recaps' later may improve things no end for a now silly-money used one if you really want one.
I don't know the clone model as discussed above, but honestly, if you really want a taste of the distinctive Naim sound, why not ask Les at Avondale, as he used to have some stocks of good used original boards I remember and of course the NCC200 boards take the old circuit probably as far as it can go without substantial re-design and you can raise or lower the sense of perceived power into speakers with supply size.
* For some reason, this version of the circuit as used by older pre-new-cosmetic Naim seemed to need regular service to reset offsets and so on, let alone replace some caps which could either drift off, or possibly get replaced to justify a high service price. Avondale may feel differently about this and I'd always ask their advice before buying anything as regards a kit.
I'm trying to be fair and honest as I knew the models. The newer stuff may not drift off in the same way and I don't think the NCC200's are affected at all either, although I have no personal experience with these, only contact with someone who had a large twin-transformer version made for him some years back and with which he's delighted.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 19, 2017 19:16:41 GMT
Hi Dave Hows tricks?
Andr'e
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Post by dsjr on Nov 19, 2017 19:29:38 GMT
Ok thanks. On a speaker hunt, but need to flog the old stuff first as I think my time with 'BBC Derivatives' has come to the end. I don't want a HiFi bling box and neither do I want smaller active pro monitors which 'point and squirt' too much with no 'breathing quality' to back up the uber-precision further up. JBL 4412E's beckon, but it may be wishful thinking - time will tell.
S'cuse the drift - as you were gentlemen.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 19, 2017 19:38:56 GMT
Might be wishful thinking. Ive been after a mint pair of JBL 'L100' with the nice orange grills for years..
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Post by tim1750 on Nov 19, 2017 19:52:42 GMT
Just want to say a big thank you to all the input you guy's have given me ,I've decided to blow this one out to many reliability issues. Great advice Thank you
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Post by gariboldi2012 on Nov 19, 2017 23:50:07 GMT
Probably a mute point but if you did change your mind I am in the process of building an Avondale NCC200 based amp using bare pcb's. Just need to get my act together and start building. Les at Avondale Audio is a true gent and very helpful. I can forward useful links from other forums.
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Post by tim1750 on Nov 20, 2017 6:37:13 GMT
Probably a mute point but if you did change your mind I am in the process of building an Avondale NCC200 based amp using bare pcb's. Just need to get my act together and start building. Les at Avondale Audio is a true gent and very helpful. I can forward useful links from other forums. Thank you but my eyes aren't what they used to be and i'm pretty lousy now with a soldering iron.
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