NAC82 mods
- Thread starter zener
- Start date
Sell it, get a 72.
Having said that, the circuits are no different from a 72, a couple of value changes and a couple of supply rails are the only differences that have effect, the rest is just switching and a slightly more sophisticated earth, nothing much.
The 72 is the favorite because it's circuits are all there, they are removable without having to dismantle the whole thing, oh and they are inexpensive to buy.
Having said that, the circuits are no different from a 72, a couple of value changes and a couple of supply rails are the only differences that have effect, the rest is just switching and a slightly more sophisticated earth, nothing much.
The 72 is the favorite because it's circuits are all there, they are removable without having to dismantle the whole thing, oh and they are inexpensive to buy.
Hmm, a late 82, probably worth £900-£1200 secondhand, 72 for £250-£350, when a new mod comes along you can just pull a board out and try, quick and easy, you could always get another 82 when you have done experimenting and take that to the same level once you know what goes where!
Experimenting on the cheap takes a lot of the worrying out of what should be fun, note that Linnik does not run an 82!
Experimenting on the cheap takes a lot of the worrying out of what should be fun, note that Linnik does not run an 82!
i had a similar dilemma last year.. owned an 82 and didn't want to capitulate to a seemingly endless upgrade path of std naim... mirroring some of the comments above, and following [some relatively blunt!] advice from PFM not to touch my 82, I bought a 62 and had someone do a series of mods to it. the result was... well, it was [literally!] stunning... night and day comparison... much more of everything compared to my 82... many thanks again, laverda for the work! i fired up th 82 a while back just to check i just wasn't being overly enthusiastic - it still sounded pretty dull/lifeless in comparison to my laverda-ed 62... and note, contrary to some others on PFM, i had previously thought pretty highly of my 82 when i moved from a 72... rgds, michael
I'm with you Mikef.
I had a 52/Super and thought that it was the best. That is until I tried an Avondaled 62/APX4. What I found was that the 62 did everything that the 52 did but with detail!
Quite a revelation when considering the relative cost of each bit. So I agree why doctor the relatively expensive 82 when the humble 62 can be modded to such a high standard anyway.
Regards
Chris
I had a 52/Super and thought that it was the best. That is until I tried an Avondaled 62/APX4. What I found was that the 62 did everything that the 52 did but with detail!
Quite a revelation when considering the relative cost of each bit. So I agree why doctor the relatively expensive 82 when the humble 62 can be modded to such a high standard anyway.
Regards
Chris
[significant pause] thinking how incredibly vague this will sound...
with the exception of being powered by supercap/burndy, i left the remaining spec to laverda... as above, i'm very happy with the results/sound which delivered well beyond my expectations (as laverada rightly predicted at the time!!). my choices were buy a used 52 or try this. to give some sense of comparison, i think i would have been happy with the same sound as i'm getting from my 62 if i had gone for a 52 (at a lot more money obviously).
i am not technical at all and read this "diy" for interest rather than action.
accordingly, and with those caveats... i beleive he installed a number of dedicated rails, removed a number of redundant components and upgraded remaining components to a higher specification. apologies, laverda, if this mis-states the work done...
michael
with the exception of being powered by supercap/burndy, i left the remaining spec to laverda... as above, i'm very happy with the results/sound which delivered well beyond my expectations (as laverada rightly predicted at the time!!). my choices were buy a used 52 or try this. to give some sense of comparison, i think i would have been happy with the same sound as i'm getting from my 62 if i had gone for a 52 (at a lot more money obviously).
i am not technical at all and read this "diy" for interest rather than action.
accordingly, and with those caveats... i beleive he installed a number of dedicated rails, removed a number of redundant components and upgraded remaining components to a higher specification. apologies, laverda, if this mis-states the work done...
michael
Just a thought.
As previously mentioned in another thread regarding modding an older chrome bumper NAP250, older Naim gear is'nt fetching what it used to. Very recently, an 82 did'nt sell on ebay, although the start price was £699.
There are more 2## series and 5## series gear on the second hand market which may have something to do with it.
I've an 82 myself, have been / am playing with a 32, which is getting close to the 82. I'm not finnished yet, but keep thinking myself, should I delve under the bonnet of the 82, how far will that go, especially after reading Teddy Pardo's experience with the 102.
I know if I bought a 72 to mod, I still would'nt sell the 82 as I would want a reference to compare........
I think I've just convinced myself............!
I take it few/ if any have dabbled with the 82 ?
As previously mentioned in another thread regarding modding an older chrome bumper NAP250, older Naim gear is'nt fetching what it used to. Very recently, an 82 did'nt sell on ebay, although the start price was £699.
There are more 2## series and 5## series gear on the second hand market which may have something to do with it.
I've an 82 myself, have been / am playing with a 32, which is getting close to the 82. I'm not finnished yet, but keep thinking myself, should I delve under the bonnet of the 82, how far will that go, especially after reading Teddy Pardo's experience with the 102.
I know if I bought a 72 to mod, I still would'nt sell the 82 as I would want a reference to compare........
I think I've just convinced myself............!
I take it few/ if any have dabbled with the 82 ?
It's very easy to fall into the trap of thinking "if I start with something more expensive, the results will be even better". With the exception of the 52, ALL Naim pre-amps share virtually the same circuits. The advantages come when a larger power supply is employed and to give an example: the old NAC32 was superceded by the 32.5, the only difference being the capability of utilising two tracks of power. A swift 30min regig of the 32s power tracks and a 32.5 emerges from the mist. Carry this upwards to the 82 which can use 4 power tracks and you have the economic answer - stick with the 72 - 4 track it and pocket the difference.
If you simply must have remote control, the 102/112 series come up very nicely and do put a 52/SCap in the shade.
If you simply must have remote control, the 102/112 series come up very nicely and do put a 52/SCap in the shade.
colasblue
pfm Member
Ok then I'll admit it - I've fiddled with my 82 with excellent results.
It was a bog standard 2001 model with all the final versions of everything, and it replaced a 1993 model which was clearly showing its age a bit.
The new one was definitely a lot clearer but had a very ragged top and a distinct lack of timing so although it was demonstably "better" in some regards and there was no going back to the old one, I couldn't really fall in love with it.
I had a look inside to play "spot the difference" compared to the earlier one and all there was of any substance was the updated pots board and some SLCE gold caps rather than the gold Roedersteins.
Curiously I've identified the gold SLCE's as one of my main dislikes in newer equipment previously so I had little hesitation in replacing them all with SimicII's which I know I do like - big improvement.
Next change was the blue tants for red Panasonic tants, again big improvement.
No regrets and to prove it I recently sold an early 52/PS because my 82 with 2 HiCaps P***ed on it.
The next step is probably to plumb in a third pair of reguated supplies (ie Hicap No 3) to run the record circuits or find some way of powering them down without also dropping the main output relay (I'm sure it isn't hard - I just haven't done it yet).
Then I'll probably try a different PSU - like the APX ones.
I think te 82 is now cheap enough to be moddable and you do get a nice big box to put all the stuff in and R/C.
Having seen the inside of the 52 I couldn't really work out what the difference was electrically to the 82 , it just seemd to be built on a pair of mirror image boards rather than a single one and with more power supply rails split out externally (though most of them were to power boards you probably would never install). The record circuits have their own power supply leads on both amps though the 82 ties them to the same PSU as the main output - which could easily be changed.
I'd say the 82 is potentially a lot easier to mod than the 72 and you'll have no need to do anything which couldn't be reversed quite easily. Crucially you don't need to install complete new power supply tracks and you could quite easily fit lots of local regulation inside the box without shoehorning it in.
To get the best out of an 82 it probably needs to be six tracked if you don't use powered input boards or 8 tracked otherwise.
It was a bog standard 2001 model with all the final versions of everything, and it replaced a 1993 model which was clearly showing its age a bit.
The new one was definitely a lot clearer but had a very ragged top and a distinct lack of timing so although it was demonstably "better" in some regards and there was no going back to the old one, I couldn't really fall in love with it.
I had a look inside to play "spot the difference" compared to the earlier one and all there was of any substance was the updated pots board and some SLCE gold caps rather than the gold Roedersteins.
Curiously I've identified the gold SLCE's as one of my main dislikes in newer equipment previously so I had little hesitation in replacing them all with SimicII's which I know I do like - big improvement.
Next change was the blue tants for red Panasonic tants, again big improvement.
No regrets and to prove it I recently sold an early 52/PS because my 82 with 2 HiCaps P***ed on it.
The next step is probably to plumb in a third pair of reguated supplies (ie Hicap No 3) to run the record circuits or find some way of powering them down without also dropping the main output relay (I'm sure it isn't hard - I just haven't done it yet).
Then I'll probably try a different PSU - like the APX ones.
I think te 82 is now cheap enough to be moddable and you do get a nice big box to put all the stuff in and R/C.
Having seen the inside of the 52 I couldn't really work out what the difference was electrically to the 82 , it just seemd to be built on a pair of mirror image boards rather than a single one and with more power supply rails split out externally (though most of them were to power boards you probably would never install). The record circuits have their own power supply leads on both amps though the 82 ties them to the same PSU as the main output - which could easily be changed.
I'd say the 82 is potentially a lot easier to mod than the 72 and you'll have no need to do anything which couldn't be reversed quite easily. Crucially you don't need to install complete new power supply tracks and you could quite easily fit lots of local regulation inside the box without shoehorning it in.
To get the best out of an 82 it probably needs to be six tracked if you don't use powered input boards or 8 tracked otherwise.