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Naim/Kan/DacMagic - service/replace/modify/ship?

A

andrewrobinson

New Member
Hi,

This is my first post. I have the following:

NAP 110 no 29521 (looks to be made round 1986)
NAC 42-5 no 33446 (round 87)
Linnn Kan 019937, 019938 (Mk-1 I think)
Marantz 74CD67/25B with Digital Output
Cambridge Audio DAC-Magic
Mac Mini plus laptop with optical digital outs

I'm moving abroad soon and am wondering what to get serviced or modified, what to ship or not and whether to buy new things or keep old kit running.

Pragmatic advice please.

My budget for improvements or maintenance at the moment is £400 and under. A bit more if I bought active speakers.
I'm interested only in computers as the sound source going forward.
I can handle the software and networking myself heading towards multi-room.
There will be other amps and speakers in time but I would like to keep the Naim/Kan combination as one of the primary sound sources.

The NAP 110 still sounds good but sends a pop through the speakers when I turn it on. The power switch is wobbly.
The source selector on the NAC 42-5 generates a bit of crackle but I never need to switch it. The volume is fine.

The DAC can switch between two digital inputs so I would be happy with a minimal single source preamp.

Could I get a more modern / diy / kit-based preamp and use it with the NAP 110?
Could I just get the NAC 42-5 bridged to use only one channel? (Any audio purity gain from this?)
I sometimes wonder if I shouldn't just move on and buy some kind of new audiophile mini-amp instead.
The DAC has XLR outputs so I could also just get some pro-audio (music production) active monitor speakers and stop thinking about amps at all ....

I like the idea of hardware hacking and mods but have no experience and would need to find someone who could actually do the work.



thanks

Andrew
 
Hi,

I would suggest as you already like the Naim / Kan sound that you get the 42.5 and the 110 serviced. The 42.5 is very good, and with both serviced will give you years more enjoyment. There is no need to modify the 42.5 it is a very good pre amp.

There are three options for service.

Naim - will cost more than the other two below.

Class A - Naim authorised repair service.

Avondale - Various levels of service and upgrades possible.

My preferred choice is Avondale, however the choice is yours, I suggest you give them all a call and see what they offer.

Changing to another manufacturer such as Linn would cost you upwards of £700-£900 for the suggested amp alone.

The best use of your budget would be to get your existing Naim serviced, you never know there maybe some interesting things around when you ask about the service.

At a later date you can have the DAC-Magic upgraded as well, however this will cost a fair amount of money. However I would suggest looking at something like a Linn Sneaky Digital Streamer for a future front end upgrade. These can now be got for around £730 if you look in the right places.

My suggestions, others I am sure will disagree.

Cheers

John
 
sounds like you have a pretty balanced system made from quality components.

get the power amp serviced and buy a snaps psu.


Do you have some proper Kan Stands?
 
andrewrobinson said:
Hi,

This is my first post. I have the following:

NAP 110 no 29521 (looks to be made round 1986)
NAC 42-5 no 33446 (round 87)
Linnn Kan 019937, 019938 (Mk-1 I think)
Marantz 74CD67/25B with Digital Output
Cambridge Audio DAC-Magic
Mac Mini plus laptop with optical digital outs

I'm moving abroad soon and am wondering what to get serviced or modified, what to ship or not and whether to buy new things or keep old kit running.

Pragmatic advice please.

My budget for improvements or maintenance at the moment is £400 and under. A bit more if I bought active speakers.
I'm interested only in computers as the sound source going forward.
I can handle the software and networking myself heading towards multi-room.
There will be other amps and speakers in time but I would like to keep the Naim/Kan combination as one of the primary sound sources.

The NAP 110 still sounds good but sends a pop through the speakers when I turn it on. The power switch is wobbly.
The source selector on the NAC 42-5 generates a bit of crackle but I never need to switch it. The volume is fine.

The DAC can switch between two digital inputs so I would be happy with a minimal single source preamp.

Could I get a more modern / diy / kit-based preamp and use it with the NAP 110?
Could I just get the NAC 42-5 bridged to use only one channel? (Any audio purity gain from this?)
I sometimes wonder if I shouldn't just move on and buy some kind of new audiophile mini-amp instead.
The DAC has XLR outputs so I could also just get some pro-audio (music production) active monitor speakers and stop thinking about amps at all ....

I like the idea of hardware hacking and mods but have no experience and would need to find someone who could actually do the work.



thanks

Andrew
Click to expand...

Hi Andrew

The selector switch on the 42.5 is very basic and cheap to replace. You could upgrade to an Elna 2 pole 6 way or get a like for like lower on the same page to remove the crackling. Same for the power switch on the 110, see this thread from today.

The upgrade potential for both is huge. The pre is where I would aim first starting with optimising the power supply arrangements either with a commercial external psu such as Hicap/Teddycap/TPX1 or a home made version using a DIY regulator and RC filter network. Then you can move onto component swapping and wiring optimisation.

The Starfish is the for some (me included) the ultimate Naim style DIY preamp with many of the mods developed over the years combined into one board. The Starfish will cost around £200 with the PCB and all the components, it will fit straight into your 42.5 case just as mine did. It is a simple project in essence as all you do is purchase the board, buy the components and solder them in. There is an excellent manual and a huge thread with excellent information here no electronics knowledge is assumed or required, however it is a large first project and may seem daunting

DSC_0009_1.jpg


The 110 can be upgraded to 140 spec or you can transform it with a Minicap style board either from Avondale or through a DIY approach.


I think that DIY is really better if you have a desire to fiddle yourself. Experience is really not necessary just a willingness to have a go and don't mind asking for advice in the DIY section. You would need a soldering iron, a basic digital multimeter and some simple tools - screwdrivers and the like.

Getting someone else to do it can be tricky as most DIYers have a huge backlog of projects themselves and time is usually precious. We are all willing to help with advice and guides and there are the likes of Avondale who will mod for you but there is a cost as time is expensive
 
I'm surprised no-one has suggested this so far - add a second-hand HiCap.

I did this so long ago that I can't even remember the difference it made :)

However, all Naim pre-amps are designed to work like this.
 
Thanks for all the replies. I have the stands for the Kans.
I'll be getting the power amp serviced via Avondale and may go the DIY route for the 42-5 at some stage. There will be a big learning curve but it looks like fun!
 
Andrew,
As I'm sure you've seen from their website, Avondale do a range of upgrades and kits for your set-up. The nice thing is you can buy them bit by bit.

However, Les is literally a one-man band. The last time I saw him he only had one old bloke helping him out. His workshop is the cellar of his house.

He tends to do things in batches so if he has something on the shelf then turnaround is easy. However, circumstances like illness and holidays are bound to affect things. He's also in much demand.

What I'm trying to say is that delivery times can be variable and longer than you might expect from a normal full-sized company like Naim or Linn. That said, I've been very satisfied myself. Naim took 6 weeks to come up with a HiCap for me once as well :)
 
Hi,

With respect I think you will find that quite a number of well respected businesses are run as a single person company, or with the help of relative or a single paid employee.

I do not think that this should in any way influence the decision on having a service from a company like Avondale.

I personally have had better service from small companies than from some of the larger ones.

Cheers

John
 
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