Chops54
pfm Member
I'd agree with you there.
Naim Nac 12
- Thread starter Svein
- Start date
I'd agree with you there.
Rosewind
Lost in Translation
Very glad about that, Les. I thought I might as well toss out my dual railed Nac 12. Phew.
Kind regards,
Peter
I wouldn't say so. And neither would any of my friends who have heard my Nac 12 dual railed with Supercap and bolt together Nap 160.
A little update. I have replaced the Din-connectors and some internal wire in the Nac12/v2. Also a single railed Snaps from 1984 is added - with unrequested help from a Swedish enthusiast (thanks Ken). The sound is a lot better. Very enganging, a huge midrange with great punch, drive and superb timing. All kinds of rock and uptempo is great fun, but the system also capture the lyricism of Brahms and calm pieces.
One more time - the Nac12 is bloody fantastic!
Pic of the 12 before replacement of leads and connectors:
One more time - the Nac12 is bloody fantastic!
Pic of the 12 before replacement of leads and connectors:
Uncle Roach
pfm Member
I have an almost original 12N(phono input changed from DIN to RCAs) single rail. Have it serviced and keep it as original as possible. It's a great pre-amp. Enjoy it! 
)
)I have an almost original 12N(phono input changed from DIN to RCAs) single rail. Have it serviced and keep it as original as possible. It's a great pre-amp. Enjoy it!
Yes it's great, Julian Vereker had some good ideas back in the 70's. They sound just right whatever kind of music you feed them. Also to my liking it sound good with low bit net radio, and awesome on a good cd or vinyl recording. I'll keep my examples original. I have not been able to read some descriptions of the differences between single/dual rail modification of the Nac 12s here although opinions seem to differ on this.
My examples sound better, more calm and with the right 'fullness' with the phono boards in place btw. I don't know why, just an observation.
yurivv
pfm Member
I have nothing else to add to what has already been said above but I would like to share a few pics of my friends' and my preamps.
07 by yurivv69, on Flickr
DSC_9891 by yurivv69, on Flickr
11 by yurivv69, on Flickr
15 by yurivv69, on Flickr
More pics:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/yurivv69/sets/72157637687121885/
07 by yurivv69, on FlickrDSC_9891 by yurivv69, on Flickr11 by yurivv69, on Flickr15 by yurivv69, on FlickrMore pics:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/yurivv69/sets/72157637687121885/
Hi,
yes the na322 will fit in the slots of your second generation Nac12. Take a look at post 18 by LPSpinner in this thread.
Hi Guys.
Yes the 3 series phono boards will fit over the split pin pins that hold the cards in place. Some NAC 12s have a metal locating guides on the main board to locate the edge the Phono-boards. The later 3 series phono cards may not easily fit inside these locating guides. My NAC 12 had the guides removed and you may have to do the same. They are soldered onto the main board so you will need to take the main board out to access the underside of the main PCB. Only do it for the phono boards and only if you have to.
As a side comment and to satisfy my own curiosity, has any body seen photos or a real in the flesh encounter of the very first version NAC 12s. I know these were based on OP-Amps rather than discreet transistors but I have never seen one and Im pretty curious to see one or even hear reports on how it performs.
LPSpinner
misterc6
Wasted and wounded, it ain’t what the moon did
I'd be interested to know where you got the idea that the NAC12 v1 used op-amps. I worked as a test equipment supplier to Naim in the '70s and Julian's philosophy was always to use discrete transistors.
I have seen internal photos of all three versions of the NAC12 and my recollection is that the v1 had all the circuitry apart from the phono boards on the main board with discrete transistors. I may have some photos at home but I'm away on holiday at present and can't access them from here.
I Googled the NAC12 and couldn't find any internal images of a v1 but a search for the contemporaneous NAC22 produced a photo similar to what I described above - all the circuitry on a motherboard with discrete devices and a pair of plug-in phono boards.
MJS
Technical Tinkerer
In all the darkest recesses of the factory I never saw any pre-amp with op-amps in it.
70's test equipment eh? Must have been the stuff I was still using in the 90's
Yes I know, I was a bit surprised when I read it as well but several vintage reviews from that era as well as a couple of more recent historical commentaries about naims history have made mention of Op-Amps being used in the very first version of the NAC12. From what I have read the very first 12s used Op-amps biased into class A with a virtual ground in order to run off a single 24volt rail. Only the Phono cards were plug-ins to allow for different cartridges.
My sample is a very early build 2 version with a serial number of 210. So Im guessing that the very first versions were few and very rare.
Also, Looking at the NAC22 it is interesting to see the beginnings of a 32,s looks and the 42s internal layout, wider case and the introduction of the tape monitor/mute switch.
LPSpinner.
yurivv
pfm Member
As for the op-amps, I’ve seen scans of an old mag that contained the very first test by reporter Paul Rasmussen. He tested a pre/power 12/160 combo. According to the article, the pre-amp had inbuilt op-amps and the manufacturer had already made a new version (i. e. "v.2") that was entirely different from the old one. So personally, I believe the rumor that the first version of NAC 12 had inbuilt op-amps.