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Naim NAC102 - were there any revision changes?

D

daws0n

pfm Member
Hey fellas,

Have recently taken delivery of a NAC102/NAPSC off a fellow PF'er which has replaced my NAC112 pre-amp. So far, so good - there is a marked improvement which I am happy with.

In the meantime, I've been offered another nac102 at a very cheap price (£350 inc.) which when comparing the serial numbers is 4 year younger (2000, opposed to my early 1996 model). It's got me thinking it may be an idea to snap this one up and sell on the older one, since it has been unserviced as far as I know.

Still, it's a fair bit of hassle/outlay for what could be little/no improvement.. Does anyone know if there were any internal changes/modifications throughout the nac102's lifespan? I know my NAC112/NAP150s had a fair few changes, so it seems naim like to tinker with the later revisions?

Thanks.

Dawson
 
naim says no... Still, I might take a punt since they also added that a service will set me back £420 - the longer I can put that off, the better!
 
Though a service on a pre-amp is, from what I've been told, something you'll have to do only after about 20years (the power amps 10). £420 is a hell of a lot though...
 
Bloody right it is - though id say the likes of class a, avondale audio etc would be considerably cheaper. According to naim the newer black series should last longer, fingers crossed my '02 nap150 will be good for another 3-5 years.
 
Just a thought on a whim since the price was right so to speak-it should cost me next to nothing, if anything at all. In the scheme of things 4 years isnt much though so I dont think I can really be arsed with it..

Got some tunes on as I type and all is good either way.. Adding a 102 has really beefed up the sound - The nap150 can really pull its weight for a 50 watter too!
 
Strange that the service for the 102 is considerably more than that quoted for its partner, the NAP180 (£250). There's not much inside, so I wonder what they do (that said, I'm sure Naim aren't charging a premium just because it's a pre-amp).

My 180 is due for a service, but the lady at Naim said not to worry unduly as long as I didn't have difficult to drive speakers (I'm not sure how I'd know if I did). Will wait until the kindergarten fees end (in two years).
 
Yeah I thought that aswell. Id imagine the work required is more delicate and time consuming perhaps?

With regards to speaker loads, my dynaudios are a bastard to drive-4ohm and 86dB sensitivity.. Still, I dont play louder than about 80-85dB so its not like I am stressing the amp.. The top is barely warm after a couple of hours tonight.
 
My speakers were bespoke made by Bill Beard, the friend of a late friend of mine. Although they have a model number, I've never been able to trace any further information about them (Model III, made by Lyric Audio in Holland). As they were designed to be driven by a valve amp, I guess they're pretty easy to drive (I've certainly never known the Amp to get warm -- though I've also never got past 9 o'clock -- some golden jack attenuating sockets on the way, so I can use a little more of the amp).
 
Subsequent to the release of the NAIT 5 / NAC 112, there was a minor production modification to the fixing of the main PCB to the chassis (Loctite used to allow board to float near to PCB-mount DIN sockets, which are sensitive to microphony). This can be fitted in the field and is a nice no-£/$ tweak. Do a search on here, I believe dave's NAC 102 has this mod.
 
rubaiyat,

Actually, I need to revisit that tweak as the only time I tried it produced worse results but if I recall correctly I was experimenting with relatively loose Fraim fittings at the same time which would have affected results.

Can you review the procedure here again? For example, does the production tweak simply place a dab of Loctite under the three, nearest-to-the-DINS screwheads (but above the PCB)? And are those three screwheads loosened enough prior to applying the Loctite so the bottom of the screwheads do not touch the PCB at all?

regards,

dave

EDIT: the original thread (appropriately titled and a great read):

http://www.pinkfishmedia.net/forum/showthread.php?t=25599&highlight=compliant
 
daws0n said:
Adding a 102 has really beefed up the sound - The nap150 can really pull its weight for a 50 watter too!
Click to expand...

Pre-amp is where the upgrade can really be heard. Today Im using a hardly 25wpc amp and it goes perfectly loud enough, curiously when I had a Nait5 (with a Hicap) I could hear when dynamic compression started. OTOH, as I have my (no gain) pre and power set up these days I generally don't have enough output on the preamp to go super loud.
 
^^ I wish! Working to a budget here, so a 102 will do me just fine :)

I'm surprised at the improvements Pete, as I've always regarded a preamp as having a pretty basic job to do compared to the rest of the system...

To me the benefits sound more like what I'd expect from a power amp upgrade (improved dynamic range, bass control, attack etc...).
 
Hi,

You will be suprised an how much more bass slam you can get from a better preamp.

Pete
 
I've compared a 52/150 to a 112/Supercap/135s, and much preferred to former that was *so* much more communicative. And yes, better bass slam too. Pre-amp uber alles. Always.
 
Yeah, It is a good business model; pre first up to 52 or whatever they do now then power in steps to the 500 chuck in some PSUs and you have a 'cash cow' for years.
 
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