Thanks Per.
Nait 1 Speakers - Epos ES11 or Russell K Red 100
- Thread starter Charlie_1
- Start date
Thanks Per.
Jimbobbyron
pfm Member
I had a Nait 3. Hated it. Far to harsh and shouty. I also had a Nac72 Nap140 loved it great amp imo used it for 22 years. Big fan of that amp
Ok, thanks Jim. I doubt I’ll ever get one but never say never.
Got the Nait 1 back from repair and compared properly against the unserviced Nait 2. The 1 definitely holds a tune better. However, the 1 does make a meal of things when an LP recording gets very busy or slightly distorted. It seems to take any slight distortion or noise and exaggerate it. This is more noticeable with the Kan 1s, whereas the Majik 140s are more refined and keep it to a minimum. So, I'm thinking a much more modern speaker, like the Red 100, would be a better bet. I'm also getting nervous about buying very old speakers on ebay. What do you guys think?
Also, any view on whether a service would make the Nait 2 more tuneful? I'm thinking this is just the nature of the amp and a service isn't gonna change this.
Also, any view on whether a service would make the Nait 2 more tuneful? I'm thinking this is just the nature of the amp and a service isn't gonna change this.
foxwelljsly
Me too, I ate one sour too.
This may be a bit off the wall, but if I were you, I'd be considering seeking out a pair of secondhand pair of of Spendor SP2s. They are big and a bit BBC, but they certainly don't get over congested with challenging source material and a nice flat bottom end that doesn't peter out like speakers with smaller drivers. Bloody site easier to drive than Kans, too.
Thanks foxwelljsly - I will check out the SP2s.
I thought the Kan 1s offered a nicely balanced sound on the Nait 2, which has a more gutsy presentation and never sounded distorted.
Nait 1 / Katans sounded really clean and undistorted, but that combo didn't boogie (at all)
A friend said Katans one really boogie when active.
MVV
pfm Member
Thing is in reality almost no-one can tell any difference between any level matched olive Naim amps at all. Look at the old thread where a Nait was stacked against an 72/hicap/135s. Only the owners could reliably pick out which was which and everyone else was all over the place about which they preferred . The idea that the Nait 3 could be distinguished from a 1 or 2 other than negatively due to the latter's lack of power is just silly. It is all the same stuff in different boxes just the 3 is more powerful.
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NaimClontarf
pfm Member
I thought the Nait 3 shouty into my previous speakers ...Keilidhs.. but into Dynaudio Audience 52s it is very musical IMHO....
Jimbobbyron
pfm Member
I was using it with Castle Chester mk2 maybe it was a bad match. I only had it for a year then got a 72/140 worked a treat with the Chesters
RustyB
Registered Ginga
Minstrels need the treble turned down by a couple of decibels, other than that, they deliver much fun.
Elephantears
Trunkated Aesthete
How is the Russel K a more modern design than the Linn? It seems totally oldschool to me; not that this is a bad thing (I use speakers from the 70s). I'm puzzled by what you are trying to do and some of your thinking. You say you love the little Nait, but you want to change the system. So what were you using when you loved the Nait, and why aren't you still using those speakers? There must have been limits to that system. I just can't see why you want to build everything around the amp.
Fair enough. First off, poorly written on my part, I was trying to suggest it might be safer to buy something more modern than the Kans, not the 140s.
The Nait is a relatively new purchase. I've tried various other amps and can't find anything better so decided to stick with it, despite its flaws. The 140s are not a bad match, but I think I can do better.
Also contemplating Frugal Horn XLs. I heard them briefly and they seemed pretty good with rock/pop, but I would need a home dem. I'm not gonna sit there and listen to 1-2 instruments twinkling about, so I need to be sure they can really cope with my taste in music.
Elephantears
Trunkated Aesthete
Ah I see. I just wonder if you should try the 140s with another amp before you risk throwing the baby out with the bathwater. There is a Sonneteer Alabaster for sale at the moment; can't remember if it's on here or just Art of Sound. That has enough Nait-style punchiness, but more power, a vivid mid-range and, I would think, much better all round qualities than the Nait. Plenty of other options too, but that one springs to mind.
Thanks for the suggestion Elephantears. I've read about the Alabaster a couple of times on here, so am intrigued for sure. The thing is it's not punchiness or vivid mid-range I'm particularly after and I've tried a few amps now and getting a bit tired of the process, although it's been mostly fun. Maybe I'm slightly unusual in what makes me tick.
So far, I've also tried Nait 2, Nait 5i, NAC72/NAP140, Exposure XV, Rega Brio-R (modern shoe box version), Creek 4140 and Linn Majik-I (LK type). I'm pretty familiar with modern Linn amps too, all the way up to Klimax.
Coming from Linn, I'm quite sensitive to anything slightly out of tune, which is where the original Nait and Majik-I score well. But I'm also sensitive to close syncronisation/connectedness between all the musicians, which is where all the amps do pretty well, except the Majik. The Nait 1/2 and Creek are best at this, to my ears.
There was 'something' about the 72/140 that I found fatuiging/too full-on, although it did mellow a little if left powered on all the time. The Exposure was a very good all-rounder, but something odd about the bass - maybe a bit out of time with the rest. The Majik sounded too HiFi and didn't bring the performances together as a whole. The 5i was good but not really tuneful enough for me. The Brio-R was perhaps the best all-rounder, but ultimately, wouldn't make me want to listen to music as much as the Nait.
We're all different though and these are just my preferences. The past few months has really emphasised the importance of listening to equipment in your own home, and I'm fully open to the fact that some of these conclusions could have been different when using other systems or listening rooms, but you can only do so much before getting fed up with it all.
So far, I've also tried Nait 2, Nait 5i, NAC72/NAP140, Exposure XV, Rega Brio-R (modern shoe box version), Creek 4140 and Linn Majik-I (LK type). I'm pretty familiar with modern Linn amps too, all the way up to Klimax.
Coming from Linn, I'm quite sensitive to anything slightly out of tune, which is where the original Nait and Majik-I score well. But I'm also sensitive to close syncronisation/connectedness between all the musicians, which is where all the amps do pretty well, except the Majik. The Nait 1/2 and Creek are best at this, to my ears.
There was 'something' about the 72/140 that I found fatuiging/too full-on, although it did mellow a little if left powered on all the time. The Exposure was a very good all-rounder, but something odd about the bass - maybe a bit out of time with the rest. The Majik sounded too HiFi and didn't bring the performances together as a whole. The 5i was good but not really tuneful enough for me. The Brio-R was perhaps the best all-rounder, but ultimately, wouldn't make me want to listen to music as much as the Nait.
We're all different though and these are just my preferences. The past few months has really emphasised the importance of listening to equipment in your own home, and I'm fully open to the fact that some of these conclusions could have been different when using other systems or listening rooms, but you can only do so much before getting fed up with it all.
Elephantears
Trunkated Aesthete
This will be a symptom of speaker/room interaction. Some of the amps you've mentioned will avoid the problem by having little ability to reproduce deeper bass, so you'll live within the happy limits of a sound that is curtailed below the mid-bass (and slightly bumped up there in the case of the Naim). If you're sticking in the region of 80s/90s integrateds, I'd take an Onix 21 over anything you've mentioned. But I still think you'd like an Alabaster.
OK, thanks Elephantears. I'll bear it in mind
per flemming
Registered User
Perhaps the Elex/R would be a solution, sort of grown-up Brio/R
DM-10
pfm Member
The RK100 is a real wonder. The RK50 have nothing to do with them, they could be models belonging to different brands. The RK100 are not speakers to recommend to everyone despite the fact that their price allows easy access to them. They can perfectly be loudspeakers for a reference configuration in which the price of the components is obscenely high. Understanding its particular design of mechanical load on the reflex, its tonal balance, can perfectly sound rooms up to 25 m2 with obvious doses of punch. They sound immediate, forceful, very fast, organic and absent from effort in reproduction. With Naim maridan very well, but despite their kind technical specifications, the RK100 appreciate the muscle, and that is not only about quantity, but attitude.
Cheers
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