Bi-amping with nap90 and nap110?

[Garth]

Hi all,

I have a 32.5/90 combo driving linn ninkas in my small room and am very happy with them. I have a chance to pick up a nap110. Could
I use it with my nap90 to bi-amp the ninkas? If so, what would I need to do this and how? I guess I could also potentially run the ninkas active later on if I wanted or if. I found another 110 run them as monoblocks.

Cheers,
Garth

 

[Stuart Frazer]

The Naim 110 is a great little power amplifier, so grab it if you can. I much prefer it to the supposedly technical superior 140. I find the 110 very musical. 110 monos are supposed to be very nice!

 

[Mr Pig]

The 90 is not a great amp. Personally, I'd sell both and buy a better power amp although that's if I was still chasing the Naim dragon. I'm not and in the real world I'd buy something else entirely.

 

[pfbaat]

I have a chance to pick up a nap110

Grab it and get it serviced.

Forget everything about bi-amping, its a no-go in your case.
Want more power muscles go to next level instead - not needed on Keilidhs ime.
Just plunk them correct and they are fine cheapskate solutions.

Firstly get a separate PSU to power up your 32.5 preamp, Crome Bumper Hicap is same aesthetics as 32.5/110, but there are other solutions as well.

No description on which source used, often overlooked part of the chain - which is a big mistake imo, source first still rule despite the nay-sayers.

 

[Garth]

Grab it and get it serviced.

Forget everything about bi-amping, its a no-go in your case.
Want more power muscles go to next level instead - not needed on Keilidhs ime.
Just plunk them correct and they are fine cheapskate solutions.

Firstly get a separate PSU to power up your 32.5 preamp, Crome Bumper Hicap is same aesthetics as 32.5/110, but there are other solutions as well.

No description on which source used, often overlooked part of the chain - which is a big mistake imo, source first still rule despite the nay-sayers.

Yes. I should have mentioned that. I have a node 2i and a mid level Rotel CD player I use as a transport and both the node and CD player are fed to my Rega DAC R. My analog front end is a Thorens TD124 with a mission 774 arm and a denon dl110 like soon to be replaced with an AT540ml and Linn Ninka speakers.

 

[Garth]

The 90 is not a great amp. Personally, I'd sell both and buy a better power amp although that's if I was still chasing the Naim dragon. I'm not and in the real world I'd buy something else entirely.

Not to derail my own thread but I am interested in what you might suggest Mr Pig. The rest of my system is linn ninka speakers,Rotel 06-SE functioning as a transport and node2i feeding a rega dac r, and a thorens td124, mission 774 arm with denon dl110 soon to be replaced with an at540ml. I recall from last years that you had a very high spec Naim system. I have been really happy with my system overall so don’t want to lose the synergy. What might you suggest? I noticed in another thread that you highly recommend the rega io integrated. I really like my 32.5 and its mono switch but am open to change. As a former and I think longtime Naim owner I am interested in your perspective.

Cheers,
Garth

 

[cj66]

A sideways thought, if it has any legs.

Get the 110, use it as the only power amp. Disconnect the amp board in the 90, uprate the psu for the 32.5 feed and...

Waddya fink?

 

[Mr Pig]

Not to derail my own thread but I am interested in what you might suggest Mr Pig.

I never owned what would be described today as a very hi end Naim system. The best amp I had was a 72/hicap/250 which was near the top of the Naim tree but a very long time ago. I've also had three Naim CD players and heard a lot of Naim kit over the years, both a dealers and in people's houses. I do think there is a pattern there across the whole range.

Naim is designed to sound impressive and be good at very specific things but it is not rounded. So if you dem Naim in a shop it wins and you take it home. At home it still impresses and the right recordings sound great but overall you feel a grumbling dissatisfaction and want more. Dealers, other Naim user's and Naim tell you that the answer is always another Naim box. You buy the box, it does sound slightly better but the niggles return and the process repeats itself until you run out of available funds.

You say you're happy with the sound but here you are? Asking how to upgrade? My amplifier is an old Meridian 101 pre and 105 amps. I've had them now for close to twenty years. They've been serviced twice and in the entire time I've had them I've never seriously though about changing them. That, is being happy with what you have.

So the Meridia is special? I don't think so. It's just not Naim. When you visit the Naim forum you'll notice that all people ever talk about is upgrading. Not all kit is like that. There are thousands of people out there who but a stereo and just play music on it for years. It's no more complicated than a washing machine.

If you are genuinely happy with what you have, you could leave it alone? Or investigate other options if you like but take it easy and be careful. Buying used is good because if you don't like something you just sell it again. Just be very wary of climbing the Naim ladder, thar be dragons.

 

[pfbaat]

I have been really happy with my system overall so don’t want to lose the synergy

Which makes me say, one step at the time.
No doubt Nap 110 should be grabbed.
When I owned Nap 110 it performed great with Linn K20 long length cable, I tried Kimber, it was horrible.

Then PSU or a better CD - or both, the Rega DAC is great but if your in the market for Rega Saturn?, you might not go back to separate transport/Dac.
Naim CD players are obvious choice for your amps but their support of these sucks as you might know.

 

[Mr Pig]

Naim CD players are obvious choice for your amps but their support of these sucks as you might know.

The Rotel CD player into the Rega DAC probably sounds pretty good. Not as good as a Saturn-R but I would expect it to beat most Naim CD players.

 

[cobbers]

If you plant to get a 540ML - once again - get the capacitive loading right - if the pre has a typical 470pf the AT will be completely wrongly loaded and will sound awful - the loading does not affect the 110.