advertisement


From Audiolab to Naim amplification

P

Paul68

Well-Known Member
After buying neat speakers I've read that naim and neat have good synergy. Currently I use an audiolab m-dac as my dac pre and an 8200p as my amplification, I'm happy with this pairing and the audiolab drives the neats no problem, but could things be better in overall sound quality by switching to say a naim nait 5i/si. My budget would be around £400 to £600 second hand.
The source is a bluesound node with upgraded psu and the speakers are neat sx3.
 
At your budget I think you'll find that any Naim pre or integrated just reduces the sound quality considerably.

I'd suggest a Farlow era Exposure power amp of some sort if you want to go vintage but the 8200p is actually very good so it may not be an improvement. Keep the DAC/pre as is.
 
It will sound very different. I have always found Audiolab to sound accurate but a bit grey and dull. Naim is fast, bouncy and sometimes rather harsh. I don't like either FWIW. We all hear different things. Or we all hear things differently.
So have a go. Find a shop that will demo, or find a local fishie with Nait 5 and have a play, or buy secondhand at a sufficiently low price that if you don't like it you can resell it and recover all or at least most of your investment. The Exposure suggestion above is a good one. It has the pace and excitement of Naim but isn't as fatiguing.
 
I've had the Neat Petites with the Schiit Aegir (decent), Naim XS3 (good), Rega Aethos (great), Hegel H390 (excellent) though that's subjective based on preferences. Main things to note:

1. Assuming the SX3 has the similar qualities as the Petites then it should be fairly amp agnostic.

2. Pick your amp to deliver the type of sound you like...

If you want an exciting up and at 'em sound Naim/Rega
If you want a more balanced smoother, richer sound Hegel
etc.

All sound great.

3. The improvement scales up nicely as you move up the ladder; if you can find something that technically outperforms your Audiolab you'll hear the difference and get the benefit of that extra spend, most likely
 
Columbo said:
3. The improvement scales up nicely as you move up the ladder;
Click to expand...
Maybe. Maybe not. I don't like the way some systems present music. I wouldn't have Naim in my home system regardless of the price. I'd put lower priced other stuff in my lounge before multi thousand pound 500-series all day long. I've heard it at shows, I've heard it in people's houses. No thanks. A better version of a sound you don't like is still a sound you don't like.
Columbo said:
you'll hear the difference and get the benefit of that extra spend, most likely
Click to expand...
Hmm. I have an EL34 valve amp, from China, suitably modified, in my main system. It cost <£150 used 15 years ago. I've got other stuff I could use but this just works.
 
I’ve just bought a Nait 5i to use in a streaming system and my first impressions of it are that it’s a fantastic amp. I couldn’t be happier with how it performs.
 
stevec67 said:
Maybe. Maybe not. I don't like the way some systems present music. I wouldn't have Naim in my home system regardless of the price. I'd put lower priced other stuff in my lounge before multi thousand pound 500-series all day long. I've heard it at shows, I've heard it in people's houses. No thanks. A better version of a sound you don't like is still a sound you don't like.

Hmm. I have an EL34 valve amp, from China, suitably modified, in my main system. It cost <£150 used 15 years ago. I've got other stuff I could use but this just works.
Click to expand...

That's a discussion in subjective tastes. OP may or may not like the Naim sound. It's clear many people love Naim. FWIW I found the Naim XS3 a bit too edgy - it wasn't for me either. (Though Iould imagine it pairing well with something like Q Acoustics though, which need a bit of a kick up the arse and didn't respond well to the Hegel's smoothness, for example)
 
Columbo said:
That's a discussion in subjective tastes. OP may or may not like the Naim sound.
Click to expand...
That's the point I'm making. It's all about subjective taste and there is absolutely no guarantee that spending more money "up the ladder" will give you a result that you like. There isn't even a consensus of this *within a brand*, you can find people who like, say, Naim 32.5/NAP 110 olive and prefer it to items higher in the range because one may have voltage regulation, the other not. The same people may prefer earlier items to the current stuff, even at £££ price points. So it's down to the individual. We don't all hjear sounds the same way.
 
stevec67 said:
That's the point I'm making. It's all about subjective taste and there is absolutely no guarantee that spending more money "up the ladder" will give you a result that you like. There isn't even a consensus of this *within a brand*, you can find people who like, say, Naim 32.5/NAP 110 olive and prefer it to items higher in the range because one may have voltage regulation, the other not. The same people may prefer earlier items to the current stuff, even at £££ price points. So it's down to the individual. We don't all hjear sounds the same way.
Click to expand...
This. When I was a Naim fan I was on the upgrade trail owning every olive pre and three power amps ending with a 250. Can't remember what precipitated it but ended up with a 32.5/ Hi cap and two modified 110s which I preferred. Then I got a NAD Masters series because I was planning on Shahinian Obelisks and they need power. Never got them but I really liked that amp and would still have it but it went kaput and was too expensive to fix. Using Audio Note now and it suits me better. In the 'oilive' days I firmly believed that more expensive was better and that Naim were the best. It took me 15 years to realise I didn't like how Naim amps sound or then, perhaps my tastes changed.
 
With Naim kit it can also depend on the sources about whether you like the sound or not. For example I started off with a 92R & 90 into Credo's and liked that sound with the sources I was using at the time. When I then replaced the CD player with a Naim CD3.5 I found the system too forward (or harsh) with some types of music. Replacing the amps, initially with a 32.5/SNAPS/110 set-up, improved the situation considerably but I'd also found that I liked the CD3.5 as a source with more laid back amplification.

The only bit of Naim kit I use at the moment is a Nait 3 which is in one of my offices, and I find that fine even though they've not got the best of reputations. The main Naim system (which ended up as an active system with loads of boxes) I still have (and did like) although it isn't currently in use, having been replaced by a much simpler set-up around an integrated amp.
 
Thanks to everyone who has posted their opinions so far, it is much appreciated. Luckily I'm not to far from hifi corner and they are dealers for both Naim and Neat acoustics. So it shouldn't be to much of a problem to set up a demo if I decide to go down the path of changing amps.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.


advertisement


Back
Top