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How (not why not) to Biamp Naim?

Bartman

Bartman

pfm Member
I'm running a 202/200 through a Hicap to my PMCs. It seems a better time to buy than to sell, so I've shelved my plan to upgrade the 202 for a 282 and instead am thinking about biamping my speakers. Do I use the socket 2 and 3 from the Hicap with a standard cable to each amp, or will that just give me the same mono channel in each speaker ie how would I get one power amp receive 2 L signals and the 2nd 2 R channels.
 
In my view this makes little sense. Its your money however so if thats what you want to do fine. But consider that Naim power amps are OK but nothing special. Naim preamps are very good indeed. You'll get a much better sound by changing the pre to a better one than you will by adding another power amp. I think this is the view put forward by Naim. The 200 is very capable by itself.

So rather than spending more on a pwer amp, pick up a 282/252 or even change the hicap to a supercap first. This will sound better. Source first and all that.


Rob.
 
If your speakers can be bi-wired, then you simply use the extra sockets on the Hi-Cap, remembering to remove the terminal plates from your speakers. There is a discussion on the Naim forum about biamping at present. In general I am unconvinced of the benefits of passive bi-amping. The exception being the Neat Motive 2s I used for a number of years in a second system. They responded very well to bi-amping.

I guess that a demo would be a good idea to see if the benefits of bi-amping exceed the costs of upgrading your 202 for a 282.
 
RobFTM said:
In my view this makes little sense. Its your money however so if thats what you want to do fine. But consider that Naim power amps are OK but nothing special. Naim preamps are very good indeed. You'll get a much better sound by changing the pre to a better one than you will by adding another power amp. I think this is the view put forward by Naim. The 200 is very capable by itself.

So rather than spending more on a pwer amp, pick up a 282/252 or even change the hicap to a supercap first. This will sound better. Source first and all that.


Rob.
Click to expand...

Spot on.
 
Except it isn't. I've tried a number of power amps and have yet to hear anything that suggests I need to change my 135's.

I wouldn't - but it is easy to bi-amp with a Hi-Cap; the output from both sockets is in stereo and all you have to do is connect them up to two stereo power amps (obviously you need bi-wire equipped speakers with the bi-wire links removed).
 
YNWOAN said:
Except it isn't. I've tried a number of power amps and have yet to hear anything that suggests I need to change my 135's.

I wouldn't - but it is easy to bi-amp with a Hi-Cap; the output from both sockets is in stereo and all you have to do is connect them up to two stereo power amps (obviously you need bi-wire equipped speakers with the bi-wire links removed).
Click to expand...


You don't think the pre is more important?
 
Naim pre amps are different to many in that they define the bandwidths more tightly than most. I'd say that was a big plus and pretty important for a good pre amp. They also buffer the signal which ensures operating consistency and is another plus in my book. Others think such a design solution is poor and to be avoided at all cost.

The power amps are a decent but far from unusual Class B design that works well because JV understood the finer points required to get the best results from it.
Sonically they are benign IME - nothing distinctive but then that's good since other than gain and driving a load, distinctive isn't required or desired.
 
Many years ago I ran the output from hicap sockets 2 and 3 into a pair of 160s. You can use the standard snaics for this. A single run of A5 from each power amp to the speaker. Works without damaging the power amps but the improvement over a single 160 was negligible. It's a workable halfway house if moving towards an active system otherwise don't bother.

A preamp upgrade would be your best option (assuming you have appropriate sources). My recommendation would be to go up the naim ladder or for a cost effective solution condider the teddy pardo pre. It will work with naim power amps and the proceeds from a 202 will be a big contribution the the cost of the tpre
 
It's pointless to bi-amp passively with Naim. It's a retrograde step. I tried this with 52 into two 250s. It sounded pants.

I agree it's much better to upgrade the preamp. The NAC52 is sublime.
 
RobFTM said:
In my view this makes little sense. Its your money however so if thats what you want to do fine. But consider that Naim power amps are OK but nothing special. Naim preamps are very good indeed. You'll get a much better sound by changing the pre to a better one than you will by adding another power amp. I think this is the view put forward by Naim. The 200 is very capable by itself.

So rather than spending more on a pwer amp, pick up a 282/252 or even change the hicap to a supercap first. This will sound better. Source first and all that.


Rob.
Click to expand...
Agreed. IMO with Naim prepowers, the preamps are the standout performers.
 
Thanks for all the feedback, very useful. Rest of the system is LP12 Cirkus Khan Lingo 2 TKable Ekos DV20II into a Whest ps30r then 202/Hicap/200 driving PMC GB1is (after having had Kan2s for 20 years). Very pleased with the sound, had an offer of a 282 but no takers on my 12m old 202 so think I'll save up for a Radikal instead. DVXX2 also on the cards, but only when the current cartridge needs replacing.
 
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