Living with a Nait 2...

I have been intrigued by ‘The Naim Sound’ for years; the closest I ever got was with a Naim
CD 3.5.
It was an excellent player, but I was seduced by an expensive Sony model so the ‘3.5 was sold.

The little Naits are well liked by many on this Forum and I’ve often wondered if they’re as good as many
claim them be.

A Nait 2 was advertised on PFM Classifieds, so I thought I’d take a chance on it.

I’m rather pleased I did.
It’s a superb little amplifier.
It has bought my Stirling V3s to life.

Don’t get me wrong, the Quad, Arcam and Marantz amplifiers worked well with the V3s.

The Nait has enabled what’s in a recording to ‘reach’ the speakers.
The Stirlings’ inherent transparency, imaging and superb bass are now increased to a level
I hadn’t expected.

I shall have to try the Nait with my Spendor BC1s.
It could be interesting...

 

I can only agree - listening to Radio 4 through my Nait 2 now.

 

If you think the Nait 2 is good , you should try a Nait 1!

and then a 12s/snaps/160

 

I did say several times that the amps you are using are not good enough.... Try a good amp like a Krell or Radford and be really impressed.

 

Thank you, Arkless.
Always quick to put me right...

 

I heard an early Nait years ago, but I think it was a 3. Liked what I heard, but didn’t have a chance to hear with the Stirling V3s or modded V2s I had later on. Tantalizing to think of putting them together with a Nait 2, based on the reports of many here who swear the Nait 2 has never been beat. Not ignoring other votes for Nait 1, or chrome bumper…

To Arkless’ point; I may have to give Krell another try, it is carried locally. I had a home audition, many years ago, of their new-at-the time integrated. It certainly brought out ample detail and formidable bass, but at the time the sound seemed lifeless to me, compared to a Nait 5si. I’m no longer sure what speakers I heard with the Krell - might have been early Focal Electra 906, or, unsuitable Reference 3a Dulcets. (Not a knock on the Dulcets - just better with tubes or some of the more tube-like SS, gainclones etc.)

Perhaps time to try Krell again with some of my BEEB style speakers; clearly some trained ears swear by the Krell line-up.

 

No problem

 

Well I auditioned a pair of V2s being fed by two old Harman Kardon PA 2400s source was a Node 2i which in turn was being fed music files by a laptop, the speakers sounded unbelievable.

 

Try an Exposure Martyn.
I too love the Nait 2 and praise it's sound but an Exposure Super XV or XX is just better in everyway possible except for cuteness

 

The Krell integrateds are a great deal poorer in quality than their early power amps. I’d agree with you that a Naim integrated shows one (certainly a KAV300i) a clean pair of heels. The early power amps are a different matter though. They’re pretty affordable for what they go for nowadays but you’ll need to budget for a once over by an engineer and possibly the replacement of bulging PSU caps. 2 or 3 hundred quid, tops. As for the later ones, I’ve less experience but they’ll be a lot more expensive…

 

Thanks for this Pocket Kitchen, very useful perspective. And yes, it was a KAV300i heard back in the day…

 

About 14 years ago I bought an Olive Nait 2 as I decided that my then system, 202/NAPSC/HiCap/200, was not getting the use it deserved. The Nait was lovely and worked well with the n-Sats with dedicated stands. It was musical and I really did not find it lacking in bass and I never play music LOUD. Then the itch - speakers changed to Neat Motive 1s that lasted a week (too much bass that the Nait could not handle) and were replaced by Neat Motive 2s.

The Nait 2 was then replaced with a CB Nait 2 which I preferred aesthetically (beautiful retro styling). I was content. Then digital came along and things got changed. UnitiQute, SuperUniti, Guru Juniors, Unitiqute 2, Exposure XM5, Aries Mini, Uniti Atom, 62/90, 32.5/140, 32.5/110, TeddyCap, RSL cards (the CB Nait 2 was sold to help with the UQ purchase). In the interim I bought another CB Nait 2 for the office feeding Spendor S3/5R2s. A moment of epiphany happened when I was looking to spend money on some Witch Hat cables!!! No more!

The CB Nait 2 was moved to the main system and the speakers (I loved those Gurus) were changed to the wonderful Spendor 4/5s and the separates moved on. Sources are Aries Mini with LPS feeding Chord Qutest, Rega RP6 and Meridian 206 Delta Sigma.

I am now content again (4 months now) and in retrospect I could have saved a lot of money and heartache if I had stayed with that Nait as some have. But the grass is always greener right?



Slumming it with the Nait 2……

 

It always seemed to me the Nait 1 was more punchy, the Nait 2 a tad more musical and the NAP 160BD a mix of both with more meat and depth (mine is fed with a 32.5/Hicap) but the NAP 110 beat them all in terms of grove and snap but a bit rougher. My 160 is my best keeper ever as I can listen to it 8 hours in a row without any listener's fatigue.

 

The pinnacle on Naim industrial design IMO - everything in it's rightful place, balanced, logical, simple.

 

Indeed. A small little box that does all you need and, essentially, has the Naim sound. Simplicity.

 

Maybe all that time, money and effort is the price of contentment?

Think yourself lucky. It's taken me about 15 years to fully re-cover contentment and basically be back where I was before, but a bit better. Not trusting your ears can be costly.

Glad the OP is enjoying his Nait 2! Great amp (with suitable speakers) and probably easier to live with than the Nait 1 if it's your only setup - there's just a bit more meat on the bones. I'll never sell my Nait 1 though, even though it's not in use right now. Similar to David and Gervais, 12/BD160 is able to bring out the emotion in music like a Nait/Nait 2, and maybe more so, but the two Naits still have a more joyful stance. Defo prefer the JV stuff (Nait, 12/BD160, 42/110, 32/CB160) and what Guy L did with the .5 upgrades around '85. Not so keen once Roy George joined - don't know if it's his influence or just coincidence.

 

Glad the Nait is being enjoyed!

 

Yes, ‘Charlie_1’ the original poster is, most definitely, enjoy his Nait 2.
It’s a bit of a cliche I know, listening to recordings I know well and discovering
something new in them.
As the Stirling V3s are so transparent, little details in familiar recordings are ‘opened up’ just
that little bit more.

 

My 'current' NAIT (1) is the fourth to have crossed the threshold here. The short 'Goldilocks and the Three Bears' version is that, not only did it take a few tries to come to grips with that bloody ch1 only 'balance' control, it also took a few failed attempts at living with rougher than acceptable (to my OCD) examples before a mostly minty one came along (still has the awful nicotine font though). I've also a perfect NAIT 2 here and would be the first to agree that it is the better 'all-rounder' and the amp to die with. Regardless, the old NAIT is just a wee bit more 'fun' to have a play date with. Don't want to be caught dead with her, mind; it's just that the unbalanced ones are always the most fun to hang around with.

 

I think both the 1 and 2 can sound great, provided they're used within their limits. I also think they have both been WAY over-hyped.