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Naim amps and balanced outputs

G

gypsykirk

Active Member
I kinda wondered how to phrase the title there as I have a few questions for the people in the know.

I have a Nap 150 Power amp.
I am wondering if I can use a cable that would allow me to make use of the xlr balanced outs, of a dac/pre, to the 4 pin din on my power amp. Does this work with NAIM ? I know I can get 2 x RCA to 4pin din, that would serve to function well, however I'm under the impression the balanced outputs offer better SQ.

Also, there a some pretty big caps in my poweramp, it was manufactured in 2001, does the 150 need "re capped" ? if so how much are you looking at?

Is the power supply/smoothing caps and dc regulation in a Nap 150 considered fairly good or are there mods that will make this particular amp better?

Cheers.
 
you can normally run the power amp fom the xlr outs, but it won't be true balanced. You just connect the hot pin of the XLR to the signal in of the power amp and conect the ground to the ground.

The cold output from the xlr is either left to float or grounded and your preamp's instructions should tell you which. if its a BM it floats.

The 150 is essentially the same design as any other naim power amp, so it might just about be old enough to benefit from a recap.

It probably has BHC res caps which can be replaced like with like and a further five or six tants per channel on the amp board which can also be replaced or upgraded.

you could disable the soa circuit if you like though thats less safe on the unregulated amps
 
Thanks for the quick replies!

Yeah I'd probably just go 2 x RCA/phone to 4pin din in that case, flashback do one!

It was really a SQ issue, if there were to be a noticeable benefit from the xlr outs then I'd want to use it but it's not the be all and end all I don't think.

I believe Naim recommend a re-cap every 10-12 years is it? so Yeah, i guess i could get another few years out of it.

Cheers.
 
mikesnowdon said:
You would probably get more improvement from upgrading the feedback and input capacitors ;)
Click to expand...

hahaha, I like it!

Well, if I knew what they were, then maybe I'd be inclined to agree :)

I toyed with the idea of building a psu for the nac112 and my existing vdac, this led me to buying 3x STR pcb's, the jfets and the caps from teddys site.
Starting a parts list for farnell etc etc
They sit here redundant now! (i was going to try flog them on here actually, if i definitely don't build them)
Now my plans are to buy the Audiolab 8200DQ in the new year, whenever it appears, make use of the digital pre and all the regulated power in that!
It kinda makes sense, i can sell my pre and my dac, buy that (+ a little cash) and reap the benefits!!!!

I'd love to get into the DIY stuff, i lurked here for what seemed like an eternity, scavenging for information, photos and advice...day and night to the point it felt like my head was going to explode!!! It was as much a resource/information gathering exercise than anything!! the work was in doing that, not in understanding HOW to build one, although i would surely have required some guidance from the ridiculously knowledgeable people around here. I mean i am so jealous! i wish i was that competent and "clued up" with it all I'd love to tweak till ..."I" was happy with what i was hearing.
And the main reason is that, really good hi fi is way out of my price league! To build your own, more affordable, high quality kit, seems like the ultimate solution.
Anyway, I'm way off on one here now!!

Input Capacitors you say.......................
 
gypsykirk said:
hahaha, I like it!

Well, if I knew what they were, then maybe I'd be inclined to agree :)

I toyed with the idea of building a psu for the nac112 and my existing vdac, this led me to buying 3x STR pcb's, the jfets and the caps from teddys site.
Starting a parts list for farnell etc etc
They sit here redundant now! (i was going to try flog them on here actually, if i definitely don't build them)
Now my plans are to buy the Audiolab 8200DQ in the new year, whenever it appears, make use of the digital pre and all the regulated power in that!
It kinda makes sense, i can sell my pre and my dac, buy that (+ a little cash) and reap the benefits!!!!

I'd love to get into the DIY stuff, i lurked here for what seemed like an eternity, scavenging for information, photos and advice...day and night to the point it felt like my head was going to explode!!! It was as much a resource/information gathering exercise than anything!! the work was in doing that, not in understanding HOW to build one, although i would surely have required some guidance from the ridiculously knowledgeable people around here. I mean i am so jealous! i wish i was that competent and "clued up" with it all I'd love to tweak till ..."I" was happy with what i was hearing.
And the main reason is that, really good hi fi is way out of my price league! To build your own, more affordable, high quality kit, seems like the ultimate solution.
Anyway, I'm way off on one here now!!

Input Capacitors you say.......................
Click to expand...

Enjoyed reading that!

Input caps are the first port of call for the audio signal after it has left your Preamp. They help to block DC current from entering your power amp. If it did get though and subsequently get amplified then your speakers would be off to their next lifetime or speaker heaven or somethign like that :D

These input cap's colour the sound being recieved by the power amp. Each cap has a unique sound signature and some even have close to none (lol) so there is room for improvments or tailoring of the overall sound of your system by swapping these caps for different types. Its a simmilar situation with the 'feedback cap' within the power amp circuit itself.

For a few quid you can get a dramatic change or improvement just by playing with these 2 components. Its certainly easy enough to do as long as you can solder and ideal for a beginners bodge!!!
 
James said:
A better amp has better SQ, not necessarily more power.
Click to expand...

Yeah OK, I'm probably thinking on the Naim kinda scheme of things. Do their amps not increase in power with price?

I guess they will increase in SQ too... but is that not in line with being able to connect better PSU's ?

+ I do like Naim amps!

My upgrade concern for the minute is really the dac/pre solution. My vdac psu is complete garbage and i don't have a dedicated psu for my 112....my questions regarding the amp are more in getting it connected by the best method in the meantime to a dac/pre and whether a recap would be a significant improvement on what i have. But thanks for your input...

What would be your better power amp solution, if you don't mind me asking?
 
mikesnowdon said:
Enjoyed reading that!

Input caps are the first port of call for the audio signal after it has left your Preamp. They help to block DC current from entering your power amp. If it did get though and subsequently get amplified then your speakers would be off to their next lifetime or speaker heaven or somethign like that :D

These input cap's colour the sound being recieved by the power amp. Each cap has a unique sound signature and some even have close to none (lol) so there is room for improvments or tailoring of the overall sound of your system by swapping these caps for different types. Its a simmilar situation with the 'feedback cap' within the power amp circuit itself.

For a few quid you can get a dramatic change or improvement just by playing with these 2 components. Its certainly easy enough to do as long as you can solder and ideal for a beginners bodge!!!
Click to expand...

Thanks for the information Mike!

I'd say next lifetime btw....;)

I'll maybe get into this in the future, who knows?, I'd like to! When I have some time on my hands and money to burn...pft!
I appreciate your help and your comments.


Oh, I had a listen to that Audiolab 8200CD today and it's rather pleasant!
I'll look forward to the DQ


Cheers.
 
gypsykirk,
One of my early forays into this bodging game was to diy TeddyReg a 112, not so hard to do.
Then the 112's input caps were upgraded to Nichicon Muse, a small improvment although at the time I thought it was a large gain in sq. The TR's led way to STR's that appeared on here at the time. Some more bodging led to local STRing the 112. Soon this gave way to a Starfish and wow, that was a massive gain in sq, then a pair of mono HackerNaps replaced the 150 and my system was in a totaly different league. A realy different league. I spent some time playing with a CD5 and some serious surgery to some 323 cards which made my stageline seem like a toy. Of late I have been doing some quite severe bodges to a Chinese dac and tweaking the fish a little and have just started to produce some of my own boards.
All this has been over a few years, the first year was spent just readng about the bodging on here and trying to decode all this language. I started with some industrial electrical knowlage but knew sod all of electronics, even though I can now generaly "get by" some of the guys on here leave me dead in the water and sadly for me this will always be the case but help in this place is fantastic. I often blunder around but some kind soul soon puts me on the right track. So it is possible to start at the bottom, you may not get to the top but you could aim at keeping yuor head above water.

Now your 112 will apreciate a diy teddycap and there is a lot on here about the subject, who have most of the parts, most guys here know the subject well and most of all its a great place to start.

You kinda following my drift here :D
 
A pair of input caps changed for the better on a 112.
Top left pair, treading water here with the first invasive bodge into my godlike Naim, pencil notes on the board being ultra carefull.

IMG_1051.jpg
 
I think you should definitely keep the "balanced input" option in mind once you have some experience (and maybe a better poweramp...).
There'll probably be noticeable improvement regarding ground noise and not a lot to do: find a balanced line receiver like the THAT1200 and wire in a circuit that suits.
 
Guys, I'm overwhelmed with the response here!
I felt I hadn't acknowledged your comments so I'm doing so now and value them very much.
I will need to return here in the new year i feel.
Cheers.
G
 
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