Naim NAC 72 or 82??
- Thread starter Mike Thornewill
- Start date
neiljadman
Senior Member
Ah, but there's also the additional power rail decoupling and a change in caps to individual taste...
In that case I must confess that I have molested my 82 and my 2 hi caps .
Am lost for all times?
neiljadman
Senior Member
Hardly, I've probably done more than most in the way of molestation...but the OP wished his gear to remain unmolested - and I can respect that. Knowing what I know now, I couldn't live with it (the unmolested Naim gear), but I can understand & respect his position.
Hazelberry
sister
Hello to everyone,
I just joined a couple of days ago and like to seek the advise from this group.
This group have provided me with lots of valuable information and have sparked the upgrade fever that I have held in check for the past 10 years.
My first upgrade was to my NAC-72 with the 321/728 boards from Neil. It was a tremendous improvement to the stock 72. The biggest improvement for me (and this for my ears only) it eliminated the fatigue induced from the bluntness of the transients. It allows me to listen to music for hours, whereas before I could only for an hours or so before my jaws start to ache. The second improvement was to reduce the sense of compression and freeing up the sound.
My second upgrade was from a NAP-250 from a NAP-140.
I am interested getting Naim preamp with remote. The one that I am looking at is the NAC-82 which left a lasting impression from a demonstration in 1993 at Creative Audio in Shrewsbury.
Now to my question:
1. I am afraid that if I get the 82 that the fatigue factor will return.
2. Is there a mod I can do to a 82 similar to the 72 (of course I realize that I will need to do some soldering) that will give a a sound that is unfatiguing and how it compares to my Modified 72.
I appreciate any input.
Also, I am looking into a teddy cap and any input would be appreciated also.
regards,
Alex
Before trying a new component, I suggest cleaning all your contacts of your current one(s) first with IPA. I find the effect can be staggering, especially if it hasn't been done in a long time. A cotton bud soaked with IPA is an excellent tool for cleaning banana sockets. I just did it with my Cyrus and the difference was astonishing, I am really enjoying the music in a way that I wasn't last night.
ratcatcher
pfm Member
Damn, just started night shift so missed the argument/discussion. So here we go feet first:
This is bollox....i added a s/c to my 82/180 and it totally buggered up the sound. Its a matter of balance within the hierachy of naim upgrades. Too high up the ladder with one component and the system just doesnt gel. It wasnt until i went 250.2 that the s/c made sense. It has nothing to do with the source so long as its of 'decent' quality.
Message to the OP : the 82 is an exceptional pre amp and out of all my box swapping probably survived the longest but i would advise the nap is upgraded before buying a s/c.
This is bollox....i added a s/c to my 82/180 and it totally buggered up the sound. Its a matter of balance within the hierachy of naim upgrades. Too high up the ladder with one component and the system just doesnt gel. It wasnt until i went 250.2 that the s/c made sense. It has nothing to do with the source so long as its of 'decent' quality.
Message to the OP : the 82 is an exceptional pre amp and out of all my box swapping probably survived the longest but i would advise the nap is upgraded before buying a s/c.
ratcatcher
pfm Member
Dave, i had my dealer visit twice to listen to my system. His advice? swap my s/c for h/c or buy 252 AND 250. There was nothing wrong with my setup and there certainly wasnt any 'issues' . The s/c was just too big an upgrade for the system. It was certainly a bigger, bouncier sound but it sounded like a puppy dog on e numbers....
RC
RC
rontoolsie
pfm Member
I have done a SC vs a Hicap comparison on an 82, 42.5, 102, Snaxo and Prefix...and there wasn't a single case where the supercap was not very much better in every way to the Hicap, which comparitively sounds dull, muffled and uninspiring.
Blimey what an odd thread. Anyhow for what it's worth.
I had 82/Hicap then 2 hicaps. The first has a bigger impact. The supercap is a bigger lift than both together.
I'd seriously recommend skipping the 82 altogether though and going straight for a 52 if you can - or at least getting the supercap so that easier later on, even 82/supercap to 52 is one of the best upgrades I made.
IMHO the 82 is a little bit like the old CDX range very good but "a little forward" in presentation which means that what you partner it with is a little more critical.
I find the top end of naim kit rather more neutral, much like the jump between nap180 to nap250 - which is just more honest and balanced, I would imagine nap 135 is similar but its an age since i heard them.
Having heard a 552 recently it seems that continues, sounded similar to 52 tbh though I will probably end up buying one anyway. The 52 is now a bargain 2nd hand for what it does, listening to one now - it really is rather special
I had 82/Hicap then 2 hicaps. The first has a bigger impact. The supercap is a bigger lift than both together.
I'd seriously recommend skipping the 82 altogether though and going straight for a 52 if you can - or at least getting the supercap so that easier later on, even 82/supercap to 52 is one of the best upgrades I made.
IMHO the 82 is a little bit like the old CDX range very good but "a little forward" in presentation which means that what you partner it with is a little more critical.
I find the top end of naim kit rather more neutral, much like the jump between nap180 to nap250 - which is just more honest and balanced, I would imagine nap 135 is similar but its an age since i heard them.
Having heard a 552 recently it seems that continues, sounded similar to 52 tbh though I will probably end up buying one anyway. The 52 is now a bargain 2nd hand for what it does, listening to one now - it really is rather special
I was made a rather bad attemp at being funny.
Anyone who want his gear unmodded should certainly do so.
I also respect that.
My molested 82 with the help of Agent Cooper (Magnus) where we use acoustica mods, and Les current source mod has made that preamp into something that make the standard 82 sound broken, to use a worn out paraphrase.
I have never looked back.
I strongly feel that time has really moved on. As an example, if you find the good bits around, there are sometimes amazingly good designs from not so exotic brands out there.
A real stunner is the Denon 2106 AV receiver used in my second system.
The preamp section of my Denon 2106 receiver betters a standard 82.
I do not kid you. And that for a fraction of the price.
I know some of you will laugh out loud. Do so if you want to.
Or perhaps....
returntohifi
Active Member
Hello,
Sorry I have not responded earlier, my family and I have been under the weather for the past week.
Did you ever find the original 72 fatiguing in comparison with the 82? I found the original 72 being rather a bit relentless and compressed.
Steve,
My intention is to stick with Naim. There is a "rightness" to the Naim sound but to my ears it does need a bit of taiming (couldn't help myself, must be the cough medicine). Neil's boards did just that without losing the Naim sound (IMHO). However, I would like to add a remote control but retain the the quality of my modified 72.
Jay, Did you mod a 102? Did you replace your 102 with a 82?
Regarding supercap,
I am afraid that my budget won't extend to a 'olive' supercap. Perhaps if I waited another 10 years I will be able to get one. The olive 82 is at the top of my budget. But if a modded 102 is better than a 82......
I appreciate all the discussion.
Cheers,
Alex
Sorry I have not responded earlier, my family and I have been under the weather for the past week.
Martin,
Did you ever find the original 72 fatiguing in comparison with the 82? I found the original 72 being rather a bit relentless and compressed.
Steve,
My intention is to stick with Naim. There is a "rightness" to the Naim sound but to my ears it does need a bit of taiming (couldn't help myself, must be the cough medicine)
. Neil's boards did just that without losing the Naim sound (IMHO). However, I would like to add a remote control but retain the the quality of my modified 72. Jay, Did you mod a 102? Did you replace your 102 with a 82?
Regarding supercap,
I am afraid that my budget won't extend to a 'olive' supercap. Perhaps if I waited another 10 years I will be able to get one. The olive 82 is at the top of my budget. But if a modded 102 is better than a 82......
I appreciate all the discussion.
Cheers,
Alex
jay
built for speed
Evening Alex.
Stock 102 sorry, the 82 replaced it. I've had a 282/hc2/250.2 for 5 years now so I'm not a serial upgrader....
Jay
returntohifi
Active Member
Hi Jay,
Thanks for clarifying. Although I can't afford the new series, what were the improvements the 282 have over the 82 or 102.
Regards,
Alex
Thanks for clarifying. Although I can't afford the new series, what were the improvements the 282 have over the 82 or 102.
Regards,
Alex
jay
built for speed
Hi Alex
I had a bit of a gap between the 82 and 282, maybe a year or so and this was a good 5 years ago. There might be someone with more recent experience but they are both excellent pre-amps. A major step ahead of the 102 in my view.
I would describe the whole 2xx update at the time as a rounding out the traditional Naim sound a little with abolsutely no loss to what I found interesting, and I suppose musical, about the Naim sound.
Not that Naim are the only musical path. I'm getting very very good results from a piece of Dynvector kit right now.
Hope that helps.
Jay
neiljadman
Senior Member
As far as I can tell:
82 v 282 - new box, (slightly) more flexible signal inputs (one extra set of RCAs or are they BNCs for CD), a data port and the system wide RC connection.
82 v 102 - additional left/right power rail split for use with 2 Hicaps/Supercap.
Any other changes?
Avonessence
Hiking Consistency Rapporteur
Dear All,
Very interesting and entertaining post.
The one thing that comes through strongly from all who have posted is their passion for their music and the chosen system/equipment which they play it on and enjoy. Which is what it is all about.
There will always be the "mine is better than yours" discussions, and also sniping at one anothers choice of manufacturer/bodgineering etc.
One thing that has got me really interested in this thread - would an Avondale modified NAC72 and Avondale TPX2 be as good as a Naim NAC552? Could anyone provide any comments/suggestions?
Have a great Sunday evening.
Very interesting and entertaining post.
The one thing that comes through strongly from all who have posted is their passion for their music and the chosen system/equipment which they play it on and enjoy. Which is what it is all about.
There will always be the "mine is better than yours" discussions, and also sniping at one anothers choice of manufacturer/bodgineering etc.
One thing that has got me really interested in this thread - would an Avondale modified NAC72 and Avondale TPX2 be as good as a Naim NAC552? Could anyone provide any comments/suggestions?
Have a great Sunday evening.