naim Nait 50

Maybe few of us know what an Ongaku is?

I don't think Naim have ever equaled their chrome and olive kit. It looked purposeful, strong and simple yet elegant and genuinely distinctive. It was genius.

Busy little guy in there isn't it? I don't know how something ends up that complicated for three channels and not much amplification.

So it looks like every one of these amps will be sold to people who have not heard it? None have been sent to reviewers, no dealers have one. So it almost doesn't matter what it sounds like. All of the people who will hear one will have invested in it, hardly likely to criticize it. Guess they learned their lesson from the Solstice but it's not a good trend.

 

Thats an entirely different scenario.
At 1/4 price it would sell like hotcakes and they could release it as their entry level amp again.

But its never going to happen

 

Something to do with match.
Not surprisingly some of their kit do best in a complete Rega setup with Rega loudspeakers or similar.

 

Shame Vervent didn't keep the original £1973, still expensive but a reasonable nod to the fanbase, rather than bumping it to £2699

 

It's a bit of a joke on the sheeples, no?

(I have a Nait-2 and I'd say it's definitely competitive with contemporary budget amps but definitely has too many flaws to ask contemporary prices; unless the Nait 50 improves dramatically on the original Nait it would seem to be profoundly over-priced)

 

I'd be more than surprised if performance comes in better than a Unitiqute or Atom amp section.
Both good but very different sound to original Naits, which hardly can be copied.
Naim, or one of their dealers claim its on level with a Supernait 3 apart from power ratings...! its not April 1st. yet

 

Can only agree with this.

 

My decision was largley sentimental. Had a 1986 Nait 1 purchased as a demo till early stages of pandemic when I sold it on. The Nait 1 was my gateway drug into this hobby and what more fitting way to downsize and simplify. I also wish it cost less and as noted by others haven't yet heard it but don't feel with Naims track record with shoebox integrated amplifiers it is a big leap of faith. Also I don't expect it to have identical sound signature to my Nait 1 but owned a bunch of Naim stuff I enjoyed that didn't sound like the original. Definitley not an "investment" as expect they won't sell for their initial offering price once out in the wild but don't expect to take a beating like some stuff I've owned as of late. But again that doesn't matter as this is the amp which will see me out of this hobby. Still amazed by this most surprising, and in many ways, most fitting announcement by Naim.

 

Last time I listened was P10 into one of their amps & PMC speakers. I’d like to hear a P10 in my own system at some point.

I also had a P2 into a Brio as a starter system for a number of years.

It was bettered massively by a nait 3 & an entry level LP12 (2nd hand).

 

Has your R5 got 1500 BHP?

The Nait and an Ongaku have similar power output and the Nait probably kills the Onkagu on noise, distortion and reliability!!!

 

I know which I'd rather own

 

The Bugatti?

 

Same here. Especially disappointed with the RP10 I once tried.

 

Considering that the mechanical switches activate relay switching elsewhere, it seems a missed opportunity for them not to have added more inputs. There certainly appears to be room for 2 x panel mount DIN sockets above the existing PCB mounted ones. Perhaps apply some logic to the 2 x line input buttons up front, say, Aux or Stream or both buttons in for a third line in. 'Tape' would have been nice, if for no other reason than having a line out out back.

 

Yeah, it's in interesting dichotomy. Trying to look like a budget amplifier without actually being one.

 

They could have added tape out like they did in the original Nait - wire the selected input directly onto the tape out socket pins. In fact I'll add it to the Nait50 for a few quid and even include the 680R resistor that they used on the 42/62/92.

 

At least they’re not calling this the Julian Vereker Tribute Edition or some such nonsense, I don’t think JV would have appreciated that.

 

I believe if you read it again, Naim was founded in 1973 and the Nait was released in 1983. The Nait 50 is not 50 years since the Nait’s first release but 50 years since the forming of Naim and they decided to celebrate by reinventing one of their most iconic amps.

Do you really think they would get this wrong?!

 

They call it Naim's iconic amplifier.

And in marketing text they claim it the worthy successor to the legendary Nait 1.

So is it the successor or the iconic ? - can't be both.

IMO the iconic is the original Nait 1, not something which looks like a Nait 1 on the outside, obviously entirely different inside, hence will sound entirely different.