Nait
- Thread starter 2N3055
- Start date
Thanks SJ.
Dunno about the Nait 3 / 92/90 debate but I have *certainly* heard people saying that the Nait 2 was better than the 2 box 32/90. This is of course reflected in used prices, the NAP 90 is fairly cheap, a 32 also, but a Nait 2 is an arm and a leg and costs far more than the sum of the parts. You'd want it to sound better.
A Nait 3 was in fact a Nac 92/ Nap 90.3 cramped into one box.
Exactly the same inside to my knowledge.
Apart from the fact you couldn't easy fit a Flatcap to Nait 3, at least the early ones.
there was a "upgrade kit" with some connectors only, I believe circuit board was prepared already.
Olive Flatcap was upgrade to 92/90.3
Above full width amps were called slimline and I believe some of the last olive boxes before they developed on black boxes.
docstocker
pfm Member
I’ve got one of those from my Nait 2 daysPhono, tuner and tape, who could possibly have wanted for anything more?
Of course, there was always QED for when the CD itch came scratching.
I have a feeling a lot of the NAIT 2 appeal is the ‘cuteness’ factor. It’s an iconic Naim CB, the only one with the glowing CB logo, and it’s an ultra compact deviation from the usual “more boxes are better” approach.
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martin clark
pinko bodger
+ to that - it's a lovely bit of industrial design first and foremost.
Just imagine how a comparable half-width shoebox CD player might have gone down - top-loading 1/2 width player, load tracks with iconic knob as load-play-jog- stop shuttle; powered with a hicap underneath.
( I actually drew-out how to do this with naimy guts a decade or so ago, its been on my 'to-do' list forever -and will stay there)
Just imagine how a comparable half-width shoebox CD player might have gone down - top-loading 1/2 width player, load tracks with iconic knob as load-play-jog- stop shuttle; powered with a hicap underneath.
( I actually drew-out how to do this with naimy guts a decade or so ago, its been on my 'to-do' list forever -and will stay there)
I bought a shoebox sleeve/sled a few years ago to try that too. I wasn't going to try to stuff a Naim CD in there (that's very ambitious!) but I was looking for a Denon or Onkyo half-width CD that I could break up, relocate the buttons, etc. I ended up instead taking a Beresford DAC, trimming and relocating PCBs, switching from push button input select to rotary, etc.
Up to a limited point. But the main thing about the Nait 2 is that it sounds gorgeous, although it doesn’t go especially loud. I had a few very early Naim boxes ( bolt top 160, bolt top 250) and they were far better than anything that followed. No idea what happened
But I’m guessing a lot of the people that are paying $$$ for them have never actually heard one. It’s what happens when there is a cult of fans who say it’s the best thing ever. Whether or not it actually is, other people get caught up in it and have to have one.
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I got my Nait 2 a few years ago based on the 'hype' and the desire for a small shoebox before prices went crazy. At that point I was already familiar with the sound of Naim olive gear, having owned many of the preamps and power amps. I was very impressed by it after plugging into my speakers.
badlyread
pfm Member
I have owned 3 Nait 1s (2 red LED smooth knob) and 4 Nait 2 (3 chrome bumper) in my time and I have kept Darran at Class A busy with my servicing. They are wonderful little boxes that really do perform much better than the sum of their parts and they are the cutest of things especially the chrome bumper editions. I consider the Chrome Bumper Nait 2 iconic.
I have had so many because I used to have to sell my Naits to finance the next purchase (UQ, SU, Exposure XM, Atom etc) and I always regretted it. I missed the little fella. It was so simple and produced a lovely sound. You’d have thought I would have learned from my mistakes!! But no, the march for the new box of tricks and the search for sound nirvana kept leading me on!
It was only when I was more financially stable (daughters had fled the nest) that I was able to keep the Nait and buy something new as well. Then, and only then, was it possible to live with 2 amps for a while and do a proper A/B comparison. The Nytech CA352 proved to be the tipping point. I kept switching between the two little boxes and the Nait 2 was spending more time on the sidelines. The lack of bass and grip was clear. The midrange and treble were good but not on the same level as the Nytech. The CB Nait 2 was sold.
I could have kept the Nait and got it out occasionally to remind me of the Naim sound but I prefer the new sound so what would be the point? I’m not for keeping things and not using them. Beware! Nostalgia can be powerful.
“I’m drowning in my nostalgia” - David Sylvian
I have had so many because I used to have to sell my Naits to finance the next purchase (UQ, SU, Exposure XM, Atom etc) and I always regretted it. I missed the little fella. It was so simple and produced a lovely sound. You’d have thought I would have learned from my mistakes!! But no, the march for the new box of tricks and the search for sound nirvana kept leading me on!
It was only when I was more financially stable (daughters had fled the nest) that I was able to keep the Nait and buy something new as well. Then, and only then, was it possible to live with 2 amps for a while and do a proper A/B comparison. The Nytech CA352 proved to be the tipping point. I kept switching between the two little boxes and the Nait 2 was spending more time on the sidelines. The lack of bass and grip was clear. The midrange and treble were good but not on the same level as the Nytech. The CB Nait 2 was sold.
I could have kept the Nait and got it out occasionally to remind me of the Naim sound but I prefer the new sound so what would be the point? I’m not for keeping things and not using them. Beware! Nostalgia can be powerful.
“I’m drowning in my nostalgia” - David Sylvian
chartz
If it’s broke fix it!
You should try a Nait with your ESL57, because Quad stuff is no good. Yeah right.
I’ve never owned Quad speakers. I had a nice 34/306 a few years ago in Spain... Maybe I misunderstood?
The Nytech amp looks nice. Not really surprising that the vintage Nait is beaten by a modern amp that costs £3k.
What I think is interesting is the way the perception of the Nait has changed over time.
I bought a Nait 2, I think it cost something like £240 new, and at the time it was regarded as a good budget amp, nothing more. I heard it against an Audiolab and Exposure X, a couple of other things I can't remember, and yes, there were things it did better than all the others. Important things but it wasn't a slam dunk. In hindsight I wish I'd bought the Exposure as it was a more rounded sound and much more powerful. But the pull if the Naim logo was too strong for a young boy.
I think that it's right, a lot of the people who are paying big money for an early Nait have not heard one. Wide eyed children hypnotised by the allure and mystique but the Nait is not the panacea it is sometimes presented as. Naim amps have some great strengths and some glaring issues and the Nait probably exemplifies this more than any other. Fans will sing about how wonderful it is at certain things but the truth is that there are other things it's pretty hopeless at.
It's a relatively cheap integrated amp. A cute one, a good one, but idiosyncratic and far from being the best amplifier in the world.
I bought a Nait 2, I think it cost something like £240 new, and at the time it was regarded as a good budget amp, nothing more. I heard it against an Audiolab and Exposure X, a couple of other things I can't remember, and yes, there were things it did better than all the others. Important things but it wasn't a slam dunk. In hindsight I wish I'd bought the Exposure as it was a more rounded sound and much more powerful. But the pull if the Naim logo was too strong for a young boy.
I think that it's right, a lot of the people who are paying big money for an early Nait have not heard one. Wide eyed children hypnotised by the allure and mystique but the Nait is not the panacea it is sometimes presented as. Naim amps have some great strengths and some glaring issues and the Nait probably exemplifies this more than any other. Fans will sing about how wonderful it is at certain things but the truth is that there are other things it's pretty hopeless at.
It's a relatively cheap integrated amp. A cute one, a good one, but idiosyncratic and far from being the best amplifier in the world.
The old Nytech, the 252, also sounds better IMO and when you can find them they are cheap. However they are all about 40 years old and need servicing. They are also cheaply assembled in a poor case and unreliable, they weren't great when they were new and 40 years won't have done anything to improve that. The ideal solution would be to devise a new case and rebuild it, but that's a lot of work. That's more or less what the new manufacturers are doing, I actually supplied one of the add-on power amps and XO to them so they could examine the circuit and layout. I have another at home, dead on one channel of course, that needs similar treatment.
What new manufacturers?
He posts here as Nytech Oldie IIRC, he's in Germany and makes a new Nytech, I think. I'll have a look through my emails and PMs.
chartz
If it’s broke fix it!
This was ironical, obviously
