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Old Naim Naits

I borrowed a nait2 once while my 82/250 was having a service. it was very enjoyable at low volumes into linn keilidhs but collapsed if you upped the volume, nice little thing though.
 
Allaboutmusic said:
I am always reading about how the old nait 1 and 2 were excellent integrates, my impression from this is that they are preferred to today's amplifiers from naim.

Is this just nostalga or were they really that good?

They seem to sell for a high price on ebay.

What would be an equivalent amplifier today?
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I don't have experience with the small Naits but have been reading about these sounding better(I know this term is often overused) than the Nait 5i or current 5si. Personally I'm not bothered but if the old amps sound better than the modern iterations something must be wrong. It is similar to the Farlowe Exposure sounding better than the modern Exposure. Instead of advancing, sound quality takes a step backward.

Perhaps that was the reason the Nait 1, 2 or even 3 remain a classic but reading through the responses here I would agree that these little gems may shine like a bright star when matched with suitable efficient speakers. Pair these amps with less efficient speakers such as Dynaudio and listening carried out at moderate to high levels, I believe the larger Naim amps would do a lot better.

If the Naits were really that good, I have no idea why Naim or any other manufacturer can't build an equivalent one. Perhaps it is really overhype.
 
Allaboutmusic said:
I am always reading about how the old nait 1 and 2 were excellent integrates, my impression from this is that they are preferred to today's amplifiers from naim.

Is this just nostalga or were they really that good?

They seem to sell for a high price on ebay.

What would be an equivalent amplifier today?
Click to expand...

Yes they are really that good and there is no equivalent today! If an amp is fun to listen to than it is a better amplifier. The pursuit of hi fidelity is very boring if you can't have fun listening.
 
Not heard a Nait, but Nait 2 & 3 are excellent, IMO - I preferred the latter (of which I have much more experience) to a Supernait, never mind a Nait 5.

As ever, only the individual can decide what's right for them - personally, I wouldn't touch (for example) an Audiolab 8000A, or Pioneer A400 with a bargepole, but others swear by them.
 
As a student I used to dem Pioneer A400 amps and never thought too much of them but the CDs we had to play in the shop were sh*te.
What used to fly out the door in the speakers were:
Students: Mission 760i
Better off students: Mission 780
Middle aged guys into soft Rock and classical: Mordaunt Short MS10 and upwards.

So basically I reckon you buy to your taste in music and excitement factor. The 780's were clearly better than the 760i but some chose the latter 'cos they were more 'fun'.

Same with Naits, it's probably them being so odd that got them certain die hard fans.
(Got there in the end)
 
Caledon1297 said:
Not heard a Nait, but Nait 2 & 3 are excellent, IMO - I preferred the latter (of which I have much more experience) to a Supernait, never mind a Nait 5.

As ever, only the individual can decide what's right for them - personally, I wouldn't touch (for example) an Audiolab 8000A, or Pioneer A400 with a bargepole, but others swear by them.
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Thats interesting. I had every and I mean every olive pre-power up to 52/Scap/250 before jumping ship to a Nad Masters M5 integrated. Anyhow the M5 needed a service so I bought a late Nait 3 to tide me over for about £200. Enjoyed it in a sparse and spot lit kind of way. So much so I keep it in a box in case I fall apon hard times. Sometimes the unfashionable stuff is rather a good place to look. 102 and 180 is the pre-power equivalent and in CB 62/110 all IMHO of course.
 
I agree with JimmyB... the whole "fun, fun, fun" thing (repeated ad nauseam) means absolutely nothing to me - maybe because I listen primarily to classical music... but that doesn't make me some kind of fun-immune oddity. Why would one amplifier or loudspeaker be more "fun" than another? What on earth does "fun" have to do with the replay of recordings?

Nor does "accuracy" appeal... No hi-fi system sounds remotely like the real thing, not in a domestic setting, at least. It is (at best) a pleasing simulacrum.

Does "fun" actually mean "pleasing to a subset of people with a preference for a particular type of music" ?
 
Arkless Electronics said:
Some items of audio kit get "talked up" into having legendary status without them actually being anything more than "not bad". All it takes is for something to be genuinely pretty good and then combine this with lets say quirky styling, or it being out of character for that manufacturer... or rare, and Chinese whispers do the rest...

Nait and LS3/5A are two good examples but there are plenty more I'm sure... Good yes, but for some strange reason now worth vastly more than their actual performance deserves whilst equally good rivals can be snapped up for a fraction of the price!

Try a Rotel RA820BX. Other decent secondhand budget amplifiers are available:)
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We sold the Rotel RA820BX and Nait 1 and often directly compared the two for customers. The Nait was much better!
 
Conan said:
Why is a Stradivarius violin so hyped if technology has moved on?
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Try recreating the exact conditions much of the wood that made them came from, there's a very specific bacteria in the Strads. Same with some of the old Gibson guitars, the specific rosewood and mahogany they were made from are no longer available because of over cropping.
 
2ManyBoxes said:
The secret of the Eighties Nait / Kan system was to completely ignore deep bass and concentrate on transient response.
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Indeed. Fine if you like the simple plinky-plonky stuff...but try listening to a vintage Nait/Kan setup attempting to replicate the sound of a Grand Piano.

It makes for a rather unpleasant experience.
 
marshanp said:
I agree with JimmyB... the whole "fun, fun, fun" thing (repeated ad nauseam) means absolutely nothing to me - maybe because I listen primarily to classical music... but that doesn't make me some kind of fun-immune oddity. Why would one amplifier or loudspeaker be more "fun" than another? What on earth does "fun" have to do with the replay of recordings?

Nor does "accuracy" appeal... No hi-fi system sounds remotely like the real thing, not in a domestic setting, at least. It is (at best) a pleasing simulacrum.

Does "fun" actually mean "pleasing to a subset of people with a preference for a particular type of music" ?
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So the best music to use when auditioning an amplifier is ‘Fun Fun Fun’ by the Beach Boys ?
I have to say it does sound fun through my Audiolab 8000A.
Apologies for mentioning Audiolab on a Naim thread...
 
narabdela said:
Indeed. Fine if you like the simple plinky-plonky stuff...but try listening to a vintage Nait/Kan setup attempting to replicate the sound of a Grand Piano.

It makes for a rather unpleasant experience.
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You can actually use other speakers to great effect. Kan's are not mandatory
 
Martyn Miles said:
So the best music to use when auditioning an amplifier is ‘Fun Fun Fun’ by the Beach Boys ?
I have to say it does sound fun through my Audiolab 8000A.
Apologies for mentioning Audiolab on a Naim thread...
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I owned a Audiolab 8000 for 5 years and thought it was great... until I heard a Nait 2. 15 years later the Nait is still here and I almost forgot about the Audiolab
 
The Nait 2 is probably overhyped and now unfortunately overpriced , however there is a good reason for this !
As others it does have a special sound and does do a very good job with matched components .
 
My Nytech CA252 was better than any Nait, in that it could actually drive speakers to a decent volume.

Same PRAT(lol), more beef.
 
peter bj said:
The Nait 2 is probably overhyped and now unfortunately overpriced , however there is a good reason for this !
As others it does have a special sound and does do a very good job with matched components .
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Substitute LS3/5a for Nait 2 and the statement holds.
 
Best thing you've ever heard one day, want to throw it out of the window the next. Good? Yes. Overrated? Absolutely. Limit to what 13wpc can do.
 
I've not heard a 1 or 2 but do have a Nait 3 that I bought cheap for a bedroom system. I know they're not well regarded but I actually quite like it. I also have an Audiolab 8000A though, and also quite like that - so what do I know!
 
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