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Vinyl only system

bigtall1

bigtall1

Member
Hello everyone,

I would like to build a system to play my precious and ever growing vinyl collection and would like any input/insight you may wish to give. At the moment I have a Rega Planar 3 with RB300 tone arm and Audio Technica cartridge, a Nad 3220 PE amp and Monitor Audio R252 speakers. I have built this system over a number of years and on a very tight budget.
Well recently I took the plunge and bought a Naim Nap 140 and now need a pre to go with it and maybe some new speakers. At the moment I plan to keep the Rega deck and maybe upgrade the arm and cartridge.
Any thoughts and advice would be gratefully received.
 
Buy Mark's (Gaius's) NAC 12S from the classifieds here, best bang for buck you're going to get from naim. It ain't pretty but it'll make up for it in sonics. Mark is great to deal with BTW.
 
If it is a chrome bumper Nap140 I would buy a Nac32.5 and if it is an olive era 140 I would buy a Nac72. These are essentially the same pre-amp but with different looks. The main advantage of both of these pre-amps compared to their brothers the Nac42 and Nac62 is that they are entirely modular in construction and it is very easy to change out part, or all, of the internal circuitry. Currently there are three manufacturers of alternative 'upgrade' boards for these pre-amps, Avondale Audio, Ryan Sound Labs and Neil Jadman - all are different but worth pursuing and create a pre-amp that is genuinely outstanding even by modern standards.
 
YNWOAN said:
The main advantage of both of these pre-amps compared to their brothers the Nac42 and Nac62 is that they are entirely modular in construction and it is very easy to change out part, or all, of the internal circuitry.
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I'm not sure that an open invitation to tinker is always a good thing;)

A serviced 62 or 42 would be great and in Julian Vereker's view could easily be better than a 32.5 or 72 from a bad batch.
 
I don't see there is any harm in tinkering in this instance as the boards simply plug in and no soldering is required - everything can be 100% easily reversed in just a minute with no harm done.

So you are a blade then Ray - is that in a Sheffield sense? I live in S11 (have a good friend called Ray too :)).
 
linnfomaniac83 said:
Buy Mark's (Gaius's) NAC 12S from the classifieds here, best bang for buck you're going to get from naim. It ain't pretty but it'll make up for it in sonics. Mark is great to deal with BTW.
Click to expand...

Thank you.

I think it's sold though.

OP, I'd get a 72.

Or a 32.5.

Both can be powered from your 140 directly with a Naim Snaic 4 cable, down the road you can bring it up a serious notch by powering the pre by a Hicap.

Both pre amps also allow you to experiment with drop in 3rd party boards but that would be for another day.
 
Following on, OP both the 72 and 32.5 will take either the 322 phono boards which you will need for a MM cartridge or 323 phono boards for a MC cartridge. They both sound pretty good.
 
And I also may be able to point you to a 32.5 belonging to a friend. Let me kno if you ned it and I'll check he still has it.

Mull
 
YNWOAN said:
If it is a chrome bumper Nap140 I would buy a Nac32.5 and if it is an olive era 140 I would buy a Nac72. These are essentially the same pre-amp but with different looks. The main advantage of both of these pre-amps compared to their brothers the Nac42 and Nac62 is that they are entirely modular in construction and it is very easy to change out part, or all, of the internal circuitry. Currently there are three manufacturers of alternative 'upgrade' boards for these pre-amps, Avondale Audio, Ryan Sound Labs and Neil Jadman - all are different but worth pursuing and create a pre-amp that is genuinely outstanding even by modern standards.
Click to expand...

Some fantastic advice here. The aftermarket cards are not really budget items but the stock Naim boards will keep you entertained for ages while you explore the next move. The 32.5 has 2 phono inputs so with a vinyl only system you could play around with your planar3 by putting a white belt, ruby bearing and decent cart on there add some MM\MC cards from the people stated above and you are off. Add a Thorens TD160 and sell your Rega to pay for the pre amp upgrade cards...... Geez you have some fun ahead.
 
JezmondTutu said:
Don't mess with the Rega, I'd have started changing that tbh and then adding a quality integrated amp like an Onix OA21.
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Indeed, the rega is a great starting point for a great sounding but not silly priced vinyl setup. If the cart is an AT 91 though, I'd look to change that for something better, it's an okay cart but it's already the weakest link.
 
YNWOAN said:
If it is a chrome bumper Nap140 I would buy a Nac32.5 and if it is an olive era 140 I would buy a Nac72. These are essentially the same pre-amp but with different looks. The main advantage of both of these pre-amps compared to their brothers the Nac42 and Nac62 is that they are entirely modular in construction and it is very easy to change out part, or all, of the internal circuitry. Currently there are three manufacturers of alternative 'upgrade' boards for these pre-amps, Avondale Audio, Ryan Sound Labs and Neil Jadman - all are different but worth pursuing and create a pre-amp that is genuinely outstanding even by modern standards.
Click to expand...

This would be my advice also. The NAC32.5/72 gives you so much flexibility.
 
Thank you for all the advice, I now have plenty to think about. I think I will start by trying to get a Nac72 and then from there who knows....
 
If you do buy a 72 and become a bit more familiar on this site there are loaner sets of one persons after market boards that can be tried without the commitment to buy. also other boards come up for sale in the classifieds from time to time. I think you will also enjoy the stock boards for a while till you are ready to make the next move.
 
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