Upgradeitis - new pre-amp, power amp or psu?

I found the 42.5 a bit rough in comparison to my 102, If you don't mind not having a remote control a 72/Hi-cap would be a good upgrade

Some people prefer the 72 over the 102, i've owned both and did'nt think there was much in it

A good way to put your system in its place is to audition a system that makes the most of your Credos, and is where you want to end up. Credos work best on at least a 102/180, or better yet, a 202/200. Try them and see if I'm right.
IMO the 42.5 and 90 are both too light but you should do the pre first.
Make your next purchase the right one and do it ONCE. That saves money and grief, but, yes, it may take longer if those products are outside the initial budget.
Forget the Hicap on the pre as you've still only got a 42.5, which is showing its age musically speakeing.

In my opinion of course.

Good luck!

Joe90

The 42.5 is essentially the same as a 62 and a 92; it's a great preamp, especially in value for money terms. Yeah it's old, and yeah Naim makes a bunch of preamps that are better, but so what?

Assuming the 42.5 is operating properly, and assuming the Credos play basically loud enough for you with the 90, I'd expect a hicap to be a great upgrade - much better lows and highs, much better musical coherence, much better dynamics.

Sure, if your primary source is CD you need to upgarde constantly, because of the source's weaknesses, but with your vinyl setup, I think a hicap is virtually a no-brainer.

Regards.

Phil

My assertions of an amp's ability are in no way respectful to how 'loud' it can go, as, with all respect, that has nothing to do with how good it is at reproducing music.

IMO the Credos are too capable for your current setup to make the most of.

Joe90

The message I am getting is that to really hear the credos sing I need to upgrade my amps in a major way.

Probably a contentious question, but which is the weakest link in my system - the pre-amp or the power amp?

What are your thoughts on my replacing the 90 with a 160?

PS - I got a great deal on the credos, hence the mullet.

If I understand correctly, the 90 is essentially very similar to the amplifier section of a nait 1. Created mainly at the insistence of dealers back in the day who wanted to introduce a lower rung on the upgrading ladder to help customers get started.

The 160 is a whole 'nother beast. Basically a pumped up version of a 140. With a service it would be a substantial upgrade from your 90 and provide excellent value for money.

Markus
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I was under the following impressions:

1) The 160 is basically an early 250 without the power supply regulation; it was a precursor to the 180.

2) The 90 is the amp section of the Nait 3, not the Nait 1.

(The 160 can be brought up to 180 spec. IIRC, some people have reported preferring the 160 to the 180; others report great satisfaction with the upgrade.)

The reason I mentioned volume is that if power is insufficient, then a PSU or preamp will not solve the problem. But if volume is sufficient, then upgrades closer to the source will be most apparent. And the listener has to make the choice himself or herself -
high sensitivity + high power + high volume demand may equal dissatisfaction, and low sensitivity + low power + low volume demand may lead to happiness.

I'm hypothesizing that you are thinking of making only one hifi move in the near future.

Let's start again:

Kid, we need more info before we can answer your question, so...

What do you want to improve - what bothers you about the sound you're getting now?

How big is your room?

What's your budget?

And I'm curious - how long have you lived with the 42.5/90?

In Naim theory, you need to upgrade both the preamp and the amp to be able to appreciate the Credos - but I'm assuming you appreciate the Credos now, so that puts the theory into question in your case.

You basically have a Nait 3 (42.5 = 92 + 90 and Nait3 = 92 + 90/3). Your best upgrade choice depends on your budget and your current complaints about your system.

I cannot over-stress the pleasure that a PSU gives. Until you've heard it, you won't understand. I know it doesn't make intuituve sense. I know it seems like more fun to get a new preamp or amp. But the PSU ....

Personally, I think the 90 is the weakest link, and replacing it can be rewarding. But my own experience was that improving the preamp (and I lived with a 42.5 with 62 boards and a 140 for several happy hifi years) by adding a hicap was the best first move.

Regards.

Phil

Hi Phil, thanks for taking the time to reply.

In answer to your questions:

What bothers me at the moment is the fact that at low volumes (which is where I do most of my listening) the bass line is very quiet and sometimes seems to almost disappear, especially on guitar/rock music. Perhaps this is due to the way the tracks are mixed, but it happens a fair bit. this is my main concern.

sometimes the music sounds a bit shouty (lots of middle/treble and unrefined). this is especially noticeable with early beatles stuff, but i'm guessing this is definitely because of the way it was mixed.

in all honesty, i love the way it all sounds but ever since my dealer implied i was missing out by using a nap 90 i have had a nagging suspicion that i'm missing out on something. this isn't helped by the fact that almost everyone here seems to have a minimum of a nap 250 as their power-amp

my room is (approximately) 14 feet x 20 feet. the credos are about a foot and a half away from a dividing wall, about 8 feet apart and (horror of horrors) have a telly in the middle of them.

budgetwise, i want to spend about £400-500, and i buy all my stuff second-hand.

as for the 42.5/90 i have had them for about 4 years.

kid

When I bought my 62/140 back in 1988, I demmed it against a 62/90/HiCap and felt that the 62/140 was a better combination, much more punchy. I have just bought a SNAPS to add to the 62 but haven't plugged it in yet. In retrospect of course I should have bought the 62/140/HiCap, since HiCaps don't seem to depreciate!!!

My next move might be to replace the 140 with a 250, but hey I'm really happy at present, through this is speaker change looming that might require this!!!

My primary source is CD though, but your 42.5 shouldn't be a whole world away from a 62.

If vinyl is your bag, the you might want to listen to some classic Exposure gear as the phono front end is reportedly very good. Others may comment otherwise, but its only an idea. Your budget + the sale of your Naim kit would buy you some very upmarket Exposure kit (s/h)

If you want to stay with Naim, I would suggest that you perhaps looked at a 72/HiCap/140 which could be had for 42.5+90+your budget.

Mr Perceptive