NAP 90 V NAP 11O

Posted by: fatcat on 29 January 2002

WHICH IS THE BETTER NAP90 OR NAP110

ALSO, ARE THE ABOVE CLASS A OR AB. MY INSTRUCTION MANUAL FOR MY NAP90 STATES THAT A 135 & 250 REACHES A TEMPERATURES OF 70 DEG C. NO SUCH WARNING IS GIVEN FOR 90 OR 140

THANKS

FRANK

Posted on: 29 January 2002 by Rico

the 110 is faster and beefier than a 90, and better overall IMHO.

The 90 is the underdog in the Naim power amp world, although I have lived with one recently (a 90.2 with 90.3 outputs and black SNAIC) and been most impressed by its abilty to rock, given careful speaker matching. They're definitely under-rated, and capable of surprising musicality, as indeed is any Naim amp.

Bear in mind that any narrow-case 90's should be due for a factory service about now due to their age (circa 10 years is time for a service), and any 110 should have either been serviced or is well overdue for a service at this point.

More information on "service" (or re-capping as it is often called) is available on the FAQ (see the link on the top RH corner of this page).

Don't forget, you'll need to use Naim's own speaker cable NACA5 (min 3.5m per side) - this is also covered in detail on the FAQ.

Sonically I prefer the 110, having owned one for a while a few years ago. The gap between an original 140 and the 140 was marginal in many respects, at least in terms of the system I had back then.

Welcome to the forum! HTH.

Rico - SM/Mullet Audio

Posted on: 29 January 2002 by garyi

There is no warning about heat given with the 90 because even if you put it in an oven it ain't gonna get as hot as a 135, those things have fans to keep them cool.

Seriously I have owned and just sold a 92/90 which I have owned for a long time, the 90 rocks your world its as simple as that.
People say you need 250s and 135s for SBL, bollocks, the 90 does an SBL the 90 does a Credo no problemo, I know I have been there for a number of years,

As for the 110 I don't know I ain't heard it!

enjoy.

Posted on: 31 January 2002 by Steve G

quote:
Originally posted by garyi:

bollocks, the 90 does an SBL the 90 does a Credo no problemo,

I ran Credos with a 90.3 for a few years and it's fine up to moderate volumes levels. At higher levels it sounds pretty ragged though. A change to an old (red LED) 110 which was a big improvement, certainly a bigger improvement than later replacing the 110 with a 140.

I've used the 90.3 with other speakers (Mission 731LE and 733) to good effect but with the Credos I'd say it's a little pushed.

The 110 is also warmer and less aggressive sounding than the 90.3, however that might not appeal to everyone.

Regards
Steve

Posted on: 31 January 2002 by Martin Payne

quote:
Originally posted by fatcat:

ALSO, ARE THE ABOVE CLASS A OR AB. MY INSTRUCTION MANUAL FOR MY NAP90 STATES THAT A 135 & 250 REACHES A TEMPERATURES OF 70 DEG C. NO SUCH WARNING IS GIVEN FOR 90 OR 140

Frank,

PLEASE STOP SHOUTING!!!! (Ah, that's better).

Class A amps get cooler as they are pushed harder. The 250 & 135s are class AB, and get hotter.

It is my layman's understanding that it is the (almost) class B operation of NAPs that makes them very sensitive to power supply quality, and thus benefit very much from servicing every 10 years or so.

cheers, Martin