Pictures of NAC72/NAP140 and some questions...

John,

There's some information on the NAC72/NAP140 on The Unofficial Naim Audio Setup Guide. I have also decided on this as my next purchase as it seems to be very good value for money.

Jack.

They look so cute. I was thinking Chrome-bumpers, but they look great. Any ideas what's reasonable to pay for a late-model 72/HC/140, including MC boards?

John

TC '..'
"Sun went down in honey. Moon came up in wine. Stars were spinnin' dizzy, Lord, the band kept us so busy we forgot about the time."

Ah yes... The classic shoe-box components. Components which were responsible for converting a not-inconsiderable number of thoughtful listeners into Naim owners.

You're on the right track here, for what it's worth. This classic combo oozes style and aesthetic taste from the start. And it delivers loads of the classic Naim strengths, too. Not the most detailed or transparent combination Naim makes, with a slightly rolled off top end. But a midrange that's lovely and an unexpectedly funky (in a good way) sound that delivers the goods with all types of music. Of course, speaker sensitivity, load, room size and preferred listening volume are considerations... It won't fill an auditorium with high sound pressure levels. But for *most* listening it will do very well.

I just have always loved this combo. I love the damn half-width cases. They just look so cool in a way that none of the newer components come close to. And they sound great, though IMHO, the newer range is "better".

OK, on to some answers to the questions...
Yes, you can use a supercap with the 72, though it won't take full advantage of the supercap's capabilities. And, from what I've read on the forum, a 72/supercap is a killer combo. (I've not heard it.)

Price-wise, I'd expect to pay about $40 (US) for moving coil cards, though the 72 may come with them. It seems the moving magnet cards are a little more in demand on the second hand market since there are so many great sounding high output moving coils out these days. When I bought my 72/140 back in the day I paid $750/$850 for each, used from a dealer. Nowadays I'd expect each piece to be priced around $550, plus or minus a $100 depending on age and condition. Hicaps seem to hold steady at around $750, plus or minus a hundred, again depending...

I've always thought that, if you ever went in someones house and saw a 72/140 or 72/hicap/140 it immediately conveyed they idea that this person was really a music lover and a bit of an individualist. Funny, I suppose, to say that. I'm just being candid.

Ok, enough rambling. Oh, not quite enough--one great thing about this combo is that it offers a great deal of versatility. You can either set it and forget it and listen for a lifetime. Or do various things to upgrade it. Like 250's, hicaps, etc. Are there other pieces of naim gear that are better? Yes. Do they look as cool? IMHO, no. Does it matter? Err, I suppose not.

It's good stuff. and it's all good.

Markus
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A 72/Hi-Cap is roughly equivalent to a 102. Most people seem to prefer the 72/Hi but when I compared them two or three years ago I preferred the 102 - and bought one. The 102 has the additional advantage of using the same phono cards as the 52 and 82 - unlike the 72. However, this is probably irrelevant now that Naim has the Stageline phono stage.

There are numerous threads on 72 v 102...

If you really want a chrome bumper pre-amp then you could buy a 32.5 and have it upgraded to near 72 spec but from what I understand that it would still not be quite as good as a real 72. But I'm sure you could get used to the appearance of an olive green 72/Hi/140.

--J

Here is my 72/140, unused at the moment...

I prefer a 62 over a 102...

Anyway,

Nap 140 - 140 Watts divided by two into 4 ohms, 45wpc into 8 ohms.



Regards,

Steve.

I assume they're not stacked that way when in use Jun.

Which begs the question: how should they be placed? Is side-by-side OK or should they be on different shelves.

I recall hearing that, not only should they be on different shelves, but also not directly over each other due to transformer interference. Has anyone heard similar?

Jack,

They should be on different shelves and as far away from eachother as possible. From a practical standpoint mine were positioned about 8 inches apart, vertically one above the other. FWIW, the closer they are together (like stacked one on top of the other) the greater the loss of detail and funk. The further apart (and IMHO it doesn't matter if they're vertically one on top of the other if the distance is at least a foot) the better. There are always more and more ways to get obsessive about this kind of question. The input of my significant other has always tended to outway purely technical considerations...so I've never actually had them perfectly optimized.

Markus

quote:

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Originally posted by Top Cat:
My search for a new amp is well and truly on, and I'm trying to find the right sound for me. I've been very impressed with my recapped chrome-bumper Nait-2 and it really does deliver in most areas, but I couldn't live with it permanently as eventually what it doesn't do (and the things it shouldn't do) would annoy me a bit.

However, in a bit of a shock moment I have discovered that I really like the Naim sound in the context of the rest of my system. In the past I've dismissed it on the whole, but recently I've heard Naim kit with modern speakers (as opposed to traditional flat-earth sorts) and heard what it can do.

I'm thinking possibly NAC72 and NAC140 as a good place to start. I like the small cases and that combination is regarded to be pretty balanced.

What I'd like is pointers to pictures of this combo - so that I can show my wife - and ideas on how much I should expect to pay.

Also, I'm interested in finding out whether I can get chrome-bumpered versions (a la our Nait) and what phono options would be best for my Lyra Helikon.

I'd be keen to find out whether the 72 can be powered with a supercap, or whether hicap/flatcap are the only options there. Depending on whether I can easily sell my existing kit, I might be able to make the jump to 72/SC/140 if such a thing is doable and/or sensible.

Lastly, I'm keen to find out how the following combos would fit into today's lineup, assuming that the older kit was newly recapped & setup optimally with dedicated mains, etc.

72/HC/140
...
72/SC/140 (if this is even possible)

...and also what kind of output power is a 140 anyway?

Ta,

John

_TC '..'_
"_Sun went down in honey. Moon came up in wine. Stars were spinnin' dizzy, Lord, the band kept us so busy we forgot about the time._"

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TC
I recently had 72/hicap 140+140
if you have bi wirable speakers then 2 140s make a big difference[bi amp]
i think if tiu are thinking of 72/sc you would be better off with 82/hicap[probably same money
try to get most recent 72 as non phono inputs are better
get recent hicap otherwise it will need recap
pay about
72 £350
hicap £400
for later vintages
try to get BLACK interconnects {snaics]
72 has mm and mc boards
Enjoy