Nat01 or Nat05

After scaring myself to death with the Nat 01, and after receiving my refund, I have ordered a new Nat 05 XS from my usual lovely dealer in Chester.  I've come to the conclusion that classic Naim is not for me!

I understand your concerns. Sometimes  

isn't always the best course of action. .

I don't think the Nat 05 Xs will let you down.

Congratulations David, I will be interested to hear your thoughts on it when it arrives and especially hope you get to hear it with a HiCap and to hear your thoughts as to weather or not it is a viable upgrade! 

Enjoy! 

regards Hilary  

Congratulations indeed. While on NDS/555DR and HD downloads most of the time, there is something with the NAT05 XS that keeps me away from streaming on my main system - input has been off and the Meicord Opal unplugged for three months now, but Classic NL, BBC3 or Klara are on every morning with the NAT before I get ready to go to work. Isn't it something? 

It is on dedicated FC2x, PL and HL. I sometimes wonder if I should go HCDR.

Chag -

You'll love the 05 - mine is never off.

Good choice, that said the 01, 101 & 02 are superb but do need a good aerial & signal to really shine, whereas the 05 is more sensitive & whilst it is better on a good aerial & signal it will probably do a better job with distant or low power local stations.  And as per The Strat,  mine is on pretty much all day & selectively during the evening when BBC R3 have something special.

Or can it?

4.3 Power Supply Upgrades
The NAT05 XS can be upgraded through the addition of an external FlatCap or Hi-Cap power supply.

The external supply works with the internal power supply of the NAT05 XS to offer both a greater number of separate supplies and more sophisticated voltage regulation.

The upgrade power supply is connected to the NAT05 XS via a 240° five-pin DIN cable. Ensure that both the power supply and NAT05 XS are switched off when making connections. Remove the link plug and connect the supply cable ensuring that the connectors are securely attached. From their respective power switches, switch on the power supply followed by the NAT05 XS.

Diagram 7.2 illustrates the connection of an external power supply.

Indeed, it's the NAT05 that can't be additionally powered, the NAT05XS can..

Simon

I scratched an itch a few years back with a NAT02 - lovely bit of kit. I'd still like to get my hands on a NAT101 even as a restoration project - No real interest in FM anymore but to me this is the most iconic of the naim tuners. Love the tuning display.

Totally agree with you James.The 101 is gorgous looking and sounding.Love the display especially how the backlighting illumintates the numerals.

The 32 and 101 are my favourite bits of Naim from a styling point.

My Nat 05 XS arrived today courtesy of Acoustica in Chester.  All set up very easily and the radio playing nicely through my system.  Sounds good from the off and I'm looking forward to having a listen over the next couple of days.  I assume I'm ok to leave it switched on 24/7 like the rest of my kit?  Anyone know if there is any kind of running in period?

A week or two in and I couldn't be happier with this.  It's not as clear or as transparent as my mac/hugo but it has a lovely musical way to it that it quite addictive and its much better than I expected with local radio like Real XS that I listen to quite a lot.  Money well spent I think and another impresseive item I've bought from Naim.

Dayjay VHF FM is a great medium isn't it.. Yes occasionally you get signal noise increase  when there is Sporadic E propagation ( so called 'atmospherics'), and if you have a high gain antenna you might suffer more from this, but that is only occasionally...  Other than that it is great audio.... From music to dramas.. There is so much more to audio replay than simply just music.

Simon

Today I've had a decent FM antenna fitted on the roof and am now enjoying my recently acquired NAT03 which sounds glorious.

Perhaps a NAT05XS next year but for the moment there is much to enjoy from this delightfully simple and inexpensive source.

Congrats, enjoy

I've been very content with the FM module in my 272, which is fed by a decent aerial on the roof. Sometimes I think that the albums played by Radio 3, let alone the wonderful live broadcasts, sound better than any other source. If I had a Nat 03, I don't think I'd be upgrading it to an 05. The 02 is the one to have, at a sensible price. 

Great stuff. The NAT03 is a good tuner, it has a slightly more cuddlier presentation than the NAT05.. of course it's only down side is that you need to get up and twiddle the tuning knob for each station, but the display is big and clear. Enjoy

Simon

HH,

How does it compare with the BBC HLS streams?

I don't have these as yet on the HDX but 320kbps AAC on Radio 3 sounds good - but not as good as - the NAT03.

In what way was your NAT02 better then your NAT05?

John

The HLS streams are very good, but to me FM has a naturalness and ease that the digital version cannot manage. I've owned a few Naim tuners down the years, including the 01, 101 and 02, as well as the 05. The 01 is best of course, but the 02 and 101 run it close. The 05 cannot quite manage the natural open sound of the better tuners, which just sound so real, for want of a better word. I've never had the pleasure of owning the 03, which I'm sure is super too.

Very happy with my Nat03 but always fancied an 05 to match the rest of my stack.

But enough of that, my real point is Late Junction on R3 Tues, Weds, Thurs, from 11pm. Do yourself a very eclectic favour. It's online too, in the unlikely event that you don't have FM ;-)

chris

11pm! Some of us have to get up for work. Nighty night. 

One of the few advantages of not being a suit, I guess. 'Night.

C.

HLS in HD is pretty good when compared to casual R2 & R4 daytime, it does lag behind R3 especially for live broadcasts.   The best BBC is FM & Naim NAT05 is good place to be IMO with the current range, but how we all wish for an 01 comparable.

But compared to other 320k web radio, HLS  is as good as web radio is at the moment