NAIM NAIT warm???

Don't stack the boxes. Put them side by side or on separate shelves. What speaker wires do you have. With these older boxes it should be Naim's Naca4 or NACA5. Get proper Naim plugs, properly soldered. 

Naim amps get warm because they use the case as a heat sink, but too hot could be a sign of problems. Using the wrong speaker cable won't help. If you want to keep costs down, look for some used Naim NACA4, or Linn LK20, which is essentially the same. As HH says above, getting them properly soldered is worthwhile. A dealer should be able to do this if you don't fancy trying it.

You should find out from the seller if the amps have ever been serviced. Naim amps need this when they get to a certain age, so you should factor that into the cost if you decide to buy them.

If you must stack, I'd put the NAP on the top to dissipate as much heat as poss.

Cable/ plug suggestions have been good.

You could email Naim with the S/nos to find out if they have ever been serviced.

Chris

Thanks all, side by side is constrained by space but I may be able to get one under the rack, still not sure why the NAIT (which is I assume acting as a "pre" would be warm at all, the preamp it replaces never was). I'll check out my cable as I don't recall the brand but it's not "solid" or braided so hopefully no stability issues.

Hot amps are unhappy, she nait bee homesick.

Cable lenght >= 3.5 meters.

I have a Nait 5 which stays cool - even stacked with an Naim AV2, even if heavily loaded. When I had too short cables, it ran hot.

Hi Steve,

no Naim amp should be "really warm", unless driven hard or loaded with an unsuitable cable, which means something is wrong in or with your setup. As the the speaker cable should be connected to the NAP (is it?), it should not be the cause of your problems. How are the NAIT and NAP connected? Do you have the Link-plugs for the NAIT? If you have them, try running the NAIT as an integrated and see how this works out.

Worldof Steve posted:

Thanks all, side by side is constrained by space but I may be able to get one under the rack, still not sure why the NAIT (which is I assume acting as a "pre" would be warm at all, the preamp it replaces never was). I'll check out my cable as I don't recall the brand but it's not "solid" or braided so hopefully no stability issues.

If the Nait-3 is the pre-amp to the NAP90,  then speaker cables are not affecting anything on the Nait.   But as all other posts have said,  hot is BAD.   Something is wrong & although not ideal, stacking on the NAP90 does not make it run hot.     To take it further,  can you describe how its wired (a drawing would be good if you can) & what settings you have.    

Early examples of the NAIT3 did have an issue where, if they got warm then they could potentially tip into thermal runaway.  Naim would fix any affected units for free right up until a few years ago IIRC.  It might be worth checking with the Naim service dept. on the serial number of your unit.  Having said that, if it has been properly converted to a pre-amp then it shouldn't be an issue.  But if it's getting hot instead of just warm, then that does indicate there's a problem.  At this age after so long in storage I guess it could be just about anything. Which makes me wonder.  At the very least I'd get a suitable Naim dealer to open it up and take a look...

you guys are mildly amazing, thanks for taking the time one and all.

Ok plan A I'll re-site the boxes, I guess the NAP60 might be warming up the NAIT. There's an umbilical cord of sorts between the NAIT and NAP60 and knowing the owner he wouldn't have taken shortcuts. TBH I'd considered using just the NAIT anyway, my KEF XQ1 don't need much juice, and space is at a premium, is reverting this to an integrated a dealer job? I have a blanking plug.

If it's an earlier NAIT 3 then yes, it's a dealer conversion one way or the other.

if anyone is still reading this ;-) identified the cable as Audioquest FLX, don't look like solid or litz but they might be the issue, brilliantly I missed out on 2x3m of LK20 on eBay for £27 yesterday...

People on here have used that cable to good effect and without problems. Anyway, inappropriate cable would heat up the power amp rather than the Nait running as a preamp. Have you checked it out as suggested by Richard previously?

Thanks HH, good news about the cable, I'll make the effort to get some decent soldered plugs on and (I suspect critically) get some space between the two boxes.

P.S. Richard has confirmed reverting to an integrated is a dealer job, so that's Plan B for now.

Mike-B posted:

Worldof Steve posted:

Thanks all, side by side is constrained by space but I may be able to get one under the rack, still not sure why the NAIT (which is I assume acting as a "pre" would be warm at all, the preamp it replaces never was). I'll check out my cable as I don't recall the brand but it's not "solid" or braided so hopefully no stability issues.

If the Nait-3 is the pre-amp to the NAP90,  then speaker cables are not affecting anything on the Nait.   But as all other posts have said,  hot is BAD.   Something is wrong & although not ideal, stacking on the NAP90 does not make it run hot.     To take it further,  can you describe how its wired (a drawing would be good if you can) & what settings you have.    

Thanks, I'll take a shot tonight and post.

Small update, and of course more questions. The NAIT is now freestanding and just as warm, the heat is over what assume is the output stage, directly above the speaker terminals, though as hopefully I've made clear it's only being used as the pre via an umbilical cord to the NAP90 which incidentally is stone cold. So do I assume the NAIT is

a) faulty (though playing music!)

b) linked incorrectly, does anyone have this combo and confirm where the blanking plug goes, should it plugged in at all? 

Oddly, it sounds great, especially and unsurprisingly on vinyl. 

Thanks again.

Quick double check, as gIven to me the NAIT had the unbiblical cord plugged in the socket adjacent to input five and both blanking plugs in place, having looked online for photos of the same combination I see one where the cord is plugged into the next socket along with NO blanking plugs. Any ideas?????

The manual is lurking online but not from Naim any more alas. It shows only one blanking plug when *cap power supply isn't used, it's to the left of the output when looking at the rear, the output is next to input 5. When a flatcap etc is used the signal is taken from the last outlet on the left to the *cap and no blanking plug is used. Where have you got the second one fitted?

both blanking plugs are in, maybe that's the issue?

So going right to left

input5 -

umbilical -

blanking plug (under refer to manual) -

blanking plug

Hi all, removed the second blanking plug, given it some Iggy, and so far, no heat....

OK an hour of proper welly and so of any heat at all, God alone knows that plug was shorting but that appears to be the fix. 

If I could buy every one of you a beer for your efforts I would, thanks for your time, patience and perseverance.

https://forums.naimaudio.com/to...ply=1566878607373672

Worldof Steve posted:

If I could buy every one of you a beer for your efforts I would, thanks for your time, patience and perseverance.

Good to hear that you have been able to sort this out. I'll grab one for myself now.