Old Naim Specs?

Posted by: thenaim'sjustbill on 06 March 2003

Like many of you, I'm always looking to upgrade my system. Unfortunately, I can't afford new Naim gear and have to look for used deals. The problem is that I can't find spec info. on the older equipment.

E.g. - I've seen two different ads for a used NAP180. One "says" it's 90 watts, the other only 60.

Since I've never owned one, or shopped for one when they were current and their specs were readily available from Naim... how do I find out which ad is the correct?

Please help!

TNJB

Posted on: 06 March 2003 by Naimed

TNJB,

The 90 Watts is probably the power going into a 4 ohms load. 60 Watts is rated at 8 ohms.

Posted on: 06 March 2003 by Manu

All Naim amps are named after their total wattage under 4 ohms:
a NAP180 is 2*90 watts under 4 ohms.
a NAP120 is 2*60w under 4 ....

Emmanuel

All opinions are my own, and reflect those of the organisation i work for, even if not stipulated.

Posted on: 07 March 2003 by Frank Abela

As Manu said the Naim nomenclature is the total under 4 ohms. What he didn't say is Naim amps only give 50% into 4 ohms over the value into 8 ohms. So a 180 is rated at 2*90 watts into 4 ohms and 2*60watts into 8 ohms. In essence both ads are right since the 90w rating is the one Naim will quote whereas the 60w into 8ohm rating is a commonly accepted measurement of an amp's power.

Different makes of amplifier act differently. Really big amps tend to double power, e.g it could be 200w into 8 ohms, 400w into 4 ohms and 800w into 2 ohms. (That would be some amp!).

Regards,
Frank.
All opinions are my own and do not reflect the opinion of any organisations I work for, except where this is stated explicitly.

Posted on: 07 March 2003 by thenaim'sjustbill

Hi to all!

Like usual, you guys provide a wealth of information on all things Naim. Thank you for your collective insight to a sometimes confusing topic.

According to Frank, if I did my math homework correctly(?)

MY NAP140 =
70 WATTS/CHANNEL INTO 4 OHMS
46.6 WATTS/CHANNEL INTO 8 OHMS

- OR -

A NAP250 =
125 WATTS/CHANNEL INTO 4 OHMS
83.3 WATTS/CHANNEL INTO 8 OHMS

I guess the two ads were like the light beer commercials... less filling / tastes great!

Thanks again!
TNJB

Posted on: 09 March 2003 by Eric Barry

The 250 is usually quoted as 70wpc into 8 ohms (135s as 75wpc). The 140 is 45wpc into 8, the 110 is 40, the 160 is 50wpc into 8 (IIRC), and the 90 is quoted as 30wpc into 8 ohms.

And remember, these wattage differences are pretty small. Double the watts equals 3db louder. A better gauge is the "transient swing" that Naim quote.

--Eric