Nait 5 and SBL's

Depending on the size of the sapce I would suggest it wil be fine.

I used a 92/90 wit Sbls and it was fine, of course as you move up the ladder you get benifits, but that does not detract from the fact the nait 5 is a capable amp and the speaker is an easy load.

I have been running a flatcapped Nait 3r with SBL's for months now with no problems. Although more power may equate to more control, unless you need to shift huge amounts of air in a large listening space a modest amp on SBL's will boogie with the best of them. Note that there is nowhere to hide a mediocre source in this mix, so you second system could start getting expensive, PS: what speakers did you get to render the SBL's "spare", I have never seen a clear point to move on to from the SBL's.

Regards


Potiriadis

Help Bunnys everywhere!!!!!

No Seriously, everywhere!!!!!!!

Really? A Nait can drive SBLs in a smallish room? Interesting. I've got a 250/SBL active setup in a small room and I've been thinking about downsizing the horsepower. I can't turn the volume knob above 9 o'clock without my ears bleeding. What's the point of all the power if I'm not using it? But a fellow Naimophile who is much more savy about the Naim lineup tells me that a Nait 5 won't drive the SBLs. Hmm. Any other opinions?

Hi!

I drive my Allae´s with a Nait5/FC2 with a surprisingly good result. Will upgrade to 202/200 though, as we now have a bigger listening room.

:-) Thomas

When i bought my SBL's I had a 72/140. They did sound good

As good as they sounded the introduction of a hicap improved things and the change to a 250 made a big difference.

Whilst the nait will drive them, you are not going to hear what they are really capable of.

Do not be afraid of running big speakers like an SBL on a smallish AMP, my speakers were originaly part of an active 135 4 pack system with their previous owner. Yes they sounded great, no my little NAIT 3 isn't as good as Supercapped 52 and active 4 Pack System, but I tell you what, the number of instances where you get to hear the difference are few and far between in "real life" listenting scenarios.

The "Sweetspot" where perfection of imaging and such like is acheived is not particulalry large. If you are lucky and have a rrom dedicted to musice rather than as a living room, then you can place you seat in this sweet spot and yes you will hear the benefits of huge amplification and high quality pre-amp etc.

What I am trying to say is, unless you can comit to the infrasturcture (dedicated mains spur, acousticaly neutral room, perfect listenting position, appropriate supports etc....) and space that a full on sytem needs you are wasting far more potential than you might in driving SBL's with a small amp. I certainly would not consider driving them with anything less than a NAIT. I once used them with a MID-Range Japanese manufactured amp. After listeneing at moderate levels for about two hours smoke started coming out the vents, and the unit died.

Just remember that Watts are not as important and amps, and that is the high current output of NAIM amps that makes them so engaging.

Help Bunnys everywhere!!!!!

No Seriously, everywhere!!!!!!!

Pierre

A Nait5 will drive the SBLs fine for dining room use. In fact, a Nait5 will drive SBLs reasonably well anyway since the SBL is not *that* difficult to drive. It's only when you start to turn it up to *really* drive a largish room that the weaknesses are displayed.

Naturally, bigger and better amps would improve the situation significantly. Robert, you musn't think that you can downgrade to a Nait5 and get what you get out of your current active system! Also, the default gain setting on the Nait5 is the same as that of your current amp. Therefore, it will still be very loud at 9 o'clock on your volume dial, but possibly a lot more distorted since the smaller amp is not as capable. If it's truly the case that you can't turn it above 9 o'clock for fear of bleeding ears I wonder what you have further up the chain to cause this distortion. If it's less than an 82 I'm not surprised...

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.

Yes I must agree with Frank. As I said the Sbls will be fine, but even with the 102/180 things got a bit strained shall we say at around 10.

With the 52/250 its starts breaking up at 11, but then so do the neighbours.

Frank:

Sorry, but I didn't make myself clear. What I meant is that my ears can't take the volume much beyond the 9 o'clock position on the dial, not because of distortion, just the quantity of sound. Upstream I've got a 3.5 and a 102; I've got no complaints about the quality of the sound.

Interestingly, I just picked up the Dave Holland Quintet live recording the other day and the sheer scale that I was able to get out of my Naim gear was akin to sitting in the front row of a club. Holland's bass sounds sooooooo good; deep, fat, and rich. (Another recording that's sweeping me away at the moment is King Sunny Ade's "Best of the Classic Years." The bass playing on that recording is amazing.) So, I'm in love with my system again. It's only when I listen to somewhat poorly recorded music - stuff that my Naim kit can't really do anything with - that I begin to think of downsizing. Then, along comes something like the Holland disc and all is forgiven.

With the introduction of Nait 5i, a 50watter compare to Nait 5 a 30watter, would the 5i drives the SBL better compare to the old nait5?

Also, anyone know the current(amps) specs (current peak, etc) of the new Nait 5i compare with the old nait5? Thanks.

Nait 5 + SBL = very good combi

Many thanks to all those who responded.

I did make the jump, and the Nait 5 is now on its way. I can't wait to hook it up to my old cherished SBL's and to hear all the music in my dining room!

-- Pierre