The reason why Naim is better than REGA ( mira )

Robbert

Naim equipment is reputed to sound better than most other makes, but that is a matter of opinion.

The advantage of buying Naim is

1. The build quality is excellent.

2. It is exceptionally reliable.

3. Naim provide service facilities and even kit of 25 years of age can still be serviced.

4. There is an excellent upgrade path, so you can buy better equipment in the future to suit yourself.

5. You do not have to worry about cables and interconnects because Naim take care of that for you.

Regards

Mick

Robbert

Much as I value Mick's wise words on most occasions, I think he has forgotten the reason he has a pile of black boxes in his living room.

Go and listen to some Naim, get the amps home into your sistem and hear the difference, that is what motivated me to buy it, not the customer service or upgrade path (although these are both excellent, but that is a bonus)


Simon

ps. Sorry Mick

Robbert,

I'd be interested to hear what you decide upon as one of my friends is operating on a tight budget so has acquired a 2nd hand Rega Planet. He is currently looking for a £300ish 2nd hand amp and as my knowledge is limited to Naim gear, I'm not in a great position to advise him of any possible options other than the Nait.

If anyone has any advice it would very helpful.
(He's driving B&W 603's)

Regards,
Andy.

Robbert.

Naim designs are such that they are very strong in certain areas of music production.

Their designs (amps) are quite straigtforward but implemented extreamly well and with considerably thought to power supply design and implementation. This has the result that transient response on Naim amps is unparalleled, this results in the rhythmic elements of music being presented in a way that once heard, many cannot do without.

It is for this reason that many who have fallen for this particular presentation will stick with Naim and find other manufacturers slow, boring and lacking drive.

Those who do not like Naim will point to a lack of soundstage or detail.

Now only you can decide, but rega is one manufacturer that goes some way towards the Naim sound (I havn't heard any amp though) so you may find Naim does appeal to you

Hi there Robbert,

Are you perhaps.... Fireman ?
(no, not what you do for a living, but you're nickname at the Dutch HiFi.nl forum ?)

If so, then I've said about everything on the Dutch forum and can only agree with the other blokes here.

Even though Naim is more powerful and stable than their poweratings on paper would suggest, I'd recommend to look for at least a NAP140 (45watt) or a NAP180 or 250, because Dynaudio's like a good 'kick in tha butt'.
(if you like to listen at modest volume levels, a Nait-3 or -5 might just do too)

I'd ask your nearest Naim dealer to arrange a home-demo, or... (like I did) go look for some s/h Naim stuff. (in your situation a pre-power combo)
If you don't like it, or it doesn't live up to your expectations, you can always sell it for the same price you paid for it. (or more sometimes!)

Greetings,
Alco

Agree with Andy.
The 1.3s are hard to drive, low sensitivity and low impedance. I agree a nait can make some decent music from it but it's hardly an ideal combination.

Using a CD5 and Rega Jupiter as sources, I heard the upgrade from a Mira to a Nait 5 and also to a Densen B100 integrated.

The Mira sounded mushy in comparison with either of the more expensive Naim and Densen integrateds especially with higher-frequency percussion instruments and bass control.

The Densen needed to warm up to lose some starkness and coldness; the Nait 5 sounded ok - and clearly better than the Mira from the start.

When both were warm they were almost dead-ringers.



Regards,

Steve.

Strange, one person has problems with his Dynaudio's and the other one doesn't

I've got these Dynaudio's:



On the moment i am building a smaller one with the same components. See here the story with a lot of pictures
Dynaudio NUANCE to the NATURAL ONE

What type of naim amp is recommended.

Robert

I have totem MANI speakers which use Dynaudio "cones", and because they are an isobarik design actually ask you to drive TWO woofers to get the output of ONE!( one is inside the cabinet firing insympath with the radiating one to give bass extension)
The 112/150 combo has no problems driving this.

The comment about adjustable input gain on the 112 is also a pointbut I don't even have that set to max either.

GEOFFP

quote:

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The Mira sounded mushy in comparison with either of the more expensive Naim and Densen integrateds especially with higher-frequency percussion instruments and bass control.

---

This is what I heard with my amp dem (excluding the Densen) - I didn't buy the NAIT as it was WAAAAY over budget even before factoring in new leads or DIN->RCA adaptors, phono stage, etc...

The Rega is OK on its own though - I want to get the 112/150 one day but am in no rush - but if you HAVE the money the Naim will almost certainly rule the day and will definitely pee all over the Rega even if you DON'T have the money.

The Rega seems to be the best in its own price range though - better by far than the overhyped Arcam A85, the Cyrus 5 and 7, and the NAD C370. The more expensive (~£450) Rotel integrated I pitted it against sounded fairly decent too though

When the music's over turn out the lights

Robert, mad max, Geoff P.
I am sure a nait 5 in to 1.3's and nap 150 in to Totem Mani's make some nice music, but the combinations are not ideal. That doesn't mean it can't work. These dynaudio drivers can move a lot of air and are almost impossible to "overload" with clean power. If you hear them with some highpower, hicurrent amps you will probably be shocked about how deep and loud they can go.
But the important thing is if you are happy with your combinations, if you are - great. Just kick back and enjoy the wonderful world of music!

bjorne

quote:

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currently looking for a £300ish 2nd hand amp and as my knowledge is limited to Naim gear, I'm not in a great position to advise him of any possible options other than the Nait

---

Andy. I would have thought a 42.5 pre amp could be sorted for about £125 and a 110 power for £175ish. That should do the trick.

Rasher,

That sounds like a good option.
Does the 42.5 and 110 share many similarities with any of the newer kit? Just wondering what
it compares to that I might of heard?

Regards,
Andy.