B&W N803's and a Naim System based around a NAP180
Posted by: zero on 11 May 2003
Hey there,
I recently purchased a NAP180 (2000 manufacture) to try out with my also fairly new but well burnt in B&W Nautilus 803s. I've yet to get the rest of the Naim system to match, but instead gave it a long test run with my friend's Nait 5 as the pre, swapping between his Sony XA-3000ES and my NAD C541i CDP.
I was impressed with the results, and cited the improvements over the Nait5 on its own. The music was more engrossing, the timing improved, and the speakers seemed to dissapear more than I was used to with my higher powered amp. I couldn't help feeling that it still lacked a bit of the bottom end coherence I was used to, and on some tracks bordered on boomy. I was also suprised to find that the volume pot still had to be turned to 12 o'clock to get a decent listening volume - I was expecting this to drop with the increased power of the NAP180 over the Nait5.
If I were to stick with the NAP180 I would probably go with a NAC102/NAPSC and take it from there - although I'd be interested to hear alternatives for around the same money.
My question is, will the above mentioned critisims disappear with potential upgrades around the NAP180 (if so which ones?), or is it most likely due to underpowering the N803s with the NAP180, in which case I'd probably be better off with a NAP250 (which I can't really afford) or an alternative brand offering more power.
Your opinions are greatly appreciated!
Many thanks and best regards,
Francis
I recently purchased a NAP180 (2000 manufacture) to try out with my also fairly new but well burnt in B&W Nautilus 803s. I've yet to get the rest of the Naim system to match, but instead gave it a long test run with my friend's Nait 5 as the pre, swapping between his Sony XA-3000ES and my NAD C541i CDP.
I was impressed with the results, and cited the improvements over the Nait5 on its own. The music was more engrossing, the timing improved, and the speakers seemed to dissapear more than I was used to with my higher powered amp. I couldn't help feeling that it still lacked a bit of the bottom end coherence I was used to, and on some tracks bordered on boomy. I was also suprised to find that the volume pot still had to be turned to 12 o'clock to get a decent listening volume - I was expecting this to drop with the increased power of the NAP180 over the Nait5.
If I were to stick with the NAP180 I would probably go with a NAC102/NAPSC and take it from there - although I'd be interested to hear alternatives for around the same money.
My question is, will the above mentioned critisims disappear with potential upgrades around the NAP180 (if so which ones?), or is it most likely due to underpowering the N803s with the NAP180, in which case I'd probably be better off with a NAP250 (which I can't really afford) or an alternative brand offering more power.
Your opinions are greatly appreciated!
Many thanks and best regards,
Francis