Posted on: 28 June 2003 by Don Atkinson
Carlos,
I used to have a 32.5 some while back but I can't remember enough to answer all your questions. However, If I recall correctly, the 729/1 boards made a worthwhile difference to the 32.5 but didn't take it the whole way to a 72.
At UK prices I think I would be prepared to spend about £50 for a second hand pair of 729s but I wouldn't feel justified in spending much more.
My recollection is that the tuner; tape 1 and tape 2 had similar boards. I don't recall seeing any upgrades for these, but others will no doubt comment.
The two principal inputs came in a wide variety of formats. Early versions were geared up for vinyl replay (because cd hadn't been invented). Most people too an mc board plus an mm board. The mc boards were later produced in different formats to suit Karma (K boards) cartridges or Supex (S boards). Later versions had the added choice of a cd input board some of which had a variable loading (328 ?) some had a fixed loading and in fact had no 'components on the board (326 ?). At this time I guess most customers took the cd board and either the mm or mc board of their choice.
Atthe time of its production, the 32.5 was Naim's 'top-of-the-range' preamp and helped set the concept of quality hifi on the road to success. The 72 was in my opinion a slight improvement. It was only the introduction of the mighty 52 that showed us what REAL hifi could sound like, and the 52 cost 10 times as much as a 32.5, so very few people could afford it!!
IMHO the 32.5 is one teriffic preamp.
Cheers
Don
Posted on: 01 July 2003 by Rasher
Darren
Had no idea about board pulling. Have done it this evening thanks to your link, and the improvement is not small - its HUGE!
Thank you - thank you - thank you.
It must be my lucky day 'cos I found 729 boards in there too!
