Naim cost & value
Posted by: staffy on 01 December 2015
I am thinking of upgrading my speakers to Kef R500. However my Naim Nait amp and Flatcap PS circa 1985 might not be good enough for these speakers?.
If I trade or sell my amp setup what sort of price would I reasonably be expecting. I would hope to be buying a new pre and power Naim amp. Probably the basic models.
As far as the value, I would check popular web sites
i.e... EBay, Audiogon, Canuck!
Thanks, will have a look.
About £400 for my old Nait 5 amp.
Get a (home)dem of the Kefs assisted a Nait 5si or XS
Personally I think your current amp and Ela speakers are fine
A little care in overall setup, maybe a service of the amp (not sure this worth it unless you intend to keep it another decade vs selling/buying higher) could provide satisfaction but fully understand upgrade itch
I would like to trade or sell, probably trade in the Nait amp and go for the Nait XS amp. A new amp and possibly the Kef R500 speakers in the new year will set me back something.
Can anyone tell me if the old flatcap 2 PS will work efficiently with the new integrated XS amp.
I feel the 70 watt XS will get more from the Kef R500 speakers than my old amp.
Thanks for your input. My flatcap2 is quite old 15 years. I could not afford the XS and a new flatcap. So just wondering if the old flatcap would work well with the new XS.
This time next year I would get a new flatcap PS.
Someone is bound to ask this, so it might as well be me--What are your sources, what speakers are you using, and what don't you like about the speakers?
Don't forget the "source first" rule. It works. Every time I've upgraded a source, I've found new respect for my speakers, regardless of which speakers I was using.
Someone is bound to ask this, so it might as well be me--What are your sources, what speakers are you using, and what don't you like about the speakers?
Don't forget the "source first" rule. It works. Every time I've upgraded a source, I've found new respect for my speakers, regardless of which speakers I was using.
The "source first" mantra is all well and good, but without adequate amplification for the speakers the world's best source (even the Hugo) will still come up short. I'd focus on a well-matched amp and speaker pair. From there improving the source would be a much more apparent step.
Someone is bound to ask this, so it might as well be me--What are your sources, what speakers are you using, and what don't you like about the speakers?
Don't forget the "source first" rule. It works. Every time I've upgraded a source, I've found new respect for my speakers, regardless of which speakers I was using.
Good question - if only people would put it in their profiles.
Someone is bound to ask this, so it might as well be me--What are your sources, what speakers are you using, and what don't you like about the speakers?
Don't forget the "source first" rule. It works. Every time I've upgraded a source, I've found new respect for my speakers, regardless of which speakers I was using.
The "source first" mantra is all well and good, but without adequate amplification for the speakers the world's best source (even the Hugo) will still come up short. I'd focus on a well-matched amp and speaker pair. From there improving the source would be a much more apparent step.
Rega Planar 3 TT
Rega Ela M2 Speakers
Naim CD5
Nait 5 amp
Flatcap 2
I intend to keep the planar 3 and CD5 player.
I intend to trade up the Nait 5 for a NaitXS 2 AMP. If my old flatcap does the business on the Nait XS I will keep it. If not that will be traded in the future for the latest flatcap.
Then sometime next year I will get the Kef R500 speakers.
If all goes well.
Thanks for everyone's input.
Good question - if only people would put it in their profiles.
Profile updated
Someone is bound to ask this, so it might as well be me--What are your sources, what speakers are you using, and what don't you like about the speakers?
Don't forget the "source first" rule. It works. Every time I've upgraded a source, I've found new respect for my speakers, regardless of which speakers I was using.
Good question - if only people would put it in their profiles.
HH
I used to have my whole setup set out in my profile, including details of my second system.
A few years back, I realised that by providing this information, some people on the forum were making personal judgements which could easily be unjustified. For example, one person wondered why I was so critical of the "my willy is bigger than yours" type language being used in a particular thread, when clearly the kit in both of my systems was as good as it gets, (well this was pre-statement !!) I decided that telling the world how much you were willing to allocate to home entertainment could provide misleading indications about your own personality.
Hi Don
Yes, I know exactly what you mean. It's easy to make judgements, which may or may not be accurate. It's just that if you know where people are and what they have already it avoids the need to endlessly ask 'what's your source' or 'what speakers do you have' when faced with a request for advice.
I suppose it's easy for me, having a middling system. As soon as some people see a 500 system listed, they can make assumptions, which are (usually) wrong.
Funny I don't mind folks on here or similar fora seeing my system details Sure it can lead to judgements but if people join and participate in a forum of this type then the reality is some will have invested in the highest end.
However, in the "real world" I confess to being music obsessive and enjoying a very good hi-fi but certainly without reference to value and brand - unless I'm specifically asked.
As a young man, the best advice I ever had from my Dad came on my wedding day. He said I should try very hard to never worry about how much money the next guy was making, or who he was bedding. He encouraged me to make the most of my (admittedly limited) skill set, and to put all my heart and soul into my new marriage.
Fast forward, and Mrs. Hook and I just celebrated our 35th. In terms of possessions, and other than our house, the audio system and music collection are by far our most expensive. Correctly or not, I like to think of them as rewards for four decades of working hard and staying out of trouble.
Getting back to my Dad's advice, I really could not care less if someone else (and especially someone who does not know me) considers it an unnecessary extravagance, or judges me based on this one (admittedly bonkers!) fascination.
ATB.
Hook
Just purchased a brand new Nait XS2 amp. My first upgrade for many a long year. This will be followed in the new year by a Flatcap.
Hope its a good as what people say.
Is their a burn in time for new amps, or does it sound good from the off. I am referring to a Nait XS2 amp.
staffy posted:Is their a burn in time for new amps, or does it sound good from the off. I am referring to a Nait XS2 amp.
My experience with the XS-2 was that it did sound good from the off, but then improved a little over a few days or maybe a week. I think that the experience of different people varies however. Whether this is due to differences in the equipment settling in or differences in the person's listening is open to question though!
What made a bigger difference for me though was improving the rack and reducing the RFI (Radio Frequency Interference) that was getting into the amp from my environment (the area around my house seems to be particularly noisy in the electrical sense).
Rather than a Flatcap 2x, have you considered using a HiCap DR? I've seen reports that the gains on the XS-2 are quite a bit greater with the HiCap DR than those from the Flatcap.
Thanks Huge, I will try to demo that setup next year. Xmas time costs a fortune.