New to Naim

Welcome to the Naim experience! Someone will no doubt advise you on the Nait questions - I'm sorry but I don't know the answers. What I do know is that you're sadly deluded if you think that will be the end of your upgrading impulses. Just look around the forum - we're all delusional!

Clive

Patrick, welcome to Naim.  Your story will no doubt strike a familiar chord amongst many on here.

As to your NAIT 3r, first question is whether it has had the required socketry fitted at the back to enable use with a dedicated power supply on the pre-amp section.  If not, I'm unsure as to whether this can still be done.  

If it looks like this (thanks to Kuma for the picture), the you are a step ahead...

Welcome, I am sure you'll be around for a while!

You just need to upgrade your main system to a Naim Audio one now and life will be complete

Thanks for the quick replys. No it doesn't look like that at the back. Just a couple of plastic plugs in the back besides the inputs. It's a holiday here in Canada today so I'll have to wait till next week before I can take it in to see if I can get those plugs put in (hopefully it can still be done).

Ya I'm probably delusional thinking that I'm stepping off that upgrade train. Well at least I know what products I'll be upgrading to! I belong to a couple of forums but I've never felt the need to to start a thread before; but in this case I felt as if I had to. It was quite an experience for me listening to the Nait 3r that first evening. Even this this morning listening at low levels while drinking my coffee I had a big grin on my face. No going back now! I don't know if I could have experienced that same feeling in my younger days. Sometimes you just have to mature a bit and get your priorities straight.

I'm using a pair of Linn K400's for speaker cables at the moment. I also have Kimber 8tc and a pair of Cardas Quadlink. Opinions please. Or is NAC A5 a must at 3.5 meters?

I have a pretty good front end as it consists of an LP12, Linn Unidisk 2.1, and a Mac Mini feeding a Stello U3 USB converter to Bel Canto 3.5 DAC. I don't think I'll be changing any of that soon but I'm probably still delusional!

I want to concentrate on setting up the Nait properly and then go from there. I also value simplicity in a system. I lost that I moved up the food chain in audio gear; it sounded better and better sonically but was ultimately missing soul. 

Hey Patrick,

welcome to the funny farm. You have some good sources there and you clearly like the Naim sound. I wish you well trying to duck the upgrade path. The bad news is it gets better and better up the food chain. Same sound, just better. 

Lots of folks use anything but Naca5. 3.5m is not obligatory either. I recall that was the original recommended minimum. The new Super Lumina starts at 3m. Don't try it.

Dave

Welcome!

Hi Cap comes with it's own SNAIC 5-pin 270 degree. You will need another one 4-pin SNAIC to complete the connecttion.

You will also 'need' the following:

* NAIM source components: CD or a streamer

* Analogue sources are also useful - we 'allow' Linn LP12 here 

Have fun with your NAIM,

Adam

Thanks for the info Adam. I'm glad I can keep my LP12!

Patrick Philip posted:

I'm using a pair of Linn K400's for speaker cables at the moment. I also have Kimber 8tc and a pair of Cardas Quadlink. Opinions please. Or is NAC A5 a must at 3.5 meters?

IIRC, specs on Kimber 8TC does not work well with a Naim amp. Do a search I recall some discussion about it. carads quadlink! Bring back a fond momery. I think I started out with Cards wires in my non Naim years and I still use a pair of Quadlink for a non Naim amps.  For older Naim amps, tho, it is probably safer to use NACA5 ( much better than K400 ) or twisted appliance wires. (f you are in the US, AV Options can supply them with terminations of your choice.) And they are much easier to manage than stiff NACA5 in a tight spot.

The only Cardas I like are those Rhodium plated spades for NACA 5.

A HC will be a nice upgrade for your Nait3R giving it better rounded performance.

Definitely avoid the 8TC on the NAIT - it will probably  kill it in fairly short order. I once tried it on a NAP250 mk2 and the amp got very hot very quickly. I removed it immediately. The issue is that it is high capacitance/low inductance cable and the NAIT requires almost the complete opposite - low capacitance and moderate inductance. 

So, stick with NACA5 (or older NACA4 or equivalents if on A tight budget) and, most importantly, make sure you have the Naim Speaker connectors soldered on for the amp end. This will work best with the sockets on the amp and will avoid any socket breakages.

Thank you Kuma for the information on the cables and HC sound. Can't wait to get to my Naim dealer to explore my options. I'm definitely going to purchase NACA5 cables to keep the synergy of the Naim system. Hopefully I can also get the link plugs installed as well.

Thanks Naim forum guys for all your help. Glad to be part of this community.

Just saw your post Richard. Wow that's great to know. The Kimber will never be used.

I have to say this. I remember years ago thinking Naim guys were a bit kooky about their audio setups. After lurking around here for a bit seeing people's systems and experiencing the Naim sound first hand I understand. It's about getting the best audio reproduction in your home as you can. It takes some work. Feeling kooky myself these days!

Heh, there's nothing kookier about setting up Naim systems than setting up any other HiFi systems. The difference is that the methodology is very well prescribed in the Naim tradition. If you setup your other system with the same understanding you'll get similar benefits, but it's difficult to know 'the rules' because of the plethora of combinations.

The Nait 3R was a nice little amp, very exuberant, a bit rough and ready round the edges. If it's not been serviced yours will have mellowed with age. Given it must be over 17 years old, it's well overdue a service now. That'll cost as much as you've spent probably, but it's possibly the better way to spend your money. You get back pretty much a new amp, depending on what needs doing. It'll certainly need to be run in again. Also, remember that the 3R is only 30 watts per channel, and that on a line level source (CD, aux), the amp is pretty much maxed out with the volume at 12 o'clock. Not true of the phono input of course.

As for speaker cable, K400 is warm, slow and fuzzy by comparison with naca5. Kimber is a Naim killer as you've already read. Naca5, minimum 3.5m per side, is the way to go, and it takes AGES to run in (seriously, months).

Good luck!

Frank

PS, forgot to say...get your Naim dealer to put Naim plugs on the amp end. If memory serves, the Nait3R has speaker connections soldered directly to the amp board without being fixed to the chassis, so ordinary 4mm banana plugs put stress on them, causing them to eventually lift or break. The Naim SA8 plug has a body which you push right up to the chassis and it is the body of the plug which takes the stress, not the connections.

Frank.

Frank, you've reminded me of when I bought my first Naims. I had RA 'Yello' mains leads from a previous set so I threw out the Naim ones. The RAs had to be better, right?! Nope. I ended up buying three new Naim ones.

Chris (on sabbatical from the University of Hard Knocks)

PS. We don't make enough of SA8s at the amp end here. Essential. But people think they know better just like I did with the Yellos.

Thanks for the advice Frank.

Stumbled upon a used pair of NAC A4 for a great price yesterday that was too good to pass on; unfortunately only 3 meters in length. Still though you can tell that they were made to work together. My wife and I could tell the difference imeadiately. A nice jump up in sound quality! I will continue to look for NAC A5 at the proper length though.

My dealer is in the midst of a move so my planned updates might be on hold for a bit. That's ok, I've got stuff to do around the house and some camping to do this summer.