Naim Watts V Other Watts
Posted by: spacey on 19 February 2017
Hi - I've read a few times that Naim power output figures are calculated slightly differently to others. Can someone please explain how this is the case and what say the output of my 155XS would be in other manufacturers figures?
A watt is a watt is a watt. There is no difference in calculation
the issue is current delivery. They deliver a lot of current into difficult loads, unlike other amps which dont.
If you want to understand this, look at the power output into different loads. A naim amp will typically double its power output as you half the impedance (resistance in laymans terms). Thats cos it can deliver the current.
Other amps dont double the power as you halve the impedance.
The first watt is the most important watt. The rest (of the best) are to just back it up without spoiling it.
There are no watts like Rob Watts though.
I wish I could be like David Watts
I guess measurements e.g. RMS, are standard. But my ears tell me that my old 250.2 rated at 80 wpc and my 300DR rated at 90 wpc are massively more powerful that any of the previous power-amps I've had and heard, and they were all rated at between 100 wpc and 200 wpc.
Its pretty clear to me neither of you know what you are talking about. There is only Naomi Watts, anything else doesn't even come close. Pff...listen to them 155xs and nap 300...
All the top class British manufactured home audio watts are easily recognisable by their stiff upper blips
Statement about 1 Horse Power ~ 746 watts~ I don't think it will shut down!
Nap 500 ~ 140 watts ~ have been know to shut down! Large Breathing Fins
Nap 300 ~ 90 watts ~ built in fans!
Nap 250 ~ 80 watts ~ beautiful regulated amp, but it will shut down if pressed!
Nap 200 ~ 70 watts ~ as opposed to shutting down, the gem will slip on the job, thats all!
{{Naim is sub standard - allegedly.
feeling Zen Nov 4 2015
Naim amps can swing transients in a way other similarly powered amps just cannot do. But that isn't the same as a 30wpc amp being equivalent to a 60wpc amp. The fact that a Naim amp can swing those big transients sometimes better than a more powerful amp leads them to falsely believe that their constant output is higher than stated - but it isn't. That misconception might explain some negative opinions. A lot of dealers incorrectly deliver sales pitches like "30wpc of Naim is like 75wpc of Arcam" which is nonsense. Maybe a Nait can deliver a big/ger bang like the 75wpc amp but sustained output is a different story. Musically it is also a less relevant story unless your recording has very poor dynamic range.
The fact is, if you are driving a consistently hard load due to volume and/or speaker load, more power will be required and there is no getting away from that. Naim cater for that with increasingly more powerful amps and the ability to go active (or bi/tri amp simply for power reasons). It costs a lot more to do this with Naim than some others but I don't see a problem in that. They are not about functionality and convenience but about delivering the best you can get and if the design decision leads to more power requiring considerably more expense to do properly then so be it.
Naim isn't for everyone. But it works as described and I think the issues of tonal clarity being sacrificed in favour of musicality are largely a thing of the past ranges. The current stuff is very accurate and notions that Naim doesn't do soundstage are also outdated nonsense.
There will always be sonic benefits to keeping purely analog devices like a preamp isolated from more noisy digital circuits. For that reason, I don't see the NAC dying off. The Statement S1 was literally a "statement" of this belief by Naim.
Naim is sub standard - allegedly.
FRANK ABELA TRADE MEMBER
11/4/15 12:16 PM
Naim amps have one main stipulation - nothing less than 2 ohms. That's it really. So long as the impedance of the speaker remains > 2 ohms through the frequency range, then the amp should be fine.
So no apologies please - the amp will heat up and switch itself off.}}
Just some info. a had archived away!
Allante93! BTW I love Naim!
Naim amps from the 250 upward are fully regulated. The power supply rails are very "stiff" in that they do not "sag" under heavy current draw (as Jon says), so they can faithfully deliver the dynamics in music. Similarly, their preamps, especially when powered by Hicap or Supercap, can faithfully deliver the dynamics in music. I think this makes the music sound more "powerful" than many competitors' amps - even when rated at higher power.
CharlieP posted:Naim amps from the 250 upward are fully regulated. The power supply rails are very "stiff" in that they do not "sag" under heavy current draw (as Jon says), so they can faithfully deliver the dynamics in music. Similarly, their preamps, especially when powered by Hicap or Supercap, can faithfully deliver the dynamics in music. I think this makes the music sound more "powerful" than many competitors' amps - even when rated at higher power.
Right you are CharlieP!
""Administrator
June 20, 2014 11:09 AM
Bert,
like 99.6% of power amps out there, the NAP200 isn't a regulated power amp and so when the going gets tough it just lets things slide a bit. A NAP250 isn't allowed to do that, so it has to work much harder (and gets hotter as a consequence). Remember too that there's much more inside a NAP250 - twice the transistor count for one thing. For all that, unsuitable cabling will get a NAP200 hot.""