Naim Nat-03 anyone?

I loved my NAT03 and in fact still have one hooked up in a 2nd system.
I only replaced the 03 for a NAT05 in my main system as I wanted remote control ability.

The 03 is a fine tuner.

I'm listening to R3 on mine now. I've had a NAT03 for about eight years. Very pleased with it. Slightly warm in tone, late night listening is intimate.

I have tried a NAT02 here but it seemed not to like my aerial.

With your system you should go for a NAT 01. It's really quite amazing!

I have found it not to be too demanding re aerial. 

Claus

Depends whether you will use it for serious music listening, not that there is much serious music available on FM. I have had one in the system for 24 years now and it still provides a reasonable source for R3 and is very good for the occasional pay on R4. I don;t think it has ever been tuned into any other station.

MangoMonkey posted:

Anyone know whether this unit it any good? Will be hooked up to a 552/300. Any other Nat I should look out for instead?

Apart from Naim - any other more current Tuners that anyone recommends to be hooked up to a 552? Mostly looking for something that can Tune well, and not throw noise into the mains...

As you are located in US I would look for a tuner designed/optimized for US,  if you really do want a tuner.  NAT-03 is FM only & as good as most for that,   but why not use your NDS & 272 to get iRadio & any other web radio station you want to add yourself,    not sure how it is locally in the Seattle area,  but it looks like most/all the FM stations are on iRadio.  

Web radio doesn't come even close to FM quality, not even for the best ones (at my place this is usually 320k).
The original signal is by the way very important for the result as well as the streaming rate. 

My impression is based on using ND5SX + nDAC for iRadio. 

iRadio is however very convenient and the number of accessible senders (and the diversification) is enormous.  Very nice to have for casual listening and running in the background. 

Claus

I think that the NATs are superb units.  I have a NAT05XS with a power supply attached and it is a very capable source - I much much prefer the NAT and FM to either I radio or DAB.  I did have a NAT01 for a very short period of time but had some problems with it and it went back to the supplier. 

Dayjay's suggestion looks superb for a modern take on the best of FM.

I have a NAT01 which I purchased new in 1995. It was serviced in 2015 (first time!) and remains one of the best sources around and is the oldest piece of kit I own. There was a time when Naim made the XPS available for the NAT01, which I've never heard, but could make the humble NAT01 the ultimate FM tuner.

Long live FM broadcasting!

Why?

I would go for a 02 as its pretty close to 01.

I have an 01 and its enchanting especially on classical and speech.Never heard a 03 but a 101 or 02 would be on my list

Good luck Mango all the above are great......another much cheaper choice would be an A@R Cambridge T21 which you could pick up on EBay for about £60 -100.Looks fabulous with its 21 LED's and the sound is lovely up there with the 02.

Never heard the Nat-03 but if you have good fm radio (uncompressed) in your area, you may find it the best source ever. A good fm tuner is also a ''self up-gradable'' component as it mirror the sound of radio stations when they themselves upgrade their sources so you get the benefit for free.

Claus posted:

Web radio doesn't come even close to FM quality

Claus,  what experience have you with  FM services in USA ???     

I have NAT-05 & NDX for iRadio & I'm not disagreeing with your opinion on the FM vs iRadio differences except that I don't agree with your "web-radio doesn't come even close to FM",  a slight overstatement IMO.

I'm just being practical for someone living in USA,  he is asking about a NAT-03 & I guess that finding a NAT-01 in USA is not that easy.

Kevin Richardson posted:

Why?

Mostly to be able to continue listening to NPR after I reach home. (It's playing in the car).

MangoMonkey posted:

Kevin Richardson posted:

Why?

Mostly to be able to continue listening to NPR after I reach home. (It's playing in the car).

WFMT makes more sense. You will appreciate it much more listening to music than talk shows.

Haim Ronen posted:

MangoMonkey posted:

Kevin Richardson posted:

Why?

Mostly to be able to continue listening to NPR after I reach home. (It's playing in the car).

WFMT makes more sense. You will appreciate it much more listening to music than talk shows.

Is there a corresponding iRadio channel?

Have you seen a NAT03 then Mango? And what's you aerial like?

Aerial? The last I had one at our home was in 1994.

MangoMonkey posted:

Aerial? The last I had one at our home was in 1994.

Ah. Glad I asked.

NDX-FM in service here.  I have the choice of listening to KING, KNKX, and KUOW via FM or iRadio.  I think the kind of person who hears the benefits of Naim gear (and cares about these details) is likely to hear how much better the FM sounds, and prefer it as I do.

I use a Magnum Dynalab antenna, temporarily located in the attic.  

I would like to find a NAT-05XS or a clean vintage McIntosh MR one day to compare.  OTOH, the NDX sounds so much better than the Rega Radio it replaced that I am in no hurry to make any changes.  And the way the Naim app fluidly switches between FM and iRadio stations is delightful.

Nick

Clive B posted:

I have a NAT01 which I purchased new in 1995. It was serviced in 2015 (first time!) and remains one of the best sources around and is the oldest piece of kit I own. There was a time when Naim made the XPS available for the NAT01, which I've never heard, but could make the humble NAT01 the ultimate FM tuner.

Long live FM broadcasting!

I couldn’t agree more. I bought my Olive NAT01 second hand from Tom Tom 12 years ago and had it serviced and realigned by Naim 5 years ago. It’s never put a foot wrong on all that time. It’s permanently tuned to BBC R3 and live broadcasts including the proms are superb. Naim made the heads which are no longer available and the display is also obsolete. 

The NDS/555PS DR on HLS is fine but the NAT01 has the edge. I use mine on an 8 element aerial and there’s no hiss whatsoever. Drift is also marginal.  I know Ron Smith’s aerial designs seem to be the ones to go for but they’d suit an old country cottage not and I’d sooner not see the chimney come crashing through the bedroom roof on a windy night

NickSeattle posted:

NDX-FM in service here.

Could have sworn you had a NAT05 Nick!

C.

Christopher_M posted:

NickSeattle posted:

NDX-FM in service here.

Could have sworn you had a NAT05 Nick!

C.

Only seen an 05 once at a dealer - he warned me away for some reason.  I regret not having heard it.  I asked Naim about finding a NOS 05XS in their system shortly after they announced it was discontinued, but there were none.

Patiently waiting.

Nick

NickSeattle posted:

NDX-FM in service here.  I have the choice of listening to KING, KNKX, and KUOW via FM or iRadio.  I think the kind of person who hears the benefits of Naim gear (and cares about these details) is likely to hear how much better the FM sounds, and prefer it as I do.

 I'm not surprised you prefer FM over KING, KNKX, & KUOW on iRadio,  they are pretty low bit rates with 48 & 96kb/s,  KING has some nice stations & music selections.    Mrs Mike has commandeered KING Christmas Channel while she is prep'ing the holiday eating stuff.     

Mike-B posted:

NickSeattle posted:

NDX-FM in service here.  I have the choice of listening to KING, KNKX, and KUOW via FM or iRadio.  I think the kind of person who hears the benefits of Naim gear (and cares about these details) is likely to hear how much better the FM sounds, and prefer it as I do.

I'm not surprised you prefer FM over KING, KNKX, & KUOW on iRadio,  they are pretty low bit rates with 48 & 96kb/s,  KING has some nice selections  

Hi, Mike.

Agreed.  Do you have any favorites with higher bit rates along similar lines?  Naim Radio and Radio Paradise are out there, if course, but I prefer regional stations, even outside my region. Classic FM of Portland, OR, plays good stuff — their bit rate is 128.

Thank you.

Nick