NAC 42N and NAP 110 - A shout out to older Naim products

Very nice Ian - I'm a big fan of the NAC42 and NAP110, a classic combination and still a great performer.  How about some pictures?

The old CB kit still looks good today. Glad you are enjoying the 42/110, Ian.

Used to have a 42.5/110. It made beautiful music. Great gear.

P.S. Service them. The difference it makes is massive  . When you get them back, they will be like brand new.

Wugged Woy posted:

Used to have a 42.5/110. It made beautiful music. Great gear.

P.S. Service them. The difference it makes is massive  . When you get them back, they will be like brand new.

If the experience with my olive kit is anything to go by, they might be even better than brand new (thanks to tighter tolerances in the component specs and other advances in component technology over the years).

My 1st ever Naim amplifier was an NAC 42 (later updated to 42-5) with an NAP 110. In some ways I preferred the 110 to its successor (the 140). Less refined, but more fun.

Shock news!!!

Nostalgia IS what it used to be....

I see on your profile that you were using a Nait 5 before. How does old vs new compare?

Background: I think about getting a 72/140 or 62/140. Have already bought the 140.

I rememer I started with a 72/140 and loved the sound so much, the dealer even said go old Naim gear and it's even better if you like that.

About the 72/140, lets see. I think it will fit our requirements nicely. For my wife, it does not take too much space and she can put a flower on it (I'm seeing a BW CM5 speaker now with some bunch of flowers on it, whilst it tries to do a proper reproduction of Beethovens Pastorale).

I wonder how the dynamics compare to my SuperNait 1, which is up to this day the champion of dynamics in my house. It goes in a heartbeat from almost inaudible playing solo violin to a room filling orchestrah playing a fortissimo. And here we have a to me important difference between the XS and the SN. Oops what did I say ... (don't mention the war)

I had a 32, Snaps & 250 CB driving my Linn Isobariks in 1983 moved onto a Hi-cap when it was released then had the 32 updated to 32.5. I used this system for 30 years.

Regards,

Martin

Last year I took a punt on a very cheap 42/110 on EBay. Too good to be true - the 110 had a strong burning smell and clearly needed help. The 42 worked but didn’t perform anywhere like my recently serviced 62 but both cases were in excellent condition and the fascias as well  with no sign of letters yellowing.

I swallowed hard and had them shipped to Naim via my local Naim dealer. Several weeks later they arrived back at the dealer with a higher than anticipated price (the estimate from Naim hadn’t included VAT)

Anyway they are now like new internally and also have new feet, speaker terminals and volume control. What a fantastic service Naim provides by still servicing a 30+ year old amplifier. They sound superb

Bob

I just took some pics but I see that you need to use an image posting site and then link to that from here?  If there is another way - please let me know.

As for nostalgia, I don't think so.  I was 13 when the 42 and the 110 I purchased were built, so they don't hold a special place in my heart.  I will admit that my greatest regret in audio was trading in my Nait 1 for a song when I purchased my Nait 5.  Getting the 42 / 110 for a good price has finally salved that self-inflicted wound!   

I think there is something akin to nostalgia when I have a system at home that retails for $10K + that I love, but I have something going on at my office for a fraction of that price and it brings me musical joy.

I have not compared the 42 / 110 with the Nait 5.  I did compare it to my recapped Nait 2 and (with the modest Totems Dreamcatchers and my iphone as a source - so less than ideal) it was a dead heat.  For the price - the 42 / 110 has the advantage.  I used the Nait 2 with a pair of Kudos X2s and it was awesome, so with better / more demanding speakers there might be more of a gap with the 42 / 110.  If there is one thing I've learned in the past few years of trading amps is that system synergy really is the key to a satisfying experience. 

Cheers,

Ian    

Thanks Alba, here's one more that hopefully someone can fix for me.  As sexy as I could make it.  

..or follow the instructions from the FAQ:

How to post images on the forum

Ok - I'm a superstar now.  A little trickier with Dropbox (you have to highlight the pic not the url) Anyway I'll blame the site ; )    Thanks Richard.

Maybe a better option is to let folks upload their pictures directly from their pc instead of relying on some sites such as flickr. 

Frank, the additional bandwidth adds considerably to the cost of running the forum.  However, it's usually free for individual members to host their own images on hosting sites. And so long as you have the direct image URL then it's easy too.

I see, thanks Richard.

Alba1320 posted:

I've only just noticed that the Naim logo is at the bottom of the 42's Fascia!

(I know, I'm real observant. )

Is that the case with all 42s, or even all of the pre-amps of this vintage?

The CB NAC42, 42.5 and 62 all had their Naim logo at the bottom of the fascia.

Here's a pic of my own NAC42.5 and NAC62 side by side..

It's a very early NAC12 (bolt-up flat alloy panels and fixings) that was updated by Naim to a later daughter board PCB, RCA phonos for the GRAM input, pins to take later NA3xx phonos boards, and ALPS Blue Volume pot.

Nice collection there, Richard. Do you know why the full size case amps 160, 250 etc used the green rectangular switch rather than stay with the knob style switch of the shoebox amps (could be just switch rating ?). Just curious as to the style change. 

James, no I don't.  Although to be strictly accurate the green illuminated switch of the NAP160 and NAP200/250 came first.  The revised NAP120 used a small round plastic knob a la NAC12 and NAC22, and then the big plastic tractor wheel knob arrived with the NAP110.

Ah yes - that makes sense !

James

I'm really enjoying the tractor wheels.  Nothing like them in all of hifi.  I once heard the older gear described as "Soviet" in appearance.  The shoe box just works and sets Naim apart.  I think it's charming. That these units have survived 35 years without a major scratch or ding speaks to the quality of the design (being half-width may have something to do with that, in that each piece is light, and relatively small so less chance of bumping into something).  

I also appreciate the lack of multiple inputs.  Three is one more than I need (especially for a second system).  I don't understand the multiple inputs on contemporary gear when, if you're like me, you have one or two sources.   Good design is timeless.  

My first Naim rig - immensely enjoyable - my current 52/SC/135 set up boogies in a similar way. If my office was bigger I would be seriously tempted.