Naim Nait 1 recap - Should I?

Posted by: najibs on 09 March 2018

So recently, in my local classifieds I came across an old 1984 Naim Nait 1 for cheap. The seller was a few hours away, but agreed to meet half way, so I couldn't test it. I took a gamble.

I bought the amp, got it home and am absolutely amazed at how good it sounds.

The back of the amp has a 240v sticker on the back. I'm in Canada, so I guess at some point it was converted to 110. My question is basically if I should invest in recapping it. Doing the recap would cost me more than what I paid for the amp. It would be done at the Naim distributor for Canada, so I know it would get done right. It's 34 years old. After 34 years of little use, would you send it in to get recapped? The owner said he hadn't used it in the last 7 years and before that it was only occasional use.

I love the sound as it is, but I'm not sure if NOT recapping it would cause damage in the long run. Would it? ALso, would recapping it change the sound signature?

I don't hear any static or distortion in the sound, other than at really really low volumes, there's only sound from the right channel. It's only until you get the volume knob to the 8 or 9 o clock positon that sound comes out of both channels, but the volume is still low at that point, so it's not a big deal. Is this just a design issue or is it a sign of aging? Maybe the volume knob needs some Deoxit?

Also, if there's no music coming out of it and I let the amp sit, even with the power on, and I start playing something, for the first 20 seconds anything with a lot of bass sounds a little distorted but after 20 seconds or so it goes away, and as long as music is playing it sounds fine.

So that's my dilemma. To recap, or not to recap?

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Posted on: 09 March 2018 by najibs

Posted on: 09 March 2018 by Ardbeg10y

very, very nice.

Posted on: 09 March 2018 by james n

Good find. A lovely little amp - i'd send it off for some TLC as it sounds like it needs some work doing to bring it back to full health.

James

Posted on: 09 March 2018 by Wugged Woy

Fantastic purchase. Don't even think about it - get it serviced asap. It will give you literally decades of pleasure.

Posted on: 09 March 2018 by Darran H

Get it serviced, it will transform the sound quality. The volume controls are not expensive and Naim can still supply to authorised service centers..

Posted on: 09 March 2018 by najibs

It's a flat rate charge to service and recap it and replace anything that needs to get done with regards to capacitors and resistors, so I'm told. The charge is $355 CDN (approx 200 GBP). The power cord that will need to be replaced is an additional charge. not sure how much they will charge for that.

Posted on: 09 March 2018 by najibs

Another thing I was wondering was about the phono stage. It'snot very loud. WIth my CD player or Streamer, at the 9 o'clock position I can comfortably listen to music on my 4ohm Dynaudio Audience 52 speakers. But, when I use my record player (Pro-ject RPM 5.1 with Nagaoka MP-110 cartridge) even with the volume knob on the 12 o'clock position it's not as loud as the CDP or Streamer. Is that just not very good compatibility with my cartridge, or is that a sign that the phono stage could use servicing?

Posted on: 09 March 2018 by joerand

CDs generally play louder than LPs, more so with modern CDs; however I'd expect that difference to be at most a half-hour to an hour on the volume dial. Your MP-110 is a hefty 5.0 mV of output so it should play nearly as loud as CDs. Check to see you have a MM card installed rather than a MC card. If a MM card is installed, get it serviced or buy a replacement - see which the servicer suggests. If you currently have a MC card, you could consider switching to a MC cart, but again, does the card need to be serviced?

Posted on: 09 March 2018 by najibs

Thanks for the tip. How do I know if the phono card is MM or MC. Does it say on it? Aren't all Nait 1's standard with MM phono? Thx

Posted on: 09 March 2018 by Richard Dane

The NAIT and NAIT2 are fitted with MM phono stage - and no interchangeable cards. For MC use you would need to use a step-up device such as a transformer. I have used a pair of Ortofon T5s with reasonably good results, and they're rather neat too.

Posted on: 09 March 2018 by Clive B

najibs posted:
I bought the amp, got it home and am absolutely amazed at how good it sounds.

And that's the Naim Nait for you. It's one of the jewels of Naim Audio history. Definitely have it serviced as it will restore it to 'as new'. These trade today for considerably more than they cost when new, so it's worth having it serviced in monetary terms too.

Posted on: 15 March 2018 by Sigmund

I recently had my 1989 Nait 2 recapped for the second time with noticeable increases in clarity, detail, dynamics, air and soundstage front and back and side to side right out of the box and getting better as time goes by. I couldn't be happier.

I agree that an upgraded power cord will make things even better and, if you want to boost your results further still, get the cord, your interconnects and speaker cables *double* cryovaed. (Doubling results in even more musicality than a single dip and extends the life of your components.)