Nait 5 /Nait XS2

Possibly something to do with the relative warmth of the Nait 5.

"far more powerful"? This begs a far more detailed description of what you're actually hearing between the two amps. Into S-400 as your system detail states?

it is quite a noticeable difference though in terms of volume rather than tone though!

Maybe a bigger fault in your XS2 than simply a channel loss?

Unless you are referring to the position of the volume pot (which is only relevant if they use the same pot and have the same gain)...

There is less resolution through the Nait 5, so to hear the same level of detail you have to turn up the volume.

The original Nait5 is a cracker I'm not surprised by your result.

My xs2 had the same problem - left channel stopped working, service department exchanged whole motherboard.

the Nait 5 has an adjustable volume pot, so that one can equalize the gain among its various inputs. (i found this to be a really useful feature when i had one!) maybe this is a contributing factor?

then again, i always found that the 5 sounded much more powerful than 30 watts per channel, too.

The little entrylevel Nait 5 is an overlooked gem, sort of a civilized Nait 3

Far too expensive to manufacture and/or slow sales, hence followed by the simpler but more powerfull 50w Nait 5i

Perol posted:

The little entrylevel Nait 5 is an overlooked gem, sort of a civilized Nait 3

Far too expensive to manufacture and/or slow sales, hence followed by the simpler but more powerfull 50w Nait 5i

 

Yup, bang on.  While it borrowed from the NAIT 3 (the power amp section mostly), the NAIT 5 was a much more sophisticated amp, less in your face, and more subtle in its charms, but charm it most certainly could do, given the source, time and opportunity to do so.  But such sophistication was expensive to make, hence the back-to-basics NAIT 5i that followed at a substantially lower price.

sjw posted:

My Nait Xs2 has lost a channel so is off to be fixed. 
In the meantime I've popped in an old Nait 5

ie 30 W/channel – what surprises me is that this seems far more powerful than the Naim XS2 which is 70W/channel.Any ideas why?? Thanks

Well, if it's lost a channel it's a 70W total amp now.

Richard Dane posted:

Perol posted:

The little entrylevel Nait 5 is an overlooked gem, sort of a civilized Nait 3

Far too expensive to manufacture and/or slow sales, hence followed by the simpler but more powerfull 50w Nait 5i

 

Yup, bang on.  While it borrowed from the NAIT 3 (the power amp section mostly), the NAIT 5 was a much more sophisticated amp, less in your face, and more subtle in its charms, but charm it most certainly could do, given the source, time and opportunity to do so.  But such sophistication was expensive to make, hence the back-to-basics NAIT 5i that followed at a substantially lower price.

So Richard would you prefer to have nait5 or a 5i-2 to use if there was a straight choice?!

They're both great, if a bit different. The NAIT5 can be a bit smooth and self-effacing compared the more bombastic 5i. But, RCA sockets apart, the NAIT 5 offers more flexibility and can go further.  For example, I really liked the NAIT 5 with a Flatcap2. It adds a whole new layer of sophistication, dynamics and authority to the amp. The 5 also carries a powered AUX2 socket for a Stageline, which is nice.

The trouble with the NAIT 5 is that the volume encoder had problems thanks to the supplier moving and changing production after the first year or two of the NAIT5's life. The encoders became unreliable. This caused Naim all kinds of problems and in the end the encoder had to be redesigned and specified and sourced from a different supplier. Also the ribbon link at the back was quite vulnerable and if crunched up in a rack, could fail.

The NAIT 5i though is a great little amp if you just want simplicity and engagement.

sjw posted:

So Richard would you prefer to have nait5 or a 5i-2 to use if there was a straight choice?!

Suddenly there, I thought I was reading the forum c2008 ;-)  Where did those ten years go?!

Richard Dane posted:

They're both great, if a bit different.

The pros and con is great...But which would you choose?

It would perhaps depend on circumstances, the speakers being driven and what my requirements are.  But pushed to make a choice, I'd be tempted to go for the NAIT 5i2 as it's much newer and on it's own its probably a superior performing integrated amp. But if I had more than a handful of sources it would be a bit useless.

I use a Nait 5 and a Nait 5si in different systems, and like them both a lot.  When deciding which one to leave with my main system of CDS3 and Shahinian Compass, i listened to both. The Nait 5 stayed in the main system and the 5Si was put with the UQ2 in the office system driving Kabers. My Nait 5 has been back to Naim for a full service and update in the last 2 years and for me is the superior amplifier, a forgotten and much maligned gem.

sjw posted:

Richard Dane posted:

They're both great, if a bit different.

The pros and con is great...But which would you choose?

Perhaps try a used Nait 5i-2 or 5si and judge for yourself if you like it better than the Nait 5 or XS2? If you do not have a Hicap DR on the XS2 that would be another option as well.