Moving Magnet cards NA322

The later the cards, the better, although improvements were mainly just down to revised circuit tracks and component improvments, and earlier cards can be very good once properly serviced.  The final version was NA322/4.

Please don't post to live eBay sales - I've removed the link.  And as for 3rd party offerings, discussion of unauthorised modifications is not allowed on here.

Thanks for the guidance and apologies for inadvertently flouting the rules

Boatmancalls posted:

Hi

Following a recent purchase of a NAC72/HiCAP/NAP140 I need phono cards for my moving magnet turntable.  I understand there are 4 versions of this card with the higher the number, the better performance (forgive me if that is contentious statement!).  Currently the best I can find is a 322/2 on eBay. Does anyone have any opinions how they’d compare?

I’m assume they would be better than the Rega phono amp I have already (phono mini A2D)?

 

Any views would be appreciated

 

 

I used the ordinary Rega Fono phono stage as replacement for internal Naim cards and found pro's & con's removing the 322, I tried rca/bnc adapters on Nac 72 and they killed the deal completely

It depends on TT/cartridge used really, quite important info not mentioned

Seeing you allready have a miniFono why not go ahead with this as a begin ?

Hi, appreciate the comments.  Yes i’ll try - & see how it sounds.  My reason for posting was to see if anyone else had been in a similar position and what they’ found beneficial.  I’ve been out of the analogue game for a longtime and am starting from very humble beginnings ... 30 year old Rega 2, origin live RB250/ ELys 2 

if someone said the the NA 322 /x  is orders of magnitude better than the Rega phono I’d listen - because i have no way of knowing independently otherwise !  I’m very happy to spend a few hundred pounds to get the turntable up and running and listen to some tunes (I have a lot of vinyl!).  If I get back into the HiFi again I’m sure i’ll end up with a decent MC source - so don’t want to spend more than about 200GBP on any MM cards/phono stage.  

What are these adapter you mentioned that were so detrimental ?

BNC to RCA Phono adaptors; Naim prefer to use BNC connectors for Phono as they are a much higher performing solution to regular RCA Phonos.  However, most armloads are terminated with RCA Phonos.  This means you need to re-terminate them with 50 ohm BNC connectors.  Some don't wish to do that so use adaptors, which rather misses the point of using BNCs.

Here is what a BNC to RCA Phono adaptor looks like:

Thanks for the advice Richard - it gets more complicated.  Of course you correct my arm is terminated with std RCA phono.  Doesn’t sound easy re- terminating but I assume there are people out there that offer this service ?

 I think I’ve started out on a long journey

First call - your Naim dealer.  If they were in business back in the day then they would have probably re-terminated quite a few armleads in the past!  Alternatively, if your arm comes with a detachable lead, you could upgrade to a better one with BNCs fitted at the pre-amp end.

The phono card issue number and RCA connectors are a bit of a red herring. They’re not worth worrying about at this stage.

A high quality turntable/arm/cable combination with RCA will outperform a lesser lower quality turntable/arm/cable combination with BNC.

When new, the /4 would have been an improvement over a new pair of /2. But you’ll be buying something 30 years old. The sound quality will be determed by the condition of the capacitos, not the issue number.

An analogy would be, a Ferrari with sub optimal tyres and windscreen wipers is going to perform better than a Ford Escort fitted with optimal tyres and windscreen wipers.

Buy the boards from ebay, if you don’t like how they sound, sell them on ebay, you should get your money back.

I’d get the boards recapped by a dealer before worrying about the conectors.

Or, you might be so pleased with the boards, connector type or issue numbers won’t be an issue.

Hi

thanks for the advice.  I think i’ll order the best i see over the next week, get them serviced (hopefully takes one variable out of the equation) and take it from there.  genuinally appreciae the advice!

Hi Boatman -- while the Naim phono cards/stages are a decent match with Rega cartridges, you've already got a Rega phono stage, so my advice is to stick with it. If you want to upgrade, a used Rega P5 turntable would be a significant improvement over the Planar 2.

Thanks Joe9407, I think you’re right - just spent an hour listening to some Nick Drake (CD) and loving these amps!  I’m reluctant to ditch the Rega as I got it for my 21st!!  but my head knows you’re right!!  It’s already a bit of a “triggers broom”

Thanks again

BNC to replace RCA plugs on arm cable;

Richard you mention above Naim prefer 50ohm BNCs. I have have a pair of unused 75ohm BNC plugs I planned to use.

How critical is 50 ohm over the 75 ohm option?

Thanks

Modmal

If you are bothering to change the BNCs then definitely go for 50 ohm over 75 ohm for the phono interconnect - the sockets are 50 ohm. 75 ohm is mostly for digital coaxial connection and for video connections.

Richard Dane posted:

BNC to RCA Phono adaptors; Naim prefer to use BNC connectors for Phono as they are a much higher performing solution to regular RCA Phonos.  However, most armloads are terminated with RCA Phonos.  This means you need to re-terminate them with 50 ohm BNC connectors.  Some don't wish to do that so use adaptors, which rather misses the point of using BNCs.

Here is what a BNC to RCA Phono adaptor looks like:

As Naim prefer BNC why is stageline equipped with just RCA ?

Richard, thanks agin for advice.

Modmal

Antonio, Naim realised with the NAIT that at the entry level there as quite a degree of resistance to a product that presented BNC input sockets where most users would only have an arm with an RCA Phono terminated armlead.  It was conceded that at this market level RCA Phonos were a more acceptable and convenient option, and so to please dealers and customers the NAITs came with RCA Phonos on the phono input.  As the entry-level phono stage, originally introduced alongside the NAIT 5, the Stageline followed suit.  However, BNCs could be specified as an option on the Stageline at the time of purchase.  I have a Stageline K somewhere in store that i purchased new that came with BNCs fitted from new.

Thank you for your explanation Sir.

Hi,

does anyone have a pic of their 322 card? I'm wondering if mine [tried to add a pic but can't insert..] has been mod'ed or is stock. The resistor between connectors one and two appears to be 62 kO instead of the 47 kO I was expecting.

thanks Modmal.