Intro and... Help...

Other than 135s, the perfect power amp for Kans is the 250. Couple it with a 32.5 and Hicap and you are sorted. If that’s too much, a 42.5, Hicap and 110 would be good. It’s nice to keep things contemporaneous. 

Sandals posted:

Since Linn has decided to drop their support of their "community" on the Forums, I have made the conscious decision to follow my life-long fascination with Naim. 

???? Sandals,....Welcome to the Forum,..you are not alone in taking the decision you mention above.

Here in Sweden,..the irritation is very large after Linn's remarkable decision.
Many High-End customers with Linn-system are about to "see about their house",..as confidence in Linn dropped like a stone.This after Linn closed the forum,and the contact with its customers.
Many of these we will probably see on this forum,..some are already here but are a bit anonymous in the beginning????..

?With Linn Kan you can go how far you want,..I have a friend who runs 4•135 actively with a pair of Linn Kan.
But the classic system Naim Nait,Linn Kan also work very well.
But then of course,..as you also mention,run with a turntable.

I would avoid Nait3 and Nait5i to a pair of Linn Kan,..but it is me,others may think different????.

/Peder ????

Welcome Alan.

What drives your Kans in the office in the moment? And how big is it?

Also, is the cartridge on your office turntable MM or MC?

C.

The NAIT would be nice, but the KANs could often do with a bit more power.  The ideal would be something like a NAC42.5 + NAP110, or else a "Chrome Bumper" NAC62 + NAP110.  The NAC62 + NAP90 gets you some of the way there, but having both I think that the NAP110 is just a much better amp for not that much more money.  Make sure you use Naim speaker cable - 5m or more per channel preferred - with decent soldered connectors, either Deltrons or Naim SA8s.

Nice to read you use an Ariston RD11.  Is it one of the originals (also known as a linn Sondek)?  Which arm do you use with it?

Thanks for the ideas! Currently I do not have an amp for the Kans. The RD11s has a Jelco SA-250T arm and a Audio Technica AT95E cartridge.

I have another option for the amp. What do you think of NAC32. 5 SNAP PS and NAP 110? All have been serviced recently and are apparently in good condition.

Thanks for your help with this, I do not know much about the hierarchy of Naim but I am excited about learning, listening and being part of this community! 

The 32.5 and 110 would be great, and a Hicap would be better than the Snaps. My first Naim amp, bought in 1983 to use with a Linn and Mk1 Kans, was a 42, Snaps and 110. You need to ensure that any of these elderly power amps and power supplies have been serviced and recapped in the last 10 years. Otherwise, they won’t sound at their best and at worst may go unstable and take out your speakers. 

From your list I'd go 62 / 90. However, I was very happy with 32.5 /HiCap/ 90 /Keilidhs for many years. The 32.5 was top of the pre Amps back in the day and is a much more open window for your record deck. But do budget for a HiCap if you want to max the sound.

Alan welcome.  I can’t really help but welcome to the Forum.  I used to have a n Ariston 80 - great TT. 

Revards,

Lindsay

Sandals posted:

Thanks for the ideas! Currently I do not have an amp for the Kans. The RD11s has a Jelco SA-250T arm and a Audio Technica AT95E cartridge.  ....

Of the amps you mention I'd consider the Nait 5i with a Stageline N for your MM cartridge. This would give you the modern look. You will also need a  psu for the Stageline and the most obvious would be the Stageline variant of the Naim iSupply, which is unfortunately only available secondhand.

Kans and record player on wall brackets and 'We Have Lift Off!'

Hi Sandals,

I agree with Richard on the NAP90 vs NAP110.

I went from 42.5/110 > 42.5/snaps/110 > 42.5/snaps/140 > 42.5/Hicap/250. (All CB)

All with Kans, which responded well all the way up. I still have the 250 and 140, the former used for my centre channel and the latter as a back up.

While this a superb for analogue IF you are thinking of plugging in some digital it may prove interesting.

M

With the Jelco SA-250ST (is it a proper SA-250ST , or an earlier Revolver Arm or Mission 774LC variant, built by Jelco?) and the AT95E, I think you don't want to go too heavy or revealing on the amp. A NAIT or 42.5/62/NAP110 with KANs will ruthlessly reveal any shortcomings in the source - this is old school, and underlined the principle of source first.  KANs and a NAIT worked brilliantly on a Sondek and Ittok - rather less well when the arm was a lowlier LV-X.  Interestingly the pre-power was somewhat more forgiving than than the early NAIT here. Still, I guess you can always work towards upping the ante at the source end...

All those deserting linn form an orderly line behind Sandles please  ;-)

Japtimscarlet posted:

All those deserting linn form an orderly line behind Sandles please  ;-)

You nailed it!

I Have do not have any hesitation when it comes to the Linn products that I have used over the years and I still love my Kans, Katans LK140 and Majik DS... But the slap in the face felt by many of us who had built friendships and comradery speaks to misguided management and a real disrespect of their most loyal, and most "invested" clients!

So... Now I get to make new connections and discover the passion behind the Naim brand. 

Mr Underhill posted:

Hi Sandals,

I agree with Richard on the NAP90 vs NAP110.

I went from 42.5/110 > 42.5/snaps/110 > 42.5/snaps/140 > 42.5/Hicap/250. (All CB)

All with Kans, which responded well all the way up. I still have the 250 and 140, the former used for my centre channel and the latter as a back up.

While this a superb for analogue IF you are thinking of plugging in some digital it may prove interesting.

M

Thanks Mr. At this point my focus will be on the TT as source... But the thought has occurred to me that I might start to build out a Naim system at home too...

I have a general question for everyone regarding "romantic memories" Vs actual sound quality. I have read tons about the Nait and Kans and I have always wanted to try the combination but is that just romantic notion? Is the idea of the CB series wrapped up in fond memories or do these old pieces (if property serviced) still sound good?

I suspect that with Naim, as I have done with my Linn gear, I will be buying, trying, upgrading in search of audio nirvana... So where to start..? 

Thanks for your kind welcome and patience with this Naim virgin. 

The old Naim gear still does its magic. Which might explain why its still so much in demand secondhand, even after 30 or 40 years. It gets the musical fundamentals very right - always Naim's forte - it's great strength is the ability to pull you in to the performance engage you .  However, by now servicing of old kit is a must off its to perform to its full potential.

Here's a pic I took (slightly fuzzy - was on my phone in poor light) when I had my NAC42.5/NAP110, NAC62/HICAP/NAP110(140 upgrade) and NAC12 in the big system for some listening tests.  Just to wet your appetite...

Just to wet your appetite...

We’ll blame iOS autocorrect. 

.sjb

Richard Dane posted:

The old Naim gear still does its magic. Which might explain why its still so much in demand secondhand, even after 30 or 40 years. It gets the musical fundamentals very right - always Naim's forte - it's great strength is the ability to pull you in to the performance engage you .  However, by now servicing of old kit is a must off its to perform to its full potential.

Here's a pic I took (slightly fuzzy - was on my phone in poor light) when I had my NAC42.5/NAP110, NAC62/HICAP/NAP110(140 upgrade) and NAC12 in the big system for some listening tests.  Just to wet your appetite...

Oh my..... Chrome Bumper heaven! 

Sloop John B posted:

Just to wet your appetite...

 

We’ll blame iOS autocorrect. 

.sjb

Don't be too hard on iOS - it was an error on my part.

Welcome to the forum,

It's exciting building a new system and you have a decent source and speakers why not try something from the Olive range a Nait 2 and the 72/HC/140 are both very well thought of especially with a vinyl source but my main advice would be to upgrade that cartridge it's the first point of entry for the signal in your system and if you spent a bit more it would be very rewarding,  maybe a Denon DL110 or one of the less expensive MC's from Audio Technical.

Ok... Rookie question... What is the difference between the Chrome Bumper series and the Olive series? Do some models come in both series...? 

Sandals posted:

Ok... Rookie question... What is the difference between the Chrome Bumper series and the Olive series? Do some models come in both series...? 

The difference is essentially the case styling, and quite a few products were made in both styles. 

ChrisSU posted:

Sandals posted:

Ok... Rookie question... What is the difference between the Chrome Bumper series and the Olive series? Do some models come in both series...? 

The difference is essentially the case styling, and quite a few products were made in both styles. 

No wonder I find it very confusing... It's like a whole new language.. 

On their website, Naim have a Product History section, link below. The models which were both Chrome Bumper and olive can be seen as they are marked “new look”  in 1989. 

https://www.naimaudio.com/product-history

Also, the Naim model numbering can be a bit confusing (to put it mildly) without background. Pistsnon the following thread explain the pre and power model numepbers.

 https://forums.naimaudio.com/t...tem-of-naim-products

Thanks Eoink! That helps me a lot.

Another question, when the Chrome Bumper models converted to "new look", were the internals changed? Seems to be a lot of emphasis pu on the CB units?

Thanks

Alan 

Alan, some changes were very small, if any - such as Hicap, NAT02, NAP90, NAP140, NAP250 etc.. Others, like with the pre-amps, NAT01, NAXO etc.. were a little more extensive, albeit still remaining fairly similar.  Big internal changes came about early in the Olive period, around '93, with the closure of Holden & Fisher who had up until then made most all of the transformers for Naim.  The supplier changed to Nuvotem, who picked up some of the old H&F staff, to continue making something similar, although there are a few interim models out there, where H&F stocks held by Naim ran out before Nuvotem replacements were ready, that use St. Ives transformers.

The NAC42.5 developed into the NAC62, and aesthetics aside, CB 62 and Olive 62 are very similar.  The CB NAC32.5 became the NAC72.  Initially quite similar internally, but losing the all-important mono switch.  The NAC72 was further updated a couple of years later.

Oh, and there's a sort of "halfway house" between the "chrome bumper" look and the Olive look, that appeared with the new NAIT2 in 1988 and married the CB look with niceties like the illuminated Naim logo that appeared with the Olives.  This didn't last long - about a year - and was fairly quickly updated to a full Olive look, making the early NAIT2 particularly rare and hence sought after on the secondhand market.