Afternoon all
Does anyone know from back in the day which of the old CB stuff was sold together,by that I mean if you bought a 32.5 which power amp would be sold with it
I’m moving into our newly converted church so Nelly is going into my office and the plan is over the next two years to go from bottom to top on the CB stuff.
I’m presuming it will be 160/250 and then the final goal of 135’s,
And then that’s me done
Source will be Lp12 as I now have 2
Thanks in advance
M
Oops
Forgot the 90 and 110
It would have normally been sold as the 32.5 hi-cap and 250 fronted by an LP12.
CB 32, SNAPS and 250 was my first Naim in the early 80’s, and pretty much the only set-up that was put forward by my dealers.
Helluva system with LP12 and Kans.
Obvious ones to my mind are as follows but there are more models and lots of variations:
Bolt down 12/160
Bolt down 12/SNAPS/250
Bolt down 22/120
42/110 **
32/160 **
32/SNAPS/250 **
42.5/110
32.5/160
32.5/HICAP/250
32.5/HICAP/135s
62/HICAP/140
** I think you could skip these unless you want to be very thorough.
If you wanted to be really anal you could try to use the same version of MM / MC phono boards but personally I’d just stick to the final versions if you can find them, so 322/4 MM and 323/5 MC. Worth getting the correct type of MC card to best match your cartridge though. And obviously any MM cart needs to be a good match such as AT VM95EN.
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I had a 42.5/HiCap/140
with LP12 and Sarahs
Start at NAC42/NAP110 and finish at NAC32.5/HICAP/2 x NAP135s. Of course you could go further of you wanted to go active. Or you might just decide that a NAC42/NAP110 is so nice that you don’t bother going any further…
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NAC32.5 deserves a Hicap and a NAP250. Without doubt, one of the “all time greatest” amplifiers, and (heresy attack here) probably has never been beaten for sheer musicality and enjoyment.
If finances are favourable, then NAC3.5/Hicap/NAP135x2 would be the next step
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Okie dokie I’ll start with the42/110 Richard
Thanks all
In one reply the"latest version o phono boards" are mentioned
Are they available still from dealership?
Not sure if you have reviewed the Naim Product History web pages that shows the product progress against a time scale.
This may help you in your journey up the Chrome Bumper ladder
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Never even heard of it
That’s very helpful thanks
I don’t think the old 3 series boards are available new these days. However, there are plenty around secondhand. See the FAQ topic on here. IIRC the last versions were NA322/4 for MM, and NA323/5 for MC.
A fine start 8)
I’ve had these a few months now, they really are very good.
They replaced a XS3, which was also very good, just not as very good as the 42.5/110 
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I went up to 32.5/HC/250 then went back to 32.5/HC/160, it just sounded more engaging to me. You need to find your sweet spot.
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Up to early '84 32/Snaps/250 was Naim top of the line combi. Mid '84 HiCap was launched along with Nap 135s the latter was exactly 250 price X2, albeit here in Italy. With The HC arrival, preamps were updated to .5 spec.
42 and 32 are pretty much identical soundwise. For my recent experience Nap 90 Is already a very competent amp with enough grunt, very nice scale, dynamics and very sweet midrange.possibly even better than 110 or 110.
I already compared this with my Nait50.
When the Snaps will come in, i’ll be curious to compare with the 250 i already have
I agree with several of the above contributors, especially @Richard.Dane and @Faux75.
My Naim journey started with 32.5/110 in 1985. The following year I added a Hi-Cap which I felt was a significant improvement. A few years later I wanted to upgrade the power amp as the 32.5/Hi-Cap was still Naim’s top preamp. I tried 140, 250 and 135 power amps at my dealer using my LS3/5as. The 140 and 250 should have been an upgrade but although they had some strengths I felt they made the sound slightly thinner than the 110 and if they had been the only choice I would not have upgraded. However the 135s had the warmth of the 110 with better detail and dynamics than any of the other power amps so they were my choice.
The 32.5 was eventually replaced by a 282 but the Hi-Cap now powers a Superline and the 135s are still in daily use in my main system (they have been serviced a couple of times) and I feel no desire to replace them after 35 years.
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I prefer the 110 compared to both CB and Olive 250 for the exact same reason. The big amps have better low- bass definition and control, but everywhere else the little 110 smokes the 250 for musical engagement.
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Never regretted moving from Sugden A48 (I think it was) to 42/110 & then to 32.5/hicap/250. Never regretted sticking with my CBs which were at the time I bought them an aspirational product. Now over 30 years old. That makes them a musical bargain. I do of course have to get up and change the volume manually. Iconic products I think it’s fair to say.
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