It’s very much the thing with ex-City lawyers these days, I believe.
Keep football out of it
I wouldn’t think that a Nait 5 would give the best account of NAIM into 5k speakers, I’d suggest a Supernait 2 second hand would be more representative - and should have similar availability. Is the OP based in the US?
No the OP is based in the UK. I just happen to like these very US based speakers uncommon on the British Isles (just like other possible US greats like Maggies which is a temptation too yet far more common here - but I won’t go down that road yet in this thread).
Demo the Naim amp at your dealer if you like ask for a home demo and see if you like it. I have never heard or used of the other components in you system so do not know what impact they will have on the sound.
Best thing is to give it a listen in the shop and then at home and then make a decision.
Good luck… and have some fun.
Heck - I forgot - I do have an Olive Naim Nait 2 kicking around in amongst my collection of amassed separates over the years (I have a lot of selling to do)… I bought it years ago and never bothered to hook it up in my main system.
Will this amp I have handy be good enough? I guess I don’t want the experience to be bad first time round and some might say play safe and get a used Nait 5 from a dealer. But I thought I would throw that option in anyway. The Naim will be connected to 2x 5 metre pair of Van Den Hul The Snowline speaker cable (multi-strand).
The nait 2 will do just as well as a nait 5.
Hopefully your NAIT 2 hasn’t had too much kicking as, provided it’s in good health, it’s an absolute honey of an integrated amp. There are even some who reckon it’s the best thing Naim have ever made. I wouldn’t go that far but it’s a lovely little thing, limited in power, but powerful beyond it’s modest spec, and always puts the music first.
Note though that it’s definitely old-school Naim though in that the speaker cable and the connection (NACA4 or NACA5 and SA8s pretty much mandatory here) are critical - see the FAQ here to read why…
If you have a Nait2 then you are off to a flying start - congratulations! But, I would strongly recommend getting it serviced, as it will not be giving its best if in original factory issued spec, and definitely not giving a true representation of what the small and mighty Nait is capable of. Please do not underestimate the importance of this as the amp will not be performing optimally given its age. A serviced Nait (inc the Nait5) will help to give a more accurate representation of the Naim house sound. ClassA in Sheffield are an approved Naim service agent, alternatively a factory refresh via a dealer.
Looking forward to reading how you get on!
Haha! Classic!
Please be sure to follow Richard’s speaker cables advice when you hook it up to your system.
Yes, I have the NAC 5 cable that came with it at the time - this is half the reason it put me off putting it in my main system - that thick cable.
Are you sure my VDH Snowline won’t work with it? If so - then I can run that cable temporarily from the Naim Nait 2 I guess.
I bought the Naim Nait 2 as part of a system which included an Arcam Alpha CD Player and Linn stand-mount speakers along with their stands (I can’t recall the model of the Linn speakers someone here might be able to guess then I will remember - they are all from the same era).
The Nait 5 (or similar) will run with my vdh cable I assume.
The NAIT 5 is similar to the NAIT 2 in its speaker cable requirements.
Do you know what is the inductance and capacitance per meter with the Van Den Hul cable?
VDH aren’t saying but it doesn’t look too bad.
I’d go for a longer length though and that still leaves the Naim speaker plugs.
What HiFi reckon it sounds a bit restrained and flat, Use the A5.
I have a vague recollectiom that your VDH cable has quite high capacitance - a friend had some a few years ago and there were some specs on the paperwork that came with it. Using it with a Naim amp won’t cause it to spontaneously explode, and it’s safe to try it, but it might not sound at its best, and it might run a bit hot, especially if pushed hard. My advice would be to try it, and then use your NACA5 and see if it improves.
If you can’t cope with the stiffness of NACA5 there are plenty of more flexible alternatives you could consider that have good compatibility with Naim amps.
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I will bring the Nait 2 in from out of the cold (quite literally, it’s in my mother-in-laws empty annex) - power it up and have it running with something on repeat through some cheap speakers - thus allowing the Nait to warm up and run in again (at the same time using cheap speakers to ensure no dangerous back-firing occurs).
Anyway, while we are on that subject of speaker cables - you also say the Nait 5 requires NAC cables too - what it the lowest cost yet performant integrated Naim amp that can be used with regular set of speaker cables?
You could select a power amp - but I would only have an NVA P50 passive pre to connect it with - I don’t want to lose that Naim ‘boogie factor’ sound using anything outside of the Naim religion at the core.
… I am currently learning about Nait 5’s here on this very forum titled (I can’t post links which is frustrating - perhaps the moderators don’t trust me yet) “Help, Naim nait 5i vs 5i (italic)”
The forum works on trust levels; you start at 0 and gradually the system increases your level depending on activity - note that if posts have to be moderated or even removed then trust level can go down too!
As for links, no unauthorised commercial or review links here in the Hifi Corner please. Thanks.
As for Naim amps that are a bit more tolerant of speaker cables that fall outside of Naim’s recommendation, then you’re looking at the NAIT 5i, Unitis etc. Of course, that doesn’t mean they will sound any good or any better than NACA5 with the Naim amps…
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You can turn it around too and get a set of Linn K20 which works great on older Naim amps and gives a good impression of the character. Its cheap too.
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Rather than choosing an amp that is tolerant of speaker cables I would suggest that you choose the amp that suits your tastes, budget and speakers. Change the speaker cables if necesary. There are plenty of cables which will work with any Naim amp if you don’t want to use NACA5. Anything from Chord or Witch Hat, Naim’s older NACA4, Linn K20, Kudos KS1 will all be fine.
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Thanks - one thing at a time I guess - Naim Nait 2 (after running it in again) - then temporarily use the NAC A5 cables strewn across the floor - hopefully this will give me a good impressions. I will tell you if it doesn’t.
Sorry thinking ahead of myself here (after I should trythe Naim sound) - are older (therefore cheaper) Naim integrated amps powerful enough to drive current hungry Magnepans?