Naim Chrome Bumper

Just extended my collection again. NAT 02

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Very smart!

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Very nice! I saw one pop up for sale recently online. I was sorely tempted and very nearly pulled the trigger on it. Could it be that one I wonderā€¦?

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Where did you find that Richard ?

Very rare Iā€™m envious !

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It did indeed pop up on the usual online auction site. The seller appears to be more about antiques/house clearances although they also have a 140 and 250 listed.

Congratulations on the 02. Itā€™s jaw dropping. What sort of antenna are you using?

Is it this one that sold a few days ago? I decided not to go for it due to what appeared to be a faded display. If it is the one you got then youā€™ve proven looks can be deceiving!

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Thanks! Yes, thatā€™s the one. The display (led) is pretty dim when off station but nice and bright when it has tuning lock. Iā€™ve had an olive 02 previously and it did the same.

I live just under 4 miles from the Sutton Coldfield mast so BBC signals can be got with wet stringā€¦ I have a 3 element Antiference FM aerial which seems to work well enough.

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Very nicely done. Even better that itā€™s paired with a Nait 50.

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Iā€™ve not got to listen properly yet (will do this weekend) but there is something special about the sound from a Naim tuner. Iā€™ve got 2 Denons and a NAD which are top performers in their own right but Naim has, in previous experience, the ability to draw you in for hours without fatigue.

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Naim and CBā€™s newbie here joining the Team CB, think Iā€™m one of the small amount of CB users in Hong Kong/Asia

I was still a Accuphase class A amplifier owner few months ago, not until I heard a set of 32/snaps/bd250/kan mk1 at a elder audiophileā€™s home, and became a Naim converted instantly. I ended up bought his pair of Kan, sold my Accuphase, and dived into the Naim/Linn magic fully.

32.5 unserviced bought locally, hicap & 250 bought from auction sites, that were serviced by Darran through previous owners. First firing up itā€™s already sounds great. I was first connected the set with LP12, 834P and Falcon 3/5a gold badge ā€“ lean, clean sound, good dynamic, but never had that involving sound I experienced before. The MM phono boards are simply unlistenable. I said to my friend such sound wouldnā€™t make Naim famous.

Then I connected the set to the Kan MK1, with Kan Mk2 stand and skeet, the magic I heard before (maybe 50%) came back. (PS: The Accuphase drove the Kan terribly as well, simply unlistenable.) Now I know what they were mean to be paired up.

Funny thing is, now with the phono cards it sounds much better than with a 834P, apparently the Kan MK1 were tuned up for the chrome bumper set. Everything sounds perfectly coherent now.

With only few hours the sound was softened a bit, becomes more romantic and warmer, details in midrange started to show. I expect it will sound like good valve sound later, mellow and romanyic. My girlfriend used to miss the Accuphase a lot, now she sings along with the 32.5/hicap/250.

I could understand lot of previous posts there are preference to bolt down and older machines, but as a new convert it seemed a very good start to me.

Cheers and will share more listening experience in future!

Julius

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One more interesting thing is, I tried both gray Snaic 5 and black Snaic 5 connecting the 32.5 and Hi Cap.

The black Snaic 5 offers a modern sound ā€“ clean, fast, better dynamics. But the gray Snaic 5 made the whole set sounds perfectly coherent, less detailed but less aggressive, softer sound and match better with Kan MK1ā€™s colouration.

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Welcome Julius!

Thatā€™s a very clean looking set you have there!

Worth trying to source a pair of 322/4 cards if you can but they are hard to find.

I would also get the preamp serviced by Naim or an approved service agent. I borrowed a tidy unserviced 32.5 from my dealer because I read someone preferred unserviced. Anyway, it was not for me. Same with a serviced vs unserviced 42.5 that I also compared another time.

Kans vary quite a lot, both the original sound (e.g., KEF SP1003 vs SP1057) and how they have been cared for, plus caps drifting too of course. Maybe try to find one or two more pairs. If you need a more neutral sound then early Kan 2s are also good but not quite as special / coherent to my ears, yet still very good indeed.

You could also try original LP12 feet and Ikea Lack table (with insides removed) for that 100% late 80s sound :wink:

Glad youā€™re enjoying this wonderful era of British HiFi and maybe a bolt down 160 or 250 will turn up one day.

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I prefer grey SNAIC too - youā€™ve done well to find one.
The original thin grey interconnect will also work well.

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Great system that really makes the Linn Kanā€™s sing !
A free upgrade is to move the Nac 32 away from the power amp and Hicap.

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@juliushui - nice system ! I have the same boxes and enjoy them. I found using Powerlines on the 250 and HiCap makes a nice difference without changing the character of the soundā€¦getting those boxes off of each other will also reap free benefits :grinning:

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@Murmur

Hi Murmur, I would love to write you a big thank you as I learnt a lot from your listening journey toward your ultimate sound! (I read all 2000 replies of this thread before any shoppings, and love your series of opinions regarding sound coherency, also big thanks to Richard, Neil and all forum members in this thread)

The last owner gifted me all the original cards in the set included NA322/4! I was lucky then

And OK let me get them serviced! I believed in your experience as I know whatā€™s the sound you look for. May need to ask helps in the UK as the only dealer here got 0 experience in servicing vintage Naim gears as far as I was toldā€¦

Sure :ok_hand:t2: my Kans seemed sound right but cosmetically poor, I look for another pair for comparision! (Probably got much better budget after selling the Falcon 3/5a)

Ah Ok! Thanks for the great tips! I will source the stuff
At the moment Iā€™m using 3 wood blocks put under the LP12, stand on a isoacoustics platform. The isocoustics pucks also put under the set of CB.
Do you recommend the LP12 goes back to pre-cirkus (with cirkus at the moment) in terms of coherency? I also got a G-707 on handsā€¦

Iā€™m truly enjoy the British HiFi from that era. I know it maybe kind of British culture of being mean/sarcastic to say ā€˜flat earthā€™, but I mean itā€™s not so flat earthā€™ in truth ā€“ beside the business things, at that same period the Naim/Linn combination were also highly praised by audiophiles here (included Japan and Korea) sound wise.

Cheers Murmur, thanks again for the lovely advices

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Now I know what you mean music consistency/coherency before. Itā€™s so apparent that by changing just one cable and sounds so different.

Thanks a lot for the advice Igel! Sure! I will try different placementa later

But to me the CB set has the least sound difference regarding different placement, while this set is still very revealing indeed. made me think lot of contemporary gears are made to push for revenue from accessoriesā€¦

Cheers Varyat! I know itā€™s one of the golden combos in Naimā€™s history, but could never find any demos on Youtube. Was worry a bit as itā€™s different from the set I fell in love to (32/snaps/bd250). Now Iā€™m relieved ā€“ I may crave for an even-softer sound in future, but being ex Accuphase user itā€™s a perfect entry point to me.

For the powerline cables, Iā€™m sure they are great, but for my taste and my listening room (a small office+close field listening), Iā€™m using the classic Cabtree power cables and they produce beautiful and mellow music, which is just right to me. Thanks a lot for the advice!

Thank you .
Having had many boxes over the years BD,CB,Olive,Classic,500, my experience is not that CB is less sensitive to placement , little less sensitive than Bolted down BD.

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