In the past, i found the 250 a little slower and darker than 140. The 160 being not regulated should be more similar to 140
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As newbie to Naim and CB, imho the serviced CB250 sounds to me a highly matured design, so transparent that it could sound like anything by playing around with plugs and cables, and the music the preamp/ps feeds to it. Partner with the late components and cables it sounds fast and furious, with early stuff itās softer and sweet
Recently read JVās past interview he regarded the softness of bolt down amps as an issue.
[Julian Vereker's Last Interview ā The Tom Tom Club]
"Early on, the biggest performance improvement came after I discovered how important the mechanical mounting of the power transistors was - the earliest 250s tended to go āsoftā rather quickly, especially if they were driven hard. When we went over to the extruded casework in 1980, we redesigned the boards to what they are now, but the actual component values are still basically the sameā
In that sense CB is a better design, but with now all being history we just pick gears sound right to our beloved music! Definitely want to hear what a 160 sounds like in person.
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Maybe the nickel Naim plugs clean up the sound a bit? With gold plated RCA plugs (maybe) a bit warmer. But think I saw JVās interview about A4 vs K20, he said the insulation is different (K20 is āinferiorā) and so it sounds different.
By the way Murmur, did you try with different vintage power leads as well? Though I doubt it would be make significant differences, not sure if even-earlier vintage lead would lead to even better result.
Oh yes I tried that. With black Snaic the system sounds so perfect that it cleaned up most of Kanās sound colouration, it would be my choice if one day I had enough of vintage sound.
But that unique colouration of Linn speakers of that period, achieved only by Naim CB amplification+grey snaic, could really recalled my childhood time in the 80s, Itās part of the chain!
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I always stuck to the original leads. Apart from my bolt down 160, the UK power cord was always the same for vintage Naim gear so there were no options. Non Naim cords always sounded worse.
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Cheers Murmur, was just thinking if there were any specified cables of the CB period, for the last bit of perfection. Otherwise Iām all good with the Crabtree/Pirelli! (Thanks to Richardās suggestions)
Just picked up this beauty for a side project. Got a good deal because there are no phono boards (Iāve got plenty spare lying around)ā¦
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I agree. Itās strange that the styling of the early Naim amps is so rarely commented upon. I think itās superb in its simplicity, understatedness, straightforward functionality and tactile response too. For some reason I love volume controls that give you the impression of doing almost nothing as you turn them. I think theyāre a pinnacle of design, especially with the sans-serif typeface and very original logo.
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Iād say youāre in for a treat. NACA5 is a quite astonishing cable, especially after K20. It really has never ceased to amaze me what that cable does.
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The NAC 62 arrived today:
Nice to see that itās got the superb ALPS āBlack Beautyā potā¦ I popped some āKā boards that I had spare in itā¦
Also nice to see that it came with its blanking plug (didnāt mention that in the listing 
). The PreH DINs must be a later addition: Iām sure the CB NAC 62 never shipped with themā¦
Up and running with a HiCapā¦ the NAC 62 is probably the loveliest CB Pre-amp ever madeā¦
ā¦
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Good but easily outperformed by Nac 32 and Nac 32.5.
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And IĀ“d say it got ārecentlyā serviced
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Looks a bit different to my NAC62ā¦
For example at least the bolt for the star earthing is not present on my 62ā¦
And the locking din sockets are an additionā¦
Seems mine has the Black Alpsā¦
@fergch āStar-earthing boltā? Whereās that on the photoā¦? Apparently the āBlack Beautyā ALPS pot is superior to the later āBlue Velvetā. Iāve got NAC 32.5s with both of them in, and much prefer the black ALPSā¦
What do CB owners think about their CB systems and the era of popular music that best suits in terms of balance? Obviously you can play anything and this is a generalisation, but my thinking is that 70s and early 80s analogue recordings sound spot on. Whereas my early 2000 Linn setup (also with LP12) sounds most well balanced with digital recordings from 80s to 00s. Current day Naim systems sound more neutral to my ears so are probably good all-rounders.
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Itās not a question Iāve ever asked myself. Given my NDX2/xpsdr sounds great through my 32.5/hicap/250 Iām thinking the CB doesnāt favour 70/80s music. What I do think, likely contentious, is the huge slabs of 180gm vinyl are often worse sounding than their lightweight counterparts from yesteryear. Why did 180gm become the modern holy grail I often ask myself?
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I wonder if itās the weight or other factors though. Arenāt a lot of modern re-issues just taken from a digital master? And even if it is a more expensive re-issue using the original analogue tapes, then 30-60 year old tapes are surely not at their very best.
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No doubt youāre correct but couldnāt we have 120gm vinyl (for e.g)) and pay a bit less? Iām not greedy. Iām happy to share vinyl around especially as the extra grams donāt appear to improve sound quality.
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