Naim Chrome Bumper

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OK, well I would be tempted to stick with what you have for now and concentrate on the source for your next few upgrades. The NAC62 was basically made for vinyl and having been serviced your amp combo should be tip top for the next decade. One thing you might wish to discuss with Peter at Cymbiosis are the phono boards. IIRC, heā€™s a fan of running the 10X5 into MC boards - perhaps consider a pair of NA323E or 323Rs

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Yes, I have an SL-1600 Mk2 in my Technics collection. Itā€™s a nice deck, and I actually prefer it to the SL-1200 Mk2. However, a good LP12 should be a nice step in in many areas.

iā€™ve the 322/4 and the 323/? phono board just serviced

I had an SL1600mk2 back in the early 80s, but for me, a Rega Planar 3 was a better turntable, and a Linn in another league.

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OK, well, have a chat with Peter.

Richard - What are 323R boardsā€¦? New variant to me.

Later versions of the E boards (for EMT) were sometimes labelled as R (for Roksan). The Roksan Shiraz being closely related to the EMT.

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Thanks. Learned somethingā€¦ :smile:

what else is in your Technics collection?

Iā€™m almost ashamed to admit - too many! Turntable highlights though are the aforementioned SL-1600 Mk2, a mint-in-box SL-150 Mk2, SL-1200 Mk2, SL-1500 Mk2, SL-1500, SL-10, SL-7. It was getting a bit out hand so I sold off or gave away a number of others this year, including a mint pair of very early SL-120 and SL-1200s.

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Wow!
Iā€™ve had a lot of turntable in past (technics 1600mk2, 1700mk2, 1800mk2, 1200mk2, lenco 78s, thorens td160, pioneer pl600x, linn axis, roksan xerxes ) but I think that the plug n play of the technics is hard to beat!

I have a Dynavector 10x5 on my LP12 and Iā€™ve just switched from 522 to 523S boards on my NAC82 and itā€™s loads better. Iā€™ve played Tony Joe White and Kebā€™ Moā€™ and the bass is clearer with no muddiness or boom. Kick drum is still felt as well as heard! Elsewhere in the frequency range is clearer too. Iā€™ve not noticed any ā€˜overloadā€™ issuesā€¦so far.

The boards have been serviced by Darran and the 82 is powered by a Supercap.

@GadgetMan

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Anyone here compared 32 to 42 or 32.5 to 42.5? Were you able to draw any firm conclusions?

I have serviced and unserviced of both 32.5 and 42.5 and itā€™s quite tricky (using same phono cards). Also, I seem to recall Julian wrote that there were more differences between batches than there were the amp models. Must say that I find their differences very consistent in the models Iā€™ve owned so far, including a 32 and 42 as well.

Iā€™m not 100% settled but the 32.5 seems to carry the tune better and the 42.5 seems to have snappier timing. The sound differences are a bit easier to discern with the 32.5 being a little fuller and warmer. The 42.5 is sounding a bit ā€˜thinā€™ at times, depending upon the LP - in another system this might be a benefit.

What do you guys think?

Iā€™d like to sell a couple of them but itā€™s proving difficult to pick.

Back when i bought my first 32 in around 1982-83, my dealer Chris Thomas of Chris Thomas Audio, who later became a good friend told me that he felt that the 32 was consistently better than the 42, even though the 42 could theoretically be better due to the simple layout. He demonstrated the two for me and i remember at the time we both considered the 32 to outperform the 42 even with a Snaps added to the 42. I bought the 32 along with a 110 and was very happy with the combo driving Kans. I later added a Snaps and a 250 and swapped Kans for Saras, again very nice. That set with my LP12/Ittok/Asak ā€˜Tā€™ stayed with me for 4 years until i sold the whole system to buy a new car after 1st passing my driving test. I still consider that system to be the most musical iā€™ve owned.

Iā€™ve since had a few 32ā€™s pass through my hands that i preferred to 42/62/72 iā€™ve owned, but they were likely not as good as my first one, and a good service was likely needed to bring it back to its best. If vinyl is your thing, and especially a pre Cirkus/Valhalla/Ittok LP12, a 32/32.5 is a gem.

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Thanks Gary. Youā€™ve had some very nice systems there.

That is yet another question for me to answer - serviced or unserviced preamp? Again, I hear pros and cons. All my power amps are serviced though. The best timing Iā€™ve ever heard was using some unserviced preamps (plus early Nait 1). However, there seems to be a price to pay in other ways. A serviced 32.5 with unserviced phono cards has been my compromise more recently. We need to send someone back in time to buy up a load of stock and bring it back to us.

Have you a preference for 32 over 32.5 when driven straight off the power amp, or does it depend on the rest of the system? Iā€™ve had one serviced 32 so far and it was a long way off the 32.5 but that makes me a bit suspicious cos I had a serviced 42 that was quite nice.

Never done a 32 vs 32.5 shootout as such, having just used them in different systems. I certainly hear you regarding serviced and unserviced. I have an unserviced Nait 1 here and it sounds magical, and iā€™ll not get it serviced unless i hear it not sounding right. My feeling is that some of the changes in components and the unleaded solder changes the characteristics of the amp, and not always for the better.

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I suspect a lot comes down to batch variation with those CB preamps. I briefly had an unserviced CB 62 that was not far behind my fully rebuilt 32.5 in a hicap/250 system. I also briefly had an unserviced 42 that was thin and reedy. Not good.

Obviously age plays a role but itā€™s not always straightforward. I had an unserviced Nait 1 that was spectacular. Later acquired a younger CB hicap that was totally shot.

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I think thereā€™s a lot of truth to that Gary.

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Thanks Gary and snarfy. Yes, I do slightly regret not leaving that red LED Nait. It carries a tune better now but is not quite as special, although at least I donā€™t have to worry about it going pop.

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