Naim Chrome Bumper

I have a soft spot for olive too, so nice. Looks great!

Thanks for the kind words fellas. Yes it’s hard to believe the 120 and 22 are so old. They’re in fantastic condition, I had toyed with idea of selling them when I bought them but having had a simple repair done recently and then subsequently listening to them I realised that parting with them would be a mistake. They sound great.

Did some more bits and pieces today. Jon triggered my OCD with his four black powerline lite plugs and I realised I had a spare so whilst repairing the power cable I made up one with a powerline lite plug too. The last plug is the light (outrageous I know to have a non hifi component plugged into ones clean power source but never mind). Could splash out and fit a powerline lite plug to that too, would that be madness? :crazy_face:

Nice and clean now - blackout;

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That takes me back to my first fully-Naim System - sometime around 1976 or so, IIRC.

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As much as I wanted the 32.5 / HiCap / 160, the seller ended up being a little dodgy… So… I settled on the following:

Naim NAC 102 + NAP180 + NAPSC.

Hopefully I will acquire CB gear in the near future.

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I really quite liked the 102 when I had one on dem a few years ago. They are quite cheap now for some reason, a comparative bargain i’d say considering how nice they sound.

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Nothing wrong with Olive gear. Although a later 72 and HC would go well with that 180. As would a 140!

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You’re right - but again, like hens teeth out my way - HC definitely on the cards though :slight_smile:

Tell me about it. Dealers don’t have any. Ebay has stupid prices. And always allow for a service. I’ve seen olive HCs go for over £500 with zero service history.

Definitely cheap when you consider what is being paid for certain CB items on the popular auction sites. Perhaps not comparing apples with apples though, but this particular system sounds great and looks cool too which is secondary for me but always a plus. Only problem is it will be noticed as it looks nothing like the Cyrus kit it is replacing in my study :wink:

Just for context here… I’ve been watching a couple of HC’s on that site and factoring in shipping and exchange, I’ve paid an equal sum for my 102/180/napsc

I contacted about 5 dealers including some well known UK dealers. Non got back to me in over 2 months, yet one well known one has shown 2 olive HC on their site.

Question for you, of no real importance other than to remind my failing memory. Back in 1982 when I first got really interested in HiFi I listened to a few systems in a few shops, one was a full spec system with LP12, Naim amps and Isobariks, that would have either been February to April or September/October, they would have been Naim’s top of the range at that time, does anyone have any idea what they would have been?

In 1982, Naim’s TOTL for Isobariks would have been a NAC32, SNAPS, NAXO, and 3 x NAP250.

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Thanks Richard, I think the shock of how good it all was wiped it all from my mind!

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How awesome that this exact setup would still blow most other systems out of the water nearly four decades later…

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Hi there (apologies for a longer post),

I’d appreciate advice if someone experienced similar issues and got them solved!

Last year I had my (1984) 42/110 fully serviced at Naim.

It sounded very good before the service, but I believed, as the previous service was done in 2009, that it was time to refresh it.

It was my second system and not used daily as the main one was 252/SC DR/250 DR.

It came back with report what has been done and that the gear was tested after the service.

I connected it to the same system (Naim UnitiServe/nDAC, Linn LP12, Wilson Benesch Discovery) with same cables and it sounded awful.

I thought that it needed some burn in time to settle but no improvement happened.

Main problem was/is the distortion which is present in the whole frequency range and especially noticeable in the midrange - particularly (male) voices, guitars (both acoustic and electric), saxophone, vibraphone,…

This makes it sound very unpleasant and harsh. Almost unlistenable.

  • Bass is not defined and is somehow dominant. Some sounds/frequencies are now somehow “moved back” (voices, snare drum)

  • The sound lost clarity, transparency and liveliness.

Never heard a Naim amp that sounded that slow.

I contacted Naim support and got reply that it could have taken some damage during transit.

I am not sure that sending it back to Naim would help so I am reluctant to do that. That would add significant logistics costs to 700 pounds already spent.

Finally, I gave up and thought that the gear reached the end of its lifecycle.

A couple of weeks ago a friend lent me a 1984 Nait 1 serviced 3 or 4 years ago which sounded as it should.

That made me think that there is a chance to repair my 42/110.

Any thoughts?
G

If it arrived sounding like that then it would most likely indicate that something had indeed happened on its return trip (Naim give all kit a listen test after service). I would get it back to Naim ASAP. AFAIK, all service and repairs are guaranteed for 12 months.

Thanks Richard!

I was 21 when I heard that, previously I had graduated from an Eko stereo to a Pioneer “separates” stack from Curry’s to listening to that, it was quite a shock, sadly pay in the navy didn’t allow such purchases, it was another 15 years before I eventually bought my first Naim amps

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If still under warranty then definitely send it back. That’s a very nice pre/power not doing what it should and therefore not doing anything at all.

I have those speakers too and just love them. Amazing bass from such a small unit