Yes, when I first saw it I thought - what on earth has somebody done to that poor NAC12?!
I then called upon the longest standing tech boffin, who confirmed it would have been done by Naim.
I was quite surprised to say the least!
Regards
Neil.
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Iāll bet he didnāt 
Still regret to this day I didnāt frequent the innernet early enough to chat online with (I mean, be put in my place by) JV. An extraordinary man with some very original ideas about audio engineering.
Thanks for taking the trouble to post up those rather interesting pics - absolutely shockingly brilliant stuff!
In a previous life a certain Mr Tibbs thought heād reinvented the Naim wheel when he came up with a āsplit 0v HiCapā idea about 15 years ago. Seems he was upstaged by the firm itself!!! ( though it must be said he came up with something that looked a bit less like a car jump starter 
)
All that nonsense is apparently behind him. Well, almost.
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Gosh that looks a bit like one of those horror shows you see on other diy hifi forums! 
I had a Nac-12 SP and a Snaps DR which I used for years with a bolt down Nap-250. It is the only Nac-12 and Snaps of this configuration I have ever seen. I wish I had kept them nowā¦
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I bought a Lingo 2 āblindā based on universally positive reviews, and I didnāt find it to be a real improvement over the Lingo 1 (which I found to be a huge upgrade over the Valhalla).
The 2 was more refined, maybe, and with better āround earthā hi-fi attributes, but less lively and less engaging than the 1. If I was contemplating that again I would stick with the 1 and just get the mains filter modification done.
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Darran, was the NAC12SP similar to the one Neil Shows above with captive flying cables?
Could have been covered in this thread Richard but no doubt had experience with both
CB 160 vs CB 250 ?
Some prefer 160 with a āsweeterā sound overall
I have the 250 but could get my hands on a 160
Thoughts Richard
Thanks
That depends Bevo, as the NAP160 and NAP250 both changed quite a bit from their earliest bolt-down incarnations to their final āchrome bumperā form. The bolt-down amps were arguably a bit softer and perhaps sweeter but didnāt have quite the grip, tension and extra excitement of the last CB units.
The 250 I have looks as though it was a 1984 model looking at the serial number history , so I guess thatās a pretty early one
Iāll ask Harry re 160 history
The 250 is in really good condition all checked over, sounds pretty good to my ageing cloth ears
In CB terms, a 1984 NAP250 is a fairly late one. It will have the custom made NA001 transistors and maybe even the uprated 500VA transformer which arrived in '84.
Thanks Richard , good to know
I have an '85ā¦ 
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Me tooā¦ 
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Do you know the serial when the uprated psu was shipped?
[quote=āCorry, post:1432, topic:4045, full:trueā]I bought a Lingo 2 āblindā based on universally positive reviews, and I didnāt find it to be a real improvement over the Lingo 1 (which I found to be a huge upgrade over the Valhalla).
The 2 was more refined, maybe, and with better āround earthā hi-fi attributes, but less lively and less engaging than the 1. If I was contemplating that again I would stick with the 1 and just get the mains filter modification done.[/quote]
Thatās how I hear things too Corry. I think L1 vs L2 is a good example of where Linn have been going since their ātoe tappingā phase.
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I donāt. Naim might know but those records may well be lost now.
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Looks like my CB 250 is a later 1984 model. 
Just to add to that, my BD160 also sounds a bit lazy compared to the CB160, although it counters that by being more musically coherent, to my ears. Neither is perfect and the best one probably depends on the style of music being played. I suspect the majority of folks will prefer a CB160 with less analogue distortion, tighter sound and more correct overall pace. The 12/BD160s ability to make sense of multiple instruments and all the micro timing between them is alluring though and almost on par with a Nait 1.
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Well, Iāve finally got the whole Chrome-Bumper set: picked up a NAT 01 this morning for Ā£700ā¦ the NAP ST has the worst āgoldingā that Iāve ever seen, but a conversation with Darran this morning turned up a pristine fascia, still in its wrapper!
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Fantastic 
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