Hi,
I bought the Naim Nait 5si and Naim CD5si and I am installing them now. But I am confused about the power switches, which are on the rear panel. Once placed, I can’t easily reach the rear panels.
Are the units designed to be permanently on? There is no standby switch…
Bye Jan.
Jan, yes, the units are designed to be left powered up - they use little power when idling- so they will be warmed and sounding at their best whenever you want to listen to them. If you go away on holiday then of course, switch them off
Per Richard, the idea is to leave them permanently on. My rear panel switches are just about reachable, can’t see them but can feel to touch. I turn mine off if I’m going away for a few days or more & if there is a thunder storm risk.
Remember with your new toys, turn on the CD (source) first then the amp, to turn off its the amp first & CD (source) last.
The standby feature has just started to be introduced in new products due to legislation
Thank you so much for the quick answer. The units are playing now and I am happy man 
I switched from Cambridge Audio to Naim and I am very happy with the sound on my Tannoy speakers. So, all British equipment. Very nice!
One more question: Would it be OK to use a multi-socket with a on/off switch to switch everything off when I am going away for a few days (only a few times per year)? Or is it important to switch the units individually in the right order?
See my previous post: “Remember with your new toys, turn on the CD (source) first then the amp, to turn off its the amp first & CD (source) last”
If you want to avoid a switch on & off thump from the amp, its not speaker damaging important, but better do it right & switch in the right order.
I am a bit worried now…
I have been away all afternoon and when I came back both units were pretty warm. Is that normal?
I was hoping the units would go into some sort of standby mode after a while, but they are still producing a lot of heat.
They should get warm but not hot. Have they got room to breathe, or are they in a very enclosed space? The casework is the heatsink, so they will get warmer in an enclosed space. Also make sure they aren’t sat one on top of the other.
They actually are warm, but not hot.
The units are not on top of each other, but are placed each on it’s own shelve (like the manual said). There is about 4.5 centimeter of space above each unit.
OK, that sounds fine. Warm is good. Hot is not.
OK, thanks for the help.
Here in The Netherlands, energy saving is a hot topic. So, that’s automatically in the back of your head all the time
I assume that this is a specific design decision by Naim to have the units permanently on?
Hallo opnieuw Jan, if you need to find out the minimum power consumption when not being used, the information is available in www Naim specifications for each of the units.
Its shown in units called VA(volt/amp) & although VA not a Watt in ISO terms, it can be assumed to be a Watt for this purpose
CD5si is 9VA (stop mode), 12VA (play mode), 16VA (peak)
Nait 5si is 19VA (not playing), 300VA (peak)
So when both are standing & not playing they consume about 28 Watts.
Oh, that is not much energy at all. I do n’t completely understand why the units are still warm with that low energy consumption.
In addition to the CD5si, I also have a BlueSound Node 2i connected (to the tuner input). Maybe the Nait 5si did not go idle this afternoon, because that input was selected. I switched to CD input and the units seem to be a bit cooler now. I will check again tomorrow.
Maybe, I should stop worrying and just enjoy the sound. The sound is really very nice!
Both units were not warm anymore this morning. So, everything is OK.
Congratulations on your wonderful combo. I too have the same as you, albeit a CD5si & NAIT5si. Even after 4 years of use they’re still delivering beautiful, beautiful sweet music, way beyond my expectations, even now. Mine too are cool to the touch most of the time, never getting any hotter than just luke warm, even after long listening sessions. It will take a bit of time for your equipment to settle down and become it’s optimum. As you say, don’t worry about anything and and just let yourself enjoy the ride.
Happy listening!
Thank you very much. I have started re-discovering my CD collection with this new combo. I am hearing things I never knew were there. I am loving every minute of it. This was a good choice.
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