Because they’d have gone bust by now if they didn’t bring new products to the market, like any business.
Because the old amps excelled in the market they were intended for, offering the legendary Naim PRAT & performance that belied “on paper” specifications.
A performance that could be improved upon, by offering higher output - NAP160/180, or by regulated power supplies - NAP250/135. These larger beasts offered more power in reserve & more control over the speaker drive units.
Naim were not fond of stacking output devices in the past (hence the bridged design of the NAP500), however, recent advances in output device matching have allowed the design of the NAP350 monoblock.
So there were (and are) many reasons to not stand still.
Regards
Neil.
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Just because they are good doesn’t mean that what came next is not an improvement. The market changes over time too which requires a different approach.
Thanks Max
I am inclined to agree with you
Dave
Certainly a 90 will be just fine (indeed excellent) with an easy load (and small mid-bass), but once you move to something more demanding the extra control inherent in a 110 or 140 will be obvious. The 110 uses practically the same amp modules as found in the 250 & 135 and can therefore better maintain performance into more demanding speaker loads.
A quick bit of window shopping has surprised me in that 110/140s can be had for not much more than a shoebox 90. Annoyingly they all mostly have some minor case damage and will need a service, so a serviced mint one will be harder to find and not cheap!
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Do you still have ibl’s max? I loved them like crazy and more the sbl but unluckily it is long time I didn’t auditioned them. Now all my love is fore Devore fidelity and atc…but i feel you are not an atc fan
Yes I do.
My amp is now NAC 62, dual-railed SNAPS and NAP 90, all serviced and recapped. I use K20 with Naim SA8 plugs all ends, into IBLs. My room is 35 m2, but since I don’t need to make music for a party or a Luna Park, I find it just right and very enjoyable. I’ve had a 140 many years ago but never a 110. I love the NAP90.
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