I have said that for a long time Clive. IMO the NAT 01 is probably the best product they made. When it sparkles it can be the best source I have. We must use it for a good four or five hours every day. You have some say in what’s played by choosing what chanel you tune it to but on the whole I leave our on Smooth FM and let someone else have the choice, I can choose any other material at any time of I use the CD 555 or Roksan TMS.
I bought mine second hand from a guy in Germany in the early 2000’s, I immediately had it serviced and replaced the standard PSU with the XPS-t which takes it to another level. I will never sell it, even if they stop broadcasting in FM, I will keep it as a collectors piece.
Same here. This one is for keeps just like my rebuilt Revox B77 which I bought and spent more than I care to even think about to record live broadcasts from the NAT01. Both together on a live broadcast are superb.
A bit shamefully will now try leaving my 01 on for a while, 2 days now. Will be working from home tomorrow so will coincide my lunch break with the R3 Live lunchtime broadcast for a more critical listen. Happy problem to have
Well that went well. Two Beethoven piano sonatas live from Wigmore Hall. Utterly captivating. And the sound quality really is stunning. The silence between movements had me holding my breath along with the audience, who you could almost sense doing the same thing.
The XPS-T was a special version of the Naim XPS2 designed to power the NAT01. It was made to special order and provided NAT01 owners with a worthwhile upgrade in performance. Not many were sold, IIRC most went to the USA.
Yes, that was an incredible concert. I didn’t turn on the radio until part way through and got silence to such an extent that I thought something had gone awry. Luckily the next movement then started. That’s just with a humble NAT05 and five element aerial.
I’m almost every week in London and it strikes me how many aerials are still around. Is this laziness, or are people really still using them for Radio? Where I live in the Netherlands, all antennas are long gone.
I’m tempted to get one (aerial, can’t afford a NAT01).
OK reading is is good, but here is my ‘Rough Guide’ to domestic aerials
All UK TV aerials are UHF & look like something like this, some more complex, some simpler. some longer, some shorter. Main thing is they are aprx 30cm wide
FM radio aerials look like something like this, some more complex, some simpler. some longer, some shorter. Main thing is they are aprx 1.5m wide
Update; having kept the 01 on 24/7 now for 3 days I can 100% confirm it is worthwhile. I keep thinking “time to put a record on” but the sound is just so easy on the ear than I keep listening to the next track. Radio 3 all morning. For transmission of recorded media the 01 is still bested by the LP12, but by a less significant margin now it has warmed up fully (or maybe there is more to come?). On live transmission yesterday, however, the 01 was simply sublime.
Chris, I don’t want to hijack the topic, but I got a good Technics radio half a year ago. Even using just a piece of copper wire as antenna I could hear that the Radio people were actually in a studio and I did hear all kind of background noise / breathing etc … fascinating experience compared to DAB in my car.
Plans for FM shutdown are stopping me to put a real antenna on the roof for now.
If you live in the UK then you can relax regarding FM shutdown because the BBC has confirmed that it now intends to keep FM going and there are no plans to turn it off.
Best
