Perfectly true.
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Ahh … Decware, very nice valve kit. Some day I’d like to setup a Decware integrated and a medium-level TT, with a nice little pair of good speakers, just for a separate vinyl area.
I owned a $400 NAD 316BEE rated at 45w into 8 ohms with dynamic output rated at 90w into 8 ohms. Those numbers doubled into 4 ohms.
With the right speakers it was quite impressive (for the price)
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I remember my NAD days, first real pieces of audiophile equipments. It had nice dynamic for sure.
If we take a NAP 250 DR, rated at 80W into 8 ohms, (measured around 150-160W into 4 ohms), with a peak power of 400 VA. What could be the peak power at 4 ohms?
You have to check the numbers from Naim. I dont think there’s a formula. Maybe i am wrong?
It is really rather simple: peak power of the amp is 400VA. It won’t be more than that at any impedance. Assuming there is nothing limiting the output at 4 ohms then tge peak will still be a maximum of 400VA. In simplistic terms VA is watts. So at 8 ohms peak is 5x rated (RMS) value. At 4 ohms it is the same max peak power but only around 2.5x RMS.
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Indeed. Though it is harder to ascertain with the new range. I believe Steve posted on the New Classic thread that they changed the labelling and documentation to give average consumption rather than the peak. So unless they mention it in the product write up, you won’t be able to tell from the labels on the back of the unit anymore.
How would you calculate the Naim Nait 50 then? They give 25watts in 8ohms continuous and 225watts peak.
50w into 4 Ohms. Still peak at 225w regardless.
Because these things don’t present a nice linear graph and because different speakers have dramatic differences in load at different frequencies you are rarely going to know how much headroom you have until you try. However, the very large transient capability of Naim amps gives you far more predictable performance across many speakers.
NAIM NAC32.5 and NAP140 - 45W into 8 ohms, 70W into 4 ohms driving KEF C80 SPEAKERS of 4 ohms nominal and 2 ohms minimum. No problem driving this difficult load. Most listen to western classical music, NAIM duo handles dynamics without any clipping at 1 o’clock volume.
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Transient handling at low impedances can be heard, as a “looseness” especially at higher volume.
Our SFs are 4 ohm nominal, dipping to 2.5 at around 100Hz.
On bass heavy tracks the 250DR sounded a little lost, but the 300DR maintains an iron grip on the lower frequencies, retaining their punch and definition. Of course before we had a 300DR we didn’t really know things were going awry.
Possibly the difference is the greater headroom on 400VA vs 500VA rated peaks. The 300 has more grunt, more in reserve (but only rated 10W more @ 8 ohms)
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This is one of the aspects a good dealer should really flag IMO. I suspect many of us have had an underpowered amp/speaker combo in our time, not appreciating the often material effect this can have on the soundscape. Source first is only a guide in these things.
And a better controlling amp can sometimes alleviate/mitigate room issues IME.
To be fair to our dealer SWMBO bought the SFs when we had only the SuperUniti in lounge. Auditioned on a 200DR and then 250DR.
Dealer advised care with volume with SU, and 250DR as minimum. We discussed the journey we wanted to go on. That’s where we went, with a 272/250DR (adding 250DR to SU first).
We were surprised at the difference a 300DR made to our baby SFs. I can only imagine what people running things like Novas on a 250DR are missing out on.
In hindsight we should have gone 272/300DR in the first place.
When we asked about move to 252 dealer said time was right to get 300DR as well, good advice as it turns out.
We’re now in the right place, everything nicely matched and electronics which could now cope with better speakers.
A good dealer (or dealers in our case) is a great thing to have, and relationships with dealers should be cultivated and maintained. You hear all sorts of gossip!