Nait 2 amp not working

Hi-Fi Corner
1

Hi
I’ve recently tried connecting-up a Nait 2, KEF 103/3 speakers with a Philips CD160. When I plug the CD player in via a 5‑pin DIN to RCA cable, I only get very faint audio through the speakers, and the volume knob and input selector don’t seem to make any difference. Same thing happens when the CD player is plugged into the AUX and TUNER ports. I also have a Kef Kube 1033 which was left unconnected. The system hasn’t been used for 10+ years.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Cheers, Paul

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2

Make sure that the central selector on the NAIT 2 is set to Normal and not Mon or Mute.

Otherwise, check the RCA Phono to DIN5 cable just in case it has the REC pins connected instead of the PLAY ones.

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3

The volume pot may be corroded, try twisting the volume knob 20-30 times (or more) obviously being careful not to over drive your speakers (hint - disconnect them ).

4

Thank-you for your replies.

I checked the central selector is set to normal, the RCA Phono to DIN5 cable has the PLAY pins connected and moved the vol control as suggested.

I’ve subsequently dusted-off and connected a Rega Planar 2 turntable to the amp via RCA and still no sound through the speakers.

Is there anything else I can try before getting the unit professionally examined/repaired ?

Cheers, Paul

5

When you switch the Nait on via the front panel switch, do you get a secondary pop through the speakers a few seconds after the initial pop?

Regards
Neil.

1 Like
6

Hi Neil

I’ve powered the amp on/off with only the speakers connected and :

  • when first turned-on, there was a loud 3 second buzz/crackle noise
  • shortly after, the unit was power cycled again and there was a short buzz and then half a second later another short buzz
  • there is now a constant background crackle through the speakers that wasn’t there yesterday

Thanks in anticipation of any assistance.

7

Has the unit ever been serviced?

Regards
Neil.

8

No it hasn’t - the unit was purchased back in the 80’s and used intermittently over the years.

We recently tried connecting it up after not being used for the last 10 years and experienced the problems as described.

Cheers, Paul

9

One of the first points of failure due to old age with these, is that the capacitor in the switch on mute circuit no longer charges to a high enough voltage to switch the output relay on.
I suspect this may be the case here.

Regards
Neil.

2 Likes
Nait 2 no sound
10

Thanks for all your help Neil - I’m going to arrange a repair and long overdue service via my local retailer.

Cheers, Paul

11

I would clean and oil all the switches, then see what happens.

12

Hi

Got my Nait 2 back from service and it’s working great again. Next problem though… my KEF 103/3 Kube bass equaliser has completely died.

I’ve been looking around and it seems you can get pretty close to the Kube’s effect by running the audio sources through my WiiM Pro Plus and using its parametric EQ to copy the Kube settings, then feeding the WiiM into the Nait 2.

Before I go down that route, I’d like to ask what people think about this approach.
Is the WiiM emulation likely to be close enough to the real Kube ?
Any downsides ?
And does anyone know anywhere that still repairs these things ?

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Cheers, Paul