Go for it PerF
Have you still not opened yours?
Interesting - which has better soundstage and imaging do you think ?
For me the Nait 50 does. The SuperNait are good, but they donāt have the fleet of the foot of the nait50. To my ears the soundstage is more like 252DR or 552DR on the Nait50ā¦ very impressive (but doesnāt have the sheer large room power of the bigger amps) . However I do think soundstage is also hugely dependent on speakers, needing to be very fast and subtly smear free in the higher octaves.
The Nait 50 with right speakers resolves high frequency analogue metallic percussion clearly rather than rendering a general Tszzzz type sound, and also resolves production reverb method and styles beautifullyā¦ these are hallmarks to my my ears of being able to reproduce sound stage well.
My only quibble with the Nait 50 isnāt the two line level inputs, itās that they use DIN rather than RCA -othr than that it is superb and it drives my "hard to drive " Harbeths with no difficulty
Really, fair enough. I prefer DIN given the choice ā¦ both technically but also keeping the clutter downā¦ which also helps performanceā¦ but yes DIN is a little idiosyncratic ā¦ but is preferred by some high end hifi companies like DNM and Naim.
I like DINs. Got used to them with old Quad kit. I like that theyāre consistently easy to insert unlike RCAs which are more variable. Iām using a Mogami RCA-DIN cable for my Limetree Network player.
Sorry Thumper missed your post 12 hours ago
In my room the Neat Petites have a far wider soundstage which was a big plus for me
Imaging wise maybe the falcons were a little better but narrower than Petites
As always for and against for all speakers
Iām a huge fan of the Petites , in fact most speakers in the Neat catalogue as had a number of them and have the Ultimatum XLSās in my main system
It will be openend before Christmas
This ^^^ is something Iāve noticed too with the Nait 50 fantastic playback via the SL2s
Hi @Wilfried - ok, Iāve managed to listen to the Nait 50 with the Martens for a couple of days. This is in a not very large room instead of the NC250. What can I say, the Nait 50 is still connected and enjoying the company itās in, while I am enjoying the music!
Itās not showing any deficit at lower or normal listening levels, not getting warm or tired as well being connected with with as short as 2m ChordMusic speaker cables and proving confidently that the āhigherā the company, the better it gets. Seems like it rewards with good components although as always one cannot quite be sure how the speaker partnering will work in every case. The Martens though, have been friendly to almost every good amp Iāve tried them with (e.g. the Nait 2 was an exception and may be it was the setup then as well)
Compared to the NC250 the Nait 50 sounds a bit more polite overall, less deep, slightly softer or less defined lower end ā¦ or so I thought initially haha. As I also have a couple of interconnects on trial, I also tried a Superlumina RCA to DIN and ā¦ OMG, I was not prepared for the sudden uplift and as if a high octane injection, so much more life and I even had to re-level the loudness by a few dB lower - exceptionally good match for this setup I thought - huge energy, rhythm and vibrancy. Curious to try the SL with my small speakers although I am thinking they may throw things a bit out of balance there?
I have a few other things things to try but so far a very impressive appearance of the Nait 50 on my centre stage!
Just listening to John Lennon āNobody told meā one of my favourite tracksā¦ the Nait 50 really delivers one of best replays Iāve heard.
What source is the Nait 50 connected to garƧon ?
Thanks
In this case - the NSC222 (Qobuz)
I like your bit āinitiallyā. If you are like me you start to hear, again with the right speakers, there is huge ultra low detailā¦ which results in deeper more defined bassā¦ not necessarily increased weightā¦ it results in far more natural sounding recordingsā¦ that coupled with the gorgeous upper mids and natural extensionā¦ is allowing me to discover so many of my recordings againā¦ it reminds me of when I got my 252DR and my Hugo mk1, that was a game changer.
This amp is possibly the best sounding Naim amp I have ever heardā¦ the more you listen through it, the more you realise how outrageously good it isā¦
It doesnāt draw attention to itself, it simply conveys the musicā¦ and helps you connect with your recordings in ways that feel very rare. I have never heard my DAVE sound so goodā¦ I now realise what a truly great and transparent DAC it isā¦.
The speakers are so key though, arenāt theyā¦ I am finding for my tastes and room the Russell K RED speakers are a match made in heaven for the Nait50. The speed of the RKs, allows the Nait50 to open up whole new strands in my recordings, that not even my Empyreans portrayed. For the records, again in my opinion only, ATCs and Dynaudio speakers donāt play to the Nait50 strengths. Speaker cables are NACA5, interconnects are DNM HFT DIN to Eichmann phono connectors for the DAVEā¦ keeping copper (and Tellurium) throughout the chain.
I am very very happyā¦ I just canāt believe this design will be constrained to a limited productionā¦itās ridiculously good.
Happy listening!
Yeah, I agree on speaker matching, and source too of course. Not found the right combo yet. I suspect a fairly open speaker like SL2/SBL is needed with my warmish sounding '02-spec LP12. Either that or a more open source like a P6, perhaps with the Red 50s which I do like. No hurry as I have too much kit to make constant use of.
Absolutely, deep and controlled lower end, and as I am listening to it all right now, I donāt think I am missing anything that I have with the NC250 in this room and with these speakers. Will test more at lower volume where the NC250 is very good but I think I could live with any of these 2 and be totally over the moon. I was surprised what a difference the SL interconnects made but it just speaks again to the benefit of a better and uninhibited source and DAC with the Nait 50. My Martens also seem to enjoy the extra energy that the SLs pass on.
May be for a larger space and/or at high volumes, or indeed with something like Dynaudio, it would be different.
Thank you for your impressions. I read them with interest. Iām not surprised that the Nap 250/3 has a bit more control and bass, given the price difference. But the Marten Oscars do indeed seem to harmonise well with the Nait50. Iāll keep this in mind when looking for other speakers. Iāve heard the Oscars twice at my dealer and they are really enchanting and draw the listener into the music. However, I havenāt heard them in my listening room yet. Itās 17 square metres and the Nait50 should actually be enough. The reference to Superlumina RCA to DIN is also valuable. I currently use the standard DIN to DIN cable between Nait50 and ND5XS2. Superlumina is very expensive. But there is also the cheaper HiLine cable. And my dealer also has a second-hand Chord Anthem2 DIN-DIN, which is very reasonably priced. Both would probably be worth a try after your experience with the Superlumina.
In the medium term, another Dac to complement the ND5XS2 would probably also be an option. Chord Dave is a big investment though.
Iāve also moved my listening position in the room slightly backwards (approx. 1.40 metres from the rear wall with GIK Acoustics treating elements). The bass and fundamental range is now much better. My speakers are still 1.40 metres from the front wall. I have seen that our Marten Oscars are very close to the wall. But that doesnāt seem to be a problem with the Martens either.
Merry Christmas everyone.
Oh yes, big spaces are not for the Nait50ā¦ but small to small/mid rooms, with more mid field listeningā¦ itās a a gemā¦