Nait 5i Balance Control

Hi-Fi Corner
1

The 5i doesn’t have balance control. I have an imbalanced sound driving me bonkers. It is favoured to the right.

The issue is the right speaker is in a corner with the wall being two feet from the right hand side of the right speaker.
I’ve tried:

  1. Swapping the source left/right cable round.
  2. ‘Toing in’ the left speaker
  3. Changed round cables and speakers
    All no difference.
    Won’t have an option to change positions or use any acoustic panels.

The only think I can think of is introducing a balance control or exchanging/selling the 5i for one which has balance control.

What would you do? Are there any options or major downsides to me introducing balance controls and so NB they exist?
Merci.

2

I’d never introduce balance controls it not only moves the soundstage but limits the information to the channel.
The problem isn’t the amp it’s the placement of your speakers.
Try a mono recording when testing this too.

3 Likes
3

With such an imbalance due to the room acoustics you really do need an amp with a balance control onboard or else move the speakers in the room so the imbalance is minimised. The NAIT 5i is purposely stripped down to a minimum so there’s no balance control and no easy way to introduce one either.

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4

You ansolutely need a balance control. Don’t faff about trying to implement an external balance control. Trade in yiur amp for one with a balance control.

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5

I could never have an amp without a balance control. My speakers can’t be positioned perfectly equal from my listening position, so it really helps.

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6

The Naim 172, 272 and SuperUniti all have an internal balance control set by using the remote handset, even though there’s no external control knob. (I believe the other Uniti products also do.)

The SU is an upgrade in respect of the Nait 5i, and they are fairly low cost on the secondhand market.

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7

Yeah your right the uniti series do and the 222

8

What Naim Amp that has a balance control would be a reasonable (£) swop?

I really love the sound of the 5i but the lack of balance is just an annoyance for me.

9

Does the 5i sell well/okay on 2nd hand market?

10

Sorry, I don’t know the answer to that.

11

Maybe talk to a local dealer about possible trade in deals.

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12

An alternative to changing the amp might be to swap your streamer for one that includes a balance control. There are streamers that offer this including, I understand, well regarded budget versions.

Roger

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13

One reason I moved from an XS 2 to a SuperNait 2 was precisely because the SuperNait had a balance control. I loved the XS 2 but never regretted the move. I love having a balance control. Along with having a non-symmetrical room, I find that recordings sometimes differ in left-right balance as well so to me it is important to be able to correct for that.

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14

If you want a Naim integrated amp, unfortunately the next step up the ladder, the NaitXS, also lacks a balance control. You would need to go to a Supernait to get one. It’s a great amp and they are usually easy enough to find on the used market, if you have the budget.

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15

No need to spend much more. Take a look at a Naim Nait 5. This is an older amp, but ‘better’ than the 5i, imo. It has a balance control.

If it hasn’t been serviced then you might want to factor in the cost of that.

You could also go on to use a separate PSU if you wanted more Naim-eness.

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16

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