Nap without nac

Hi-Fi Corner
1

Hi, does anybody have experience connecting a nap directly with a dac with volume control (like the rme adi) & where are the advantages / flaws here? which cable could be perfect if it‘s a good idea at all?

2

There’s another current thread on here about using a Chord Dave into a NAP 300

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3

Isn’t the con census that Naim power amps are at their best with a Naim pre?

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4

That of course would be said by any manufacturer of both power and pre… m.

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5

Think I’ve heard it more independently, and that a Naim pre works okay with a 3rd party power but not vice versa. I could well be wrong!

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6

I thought it was the other way round :smiley:.

Plenty use the new Linn streaming preamps with a NAP. But DAC/streamers with a volume control like a NDX2, not so much.

7

Several on here have tried Chord DACs with and without Naim preamp, into Naim power amps, and I’m not sure there’s a consensus, some preferring one others the other

9

You’re not wrong…

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10

then i will try it and „look“ how it sounds… thanks a lot!

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11

I once hooked my RME ADI directly to my NAP 180 just out of curiosity as a cable was up for grabs. It wasn’t bad, but not as good as going through my NAC 82. I don’t know why this should be, but it was.

12

That is the :100: answer.

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13

There has been a great deal written on this topic on the forum over the years, so anybody interested would be well advised to do a search and have a read.

In short, Naim’s pre and power amps were always designed to work best together, and as far as the power amps are concerned, running with a suitable Naim pre-amp would invariably give much better performance than running with no pre-amp (or just a passive pre-amp, or source with variable output) at all.

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14

Yes they seem to be tuned to each other. 202 tuned to 200, 282 tuned to 250, 252 tuned to 300 and finally 552 tuned to 500. I find it kind of problematic in the sense you can’t upgrade to for instance 252 and keep the 250 because it’s tuned to the 282. You need to get the 300 since it’s tuned to the 252. To my ears the 252/250 was too bright/cold and people on this forum suggested the 300 would change that. Also people have said the 282/300 is not an optimal match. However some claim the 552 works with 250,300 and 500. It seems weird to tune a pre to a power amp instead of trying to make them neautral, transparent but I am no expert in this field. Maybe someone can explain this.

15

I find the key is to pay heed to the hierarchy where pre takes precedent over power. So, if we take a NAC202 and NAP200 as a baseline, then gradually improving the pre-amp through 282, 252 and then 552, brings gains at each stage. However, if you do it the other way, keeping the NAC202 (obviously adding the required power supplies as needed)and going though 250, 300, and then 500, the results are rather more questionable, and indicative of the pre-amp holding things back.

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16

Very worth trying a 282 or even 552 with a 150, providing speakers are not too demanding of course.

17

@Richard.Dane absolutely but there were exceptions, 282/300 works particularly well.

18

I preferred a NAC252 with NAP250 for similar money, but I take your point - with any rule there will always be the odd exception.

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19

Yes, with the right speakers (and of course a top source) a 552 with a NAP110, NAP140 or NAP150 is seriously good, considering the modesty of the power.

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20

How I long to try one of those two preamps with my NAP155XS and easily driven Allaes.

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21

As @Richard.Dane says would be seriously good particularly with your Rega.

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