I currently have bowers n wilkins cm9 , used to run it on arcam a29 as pre and krell kav 3250 as power and i was quite impressed but i need more detail in the sound more depth. source is niam nd5 xs.
a29 and krell i have sold. that leaves me with the following choices…ill appreciate it if you can tell me which one is the better option. I fancy those violin sounds! the items available are in excellent condition!
Meridian pre-amp 502 - 440USD
NAP110 and NAC32.5 combo - 750USD
tag mclaren 100p power - 330USD
krell kav 300i - 999USD
which one will sound the best, personally i want to go with the niam combo as i always the niam complete set! thanks
Unsurprisingly as a long time Naim owner, I would go for the Naim combo. I had a 32.5 with a 110 for a bit and it sounded excellent I recall. Could you listen to them and then decided which sounds best to your ears?
Can’t comment on which will sound the best. But we both know which is the coolest choice. And as a 42/110 owner I’m sure you wouldn’t be disappointed with how it sounds either.
As this is the Naim (rather than Niam) forum, it’s likely that people will recommend the Naim. Are you aware that the 32.5 has no remote control and that the 110 needs servicing every 10 years? Has the one you are looking at been serviced? Another good alternative would be the Nait XS2 or XS3, both of which would be a perfect match with your ND5XS. How the 110 or the Naits would get on with your large speakers I don’t know.
Remember also that the depth and detail you seek are partly down to your speakers and that adding a Naim amplifier may not address that fully.
The main capacitors need changing every ten years, along with some smaller bits. You will need to ask the current owner if it’s been done. They need to be serviced with the right components in order to keep the original sound. Given that you live in Pakistan it’s obviously much harder to get a proper service than here in the U.K. Maybe there is a Naim approved service centre locally. Naim could tell you about that.
That’s all fine, but it depends very much on how easy it is to get Naim serviced in Pakistan. A 110 could be 40 years old by now, and an unserviced amplifier of that age is not going to sound good.
750 usd sounds like a bargain for 32.5/110 provided they are in good nick visually.
Seller must seemingly not be aware of real value for such sought after vintage Naim kit.
They certainly need a service before I’d turn them on.
i have a 32.5/110 playing all day long at the office. It’s wonderfull how this old pieces are able to deliver a such live amount of music and the 32.5 sound very large for such a small box
though they can benefit from a service, at this price it’s a real bargain. I won’t hesitate and i’ll try later to arrange the service when possible…and a Hicap if you’ve the opportunity to find one
It’s not that they ‘can benefit’ from a service, more that amps of that age need a service. I once sent a 1983 250 to Naim for servicing after about 11 years. They told me that the caps were so knackered that the amp could easily have gone unstable and taken the speakers with it. So it’s not a nice to have, more a must do. How easy that is depends on where you live.