Hi very interesting comments. I don’t have a streamer but I have just compared the sound from my TV where it’s headphone out is played through my system. I tried to adjust the levels as best I could but I think the TV sounded better than the radio!! There seemed to be more depth and weight to instruments. @Simon-in-Suffolk points about the BBC’s FM broadcasts make me think that it would only be worth considering a NAT 01.
The 101 is simpler. It uses an analog drum tuning scale (made from a cut down drinks bottle, so legend has it) and also used a SNAPS power supply with separate fewer regulated supplies compared to the NAPST. For all that it is a superb tuner, arguably superior to the NAT02 and not far off the early NAT01. A NAT101 was my first bit of Naim kit.
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I thought you could put the difference in better words than me Richard for Lindsay
The 101 had a rotation dial rather than digital station so just locked onto a station
Maybe not the right words Richard
Thanks
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I had a 101 and it was something of a pain. When the bulb that illuminates the dial blew, it was necessary to open it up to change the bulb. The insides look rather like something knocked up in a shed.
Yep I had my Naim dealer here replace the bulb , he said it was a real pain
It looked pretty cool though with the rotating dial but another pain was it didn’t seem to lock onto a station and stay there
Clive, it is indeed - listed again I suspect; located in warehouse county. Seller doesn’t say why they are moving it on in fairly short time!
RWC - have a look on a few sites including Tom Tom as others have said to get an idea on price . The £250 doesn’t smell right to me
Just as a final comment RWC - I would probably hang out for the NAT01/NAPST as that would be where you would get the biggest uplift in SQ over the NAT03 , which is no slouch either . Mind you there is a big jump in price to achieve that.
They are all fantastic including the NAT02.
I use my NAT01 around 30% of my listening time, as have a few FM stations here in Sydney that play great music, blues nights, jazz nights, single artists hour sessions etc etc
Happy hunting RWC, please let us know where you end up
Cheers
Hi Bevo
Just had a reply from my dealer. He sold the tuner 25 years ago and it resided in New Zealand for 15 years. He believes it has never been serviced. So with the service cost of say £400 it would be too expensive for me.
Oh Ok well at least you know now . Keep your NAT03 , it’s a fine tuner . I had that one also around 1996/97 and it was great , another one that’s always been in my memory bank
Cheers
Would the local dealer be willing to let you have this NAT02 for a home demo ? Just thought of that so you could compare against your NAT03
Thanks. A few years back the government was saying that FM broadcasts would end in the next 5 years or so. Therefore when my tuner stopped working I didn’t get it repaired. Apparently FM broadcasts are guaranteed to 2030 but the view is that they should last longer than that. I have read that Norway ended FM broadcasts in 2017. Presumably, Australia has no plans to end FM.
Yep no plans here - it was mooted years ago but nothing happened
I’m no longer using it but cannot say more without contravening the rules.
Naim told me many years ago that tuners don’t need servicing unless they are not working properly, and there’s no reason why that advice may have changed.
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I’ve had 01, 02 101, 03 and now 05
They are splendid tuners.
My favorite were 101, so cool but 01 sounded best provided antenna was up to job.
My 05 is far from that performance.
Sadly some of above is no longer supported.
FM has been declared dead many times.
Now I have two other tuners (Arcam and Linn)
Its not really possible to sell such kit nowadays unless give away price.
We have just glimpsed the factory from the A36. Was pleased to see lots of aerials on the roof. And looking forward to hearing my recently serviced 05 when we get home.
I’m only going on about servicing because OP didn’t mention it in his first post, though it transpires that he had it done on his 03. And Naim advise it.
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The VHF 88 to 108 MHz FM band is more nuanced in terms of availability. I believe it’s a UN obligation to have that bandplan available… so as a band plan it is almost certainly won’t be disappearing or be declared ‘dead’ for decades to come if not a century to come.
However what may and almost certainly will change is what it is used for… and at some point national stations such as from the BBC might cease on it and it instead become used for more local and community stations. Further I understand the BBC national stereo FM distribution network is very aged, and is a quite compromised in SQ performance compared to modern standards… for example it doesn’t even use 16 bit linear encoded PCM … and I doubt there is any budget or interest in updating it.
Now to me that is not necessarily bad, community FM radio stations can be fantastic … by licence requirement they have to provide a proportion of their time to local content… and can be a great source for broadcast local gigs, sets and concerts.
Now the downside is that they are usually very low power and will have a radius of only a few miles in urban or further in rural locations, from the transmitter… but they can be great sources of music… although there is no obligation for a community radio station to be in an area.
So ‘FM’ is not dead… it may and almost certainly will simply evolve.
As a side not I recently bought a pre loved quality MW and LW AM Sony receiver which has a great sound… including on LW … as there are always stations appearing from time to time… although they typically simul broadcast online as well. For example enjoy Radio Caroline again here broadcasting from the North Sea close to the Suffolk Coast on MW 648 kHz.
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Thank you. That is very interesting and helpful.
Simon I thought Radio Caroline took over the redundant BBC World Service site at Orford Ness Suffolk for its service on 648m MW and bought in a Harris 25kw transmitter from Holland and is therefore transmitting from a land based antenna? Apologies to the op for going off topic.