Hi,
I wonder if a NAT 05XS with Hi-Cap DR is better/same as an old NAT 01?
What do you think? Anyone compared the two in terms of SQ?
Thanks,
E
I would be surprised if it eclipsed the NAT01, but not having heard the NAT05XS with a Hicap DR, I couldn’t say for sure. The NAT05XS is perhaps more forgiving of a sub-optimal aerial, so depending on the set-up, who knows…?
The HC adds a slight improvement to NAT-05, a mate has one & contemplated adding HC, but decided it was not worth it.
Nothing in the Naim tuner range gets close to NAT-01, I’ve heard a few & been very tempted if it wasn’t for the FM switch off threat, but that seems to have past now so if I see one, who knows.
Having heard a NAT01 vs an ND555/CD555 2x 555PSDR I can confidently say that if you listen to FM and have a good strong signal nothing that Naim makes betters the NAT01. It is that good. Its only then you realise just how real instruments can sound.
The NAT01 was c£2k when it was discontinued almost 20 years back. On the basis that the NAP500 has doubled in price since then we can assume if the NAT01 was still produced it would be a £4k source so it should be good!
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I think @dayjay runs a NAT05XS with HCDR but ‘only’ a NAT02 before. Then again, memory could be playing tricks, in which case, sorry.
I wasn’t aware it was possible to add a Hicap Dr to a nat05xs. I have s flatcap xs on mine which gives a good improvement
Wonder if anyone has tried an XPS DR (or Supercap) on the NAT05XS?!! After all the NAT01/XPS-T was/is the holy grail of tuners but impossible to ever find one as they only made 10! If the Power Supply makes an incredible difference to the NAT05XS then maybe a very real alternative for someone wanting an awesome tuner thats still Naim branded…
As it happens, there is an 01 with XPS-T on eBay at this very minute.
The 05XS can be powered by flatcap, Hicap or supercap, but not XPS.
Out of interest, did you have an 02 before the 05XS? If so, how do the two compare? Thanks.
Yes I saw that 
No, I very very briefly had an 01 until smoke started to come out of the back which put me off vintage kit a tad
I could cry, but I decided to bite the bullet and went to buy a NAT01 - to be told “They’ve stopped making them - last month”
What about the Linn Kremlin ? “Same thing”
Apparently Sanyo made a certain chip which supplied both Linn and Naim with their high end tuners . A good tuner, with a good signal is a joy . And quite comparable to any £4 k source whether is a NDX2 or a high end CD player
I have a NAT 03 but bought a Magnum Dynalab MD 102 T in 2004 , sounded superb - now upstairs , it needs new valves and a service.
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@Ian2001 when was that? I figure around 2002 maybe?! Thats really bad luck. I wonder how they would sell now if still available…
It was some point in the 1990s, I bought my first MD in 2002, then when I suffered a serious bout of ill- health upgraded to a tube MD .
Tuners have I think been neglected as a source , but a good aerial and a decent tuner tuned to R3 is a delight.
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