Received a brand new nait xs3, have the 5i previously. I connect the speakers, a wiim pro plus and then the power cable. Turn the amp on, mute button flashing. I pressed it and it stopped. Now none of the lights are working, only the logo in the middle. The manual suggest mute button blinking means “link plug” or “power supply”. I am in Denmark and I used the power cable provided straight into the wall. Help!
Has it got the link plug fitted?
1 Like
This was the problem, thanks! Btw that part doesnt look like it should be there during use so I removed it without thinking or registering that I did.
However, I now seem to have an ever more distressing problem. The amps sound the same or at least very very similar, I was expecting some difference. I know people will say it isnt “burned in” yet and the old one is. But someone with experience of using different naim amps, what are you paying for in terms of sound quality? Thanks!
Oh good.
They will obviously be cut from the same cloth, so to speak, but the amp will only really be the servant of the source, so you may need a superior source to really hear what the XS3 is capable of over snd above the NAIT 5i.
1 Like
Perhaps give it a few days of use before making a judgement?
1 Like
Without the link plug, this is how you activate power amp mode.
Yeah this was my plan
The upgrade cycle begins?
The place to start was really your source. An ND5XS2 I to your Nait 5i would be far superior to the Wiim into the Nait XS3. All a better amplifier does is expose the weaskness of the source. That said, getting an ND5XS2 now would make a lovely system.
3 Likes
What speakers would you recommend with this pairing? I feel the neat motive 2s lack a bit of bass in a large room with very high ceilings
I would stick with your Motive 2s for now - wonderful speakers, and surprisingly capable as you improve source and amps - as they will go very nicely with a superior source such as the ND5XS2 that HH recommends above.
What HH said- he’s been in the Naim game a long time.
Please try moving them a bit closer to the wall behind them if you haven’t already.
Would you mind saying exactly how large is large? You may well find that you need a significantly larger setup to fill the room. In the meantime, stick with the motives until you get a compatible source. You may find that transforms them anyway. Do also try moving them closer to the wall, as Christopher suggested above. What you intimately do depends so much on how much you are happy / willing to spend. Hopefully sorting the source and moving the speakers will do the trick.
Its 50-60 sqm, with a slanted ceiling starting from about 3m on one side to 4.5m on the other side
Personally I would leave the new amplifier switched if you haven’t been doing so. I fully agree with HH that source is key - I was recently without my Arcam D33 DAC and used a Meridian Explorer 2 instead - the XS3/Flatcap exposed it as both flat and a bit harsh at the same time. I then swapped the DAC to a Loxjie D30 - much better and I would have been happy. However, when the D33 came back from repair what a difference it made - all three were tested with the same laptop streaming Tidal Max.
I will say that adding a Flatcap XS really helped improve refinement without loosing the qualities of the XS3 - other’s may have a different view.
That’s a big room for a small pair of speakers, good though they are. Bigger speakers may well be the ideal solution, but either way a more powerful amp is going to help a great deal in a space of that size.
Unfortunately it’s true that an improved source is important as explained above, all the more so if you upgrade the amp, as not only would that have more power, it would also be more revealing, exposing the relative weakness of a lesser source.
I had a pair of the Motive XS2’s on the end of an XS2 and then a SN3 and they are exceptional speakers but if you like the Neat sound and are looking to upgrade then you won’t go far wrong with a pair of the new Elite Classics they do everything the Motives do but just more of it.
They are reasonably compact for a floor stander not that fussy about placement and look absolutely stunning in white and would go great with your XS3.