I bought a pair of Nsats recently to go with my analogue sources and 52/SC/135’s. All sounding great but I’ve been able to improve it.
When I did a driver bolt torque check I noticed that on the bass units 3 bolts on one speaker and two on another were just spinning. I removed all fixings/ drive unit and to my surprise found that they were secured with Hex Head self tapping screws (not bolts/ nuts) into the MDF cabinet. No silicone seal between driver and cabinet either. From my trade experience I know that because MDF is just compressed fibre and hygroscopic over time it softens so threads if not left alone can break down. This had clearly happened.
On more than one occasion I’ve found car body filler to be a really good way to fill MDF (as opposed to wood filler) then with self taping screws gain a solid fix. After cleaning the snot (as we call it) where the MDF thread had raised up I did just so. I managed to get all 5 to nip up nicely. Maybe the lack of a silicone seal between driver to cabinet increases the need for these fixings to be secure as the sound improvement is significant. Boy can these little speakers sing! Hopefully for any Nsat owners who have failed threads this info might come in handy.
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I don’t like speakers that use self tapping wood screws. To me this just seems cheapening out by the manufacturer. Bolts into solid threads is the only good solution other than proprietary fixings such as drivers moulded into baffles (Epos) or secured through a large central bolt (MA). There are others.
This can happen if someone has already tried to tighten a bolt and overdoes it.
I made this error on the base of my previous speaker where the plinth attached to the base. I did one turn too many and felt it give and thought “oh crumbs. My brand new speakers!” Fixed via turning the self tapping nut even more to the point it could be pried out as all the threading in the MDF got stripped. Then filling the hole about two thirds with wood filler and then while still soft reinserting and gently turning the self tapping nut Wipe away the oozed out filler from around the nut.
Finally very lightly attach whatever it is that the nut holds (driver, plinth, etc.) and just slightly screw in all the bolts. This is critical to ensure the replaced self tapping nut sets in perfect alignment. You don’t want to skip this step and then find the nut has set half a mm out of alignment and the bolts won’t line up.
Does anyone here know the torque settings for n-SATs?
I don’t think there is a torque setting as, unlike the other Naim speakers, it uses wood screws, which should not be over tightened otherwise the cabinet gets damaged.
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I have Nsats and they don’t need a seal for the woofers, otherwise Naim would have included one, since they are phase-plug woofers.
That’s great. Just checked mine and all is good. I must say, these are remarkable sounding speakers, they never cease to amaze me. 
