My dad has been an audiophile his entire life. He’s had a Supernait 1 and a pair of B&W speakers for years and never had a chance to upgrade his system due to the expense of raising two kids! (Thanks, Dad!) My mother suddenly passed away in January, and I’ve encouraged my dad to dive back into audio as it’s his only real passion in life. However, he sort of stuck to Hi-Fi magazine and never really carried on into the digital age, so he’s unsure what he’s doing. He wants to be able to stream music for the first time ever but is under the impression that a standard Nova wouldn’t be good enough for his new speakers.
He purchased some Spendor D7.2s in a special cherry rosewood finish, which he is very happy with; however, now we are looking for something new to drive them.
Current options are a Nova Power Edition or a Supernait 3 with an NDX2. What are the thoughts of forum members on which way he should go? The Nova PE would be cheaper by about £1000. Another option is to keep the Supernait 1, add a power amp, and some sort of streaming device? He wants to keep it all Naim. I’m trying to research to help advise him but struggling to make sense of it all as it’s a bit of a minefield.
Attached is a picture of the Spendor speakers for anyone interested.
Lovely speakers. I have Spendor A7, so not quite at the D7.2 level, and am using Supernait 3 with HiCap DR and it works wonderfully. I don’t feel the need for any more power to drive the speakers for the size of my room so I would recommend that as a route forward.
Hi and welcome.
Would you mind giving us a little bit more info on the budget and if there is already a source device that will continue to be used with the new Amp/Streamer combo?
A good dealer is also a great help in the regard of choosing new kit to match both existing elements, like the speakers and to enable you to hear the options before spending. Whereabouts are you and do you have a good dealer nearby?
Just add a streamer, there is no reason to replace the supernait.
Get the supernait serviced, it will be due.
There is also no reason to keep it all Naim when there are plenty of decent streamers for less than the £ of an nd5xs2 and the supernait has a dac on board.
The obvious solution here is the lindemann bridge £800 new, but also look on eBay.
It depends on budget, but I’d go NDX2/SN3 of the two possibilities mentioned. A dealer near me is offering that combo new for a good deal less than a Nova PE so worth looking around.
My main suggestion, though, is to find a dealer in whom your Dad has confidence and listen to various options. A good dealer should help with setup and installation and be available to help with any problems.
I’d suggest the NSC222 and the New Classic 250. They are over budget new, however there are plenty of ex-dem and used examples available. The 250 will be much better with the Spendors than would a Supernait.
