Hello. Kindly when I posted on here some while back, I received a host of useful information on this vintage system left to me by my uncle which had been sitting in a loft. So it’s NAIT3, Flatcap, Linn LP12 Arcam CD player and Quad L22 Speakers. The general advice was to hold onto it and get it properly serviced and renovated by a Naim engineer which I acted on. I was advised to go to Class A and he took on the electronics(he was v helpful) but was not interested in the deck and advised me to go to Wilkinsons in Nelson. They checked motor bearings and tone arms which was sticking and fully serviced it. So I have all the constituents parts and I need to build the system and I guess a bit out of my depth here. I don’t want to “blow” it literally or otherwise by not connecting it properly and undoing all that spend and time. Could I ask for some guidance here with a number of questions - I know they might sound stupid and naive but I’d rather that than not getting it right
Q1) How long if these electronics have been non operational should I leave them on for to properly get them to a good operational level before putting any load on them?
Q2. Is it ok to put the flatcap on top of the amp in my rack or is that a bad idea? Ideally because of space, Id like to occupy one shelf. Would an alternative be to put some form of spacers on the bottom of the flatcap to sit on the amp?
Q3) From the picture of the rear how do I connect the flatcap to the amp? There are so many sockets !
Q4) I guess the red and white inputs on the far right are for the Linn deck and then I just follow the front panel to see which input is the CD player and match that input on the rear
Q5) I have researched on here so as not to waste people’s time and re-invention and it seems I need cable called NACA 5 and I have to use special plugs called SA8. Can you buy that direct from a wholesaler rather than going through a retail hifi shop which will be expensive?
Q6) My right hand speaker is less than a metre away from the amp and sits near the stand. The left is about 3.5 metres away. Do I have to order the same lengths for both sides???
Q7) Which inputs do the cables go into on the speakers as they’re are 2 sets - one on top of the other
Q8) I think I might have to get another one of these as the right hand speaker has 2 and the left only one. Are they linking the HF inputs with the LF inputs. I presume Ebay for these or is there a specialised
second hand hifi equivalent.I also need to know what are they called apart from brass thingies (sorry)
Q9) Final question and thanks for your forbearance -I also read on here that speakers need to be “run in” if they haven’t been used for a long time or barely used. What’s the best way to do that and for how long? Thank you so much in advance or any tips or advice - Im so looking forward to getting this working
Taking the questions is order;
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If they’ve just been serviced by Darran then they should be good to go. They usually need about half an hour to an hour to come on song and will improve even further with use. Kit that has just been serviced will go through a period of run-in where you should experience improved performance over weeks and even months of use.
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Ideally you will want some space between the amp and the Flatcap - a separate shelf would be good.
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To connect the NAIT3 to the Flatcap you will need a SNAIC5 and a SNAIC4. SNAIC5 between NAIT3 and Flatcap - this provides power to the NAIT3’s pre-amp stage and signal then goes the other way from the pre-amp back into the Flatcap. Then signal from the Flatcap into the NAIT3’s power amp section via SNAIC4. The banded ends should go towards the source of the music signal.
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I presume the NAIT 3 has phono cards fitted input 1, in which case, yes that’s where you connect the LP12.
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NACA5 with SA8 connectors is recommended. See the FAQ on here regarding speaker cable. For your NAIT3 at least 3.5m per channel is recommended and SA8s pretty much mandatory to avoid damaging the PCB mounted sockets. NACA5 is available to buy new through Naim dealers or used from a variety of the usual places.
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Speaker cables should be the same length for both channels - again, read the FAQ on here.
7 & 8. The speakers are bi-wirable. That’s not such a great idea from Naim’s PoV so just run a single set of speaker cables into one or other of the red and bald socket pairs. You will need to have the links in place though, or else replace with short speaker “jumper” wires, which can be a performance improvement.
- Just run the speakers as normal. Avoid head banging volume levels to start with. Any issues with the drivers, if there are any, should show up fairly quickly.
There are some pics and more info in this thread that should help. You can see a photo of the snaic 4 and 5 in place.
You’ll end up with this; the 4 and 5 pin dins will only fit into 1 of each pair marked. 4 on the left, 5 on the right. Red circles mark the banded ends.
The speaker shown in the photo has red and black plastic plugs blocking 3 of the banana sockets. You can ease these out with something pointy - just preempting a future question! To keep it simple, ease out the ones in the HF and plug your speaker cables into these. The LF will be connected either by the brass link plates or by a short bit of cable.
Robert_h.Thank you so much for your contribution and your time Could you explain what you mean by the “banded ends”
Richard, thank you. I will gen up on FAQ re: speaker cable and SA8. Just explain to me what you mean by the “banded ends” of SNAIC4 and SNAIC5 going towards the source of the music signal. Appreciated
Here’s the faq
The maker’s mark on a genuine snaic (it’s a number that denotes the person who made it) also identifies one end.
BTW in case you weren’t aware, your nait 3 has had the full (approved) modification done on it to convert to a model where you can use it as 1) integrated amp (per original), 2) preamp only (equivalent nac92), 3) power amp only (effectively the equivalent of a nap90).
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