The new NAIT 50 Limited Edition

It is an expensive high quality unit. You can get them at 22% discount at some dealers here in Canada. It is a great amp that shines brightly in many areas :grinning:. I suspect new Naim users frown at the lack of a remote the limited inputs and low power.

It does say that it’s your “last chance” to purchase a NAIT 50, so I guess it’s targeted at those who may still be on the fence over getting one and giving due notice;

Now is your last chance to pick up a unique piece of hi-fi history with the NAIT 50 Limited Edition.

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Yes, it was the colouration that put me off a few years ago.
I suppose it’s part of the Naim dna, I just wasn’t sure about it at the time.
Still a great integrated though :+1:

Can it drive speakers that present a difficult load that dip down to 2 ohms?

I don’t know. One for @110dB I reckon…

I don’t know for sure, but I’d be surprised if it can’t as it does support peak power in excess of 200 W

Indeed when they’re gone, they are gone. One of the best Naim amps I have heard, amazing. Though one for the audio purists as not many mod cons… which is possibly why it performs so ridiculously well.
Be interesting to see how well they age… mine has had to go back to Salisbury for some TLC.(preamp input selection)

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What speakers? My Nait 50 does a great job with my Quad ESL and is one of the best amps I’ve heard with them.

Linn Sara

The Linn Saras ah yes had those in the early/mid 80’s from memory Paul

They were certainly a difficult load and needed a bit of grunt so my guess would be not a great match with the Nait 50 at all but might be proven wrong

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A consumer speaker requiring more than 200 Watts peak power (what the Nait50 provides) does sound unusual … not being familiar with those speakers perhaps that is the case, but indeed if it requires a super amp, then the Nait50 and possibly many hifi amps will struggle.

In my opinion this is one of the useful attributes of the Nait50 is its peak power output reserve to control difficult loads. I have yet to hear a speaker not sound good and controlled with the Nait50, but I haven’t heard those particular speakers. Clearly on the Nait50 average levels will be overall power limited. (Ie loudness for most speakers say in very large rooms)

I too received that email. I see that it’s headed “the ultimate listening experience”, so I suppose for those with Statement amplifiers, this should be your next upgrade!

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Yes, based on my experiences, you are going to use a Statement if you have a large volume to fill with great audio where you need the significant power but with the quality or greater that a high end smaller amp potentially can give you … if you have a much smaller/modest space to fill then the Nait50 could potentially give you that ‘ultimate’ listening experience.
Providing significant power in a quality way is not easy… hence the Statement.
I have enjoyed Statement based systems when they are driving large speakers into small halls, very large rooms, that is where I have heard them come into their own. I am afraid in such an environment, the Nait50 will be totally the wrong tool for the job, it will likely be hopeless… though I have never tried it :grinning:

I suspect we all received that promotion email….

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I wrote back ,said I had one but it needed a remote control

Cheeky but pertinent

It is a remarkably able and competent device that I thoroughly enjoy listening to , but could do with a slight nod towards today’s market in its handling or functionality.

But it is very much a keeper

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I get it with the phono stage but not the other inputs

Mine isn’t fussy - I get a thud on all inputs. Would be interested in the view / comment of @110dB on standby thud and the reasons for the 3 variations - none, certain inputs and all inputs.

Grounding the Nait 50 eliminates the hum/noise but not the pop/thud, highly recommended
I switch to Stream or Aux before pressing Mains - no thud.
Phono does pop on mine pretty much always - it’s a sensitive input and no big surprise

Hi @Paul6 ,

Nait 50 is a mighty little amp and will burst music into 2 ohm dips. During development it was tested with 1 ohms dips and did peaks of over 200W pk with relatively low distortion.

For short durations the Nait 50 can supply 60W rms into 2 ohms.
The physical size of the Nait 50 is the limiting factor. The case is its heatsink. Low impedance speakers can make it hot. And when played loud for long periods it will detect high temperatures and shut down to cool and then automatically restart when it is comfortable again.

No harm will come to the Nait with low impedance speakers. It is protected against too much current and too much heat.

If the speakers are low impedance and you enjoy music at enthusiastic levels please try it first. There is nothing more frustrating than an amplifier shutting down or having to use an external fan. Placing the Nait on an enclosed shelf will reduce the heatsink efficiency.

That being said the Nait 50 will drive speaker impedance dips of 1 ohm and above with no parasitic distortions*. The continued low impedance drive is limited by thermal performance.

NOTE 1: Parasitic distortions (PD)
Some Class AB amplifiers exhibit PD when driving low impedance speakers. This can be audible, such as playing piano loudly and the sound becomes hard on note edges. Careful design of the feedback compensation and output stage design will eliminate PDs. Technically, PDs are high frequency oscillations (typically 10MHz) that only occur when the output is driving considerable current. Hence it is a parasite on another waveform.

NOTE 2: Design
The Nait 50 was designed to achieve 25W into 8ohms, being appropriate for the heatsink size. If the Nait 50 was put in a big box (heatsink) and the PSU voltage turned up the circuits could drive 100W (into 8 ohms).

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Hi @HHBruno ,

There is some variations in on/off thump between units. All will be significantly lower than an old classic NAP 250.

Typically the phono stage thump will be higher than the line level inputs. This is because the phono stage has a gain of approx. 10,000x at low frequencies. This magnifies the settling time of the circuits.

If the on/off thump on line inputs is considered too high it could be because of RF pick up or something else connected; especially if the device has a SMPSU that has a high leakage current. To test for this, disconnect all inputs and turn the volume down. Then toggle the standby button.

Here’s a screenshot of some related topics:

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I’m sure somebody would want a full width Nait 50.

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