Edit: in answer to my question below, the Nait 50 appears to have a Talema transformer ‘Made in Czech’ judging by the picture posted in this very thread back in 2023.
Sorry if I have missed it, but which company manufactured the transformer for the Nait 50? Talema, Noratel or another? I can’t seem to be able to tell from pictures on the net but it looks to be ‘wrapped’ like a Talema. I believe Naim usually favour Talema but they did use Noratel in the Nap 100.
I ask a) out of interest and b) because two of my Arcam products that contained Noratel transformers suffered failure of primary windings. Fortunately, Arcam were able to repair the D33 (it uses two) but they no longer had stock of the type used in the A28 - it now sits as a possible parts donor to the used A28 I replaced it with. The Noratel units were sourced from Asia and no longer obtainable, though Noratel themselves were helpful in sending me the product data sheet/schematic for the transformer in case I could get it repaired by a third party.
Your maths is correct. What it means I have bought 3. One for my 2nd system and one each for daughter and son.
They each had a 72/140 and 72/hc/140 respectively, built up from acquired olives.
But, when I replaced my 72/hc/250 with a nait 50, the right answer was clear. Sell the olives and replace with newer nait 50s.
I need to swap my daughter’s 72/140 next week with her nait 50 and sell the 72/140.
Bit sad in some ways as the 72/140 was my first real introduction to naim. What was odd was that of the three items ( 72,140,hc) that the hc made the most money, with 140 almost given away.
Wow! You feel the 50 is better than the 72/140? Back when I had a Nait 1 I considered buying a used 62/140 but I just couldn’t afford it at the time. It was clearly better than the original Nait. I now have a Nait 50 and love it but I was wondering how it would do against the olive 72/140. I really love the looks of those
I asked a question earlier in this thread about Nait50 vs 72/hc/140, but there were few, if any clear answers. So, I tried the test myself. It didnt take long to convince me the Nait50 was the winner for me.
It seems like you made your decision before even receiving the Nait 50. I see you have the 222 and 250 up for sale already. Hopefully, everything works out. 222s seem to be sitting on the secondary market these days.
I’ve been really impressed with the little Nait50 and have recently treated it to some nice cables. Each time I added a new connection it continued to get better and better, so is clearly capable of giving more, but I had high hopes that it would prove second best in comparisons to a decent pre/power combination
Sadly/happily, depending on your point of view, the Moor Amps Angel 6 is boxed up and I’ll be figuring whether I put the 52/Supercap into storage or move that on too
I agree the N50 is sufficiently capable that the pros and cons of different interconnects and even full fat Powerlines and full fat Fraim are audible to greater or lesser extents.. I certainly enjoy my N50 on the top shelf of my FF Fraim.
The Nait 50 uses a toroidal Nuvotem transformer from Talema Group.
Nuvotem transformers are used in the New Classic, 500 Series and Statement ranges.
They are chosen for their sound and build quality. They use a special heat-treated, magnetically grain-oriented, high-efficiency iron core and low impedance copper windings. Nuvotem and Naim have worked together for many years to advance the design. They are a perfect fit for the Nait 50, small and high-performance.
Many thanks - great to know and a detailed explanation of why you use Nuvotem transformers. I think it may have been your picture that I ‘borrowed’ in my previous post. I know transformer failures are rare (I have been unlucky) but do Naim hold a good stock for future repairs?
Yes, our service department has spares of the unique parts for the Nait 50, such as panels, transformers, input switches etc. As you say, toroidal transformers are lumps of iron and copper and are incredibly reliable and robust in use.
I encourage anyone new to this thread to read through @110dB comments in the pre release and early life phase of the mighty N50. It offers an interesting insight into the design and engineering. It’s a privilege to hear it directly from the horses mouth.
Hi, as a n50 user with Fraim,my comment would be the N50 needs good ventilation around it… being a relatively high current amp the case can get rather warm when working reasonably hard with many speakers, as there is no forced cooling, ventilation or external heatsinks other than the case.if you can’t put the N50 on the top Fraim shelf as I do, I would use a taller Fraim level to give more air flow around the amp. I suggest because of the compact nature of the N50 it’s likely best for the case not to regularly get rather warm for optimum continued performance.
Yes possibly more down to resistive dips in the impedance curve, I think the new ATCs are known to be relatively flat.
However on Russell K and LS3/5a speakers playing bass transient content, my N50 gets notably warm, but I sometimes play at relatively high levels. I had my N50 initially on a covered Fraim shelf and I was concerned how warm it got when used in that way… on the top shelf the case simply feels still warm but cooler… especially in summer.
I found my ATCs tended not to warm my Naim amps much at all… so perhaps if you limit yourself to moderate listening with modern ATCs you will be fine. BTW all bass/mid drivers have big magnets or they won’t work well. You don’t drive the magnets… the magnets cause the reactive movement direction of the cone from the current. The greater the magnet, the greater the maximum force on the cone from the current in the voice coil. Any way I like to have my hifi running as cool as I can for long term reliability and performance. YMMV.
For what ever reason I find the Falcon Gold build LS3/5a speaker cause the N50 to get less warm that the Silver build with high bandwidth content from my DAVE. The main difference so I understand between the two is the quality of the crossover .
