The new NAIT 50 Limited Edition

What am I most pleased with?..

The smiles on people’s faces when they listen to the Nait 50 for the first time…and can’t believe it. - priceless. Squeezing in the ‘Salisbury Watts’ is what I’m most pleased with. Nait 50 has a healthy current output and can drive low impedances well.

It wouldn’t matter how accurate a visual reproduction Nait 50 was if it did not have the sonic qualities to bring joy. It had to be authentic.

The design process was such a delight there were many special moments. Such as hearing the evolution of the sound quality during the sound-tuning process.

Here are some of the technical standout moments:

  • Squeezing a full-sized Naim integrated into a shoebox!, took lots of planning and a 4-layer PCB - helps keep the high current parts short and the delicate signals away from interference.
  • Designing the discrete transistor phono stage, same signal path length as the original but has more accuracy, lower noise and a very fast start time.
  • Designing the modern requirements using discrete logic gates and zero software. Such as 0.5W EuP, auto-off with music sensing (with defeat switch), 2-stage soft-start mains, 4-stage muting/unmuting, and flashing over-temperature detection. - felt so 1980s

First prototype parts arriving is always good! (first parts in photo below)

Here are some of the ooooh yeah! design moments:

  • Hearing the custom input buttons cluck in a chassis - transports you back in time!
  • Feeling the weighty solid machined aluminium knob on an ALPs Blue Velvet pot - so smooth (mechanically damps the volume wiper for better sound quality too)
  • Seeing how the light reflected off the front and rear brush aluminium fascia
  • Recreating the vintage look carton box

…we wanted Nait 50 to look like the original Nait, but on closer inspection to look like a gem, and have a premium Naim sound, finish and feel.

Cheers
Steve

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You are all very naughty boys :wink:

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While the cats away the SL2s can play

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It’s been a struggle but I’ve resisted the temptation, this surely bodes well for NC Supernait though doesn’t it?

Thanks Steve for such an insightful answer.

You should be in sales cos I give in and have emailed WYSAH to say I will take one they kindly put on hold for me. I really dont need it but really want one anyway. Very lucky to be able to afford one.

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Steve above all else the best thing you’ve done and given the NAIT 50 is soul. And this is priceless.

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The Nait 50 is pretty amazing, well done to the Team and yourself…FWIW I am overwhelmed by the sound/package (give or take an LED) :smile:

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it`s so funny
I live with the nait 50 a few weeks now. today I can tell I got more and more used to it.
Compared to the SN3/Atom etc. the whole concept is so much better to me - and yes. also the sound is more into my heart compared to SN3.
STREAM/PHONO/AUX - what else?

the NAIT50 sound is crisp enjoyable and modern.
the design and features are just right for me.
the footprint and design to me is unbeatable
and yes - I do not want remote control…prefer the touch to the vol knob.

strange NAIM AUDIO doesn`t believe in this concept on a scale.

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I would be surprised if scaling is a nogo for them if the market is there. I believe they might have underrated the interest of such a product and already plan for a non-limited version. We’ll see :blush:

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I think it is absolutely brilliant too! I could not stop listening to it last night. Well done Naim, more of this sort of stuff at this price point and a companion streamer and you’d be onto a complete market winner

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Haven’t got anything to play through the NAIT 50 yet, but I’ve had it plugged in to the mains to get it going. The white light doesn’t seem too overpowering.

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On standby the intensity is fine, when it is fully on and music is coming into/out of it the intensity is BRIGHT, esp in the dark… :stars:

What speakers are you using with the '50…

Thanks Steve
I would say … mission accomplished!
Good ooh yeah moments - had the same !
Plus real Yello oh yeah Moment when it is on sound.

It’s a little on the blue side but I prefer it to without. Standby / on below.

I have some new Neat Elite Classics. I heard them at the Bristol HiFi show this year and was very impressed. I took a punt without a home demo but somehow knew they’d be alright. Turns out my instincts were correct, they’re fabulous. Obviously, the entire set up is bedding in and need many hours to completely open up but right out of the box it all sounds pretty fantastic.

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Steve it’s obvious most think you’ve succeeded. It’s a wonderful piece of kit and I’d be surprised if it’s sold out soon.

It was a pleasure to see them in different stages of assembly recently.

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Am I right in thinking that my NAIT 50 came with a two-pin detachable mains plug?

No problem to swap it for any number of Naim-supplied three-pin plugs that I have in the house (as most of my equipment is on a Hydra).

But this seemed odd, as if I the NAIT 50 which I now have was earmarked for continental Europe. Or did they all come equipped with a two-pin means lead?

(At least it’s not like the old NAITs which, unusually for Naim, had their mains lead hard-wired into the back of the unit, presumably as a cost-saving measure to avoid having to fit an IEC socket on the back of the unit.)

If you’re in the UK you should have got a Powerline Lite which is the standard mains cable supplied with all Naim inits.

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Have another look Graham. Mine came with a 3pin Powerline Lite and a 2pin plug. Must have missed it perhaps.