I’m not trying to ‘enhance’ anything. Indeed, most contributors here have warned that I may be doing the opposite. If you don’t like what I propose, please just ignore my posts.
I happen to think that a wooden case will make the equipment blend better into my (quite sparsely furnished) bedroom. And I was simply seeking some assistance here in how to achieve the look. I don’t need anyone’s agreement or approval.
I’m getting lots of advice about what a bad idea it is to do what I intend to do.
And lots more advice to do other things entirely, which won’t achieve what I want.
So I’ll sign off here, and make my own arrangements.
Audio Innovations 500 - that takes me back. It was my last amp before I moved to Naim about two decades ago.
It was upgraded with better tubes - NOS Mullards for the pre - and Black Gate caps on critical places. Lovely sounding amp that looked as good as it sounded imo. Its modest 30W went a long way.
To a large extent, it all rather depends on how hard you drive your amp. My NAC barely gets warm to touch what ever I do, I doubt if a sleeve would cause my amp in my room any issues, also the ambient temperature will affect dissipation. I would hope that Naim products are designed to cope in markets which have high ambient conditions, therefore, by slightly compromising dissipation in colder climes might not be an issue.
It would be easy enough to make a low cost mock up and stick a cheap thermocouple in between the sleeve and amp to see what the temp gets up to and if it remains within the bounds of the product spec you have your answer.
I have read all the (mainly negative) comments in response to my original post and will proceed at my own risk. I will look for a joiner to make a cherrywood sleeve for the two units, to match the cherry LS3/5As which are on order from Falcon.
I realise that photos the finished freestanding ‘unit’ will only stir up more ’ I told you not to’ comments, so no more posts will appear on this thread from me.
As long as there’s at least a small gap between the wood and the metal casing, and an open back, I think it will be OK and you can easily monitor it for any heat buildup. Post us a picture, I dare you
I think it sounds great, I try and approach this forum with a positive mindset offset with a little caution on occasion, on this forum I would never criticise .
I think you should leave a little room for air to flow , but overall it sounds great , please remember you will need it to be an envelope more than a box because of leads but it sounds great .
How far are you willing to go? Would a new machined bare aluminium sleeve painted with a wood finish be acceptable? You could possibly get close to original performance and your desired aesthetic.
Failing that, I might be inclined to go for a modern shoebox with wooden trim like this Nytech CA352
Hi @Graham, don’t feel too deflated, this place is high on Naim conformity, it is after all the manufacture’s forum site.
As a result DIY is not especially appreciated, you certainly won’t hear me criticize your efforts, my first post was a bit guarded, ‘playing it safe’ as it were, that is the way the world has become Im afraid.
Why not give it a try, keep a close eye on temperatures, good luck. It would be interesting to see how it looks.
Its funny how fashion changes, my first, and very cheap stereo amp had a veneered wooden case, which was more than my father’s fancy amp had at the time!