Anyone hooked on NAIM HIFI 2 channel stereos?

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noogieman

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I have a NAC112/NAP150 combo.
Bought this kit back in 2003 or so?
I used it for many years getting lots of eargasm everytime I listened to my favorite discs.

Back in 2009 I got myself a computer and internet connection at home.
I then turned off my NAIM letting it dust for nothing.
Now in 2013 I got the sweet tooth and brought it back to life again.
My stereo was shut off for more than 3 years now.

When I turned it on listening to my favorite disc, sound was flat, not fun to listen at all!
I was told by the stealership when I bought it, these NAIM stereo's needs a warm up time for several months to perform at their best!
I don't remeber how many months it needs to stay idling?
Does anyone know how many months is required for best performance?

About the ring transformator, when stereo is on constant POWER ON, wireloom is staying hot, when does wireloom seals crack like on old w124 car's where the outer protective seal cracks giving short circuits and lousy performance?

Turning it on and after a while turning stereo off is not a good thing to do on NAIM or what?
Is the best thing to let it stay on constant power on?

This is what it looks like.
http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/naim/prepow.html
A sweet machine giving eargasm when it performs at it's best!
Swedish HIFI magazines always rates NAIM skyhigh. :thumb:

Thanks
 
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The only amps I've ever used that need to be warmed up are Vacuum tube powered. I doubt any solid state amps benefit in any way by being warmed up, and surely the manufacturer would fit a standby switch if that was required?

Are there any capacitors that might need changing? sometimes the old oil filled variety dry up and can cause the symptoms you describe.

It could also be something simple like connections needing a good clean.
 
yes there is an on/off switch back of the stereo.

connections do oxidize, what's the best solution to clean them up from oxide?
is there a liquid fluid for this?

I know that stealer told me about warm up time, I'm not sure if he said 1 to 3 months of warm up time for best performance?
my stereo is not broken, it works fine - just waiting for famous NAIM sound when getting full working temperature, it was just tucked away for merely 3 years.
 
I have a mate that sells these in Edinburgh and remember him saying that they should be left permanently powered on as after they were switched off for long periods of time it could take months for them to warm up and get back to the famous naim rich sound.

Not sure if that helps but if you want any further info I can email him for you
 
With the switch on the rear of the unit it's clearly meant to be left on permanently. It would only take minutes to 'warm up' but will get warmer during use. Did the dealer actually say warm up, or burn in? New amps, tuners etc do need many hours of use before they give their best.
Switch on, leave on and just use it. Your ears haven't heard it for so long it may take a while to remember.
Cleaning the connections is a good idea, something I do regularly, simply by unplugging and reconnecting a couple of times.
 
I have a mate that sells these in Edinburgh and remember him saying that they should be left permanently powered on as after they were switched off for long periods of time it could take months for them to warm up and get back to the famous naim rich sound.

Not sure if that helps but if you want any further info I can email him for you

hey buddy.
please ask your buddy, how long my stereo needs to warm up, before it gets that unique NAIM sound?
thanks.

With the switch on the rear of the unit it's clearly meant to be left on permanently. It would only take minutes to 'warm up' but will get warmer during use. Did the dealer actually say warm up, or burn in? New amps, tuners etc do need many hours of use before they give their best.
Switch on, leave on and just use it. Your ears haven't heard it for so long it may take a while to remember.
Cleaning the connections is a good idea, something I do regularly, simply by unplugging and reconnecting a couple of times.

when I bought it, seller told me to leave it on permanently to perform the best.
I'm worried that when I used my stereo for 5-6 years and then in 2009 kill it for 3 years might have caused cracked plastic loom sleeves?
I know that old hifi from the 70's have dried capacitators and dried out wirelooms.
I don't want this to happen to my precious NAIM.

yes, I used to disconnect and reconnect connectors to clean them.
is there a solvent which could be used for cleaning connectors?

how many on this forum uses NAIM at home?
do you use full NAIM setup for audio/video?
are you pleased with your audio system?

I have heard in the past that EPOS and NAIM was a good combination giving HIFI synergi.
anyone else using EPOS speakers?
I have Epos M5 speakers with Standesign speaker stands and Standesign audiorack with my NAIM CD5 and 112/150 combo.
Using stiff NAIM speaker cables and audio cables with DIN connectors.

thanks
 
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Sounds like you need to contact Avondale Audio.

audiophile amplifiers - audiophile power supplies - audiophile cables - DIY audio : avondale audio

Les Wolstenholme at Avondale has been modifying Naim amplifiers and pre-amps for donkeys years and making them sound a lot better. His own equipment is beautifully constructed - I've seen it being made. He built a 90 wpc power amp for me and my Yamaha NS1000 studio monitors absolutely love it. I worked in the hi-fi and music business for years, so I'm used to knowing what a good system should actually sound like.
 
Les at Avondale is a good shout. You might also want to consider contacting Naim directly.

As for cleaning the contacts, use isopropyl alcohol and a cotton bud. Don't use sandpaper or vodka.

I understand how you feel about your system, I'm a Linnie !!

At the end if the day, it's all about the music.
 
I've always thought NAIM stuff sounds a bit "thin". A number of reports support this thought.
 
When I turned it on listening to my favorite disc, sound was flat, not fun to listen at all!

That is exactly how I describe all name kit.

Used to sell Hi-Fi and Naim was something I just couldn't listen to for more than 2 minutes.



I was told by the stealership when I bought it, these NAIM stereo's needs a warm up time for several months to perform at their best!


We used to tell the customers that, meant they were out of the 14 day return period by the time they realised it wasn't going to get any better. :D

That bit I am joking about, sort of. But I do find it incredibly flat sounding and very bright, great with some tracks with lots of pace, and when played really loud it comes alive, but not a sound I could live with.
 
At risk of causing offence to NAIM lovers, I'm with Dieselman & gIzzE when it comes to the NAIM sound. Very impressive on sympathetic material, but far too contrived for my liking.

A couple of years ago I was auditioning equipment after a long period of just listening to what I had, and was advised to try out some of the latest NAIM kit as "the presentation has changed". It took me around 10 minutes of listening to remember everything I dislike about the NAIM sound…
 
I am very happy with my Krell, Meridian and Proac set up - rich and warm, yet lively and taut. In the days when I took hi-fi much more seriously, there was a store just around the corner (the Listening Rooms in South Ken, which has closed now) and they let me take the kit and listen to it at home before buying. I can't say the Naim stuff of the time did much for me.

Nowadays I think I spend more time listening to what the composer and performers are doing, rather than what the hi-fi sounds like (and what my slightly attenuated hearing can pick up). My most enjoyable recent CD was a mono recording from the early 50s at Bayreuth (an opera house with a very distinctive acoustic) and it did rather sound like it was being played through a tannoy with a traffic cone amplifying. No matter, the voices and orchestra were absolutely extraordinary.

Perhaps it's me, but I have become much less tolerant of recordings or broadcasts that seek to show off the sound, rather than give me the music. Oddly, my Becker in my 210 playing through basic speakers is of reference quality when a good signal comes through, but quite wrecked by frequency boosting of bass and treble.
 
As mentioned above, one shouldn't be listening to the equipment, just enjoy the music. There really isn't a good or bad system, it's whatever pleases your ears.
 
This thread has rekindled fond memories of my hi-fi days, which reached their pinnacle when I got a Sondek/Ittok just as digital was really taking off. I recall the dark side too- little statically-charged black plastic squares which were to be stuck to furnishings to enhance the purity of the sound.

I never went the valve route for hi-fi- the added harmonic warmth which was great in a guitar amp seemed to me to be tantamount to fitting and using tone controls- but I think that's less of an issue nowadays as so little source material is "natural" you may as well tweak it to your liking. The problem is, a lot of popular material will already have been harmonically enhanced to within an inch of its life during the production process, so valve warmth on top might make take that over the top.

Anyway, I'm jealous of you guys- domestic life has long consigned all my kit to storage and I don't get as much pleasure listening to material through headphones on my budget home studio system (which is by necessity neutral/flat).
 
I have been a Hi-Fi addict since the late 1960's when Tottenham Court Road and to a lesser extent the Edgware Road were the Mecca's of Hi-Fi. I bought my first set-up in TCR which was based around Ferrograph/Goldring Lenco/*****/Celestion equipment. It sounded superb. Still does actually although the Celestions have been replaced with IMF.
This comment is not aimed at any member here specifically, but in the last 20 of so years a whole load of pretentious tripe has been written and spoken about Hi-Fi. Magazines being the worst offenders. My pet gripe concerns ridiculously expensive speaker cables.
How somebody can hope to justify some of the prices asked for a simple piece of wire is beyond both belief and comprehension. Have have yet to hear a convincing blind test of different speaker cables to make me believe anything better than a length of twin 13A mains flex can be bettered. Many try to justify the costs involved by stating that the differences CAN be perceived by their ears is frankly doubtful in the extreme.
But if somebody wants to believe some of the wild and wacky ideas that have surfaced in the world of Hi-Fi in the last 20 or so years then that's their prerogative. Just don't expect me to agree or jump on the bandwagon.
 
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When I was working in Nashville the chaps at a local studio, Masterfonics, did A-B testing on patch cables to see what sounded best. At the time Monster Cable was just taking off - aided by the kind of marketing budget which makes Bose look publicity-shy - and the results were thought to be a foregone conclusion

The winner was a cable made from three wire coathangers in sleeving

What does this prove? Like most things related to "hi-fi", precisely nothing

Nick Froome
 
Brilliant Nick! Sadly I fell for the monster cables (nicely sheathed in a sand gold) and have hated them with a passion ever since - they are just so unwieldy and intrusive.
 
While we are on the subject of Hi-Fi may I put in a plug for " TRANSPONDERS" the devices that convert electrical signals to actual sound waves for your ears to hear. One of the best companies I came across was IPL Acoustics in Devon who supply complete kits to build your own speakers. Unsurpassed quality for the money imho IPL ACOUSTICS HIGH QUALITY SPEAKER KITS
 

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