Nait 3

Henry

Pack ear plugs if you're going near it with Cable Talk 3. In fact, it might be handy to take them anyway......

Cheers

 

Ha ha ha ha ha

Hmm - well, the case won't be damped as I'll have the amp on the top shelf in the rack - well, the one below the turntable anyway. I myself have some cable talk 3.1 somewhere, but none of the right connectors...

 

Well it's here.
It's plugged in & warmed up, connected to DAC with a DIY el cheapo interconnect (two into one in fact...) & to the Severns with FFRC.
And on initial listening, it doesn't sound half bad. Quite good in fact. Only listened about an hour, but seems to make the sound a lot more 'alive' & 'in your face', not as much of an 'all enveloping' experience.. especially with Miles, & Chris Isaac - not sure I prefer Mezzanine on it though... Will have a better opinion after a bit more listening over the weekend.
Oh.., and...What is the 'mon' switch, and why can't I use banana plugs (according to the sticker on the back) - mine seem to fit (& work) OK? Could anyone help me out with an instruction book?

 

robs,
you should be able to download a user manual from naims web site. if not send them an e-mail and they'll send you one as a pdf.

the mon switch is for tape MONitoring, not MONo as some think. (only the 82 and above have mono modes i believe)

banana plugs will work fine however due to eu law and the fact that european power sockets accept banana plugs surprisingly well there are restrictions on their use. usually manufactuares add little plugs to binding posts however naim adopted the use of a double banana plug which they and many others maintain sounds better than standard bananas.

i'd also be careful using ffrc with a nait too. naim amps treat the speaker cable as part of the amplifier circuit (the reasoning being why add unnecessary components when careful selection of speaker cable, which needs to be there anyway, can do the job just as well) if ffrc doesn;t have the right electrical characteristics then you could well end up with a smoking pile of metal! also some maintain that ffrc is a bit harsh at the top and in conjunction with the naim sound i would imagine this to be quite strident. naca 5 is not the be all and end all of speaker cables but it really does make the most of naims amplifiers, is safe to use with naim amps and is cheap at about 6 quid a meter. i'd really recommend giving it a try naim dealers usually have a run or two lying about for home demo iff you ask them nicely.
cheers


julian

 

Hi Robs

I agree with Julian (had to happen one day ). Using FFRC with a nait 3 could be a receipe for disaster. FFRC tends to have a highish capacitance, which sould spell "the end" for the Nait 3. Cable Talk 3.1 / 4.1, Naim NACA4, NACA5, or Townsehnd Isolda are all I can think of to run the thing with safely, although there will be others no doubt. Cable Talk 3.1 sounded awful on mine, borrow some NACA5 from a dealer, and buy it if you intend to keep it. Better safe than buying new output transistors or sending it back to Naim to fix the source of the "smoke and burning smell".

The reason that the Nait 3 needs specific cable, is because in the design ( it is not all there , no sorry, I mean) it does not use inductors in it's Zobel network on the output stage, so it needs a cable with a decent inductance quotient per metre to ensure stability. NACA5 minimum length is 3.5 metres per side. If you bi-wire, ask your dealer for the minimum lengths.

Cheers

 

I'd go so far as to say don't even put them in the same room !

As good as FFRC is it just has not the inductance needed [or is it capcitance?] for the naim.
You can build a zobel to correct the missing components in the Naim...but without some research I'm loathed to give values, but if you go that route get the very best commponents money can buy[within the bounds of reason].

 

Errr.... "MONitoring". Yes, of course, err, I knew that. Just testing.:shame:

I'll mail Naim for manual - ta Julian.

Many thanks guys. I shall also take heed of the speaker cable advice, & try some out ASAP. Still, it sounds fine at the momen...

WHAT'S THAT SMELL?

 

The locks are there for a reason (if they are there) and should be done up. I tried Chord Anthems with RCA/DIN adaptors (sans locks) to accommodate my old CD5 while I awaited the arrival of my specially-made DIN-RCA (with locks) Chord Anthems, and the latter sounded much better.

If your system sounds better with the locks undone, then there may be something amiss hierarchically in the audio chain of your system.

 

steven,
i was only reporting what other have said. personally i can;t tell the difference if their locked or unlocked. usually i leave mine unlocked cos it's easier when faffing about down the back of my rack.

rob,
other speaker wire that you may want to consider that shouldn't blow up your amp are chord odyssey 2 / 4, dnm reson and some variants of nordost (but they may be a bit of overkill price wise!)
i belive you can also order goertz cable with a zobel network now too (which basicly makes it isolda without the cryo treatment). naca 5 is safe, cheap and sounds decent until you start spending 100's per meter. i've tried many of those mentioned and still run naca 5. still got to try isolda though.

cheers



julian

 

In all fairness the naits are not such a problem with different cables I had some cheap stuff on my nait two prior to getting naca5 and it was fine. I think its more for the larger seperate poweramps that this issue arrises.

FWIW I know someone who runs a 102/140 with speaker cable that neither of us knows the make of, but its flexible and cheap. No problems on his kit exploding either.

 

Er, wrong!

The Lords at Salisbury now suggest leaving the rings unlocked to minimise coupling and the transfer of nasty microphony. Mine are all loose (except the Burndy) and there is a marginal improvement. and I don't think anyone could say there was anything wrong with my kit (except that it's Naim)

The only time you need to have your rings tight is when you have kids or animals near and expect the kit to be moved around.

The Nait 3 is a wonderful little amp given a clean enough power supply.

 

It certainly filled me with wonder.....

Cheers

 

Oh ye of little faith :JPS:

 

I probably would go further than Tom and say that the Nait 3 was unmatched in its price range when integrated properly with other components.

Terry

 

Anyway, it's got to be better than the Nait 5. yawn

 

Faith eh? Unfortunately I didn't leave it to faith, I had one, albeit briefly. I'll never have another one. I'm now a happy Densen owner.

Cheers

 

Besides, those of faith, can be shown the light


http://naim-audio.infopop.net/1/OpenTopic?q=Y&a=tpc&s=67019385&f=48019385&m=1971912766&p=1

 

Yes it is amazing what a tenner in the hand will do!

 

Terry, cash not required, I just let the play button do the talking

 

Ah, but how *sure* can you be that it's the recording you're really listening to, or the equipment adding its own distortions to the mix that make it *seem* like the recording (or the carrier format for that matter ) is to blame?

Past experiences have shown it is the equipment (or much rather how it's set-up), and even more experiences have had me on hearing my own discs in a whole new light. Not just more "hi-fi", but much more music too.