Nait 3

Anyone any thoughts on Naim Nait 3? I just (oops!) acquired one. Does it need special leads? What is fair price?

 

Contact me by PM if you want some !! just made up some for a couple of inmates seem to have a very postive effect !! oh yes they are 5pin dins to 5pin dins, also 2 x RCA to 5pin din. In 99.99% pure silver.

 

robs the only special lead you will need is a din to phono lead, but you can get these from maplins.

I guess around £250 for a nait three.

Also the three can be split to act as a pre-amp with the connection of a seperate poweramp.

good little amp all in all, Timpy would not agree however, and I don't really know what dom thinks he never told us did he?

 

A Nait 3 eh?

:cry:

Like a red rag to a bull, bit I'll desist...........

Cheers

 

Thanks ..I think I've got an old DIN to phono knocking around from an old tape deck. I'll give it a listen & see what I think when I get it. If I like it, I may well take you up on the Zanash special!

 

I think the device deserves better than Maplin. Now maplin are ok they work but thats about the limit. At the moment julian2003 has a pair of Din Din and if you ask nicely he might let you know what he thinks. Then if you want RCA to Din MrSukebe has one of those, again if you ask he might also tell you how he's getting on with it.

 

Fill me in Timpy...or maybe not...can I read it elsewhere..?

 

Hmmmm, I think it may well have been on GH.

Well basically, I didn't like it. Not at all, not even a little bit. Leave it on for a week and see if you can listen to it! I tried different sources and speakers, and all the time it was too hard and shouty. Naim speaker cable is a must (I imagine), as the Cable talk 3 I used for most of my listening didn't help at all. In the end I was using a Rotel RCD-965BX, and Rogers LS4a speakers, neither known for their shoutyness, and in the end we just gave up. WM thought it was painful to listen to and had trouble staying in the same room at it. It even made the cuddly Keilidhs sound a bit forward.

It was runningin the test lab at low levels here for a week to warm up, and whenever anyone went in there they turned it right down (usually they turn things up, usually when someone else is on the phone......). It made just about palletable noises into the Neat Mystiques, but didn't seem to have the balls to drive them properly, not compared with the other amps we had to hand anyway.

Still 250 is a good price, and you won't have any trouble moving it on if you don't like it. Also, don't take any notice of me, Terry uses one, and Dom bought mine and he thinks it's wonderful.

I got a Densen Beat B100 instead, at the same price as you got your Nait 3.

Good luck with it.

Cheers

 

Hmm. I was aware they are meant to be quite 'bright'. I'll give it a listen & see. Ta for your thoughts.
I used to have a pair of LS4a's. Quite liked them. Only got rid of them a couple of years ago, replaced with Castle Severns....wish I'd kept them now.. (as spares! - I like the Castles better!).

 

Not so much bright, more ear rippingly strident!!!. Sorry I mean forward and involving . The Densen is forward though, but somehow I've never noticed my ears cringing in the same way.

Castle Severns, I like those. Is the Nait 3 destined for those? What amp do you have at the moment.

Cheers

 

I shall expect ear shattering then....

I used to have the Severns through a Yamy A5, then a chap lent me a Linn LK1/2 pre/power. Suddenly, I was into a different world, so I bought them from him. They're about 20 years old, & still going strong...I just thought I'd try out something a little more recent (the Nait!). As you say, shouldn't be a problem selling it on if I don't get on with it.
Don't really have anything else to compare with (except an old NAD 302 which is hooked up for DIY subwoofer purposes at the mo, and is not a patch on the Linns). Any suggestions?

 

Nait, Nait2, Nait3 & Nait5 are they doomed?

I have a Nait 1 sitting between lp12/ittok/k18 and Kans that I am expecting it back from Salisbury any moment after a wash, brush up and a recapping. I am convinced that most black boxes suffer from GIGO and the more revealing the black box the more it suffers and the more your ears suffer unless your input signal is of the highest order.

Remember you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear - or can you?

GIGO rules.


Auric

 

Nait 3

Don't even think about trying it without NACA5 cable. Other cables will of course work but which cables? It is much easier to stick with NACA5 and it is cheap. Make sure that each cable is at least 3.5m long.

Same goes for other interconnects - get Naim stuff. Others may work but that involves investigation and probably lots of dosh.

If the front end is garbage then of course the Nait will reveal that. If the source is good and the CD/vinyl good then expect joy.

Any good quality speaker should do the business fronted by a Nait as long as they do not impose too big a load on the amp. Keilidhs sound good and even Kabers can be used although that stretches it a bit. Personally I front them with older KEFs and any of them will respond sympathetically.

The Nait is however bottom of the Naim range and so I am not claiming that they cannot be bettered. I use the Nait 3 to power my rear speakers in a surround sound system. I have no hesitation in recommending the Nait 3 - but as you can see from this thread there are others who think differently.

Terry

 

hi,
i'm still in the process of evaluating zanash's lead. i'm testing it against a standard naim gray interconnect.

high frequencies through the zanash seem to be smoother and more detailed. the naim is ok at this but can get splashy whilst the Z is calmness and composure.

mid range is difficult to pin down as the N and Z seem to highlight different instruments. doing direct a/b comparisons with one a saxaphone seems to be the 'lead' instrument whereas with the other the synth is now 'lead'. imho the naim lead just shades it here but this may be just what i'm used to.

bass. the Z lead seems to roll off a bit higher than the N lead. there seems to be a bit more bass impact and rythm with the N lead whilst the Z lead seems to be a bit calmer and quieter.

to sum up i'd say that if you are having treble harshness or booming low frequency bass then zanash's lead is a good way to fix them. or if you find naim's leads too harsh in the treble. also there seemed to be a lot more hi-fi attributes to zanash's cable, there was more soundstage height, a little more width and a lot more depth out into the room - on some tracks this was incredible with sounds coming from behind me! the naim lead however was a lot bouncier and more intimate and visceral. the treble was harsher and 'splitchier' than zanash's lead but the bass was deeper and 'groovier'. as present i'm furiously lead swapping on a number of songs as i've no idea whether i'm going to keep it or not although i suspect not as in this sort of situation i go with joolz's razor - spend the least amount of cash.
however if you are after a slightly smoother sound or are into orchestral music with lots of violins then i'd recomend zanash's cable in a heartbeat.
cheers

julian

 

Julian2003,

Thanks for the evenhanded responce, Its intresting that some of the attributes you have given less weight are those that I've tried to encourage....but that perceptions for you.

You just missed one or two things though !

The lead I made up for you is has a much higher percived value, at total cost of less than two full price cd's.

The lead which is a first prototype, is terminate with standard plastic dins, the metal bodied one always seem to give a fuller sound IMO.

I need to develope the various, design topologies to get the best balance but, my main problem is I've no din din gear to be able to test with !

 

pete,
sorry, i did neglect to mention those things... in the grand scheme of things if you like what it does then it is ridiculously cheap compared to other technically similar cables. the plastic plugs are non locking (but then a number of naimies swear by leaving them unlocked anyway so there you go).
if you want to test some other cables then i'd be more than happy to give them a go for you.
cheers


julian

 

Right, I'll take you up on that !

But don't hold your breath as I've an other thing on the go at the moment, just reclocked the Denon with stunning results.

 

pete,
be my guest, whever you're ready. good news about the denon, but to be honest if i was listening to the pre-clocked version at chris's then i don;t think it needed it, it sounded damn good as it was . but then pushing the envelope is what this hobby is all about.

cheers

julian

 

Yep - Timpy's setup won't have helped as HE DIDN'T USE NACAx cable!! Cable Talk 3.1 is allegedly very electrically similar though, and I didn't hear it at Timpy's - I bought it "unheard" although I had heard one in 1998 when I was demming a Rega turntable...

I like it - with one exception. If your speakers are a bit "spikey" in the treble or your source is junk, you'll KNOW about it pretty damn quick. Ditto if you have a knackerd LP on, or a dirty stylus at end-of-side - the term "can strip paint" then really DOES apply! That said, even my shoddy Pioneer PDR609 (well, shoddy for CD replay anyway!) sounds OK through mine - quite groovy. I am going to partner it back up with my Mordaunt Short MS25i's when I move though as the Rega Kytes I have on it now just don't have enough deep bass for the stuff I'm asking it to play!

Those Maplin 4phono->DIN leads aren't that bad dudes - I have them on my Sony 530 Minidisc and Philips DCC730 and they're not awful - if anything the slight veiling they introduce helps MD's slightly "digital" quality to make a very enjoyable sound.

 

Dom,

When you're fully moved into your new adode next month, I'll bring over some Cable Talk 3.1 for you to try on the Nait. Should be interesting. Oh, and making sure that the case isn't being damped by having all those components stacked on top might also make an instructive comparison.