Naim to valve/Yamaha NS1000m – help needed

[davidismynaim]

I have made the decision it is time to move on.

I have had a pair of Yamaha NS1000M refurbished, now looking resplendent in lovely oak veneer. I am thinking about going to valve amplification. I have only ever owned SS, so am a complete novice with valves, so would welcome some help.

There are two amps I have my eye on and would really value some thoughts on these two units or any other you think I should consider second hand in the £1000-£1200 region.

My front-end is Michell Gyrodec (have not worked out phono stage, but would probably go with a simple unit like Cambridge Audio 540P and a passive preamp (until John Westlake has his MPAX available) and SB Touch/Audiolab MDAC for all my digital music.

Thoughts on Audio Innovation 1000 mkIII Monoblocks (they use EL34 but there is talk of using Sovtek 5881/6L6GC WXT for better reliability?)
And views on Audion 300b Silver Night monoblocks with gold grids - I think these are in push pull mode.

Thanks in advance…

[hifi_dave]

I think you need a bit of 'poke' with the NS1000 and I'm not convinced either of those will do the job properly. Can you try before you buy ?

[davidismynaim]

I think you need a bit of 'poke' with the NS1000 and I'm not convinced either of those will do the job properly. Can you try before you buy ?

Possibly the AI 1000's which have a quoted 50w, think the 300b are more like 25W.

Alternative is a big Class A SS, any suggestions?

[hifi_dave]

25 wpc for the Audion is a bit optimistic. The Audio Innovation might do the job but you need something with grip like an EAR or Tube Technology - both are occasionally available s/h.

There are more ss amps to choose from but you do need quality as well as drive. You do need to try as a combination before committing your cash.

[SPS]

I think you need a bit of 'poke' with the NS1000 and I'm not convinced either of those will do the job properly. Can you try before you buy ?

Good Advice to try before you buy Dave..

thats what everyone says that they need some poke Dave, i had the opposite experence..well sort of
i bought some ns1000 's in the early 90's, used them with loads of biggish solid state amps, then Zen Audio in Hull suggested valve amps, i brought 3 or 4 home on demo, but none sounded right ( most where 300b based),

A single ended, self restored 4 watt el84 german radiogram amp eventually ousted the solid state amplifiers. then a restored 9 watt Pye mozart worked a treat.... about 7 watts is really the minium for a reasonably loud volume with the yammies, then i bought an expensive 25 watt 845 triode amp, an expensive mistake...

then i got into px4 valves, i realised how good the really old triode valves are, thats what i still use. 17 years on...
i have a different attitude now, if the speakers don't play loud with a couple of watts, they are not good enough speakers.

[Lee1976]

If you can up you money a bit more to around 1800 get a J.Wood intergrated. It will drive the NS1000 with ease. 75wpc and massive transformers=huge current delivary. They sound superb and have all the good of valve without the usesual valve draw backs.

I know Your in Watford but you are more than welcome to come over to Nottingham with your NS1000 and hook them up and see what you think. I bet you end up getting one that's how confident I am.

[Mika K]

Just yesterday evening set up my NS-1000's with the Shindo Montille amp, small EL84 based 13W push-pull. As a reference I have at the moment Audiozone AMP-1 Chip-amp with 50W per channel and also Apoll M.A-1.0 D-class icepower monos with output of 1kW at my system.

There are naturally different pros and cons there with each amp but still I would say that Shindo Montille drives the speakers surprisingly well despite of the fairly large space I have (and the difficult load characteristics the NS-1000's possess). In smaller rooms small tube amp, even SET might do the trick depending what you're looking for..

[Mika K]

Oh yes, and some years ago had Naim NAC202/NAPSC2/HC2/NAP200 combo in use with my previous NS-1000M's. Definitely very interesting system with some serious abilities but in the end bit too much one trick pony for my personal taste.. :)