Naim Power Amp - match or mix?

[wookiee]

Experience, advice and shameless speculation, if you would...

I have accidently found a Naim Nap 250 DR in my system. Short story as to how that came about in my 'hello' in the Welcome forum if you're interested.

The question is, do I match it with a Naim pre-amp? Or do I mix brands to get a pairing that sounds beautiful and prevents me being dizzied by the Naim upgrade spiral?

Whatever I eventually settle on, the amps will drive a pair of Neat Motive SX1s. They're possibly just a tiny bit big for the room, which is relatively shallow, but has 14 foot ceilings, so there's air to shift. Keen to keep a tight hold on the bottom end but not to remove it completely, of course.

If I go the Naim route, my reading around suggests a Nac 72 or 82 might do a decent job. I don't have the funds for a new (or even second hand) 282, nor a particular desire to get into Hi-Cap, Supercap, Teddycap obsession. The issue being that auditioning older Naim pre-amps can't be done at a local dealer, so it's a case of buying blind and deciding whether to stick or twist, I suppose.

I've found it hard to find much info about mixing a non-Naim pre-amp with a Naim power amp. Is that because it's a silly thing to do? Or because those who allow Naim into their lives tend to commit fully? I will ask questions of local dealers about mixing, but the two nearest hi-fi shops are both Naim suppliers and I wonder if they'll just feed me that way. Are there other options I might suggest to them for auditioning? And if I were to look second-hand are there brands or pre-amps that are known to pair well with Naim power amps? Anyone got any experience or advice?

Current sources are a Planar 3 - which will be upgraded to something like an Planar 8, or a used Xerxes 20 or similar; a 25 year-old Pioneer stable platter CD player which, again, will probably be upgraded with thoughts of auditioning Caspian 2, Saturn-r, Evolution CD 100.

Listening is varied. Plenty of folky acoustic and Americana, but also synth pop, old-fashioned 60s soul and British indie rock/pop. Classical at lower volumes, usually to work by.

Anyone who bleeds green who can help suggest how I hear the older Naim Nacs, or what I should be considering there?
Anyone lapsed Naimiacs who have racks with different badges but remnants of Naim?
Anyone who just fancies chiming in and speculating about what my next steps should be?
Pile in.

[Firebottle]

Hi again.
I'll pile in, the Naim is 'only a power amp', OK it's got a Naim badge on it and hopefully it is a very good sounding amp.

The gain is on the high side so you could use a low (or zero) gain preamp, though not an unbuffered passive I would guess.
What are you after from a preamp, just input selection and volume control?

If so I can recommend this https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HiFi-Blue...kAAOSwS-xfPOyR wholeheartedly. You can even laugh at the name on the front. You would probably need to get a connecting cable made up as I see Naim use a single XLR connector for the L and R input.

Cheers,
Alan

[Macca]

Used NAC72 seem to go for around £350 or £400. I don't think you need to spend that kind of money. For £50 I'd give Alan's suggestion a go. More than likely it will be fine, if not you can just return it under the distance selling rules.

[Beobloke]

Contrary to popular opinion in some quarters, the world will not tilt on its axis or stop rotating if you mix a Naim power amp with someone else's preamp!

That said, I really like Naim preamps so I personally wouldn't be inclined to look much further.

[wookiee]

What are you after from a preamp, just input selection and volume control?

If so I can recommend this https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HiFi-Blue...kAAOSwS-xfPOyR wholeheartedly. You can even laugh at the name on the front. You would probably need to get a connecting cable made up as I see Naim use a single XLR connector for the L and R input.

Thanks Alan. Yes, just input selection and volume control, I think.
If there was a suitable integrated pre-amp/DAC that would be the equal of separate pre-amp and DAC then that would be a possibility too, I suppose.

I'll have a look at that suggestion on eBay. It's somewhat less than I was expecting people to recommend. Which can only be a good thing.

And yes, I had to get a Phono to XLR made up to use my Creek 4240 pre-amp output with the NAP 250, so already got that. Turns out it cost a similar amount to a pre-amp. I had no idea.

[wookiee]

I really like Naim preamps so I personally wouldn't be inclined to look much further.

Hi Adam.

For £50 it seems churlish not to try out Alan's suggestion. And yet also no reason not to keep looking at potential Naim pre-amps in the meantime.

A man with a liking for Naim pre-amps must have encountered a few over the years. If I were to go the Naim route what would you say I need to know?
Are there any less popular or fashionable Naim options that you feel are underrated and well worth considering?

I'm perfectly happy to bide my time and wait for the right thing at the right price, especially as the Naim second hand prices are so solid and help remove that risk of taking a misstep. But you'll also have gathered I'm not too keen on getting onto the 'end of the rainbow' Naim upgrade path in any serious way. Can I trust myself to do one without the other?*

*(Rhetorical question, do not attempt to answer)

[Firebottle]

It's somewhat less than I was expecting people to recommend. Which can only be a good thing.

There are some excellent bargains to be had if you know what to look for.
The volume chip that is used has stellar performance figures, but only when used with exacting supporting circuitry.
As built it is a very good performer, with some modification it can be so transparent you don't know it is in circuit.

I have a similar modified one in my system and am not looking for anything better.