Naim Nait 5i

[devilkazuya]

What do you all think of this amp? Go in depth

I am going to demo it in Audio T in an hour. I was almost all set to buy the Rega Mira amp (£600) which i really liked. I have heard that the nait 5i is a really nice amp though, so through temptation have decided to demo it.

I am definitely going for the Rega Apollo cd player (£500) and pretty certain on the Rega R3 floorstanders (£500), so it's just a decision on the amp that remains. I found the Rega Mira considerably better than the Rega Brio, so we'll see how the nait 5i compares.

Like i say, offer whatever you have to say

 

[Mr_Sukebe]

I used to own a Nait 5 (not the i) and bought it after compairing it to an Arcam something or other, Meridian of similar price and Cyrus 7.
IMO the Nait made them all sound like "hi-fi", whilst the Nait got on an played music.
I'd still stand by that against any comparable new kit and consider the Nait to be a great piece of kit.

Having said that, be aware that Naim aren't the ultimate manufacturer out there. All manufacturers have their own style of sonic presentation. Once you've experienced a wider selection of gear, you'll come to notice that Naim kit tends to emphasise certain elements of the frequency range, to add that "foot tappingly fun" part.

Really depends on what you want. I know a lot of people who are very happy with Naim gear. I also know a lot of people who've moved on from it to even better things.
At the price, I'd struggle to make a better recommendation unless you're happy to take the more odd route of modding, s/h kit and the risks of odd Chinese valve amps.

So if you're happy with it, go for it.

 

[BF-Bert]

Personally I like the Naim presentation of music. Lots of pace and rhythm and to me they sound more musical than neccessarily accurate. Like Mr S said for the price theres very little to touch it, but if your thinking of buying new it might be worth holding off rumours of a new "super" nait are coming in fast and furious.

 

[devilkazuya]

this rumoured 'super nait', is it meant to be a whole new range? or just the entry level amp, because as far as naim goes, the entry level is all i can currently afford, if even that.

 

[BF-Bert]

Naim have just released a new entry level pre-amp the 122x so I would imagine the "super" nait, if it appears to be a direct replacement for the 5i or somewhere in between the 5i and 122x/150x.

 

[9designs2]

Naim above most other brands is one you need to listen for yourself.... I heard a top end Naim system a few weeks back... (I mean TOP END ) and with in seconds you could tell you were listening to a Naim set-up !!! TBH, it sound to aggressive and all "Bleed'n Edge" to me... and not overly musical, well sounded broken actually, until they hooked a 555 CDP/PSU on .... only 14K worth.

I think the reason for new 122x is the old one was poor in comparison to the 5i...so they had to improve it....

Compare a 5i to the Rega etc.... there is no right or wrong choice, only one that you like best......
Note if you move to 5i, you may end up preffering different speakers with it... System matching and synergy is the key.

Have fun......and report back

 

[devilkazuya]

i have demoed the nait 5i twice now in the last 3 days, and my word it is excellent. Going to try and extend the budget towards it. Also i demoed the model up from the speakers i was intending to go for. Instead of the rega R3's , looks like i want to get the rega R5's instead now, much bigger sound and more bass extension, very noticable improvement for just £200 more. Irresistable