Mine is actually an Exposure 15, before the super versions. Its an early one too from about 1990/1 vintage. Extrememly musical and has reponded to speaker upgrades well - Royd A7 for 10 years and recently to Rogers LS55 floorstanders. Basically I have sat and listened to the music through this amp for 10 years now - Pascagoula Mobile Truck Repair

None . .

Back In The Saddle Again With Naim "Shoe Box" Style Amplification

It's been about a decade and a half since I sold my Naim CDI - NAP 72 - Hicap - NAP 250 system, taking a sabatical from the hi-end. About eight years ago I decided to get back into the hobby with the purchase of a Linn Classik music system and a pair of Linn Kan V speakers.

I've kept the aforementioned, and added quite a bit of vintage gear since that time, including a number of tuners, amplifiers, preamps and tape decks.

Amongst them is some vintage Naim gear from the 1980's, including a chrome bumper Naim NAC 42 - Hicap - NAP 110 setup. As well as a newer cosmetic NAC 62, which will run both 24 volt rails on the Hicap power supply.

The NAC 42, which predates the Hi-Cap power supply, can be used with a Hi-Cap. However, it will only run one of the 24 volt rails in the Hi-Cap. Personally, I have not been able to hear much of a difference between the 42/62 Hi-Cap setups; both sound extremely similar, which should come as no surprise given that their electronic architecture is basically the same; the NAC 62 being a refinement of the earlier 42 and 42.5 preamp's.

They both work quite well in my vintage system, which includes an Electrocompaniet Preampliwire IIA and Electro Amplwire 65, as well as a Naim NAP 110 - which gave up the ghost the day affer I purchased it off of Audiogon. The seller did state that the NAP 110 did have a slight hum to it, indicating that its ancient power supply capacitors were starting to fail. However, I did expect that the amplifier would last more than a day after purchasing it.

On the plus side, the NAP 110 is in excellent cosmetic shape, and worth every penny of the $273 I paid for it.

However, rather then sending it back to Naim Audio NA for what is certain to be a $400 to $500 service, I am going to spring for the Avondale Audio Mini Cap 6 capacitor mod for my NAP 110, which is a nice clean design that will fit into the space left vacant by the two ancient power supply cap's and rectification that I've since removed.

The Mini Cap 6 module costs about $150, and appears to be a straightforeward installation, while offering a great sonic improvement over the original power supply.

Overall, the Naim NAP 110 offers a nice stopping point if you plan on eventually trading up to more powerful vintage Naim amp's like the 160, 180, 250 or 135's. However, the NAP 110 is more than good enough to be your last amplifier, provided that it's partnered with an efficent pair of transducers.

I'd also recommend using the NAP 110 (as well as all other Naim amplifiers, with Naim preamplification) since these amplifiers are designed to work best with Naim preamp's. However, I have found that Naim preamplifiers, when partnered with high quality amplifiers from other manufacturers, can often sound as good if not better than their Naim counterparts.

* Note that you must have a separate Naim power supply in order to do this, such as a SNAPS, Hi-Cap or FLATCAP.


Many Naim enthusiasts also found this out when a British audio dealer (whose name presently escapes me) decided to begin importing American audio back in the 1980's, in efforts to break the stronghold that Naim and Linn had on the British audio community at the time. Many a Naim enthusiast ended up trading in his NAP 250 for a Krell KSA 50, finding the KSA 50 to be superior is many ways.

Personally, I've owned both the KSA 50 as well as 250 and 135's, and consider all three to be superb amplifiers, when set up properly.

As for my NAP 110, I plan on doing this Mini Cap 6 upgrade in the coming year, finances permitting.

Enjoy the music!

Jimmyblues..

Clarity, dynamics, ease of listening, transparency - oh, there are so many strengths

Could look nicer, but with this sound, who cares,

After searching for over 30 years for my Nirvana I came across a nAP 110 which i had upgraded to a 140 by naim UK. This Amp is superb. I use it with a 72 and SNAPS, Theta Pearl and Chroma DAC with the JM Lab 927be speakers. Rhythms, depth, beautifully clear bass (I hate wallow) and trebles that shimmer. I recently tried a NAP 250 and was stunned that I preferred the 140. I may take one reviewers tip and go for a High Cap. No more upgrading for me!!

Similar Products Used:

Rogue Tempest, Lavardin IT (both unreliable), Krell 300 with 150, Electrocompaniet ECI 1, Unison Research Unico

Everything.

The need for Naim's cables.

I got this and a 42.5 pre-amp from a surplus store that had undervalued them - my idea was to re-sell them for some extra bucks. Wrong! After years of unsatisfactory set-ups I was listening to music again. I've since added decent interconnects and naim speaker cable and this is the best sound I have ever had - detail, sweetness, punch, and I can listen to it for hours. I'm converted and the only upgrade I would now consider is the Naim 250.

Similar Products Used:

Arcam 290P Power amp.

Dynamics, musicality, detail. Ditto all other reveiws here. Upgradeable, excellent customer service. Phono stage is to die for! Vinyl Junkies line up here.

Needs top quality ancilary equipment as it is very revealing. Naim CD players clearly make an excellent partner although friends have good results with Rega CD players as well as a Marantz KI signature. Din cables, but hey, when something sounds this good they must make sense.

I have had more than my fair share of amplifiers as I used to work in a Hi End Hi-Fi shop in Manchester town centre UK. One day we traded in a little Naim Nait 3 and plugged it in for a laugh. It drove a pair of Kef reference speakers (£2,500)incredibly well with balls i''ve not heard from an integrated. So much so I took it home for a full audition. A week later I bought it! Working in a hi-end shop introduces you to some incredible sounding pices of kit but the basic ingredients of this amp were spot on. Ok, so the soundstage isn''t very deep but the drive and clarity got me hooked. The phono stage was also stunning for the money. To cut a long story short I had several Nait 3''s and finally managed to get my hands on a NAC72/NAP140 which is 11 years old. I was more than a little apprehensive because of the age of the units but once plugged in all that disapeared. This amp is simply phenominal and the best six hundred quid I have ever spent on Hi-Fi. If you have an older combo like mine it is well worth getting the units serviced and also replacing the old grey snaic with a new black one. The sound was cleaned up and sounds even better. I have a pair of Dynaudio Audience 52''s and this combo sounds great. There are a lot more expensive hifi systems out there but in my opinion you would have to spend a lot more money to get more music and enjoymnet than this pair.

Similar Products Used:

Audiolab, Nait 3, Cyrus 3/PSX

I've had my Naim NAC 102 and NAP 140 for over a month now, so I feel that it's time to submit my review. The biggest thing that I notice is that it handles dynamics exceedingly well. From the softest softs to the loudest louds, it always sounds magical.
In the past I had viewed an amplifier as a simple "pipe with gain". I felt that as long as you had enough power to prevent clipping, then one amplifier would sound the same as the rest. I was dead wrong. After listening to the Naim gear against a plethora of other equipment from Bryston, Rega, Yamaha, Exposure, Primare, Arcam, etc., the Naim pre/power combination sounded far more engaging, exciting, exhilarating, exhuberant, and as many other superlative "e" words you want to tack onto this list.

All material is delivered with great detail, yet it doesn't sound cold. It's really quite the opposite: the warmth and pleasure produced by this combination exceeds anything that I have heard from other manufacturers. And the "toe tap factor" is really up there.

Overall this is a fantastic combination, and heartily recommended!

The other reviewer has it about right. The Naims are exhillerating & detailed.Only my lack of funds stops me buying more of them and going fully active.
I would recommend anyone starting from scratch with their amplification to take a good look at Naim; but if you already have a good PRE or Power - I wouldn't mix them.

dynamics, rhythm, drive, punch, 'jump' factor, power

As per typical Naim, not the last word in soundstaging and imaging

Damn incredible. I don't care what the power rating says, this amp rips it up like no other. Scary-fast dynamic contrasts and rhythm and pace that are easily the best I have heard. Coming from a nait3 and listening now to a nac92/nap140, I am amazed by the difference this amp has made. The power seems to be FAR more than claimed, the soundstage went from acceptably big to bloody huge and incredibly transparent and spacious. Ease of presentation and articulation are outstanding. Music is presented fluidly and without any hard, artificail ugliness. There is LIFE in the music that no other company seems to be able to convey. The breathlessness the nait3 exhibited when driven hard is utterly absent with the nap140. This combination (naim cd3-5, 92/140) in conjunction with the North Creek Music Borealis speakers I built (do yourself a favour and look them up at www.northcreekmusic.com -easily the best I have heard for under $4000usd) plays music like no other 'hi-fi' I have listened to. Those of you into Naim will understand. Those of you looking to upgrade from a nait3 or nap90 to another power amp, do it. No regrets. Big-time difference, especially with semi-difficult speakers. Not cheap, but in every respect (besides image depth) an absolutely stunning amp.

I feel I ought to mention I a/b 'd the nap140 and the nap150 (the new 5 series amp) and Naim have changed the sound of the new series to a far more hi-fi kind of sound: imaging and smoothness have taken precedence to the energy and vigor and life of the older Naim gear. I am not trying to discredit the new series 5, just commenting that the older 'Naim sound' is quite different compared to the new. The 5 series seems to be targeting the standard hi-fi crowd, looking for the stereophile definition of perfection through their system, and not so much reality and life of a musical event. Just a word of notice, the new series is definately different, so don't but blind. I am sure the 5 series will find it's respective niche of devotees, but I'm afraid I'm an old school devotee when it comes to Naim.

Similar Products Used:

naim nait3, naim nait5, naim 150, ps audio cx200, sumo polaris,

I can only agree with the previous reviewers. I spent a lot of time searching for a power amp which was able to accurately drive my dynaudio speakers. As i was recommended the NAP140 by a local dealer, i was a little puzzled about the power specs of "only" 45 watts @ 8 Ohms. Could this amp take control over speakers with low efficiency and critical impedance? Yes! Today, i'm a proud owner of a naim system (CD3.5/NAC72/NAP140) and i have but admiration for the ability of the NAP140 to reproduce such musical spectacles without leaving the slightest impression of nervousness, even at high levels! The bass is warm and round, but very well focused and contoured. The midrange is very clear and charming, listening to voices or guitars is a real pleasure. The heights are enjoyably soft and silvery. The system may lack a little of imaging, but the swing, the timing and the timbre of the music are thrilling! Once you press "play" you won't stop listening. Guaranteed!

If you have difficult loudspeakers to drive, you don't neccessarily need a monster amp with houndreds of watts of power. Try the little NAP140 and you will be amazed. No question, this is a 5 star product!

musicality (if there is such a word)
ability to handle difficult loads

Din cable system is kind of strange

I am absolutely amazed by this product. I bought it used to go with my matching Naim NAC 72 preamp, but from its small size I didn't expect much. The dealer informed me that it is stable to 0 ohms and can drive anything, and I can say that it does. I hooked it up to my castle eden speakers and I was amazed at the depth and imaging it added, just from a power amplifier. I was so curios about this unit that I hooked it up to the 25 pairs of speakers running throughout my house and it drove them effortlessly! I am very impressed by this amp, more so then by my enormous adcom gfa-5800. Don't be discouraged by size, because it really doesn't matter!

Similar Products Used:

Naim NAP 110, Adcom GFA 5800, Golden Tube SE-100