as long as I do, I will post the only known schema of the LFD.
if I have time, when I dismount the wreck, I will check if it matches
if I have time, when I dismount the wreck, I will check if it matches
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
for having listened to it for a few days at home, I do not understand that we can prefer an LFD to an old generation Naim.
I do not say it's bad, but not for me, it's not worth an old Naim.
the client also has a pleasure of listening with my Audio Innovation Alto .
however, I would be happy to assemble a Naim in this chassis.
I do not say it's bad, but not for me, it's not worth an old Naim.
the client also has a pleasure of listening with my Audio Innovation Alto .
however, I would be happy to assemble a Naim in this chassis.
That’s the first time I’ve seen a Nait 5i schematic. I had to find photos of the pcb to be sure that was the true circuit. I wonder whether JV would have let this out the door. It breaks many of the old design rules. It’s almost like a new designer was hired who changed it all. Steve Sells?
Exactly. I think that's why the sound is much leaner and more or less bland compared to original models. Perhaps it was an engineering led protest against JV's little tweaks and touches that actually spiced up the SQ and established the brand in the first place. I believe that was also what kept the brand up there for decades - it certainly wasn't the prices or quirky connectors and lots of expensive little boxes and cables everywhere.
I think it's a great shame that reverting to standard design practices have virtually taken the brand with its unique sound and repositioned it in the mainstream of unremarkable audio products that we can take or leave depending the appearance, operating features and the appeal of the advertising pitch. Time will tell whether this conservative strategy does anything in the market place where newer generations of customers have the option to choose whether the products are worth the price ticket and still have the "cool brand" factor.
it's the only diagram I found but I did not check if it was compliant.
when I dismount the LFD, I'd do a quick check on a few items to see if it's real or not.
what I can say is that for the selling price of these devices, it's a little "light" overall.
Good morning Ian. I agree with you. It makes me wonder whether this is deliberate or whether it is a change of engineer(s) who don't understand/believe the JV approach. Why would they want to downgrade the SQ of the cheaper products? It doesn't appear to save them money...the opposite. I assumed the NAP250 DR uses the same JV circuit but now I'm not so sure. I'm a little cynical because Steve Sells does not exactly have an outstanding pedigree of places he worked before Naim.
Thanks Brian and I trust its a good spring afternoon for UK/Euro folk.
Perhaps the more obvious target for criticism is Roy George, "keeper of the Naim sound". For anyone who hasn't read the JV interviews and more recent media stuff, have a look at the video at the end of this article. A famous Naim for 40 years | What Hi-Fi?
You can find this stuff elsewhere and its not news any more but a reminder of how much shameless spin even the professionally trained people seem to use in their media presentations. You can't tell where the BS begins or ends with a deadpan set of facial expressions like Roy's - maybe that's why he got the job!
Perhaps the more obvious target for criticism is Roy George, "keeper of the Naim sound". For anyone who hasn't read the JV interviews and more recent media stuff, have a look at the video at the end of this article. A famous Naim for 40 years | What Hi-Fi?
You can find this stuff elsewhere and its not news any more but a reminder of how much shameless spin even the professionally trained people seem to use in their media presentations. You can't tell where the BS begins or ends with a deadpan set of facial expressions like Roy's - maybe that's why he got the job!
I don’t know much about Roy George. He studied something at Southampton Uni but I don’t think it was electronics. Maybe acoustics. But he’s a manager worried about revenue and profit. One problem you sometimes get in small companies is manager’s fear of hiring more talented people than they are...got to keep your job and pension.
I think Ian is right that Naim has gone downhill SQ-wise. I think they have lost the recipe or something. Their Atom Unity sounds truly atrocious to me. The DACs before the “flagship” 555 have audibly bad jitter. And now the Nait 5i is using a circuit I would have expected to see in a Mission Cyrus or similar. My local dealer complains, as so do some of his customers I met, that the Naim sound is unpleasant to listen to for extended periods. So it isn’t just my opinion.
There is know-how out there to improve their designs, I know this for certain, but I’m afraid their ears are probably only open to their own narrative (or BS to use Ian’s Ozzy vernacular
).
I think Ian is right that Naim has gone downhill SQ-wise. I think they have lost the recipe or something. Their Atom Unity sounds truly atrocious to me. The DACs before the “flagship” 555 have audibly bad jitter. And now the Nait 5i is using a circuit I would have expected to see in a Mission Cyrus or similar. My local dealer complains, as so do some of his customers I met, that the Naim sound is unpleasant to listen to for extended periods. So it isn’t just my opinion.
There is know-how out there to improve their designs, I know this for certain, but I’m afraid their ears are probably only open to their own narrative (or BS to use Ian’s Ozzy vernacular
).... Another Blameless
Blameless? Wait for a few years or decades and everyone will know...
Is JV still alive? And what is the 'JV approach'? The company needs to grow. The proven classic products need to be maintained but new products must be designed. Let's assume the quasi topology had been squeezed to death, now other topologies need to be squeezed. CFP is a suitable option. Like the classic Naim topology this is also difficult to squeeze (which is good for competition).
For starter, the designer of the above Nait5 uses Re = 0.1Ohm. Which tells that maximum transconductance is wanted to retain the important strength of the classic Naim.
The way I see it, nature is not symmetrical. We have electrons but not positrons. So an asymmetrical output stage is more “natural” than complementary. JV used all npn but not because he had to.
The fact that JV used Baxandall diode and the unique RC base stopper compensation is telling that he wanted symmetrical behaviors from the quasi, and that's the point of the design. There could be massive psycho-marketing involved in the choice of everything there. But class B is always about symmetry.
It is not easy to work with the quasi topology. Not many transistors are suitable for the VAS. I have used parallel TO-92 at the top and MJE340 at the bottom. And Naim has always brought more or less the same Zetex transistors for the VAS.
There are many amps in quasi topology considered as 'best sounding I have ever heard', ranging from 0.4% THD to 0.1% (The LM3875). It is hard to improve THD from what have been achieved by Naim when in the past there was no competition from faster transistors. Yes, the many favorable claims regarding quasi amps tell us something but unless the THD can be easily made very low I will not bother.
CFP is a topology where simple circuit can give very low distortion. And there isn't very bad CFP amplifiers. The bass control is always unique. When JLH made his CFP amplifier he was amazed and thought that future designers should follow that direction.