Naim’s new Classics celebrate 50 years

Naim is celebrating 50 years since it began as a ‘rogue’ amplifier company in 1973 under the legendary Julian Vereker, growing into respectability under the subsequent management of Paul Stephenson and Dr Trevor Wilson, until the 2011 merger with Focal, under which it has since been owned by French company VerVent Audio, alongside its sister speaker company. VerVent itself is currently owned by Alpha Private Equity Funds Pan-European private equity firm headquartered in Luxembourg.

But it’s 100% clear that Naim’s products remain designed and engineered in Salisbury. Take the freshly unveiled first fruits for the anniversary, revealed at CES in Las Vegas: the new NSC 222 streaming preamplifier (pictured above), a new iteration of the iconic NAP 250 power amplifier, and the NPX 300 power supply upgrade. These three new Classic Series products update what Naim calls its core range of separates systems for music (only the 5000 Series and the Statement are higher), with Steve Sells, head of hardware engineering at Naim, saying: “We’ve combined our 50 years of experience with the very latest technology — to redefine home hi-fi.”

The NSC 222 is certainly a modern gateway to music, with the streaming abilities of the company’s Uniti series, accessing subscription and free streams including Tidal, Spotify, Apple Music and Qobuz, as well as internet radio and networked files. It also has a built-in movingmagnet phono stage, while its integrated headphone amplifier is the same used in the award-winning Uniti Atom Headphone Edition.

The 100W-per-channel NAP 250 power amplifier is the model’s sixth iteration since its introduction in 1975, and now features tech trickled down from the flagship Statement amplifier, including an eddy-current circuit breaker between the speaker outputs. It promises “more power, even better performance, and greater system-matching flexibility”, which includes new balanced XLR connections.

As is Naim’s usual practice, there is a power supply upgrade available by connecting the NSC 222 with the NPX 300 power supply, which Naim says offers an “instant upgrade” for the streaming preamp by disabling its internal power supply, thus reducing the noise floor, and delivering to it “superior, cleaner” power.

Opinion is divided here on the looks, and particularly how well that colour screen integrates with a classic hi-fi look. But the pricing is kept neat, if aspirational, at $13,500 for each unit.

More info from BusiSoft AV via www.focal-naim.com.au