Naim Nait XS 3 £2199
This reassuringly familiar amplifier has been around in one form or another since 2008. There’s a perfectly good reason for that, of course – as evidenced by its presence on this page, still it remains the most musically enticing stereo amp option at this price.
The new moving magnet phono circuit is made up of three stages – a gain stage, passive equalisation and final gain with active equalisation. The idea is to minimise noise while keeping plenty of dynamic headroom. The equalisation curve is custom, treading the path between traditional RIAA and the IEC alternative. This ought to combine good bass with enough low-end roll-off to prevent rumble spoiling the sound.
When it comes to connections, there is the choice of stereo RCA or, of course, Naim’s preferred DIN sockets for the four line-level inputs. The user also has the option to split the pre and power amplification sections should they want to slot something even more sophisticated into their system.
As is usual for Naim products, you can add an outboard power supply – the Flatcap XS (£999), Hi-cap DR (£1499) or Supercap DR (£4849) – to improve the amp’s performance.
The XS 3 sounds especially crisp and agile, impressing with a combination of insight, dynamic subtlety and rhythmic drive that’s hard to better at this level.
Detail resolution is good, but it’s the amplifier’s ability to assemble all that information into a cohesive whole that really impresses.
There’s a generous dose of dynamics and it is composed too, with a good degree of refinement when required. We also love the way this amp tracks complex rhythms.
It’s pretty common to find that built-in phono stages aren’t particularly good, but the XS 3’s gives a detailed and punchy performance that brims with energy and interest.
If it’s important to you that your music comes through with its emotional impact intact, listen in to this Naim.