Back To Basics

David Price samples the latest incarnation of the classic Nait integrated amplifier that re-introduces a built-in phono stage

- David Price

There’s a generation of audiophiles for whom the Naim Nait is very special. Many who now have something close to their dream hi-fi systems, will have started with Naim’s first integrated amplifier – and never forgotten it. Effectively the Salisbury company’s entry-level pre/power amplifier combination that had shrunk in the wash, so to speak, it was a remarkably convincing little thing. So much so that its minimalist ethos went on to define the eighties zeitgeist as far as British specialist hi-fi was concerned.

That first Nait was paired down to the point of having no tone controls, a single-channel volume trim pot disguised as a balance control and a power output lower than many of today’s headphone amplifiers. It was one of the most extreme hi-fi designs of a pretty whacky decade, and became a badge of one’s audiophile purity. Sonically it was pretty extreme too – despite having just 13W into 8ohm, it was a remarkably engaging listen, making music sound intense, enthralling and captivating. What little power it had was deployed with a great deal of zeal.

Since the original Nait was discontinued in the late eighties, a lot of water has gone under the bridge. The small integrated has gone through a number of incarnations, growing up into a fully-fledged full-width design that has a wide range of inputs and a balance control. For a couple of decades, the Nait has been a line level-only product, and has got ever slicker, more mainstream and less quirky with each incarnation.