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Perhaps the biggest surprise of our recent Simple Systems Event was the Naim NAP250 power amplifier. Lance and I were tasked with setting up the main demo room and, as such, spent quite a bit of time listening to this amp. Over a couple of days, we were continually surprised and impressed by its performance. Cosmetically understated it may be, but its sonic attributes were loud and clear. It presents music in an orderly fashion. The bass is taut, the midrange is open, and the treble extended, never sounding forced. Rhythms are propulsive and timing is spot on. I was so smitten by this amplifier that I decided to dig into its history.

The NAP250 was first introduced in 1975 to replace the NAP200. The 250 was born out of Julian Vereker’s dissatisfaction with the available amplifiers of the day. Firmly in the “if-it-ain't-broke ...” category, the amp remained virtually unchanged until 2002. In fact, until the introduction of the Statement series, the NAP250 was the blueprint for all Naim amplification.

The first major technical revision was in 2002. The NAP250-2 featured a new power supply and transistors. In 2013, the NAP250 received “Discrete Regulator” status. “Like the flagship NAP 500, ..., the NAP 250 uses a new circuit design with improved earthing arrangements, built on a very high quality, anti-resonance main audio circuit board. The NAP 250 uses the same NA009 transistors that were custom designed for the NAP 500. These outstanding components each provide up to 80 amps and 350 Watts, negating the need to use parallel pairs of transistors (which always have a negative effect on sound). Additional NA009 transistors are used in the fully regulated power supply, ensuring the very best performance.” Additionally, a new top-quality transformer is deployed providing the ability to deliver more than 15 Amps and swing a massive 400VA on transients. The NAP 250 is stable into any load and able to drive a 2-Ohm load for long periods of time.

Over time, the power rating of the NAP has increased from around 70 watts to 100 watts. The iconic chrome bumper styling and willfully obtuse use of DIN connectors are things of the past. What we have in this latest version is a truly wideband amplifier (1.4Hz - 100kHz) that can seamlessly pair with other brands and exploit the advances in high resolution digital audio technology.

The Naim Audio NAP250 power amplifier is a modern icon capable of rubbing shoulders with the very best.

Our industry has an abiding fixation with numbers. Whether it’s THD, wow & flutter, or signal-to-noise ratios, we love the finality of a specification. They define and create order allowing us to make sense of the myriads of components available. They are like the narrative closure of a Hollywood flick; they close the loop.

In the world of digital audio, numbers are king. We obsess over DAC resolutions, sampling rates, and bit depths, but do we have it wrong. Over the last few years, we have seen several Digital-to Analogue converters eschew the numbers chase to create products that attempt to deliver a more “musical” presentation. These DACs look to the past by employing “outmoded” chip sets in novel ways. One such component is the LAB12 dac 1 reference.

The dac1 doesn’t get much more retro. It’s a non-oversampling DAC with a vacuum tube output stage built around Philips multi-bit DAC chips “in a complex parallel configuration right after an efficient layout digital receiver stage, allied with two dual triodes tubes in a output stage.” Like I said, novel.

Sonically, this DAC really digs into the heart of the music. It’s thoroughly engaging with very good resolution (obviously not dCS levels). Tonal accuracy errs on the warm side of life which allows this unit to shine when recordings are good, while withdrawing the spotlight on those lesser albums. Maybe Rick says it best, “this thing is sweet. Guitars and voices ...! Notes just hang in the air. Velvety smooth. Not the last word in detail, but musical as heck. A real toe tapper!” Here, here, after all, do we really want to listen to the sound of numbers?