Is the Rega Brio-R the new Naim Nait 2?

I've heard many comparisons thrown around these forums and online that the Brio-R is a second incarnation of the classic, and some would say legendary Naim Nait 2. Sonic signature, warmth, tonality, great phono stage and not least of all: size.

 

don't know but the rega is a very fine unit imo never used any naim stuff before looks kinda ugly though

 

I think the "olive" Naim kit looks cool...like Soviet-era military gear!

I'm not in the market for new hifi right now; but I definitely want to hear the current Apollo/Brio combo sometime. I'd bet my lunch money that it's competitive with the current entry-level Naim CDP/amp.

 

I love my Brio-R with my Rega RP3 and Vandersteens. Perfect for my budget, too.

 

nice speakers!

 

I've got the Brio-R and absolutely love it and it's phono stage, that said, whenever a Naim Nait 2 comes up on the 2nd-hand market they are scooped up immediately and usually for around $900 (here in Canada anyway), obviously sought after and coveted to have their value increase over the years.

 

familiar photo there....

I think the new Naim Unity Qute2 is the new Nait 2 myself....

 

But it has no phono stage and seems to target a completely different type of market. Was that the spirit of the idea behind the Nait 2 as well?

 

I have owned both the Nait 1 and Nait 2, I still have a Nait 1. They tend to go quickly on the used market. Neither has many inputs and have DIN connectors which could be a problem for some. They are both great sounding integrated amps but are not the ultimate amps that the hype would have you believe.

With that said, they are both fine amps. I wish I had discovered them earlier. It would have saved me much money and messing around with other components.

Scott

 

Anyone else who has heard both care to chime in? I've only heard the Brio-R, Nait 5i2 and the XS, otherwise I'd have more to say!

 

I've owned both amps. Still getting used to the Nait 2. The Nait 2 has a rhythmic energeticpersenttion that just won't let you sit still. The ultimate 13 watt party amp! The're more similar than different, with the Rega having a slightly more fleshed out warmth that makes me want to relax and enjoy the whole album. Add a Decware tube amp into the mix and you have my 3 favorite high end amplifiers. Luckily I don't have to choose for good! All these into my Zu Audio Omen Definitions (a high efficiency design). With vinyl as a primary source.

 

Did you hear those at Hi-Fi Centre on Seymour? They gave me the same tour.

I'd say the Nait 5i is in a different class than the Brio-R, but that's probably what they wanted me to think: they had the Nait running over the din connection to its matching CDP, and hot-swapped regular interconnects to the Brio.

The Nait combo, though, was really something!

 

Conceptually its a successor.
In terms of performance the Rega is superior.
It actually has a proper power amplifier inside for starters!

 

Agreed, about the power. The Brio-R is not actually a successor to the Naim as it's a different design but it does have way more power and still sounds very sweet and accurate at the same time. It also adds remote control, which is a welcome feature. So one might say that it manages to improve upon several aspects of the Nait.
-Bill

 

When I say "successor" I mean it more in the sense that it's a small physical design, has a very loyal following and is a sought-after amp for its sound. The Nait 2 is always tossed around as one of those "legendary" British amps, a sort of benchmark for a type of warm laid-back sound that the UK designs are known for, and that came in at an affordable audiophile price point; much like the Brio-R.

 

Yes, I did. I do most of my ordering/buying through the guys at HiFi – great crew. I found the Brio-R and the Nait 5i2 to be similar in sonic signature, but to my ears the 5i2 had a bigger (taller, deeper especially) soundstage, more air/spacing around voices and instruments and more grunt on the bottom end (lower-mids especially). At the time I bought my Brio-R though, I couldn't justify spending 2x more on the Nait since it has no remote and no phono stage. That could change in the spring.

 

The Brio-R is just a bit larger. I had a Nait 2 as well as many other Naim components here. The Brio-R is a full 12"+ deep, where the Nait is only about 11" and a lot lighter. The Nait also had all DIN connections for its line level duties and so you need special cabling unless you have all older Naim gear, then you could use standard DIN cable. The only RCA inputs were for phono. It sounded very sweet but had low power and a slightly warm and laid back sound. They are getting rather old now. The Brio-R has more in common with the Cyrus 6 amplifier although the Cyrus has no phono input. Both the Cyrus and the Naim also share recessed, banana only speaker connections, where the Rega has binding posts.

I still have some Naim Nac speaker cable here if anyone wants any. I am not sure that I have the Naim gear photos on-line or not, probably not. I can put a couple up if anyone is curious. They probably are not any better than other photos that you might find though.
-Bill

 

Bill said,

"The Nait also had all DIN connections for its line level duties and so you need special cabling unless you have all older Naim gear, then you could use standard DIN cable."

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Bill makes some important points.

The Naits 1 & 2 also require Naim NAC 4 or 5 speaker cable finished with bananas at the amp end. The speaker cable, along with the DIN connections for line level inputs means that the Nait owner will need to have cables (speaker and line level) that are compatible. My point being that you can end up spending some extra dollars to use your newly purchased Nait. The Brio, on the other hand, with its RCA connectors and regular binding post speaker connectors makes it more of a "drop in replacement" for whatever integrated amp the buyer was using before.

While I had some Naim equipment prior to owning the Nait 1 & 2 the cabling issue wasn't an issue for me. However for anyone else it can be a bit confusing, and er, costly.

Here's a couple of pictures of my Nait 1. Does anyone have some Nait 2 pictures handy?

Scott

 

Bill, does the current line of Naim amps still require NACA5 to operate properly? Something to do with capacitance? Forgive me, I'm technically ignorant...

 

I've heard/read that normal cables can be used now... but I'd be interested to hear a dealer/user's take on it too. TIA

 

This is from 1989, 'New Look' one of the first 'Olive Naits' - I had a 'chrome bumper' from 1988 but no pics. The early Nait 2s sound the best to me. I don't know why. I had one from '92 as well but sold it and got this one.

I will check out the Rega one of these days.

 

" I had a 'chrome bumper' from 1988 but no pics."

++++++++++++++

Did you have a chance to compare the early and later Nait 2s side by side? The Nait 2 I had was the late version with an input labeled CD. I have never heard one of the chrome bumper Nait 2s.

Scott

 

I never bought into the Naim speaker cable thing. There may be some synergy if you have an all Naim system but I think the idea of capacitive loading was overblown. All cable presents some capacitance but standard twin speaker cable isn't really high. There were a few flat / ribbon cable designs that had a reputation of causing some amplifier problems. The Naim speaker cable has a couple mm of spacing between the conductors to reduce it but it is very inflexible and can be hard to work with and unsightly.

The gear that I had come through the shop was a Nait 2, chrome bumper unit with a matching Nat tuner. I also had a Nac 32 preamp with Hi-Cap power supply, Nap 250 power amp, and an early Naim CD player that formed another system. The old Nait 2 had a sweet sound and it was cute enough that I thought about keeping it but I couldn't warm up to it as much as some others who also wanted to buy it so I let it go.
-Bill

 

Sorry -no, not side by side like A/B comparisons. One was new and the other well broken in soon to be passed on to a family member. Every Nait 2 I have heard has been excellent as I am sure yours was, but it is likely that the older ones were using the initial batch of 'select' components that they had been developed with.

 

Agreed about the cable- It is affordable but inflexible! Surely they could improve on that. It has been how many yrs ? NAC A4 -1981, A5 1989!

I had a 32.5/HC/250 side by side with NAIT 2 CB for a while. The bigger system was warm and rich with enormous grip but could not match the NAIT for resolution at low volume levels. You had to turn it up, whereas detail-to- the-noise- floor just flowed through the NAIT unhindered! I had the bigger system before the NAIT and just loved it, but now I had to have a combination of the two! So I raised the query and was told to 'upgrade' to the NAC 72 preamp. Not true - I even lost the warmth of the 32.5, and it just did not work for me. Still use a NAIT 2