Усилители мощности стерео — Naim NAP 350

The NAP 350 is a mono power amplifier from Naim Audio, designed in Salisbury and shown at High End Munich 2023 as part of the New Classic 300 Series together with the NSS 333, NAC 332, NVC TT and NPX TT, and a pair of them is needed for a stereo system. It went on sale in October 2023 at USD 8,499 or CAD 10,999 per unit, and Naim positions it for large loudspeakers that present a demanding load. Cooling relies on the heat sinks plus a temperature-controlled fan. It is a pure class AB linear design running from fully regulated DR power supplies, housed in an aluminium case with thermally conductive aluminium alloy heat sinks.

Key specs that matter

Rated output is 175 W into 8 ohm at 0.1% THD+N, rising to 345 W into 4 ohm, and Naim quotes peak power delivery of up to 1.7 kW for loudspeakers with complex crossovers. THD+N is 0.006% and the damping factor into 8 ohm is 36. The amplifier clips with an input of 1.33 V RMS. It measures 432 mm wide, 91.5 mm high and 317.5 mm deep and weighs 16.5 kg.

Engineering and use context

A new high-current output stage uses matched pairs of the NA009 custom power transistors Naim first developed for its Statement system. The input is a single true balanced XLR connection with a 47 kohm impedance, and a legacy adaptor lead gives a 34 kohm single-ended option. Mains voltage can be set to 115 V or 230 V at 50 or 60 Hz. Power draw is 24 W in normal use, under 0.5 W in standby and under 0.3 W when switched off. Each unit is supplied with a Power-Line Lite mains lead, one XLR to XLR balanced interconnect and an optical system automation cable. Because every channel has its own chassis, each one also has its own regulated DR supply, and extra units can be added for bi-amping or tri-amping loudspeakers with separate driver terminals.

Pairing

Naim suggests the NSS 333 streamer and the NAC 332 preamplifier as partners, the latter listed at USD 10,999 and upgradable with an NPX 300 power supply, and a stereo system needs two NAP 350s fed from the balanced XLR outputs of such a preamplifier. For loudspeakers, the company names the Focal Maestro, Scala and Sopra N3 as examples of the large designs it has in mind, and the near doubling of rated output into the lower impedance matches that kind of load.

Alternatives

The Naim NAP S1 is the monoblock paired with the NAC S1 preamplifier in the Statement system, delivering 746 W from a 4000 VA transformer in a bridged dual design.