Предусилители — Naim NAC 332

The NAC 332 is a preamplifier from the Naim Audio New Classic collection, where it sits in the 300 Series next to the NSS 333 streamer, the NAP 350 monoblock power amplifier, the NVC TT phono stage and the NPX TT power supply. Naim calls it the digitally controlled, analogue centre of a system and describes it as its most adaptable pre-amplifier to date. The circuit is a discrete transistor design throughout, with a precision fixed resistor volume control.

Key specs that matter

The NAC 332 accepts sources through eight analogue input sockets - one 8-pin DIN, two 5-pin DIN, three RCA pairs and two XLR balanced pairs. The unbalanced sockets present 47 kohm and the XLR pairs 100 kohm, all with 2.2 V typical level, and any front-panel input button can be mapped to any of these sockets. Its outputs, XLR balanced and RCA single-ended, are each rated at 10 Vrms maximum, and every input accepts up to 9.5 Vrms. Naim quotes a frequency response of 3 Hz to 40 kHz at -3 dB, a line distortion of 0.003 percent at 1 kHz and 0.018 percent at 20 kHz with a 2.2 V input and volume at 0 dB, crosstalk of 90 dB at 1 kHz and an analogue gain of 15.5 dB at maximum volume. The chassis measures 43.2 cm wide, 9.15 cm high and 31.75 cm deep and weighs 11 kg.

Engineering and use context

A class-A headphone amplifier drives a 6.35 mm jack at up to 1.5 W into 16 ohm. The unit draws 20 W in normal use and less than 0.5 W in standby, and it runs on 100 V, 115 V or 230 V mains at 50 or 60 Hz. Control comes from eight front-panel buttons for input selection, mute and standby, the Focal and Naim App and a Zigbee RF handset, and a USB port on the unit is reserved for firmware updates. With the NSS 333 streamer the preamplifier shares bi-directional wireless inter-product communication, so the two units work as one system.

Pairing

Naim lists the NVC TT phono stage for vinyl playback with this preamplifier, and the NPX 300 power supply as an upgrade that disables the internal supply and feeds the NAC 332 cleaner power. In the 300 Series the matching amplifier is the NAP 350, a monoblock that Naim built for demanding loudspeakers, with a silent cooling system so it can be installed without audible fan noise. The 200 Series NAP 250, the sixth generation of a model first introduced in 1975, is rated at 100 W per channel.

Alternatives

The Naim NSC 222 is the streaming preamplifier of the New Classic 200 Series, adding network playback and an MM phono stage inside a case with identical dimensions.