Naim Supernait 3 Integrated Amplifier (Each)

FEATURES

With our typical obsessive attention to detail – all in service of achieving the most authentic musical performance – the SUPERNAIT 3 benefits from the following features:

• Class A headphone amplification
• Alps Blue Velvet volume control
• Reed relay input selection
• Ceramic insulators for the power transistors
• Galvanically isolated microprocessor control section
• Microphonic-isolating PCB mounts

Step up from the NAIT XS3 to the SUPERNAIT 3 and you benefit from a range of superior features, all designed to deliver even better sound quality:

• Full 24V DR module built-in: enjoy the purer power and performance improvement of Naim’s Discrete Regulation technology for the entire pre-amp stage.
• Larger toroidal transformer in the power supply: provides greater power and speed of recovery
• Additional leaded through-hole components in the signal path: further minimises negative effects of vibration and transient thermal conditions
• Chassis-mounted input sockets hand-wired to the circuit boards: offers enhanced vibration isolation
• Full Alps Blue Velvet balance control

TECHNOLOGY & CRAFT

The upgrades in more detail:

• Our R&D team has found a way to more than double the speed of the voltage gain stage, which in turn doubles the rate at which the speaker output stage can react.
• The second gain stage transistors have been optimised, so they no longer need to be shielded by a cascode stage transistor. Removing the cascode means less amplifier stabilisation is required: that doubles the slew rate and delivers an uplift in sound quality.
• The phono circuit topology comprises 3 stages: the gain stage, passive equalisation and final gain and active equalisation. This enables excellent noise performance, extended RIAA equalisation beyond the audio band and great overload headroom.
• All RIAA equalisation capacitors and the RIAA resistors are ‘through-hole’ mounted film designs, with low microphonic pickup and excellent transient performance. As phono stages are 1000x more sensitive than other inputs, this greatly benefits the sound quality.
• Input impedance is 47kΩ in parallel with 470pF capacitive loading; the gain is perfect for 5mV moving magnet cartridges.