Naim New Classic is a brand new range launched 50 years after Julian Vereker established Naim Audio in Salisbury. Subsequently, Naim slowly but surely became known as an uncompromising manufacturer of high-end amplifiers.
The new range is in many ways the modern interpretation of Vereker’s original design philosophy with its minimalist design, sharp contours, and quirky solutions on the inside.
New Classic consists of three components so far. A preamplifier with streaming integrated, which is called NCS 222. It can be complemented by the new NAP 250, which is a power amplifier with 100 watts of power, and then there is the NPX 222 power supply, which can further lift the sound quality of an NCS 222.
The New Classic NCS 222 streaming preamplifier gets its powerful 1.5 watt Class A headphone amp section from Atom HE, and the sound is processed by a Burr Brown DAC, which has its own filter system with polystyrene absorption on filter components for lower distortion and best possible impulse response, all according to Naim.
The NCS 222 also has built-in phono input for MM pickup, and it can supply power via 8 pin DIN to future Naim components.
The New Classic NAP 250 power amplifier delivers 100 watts of power in each channel into 8 ohms and can deliver up to 300 watts, or 780 watts in one channel. It’s fully balanced with XLR input and has as powerful a transformer as the larger NAP 300, as well as the same quiet fan cooling.
The new power supply, the New Classic NPX 300, can drive an NCS 222 and then disconnect its internal power supply. The NPX 300 has Naim’s own multipin Burndy connectors for both the digital and analogue parts.
The New Classic series connects with an optical control cable and is controlled with the Naim app. Naim has worked to make the climate footprint as low as possible, consuming just 0.5 watts in standby.
