Hello everybody.

I am tempted to give a second hand N-Sub a try in my system. I already have a Sizmik 10.25 sub together with a pair of Majik 140s. I wonder what the difference between those two would be. At first glance I think that the Sizmik would fit better to the Majiks (because both are Linns), but the Sizmik has a Linn amp inside and the N-Sub has a Naim sub. Since I don't like the Linn amps (way too laid back for my taste), I might like the S-Sub more.

Has anybody here ever compared the N-Sub to a Sizmik and might share his experience with me?

Regards, Mario

Hi Mario,
I cannot comment on Nsub over Sizmik. What I do know is that my nsub integrates seamlessly with my Allae. I've heard it with a pair of sl2. My dealer matches it with many speakers. It is very flexible with a wide range of controls allowing it to integrate with virtually any speaker.
ATB Keith

quote:

Originally posted by meissmar:
... the N-Sub has a Naim

Yes - and VERY flexible in use.

Keith

I'm curious. What do you feel your n-sub added to your Allaes?

Thanks
Clay

Hi Clay,

I usually use one of three settings. One is normal bass boost, one subtle and the last is mute. On well recorded material it's usually muted or sometimes on subtle. Subtle seems to enhance the midrange and treble without necessarily boosting the bass response. I use the last setting when listening to thinly recorded material to add some weight to otherwise flat sounding recordings. I don't tend to fiddle with it once it's set. Naim obviously believe in it. They demo it with everything from n-sats up to sl2s.

Keith

Nice one Adam - was curious to see what the Amp and processing module looked like in my n-Sub. Any more internal pics ?

James

I've never seen the insides of the nsub - interesting. Given that the amp is supposed to be a modified 200, and there is a big fat woofer and a beautifully finished cabinet, it's surprising that the price is the same as a 200. I suppose we should be grateful for that.

As to whether the nsub is better than the sizmik, the only way to know is to try them both. Given the differences in presentation between Linn and Naim amps, I suspect that all Linn would give better synergy.

Nigel

quote:

Originally posted by james n:
Any more internal pics ?

Avoiding the too obvious jokes -

and. These were just grabbed one day in the dem room.

I took them because I had just seen the insides of A.N. Other sub up in the Speaker Department.

As you can't see them it is easy to miss the differences in sub amplifiers. This, I would submit, is a proper amplifier - designed specifically for its purpose.

Thanks Keith.

Yours was the first post I can recall mentioning N-subs with Allaes. Overall, you don't hear N-subs mentioned all that much, but those that have them seem universal in their praise.


Clay

Thanks Adam - nice bit of kit.

Another vote for the n-Sub from me. Fantastic piece of kit which i'm still setting up. Not only does it subtly fill in the missing octave from my n-Sats it also improves voices too. Bass is deep and tight. The remote control is great too for small tweaks of level from my sofa.

James

I love the remote access to several sets of settings. Once in a while I mistakenly cycle through to the n-SAT setting when using my SL2s. VERY noticeable and not the way it should be. With n-SATs - just right.

Thought to self - must try the SATs with the new NAP 300 (and 555PS) to experience anew the sound that first convinced me of the 552.

Interesting to see the insides of an n-sub. I thought the amp was based on a 250 rather than a 200, but I'm sure Nigel's correct.

Folk shouldn't underestimate the importance of the amplifier in a sub. Having moved from two ginormous great Velodyne subs each with 1.25 Kw digital amps to a pair of n-subs, the latter are surprisingly musical in comparison. Although I wanted them primarily for A/V use, I've since tweaked around their very comprehensive settings and now use them all the time for music with my SL2s.

Although this subject always prompts much debate with many folks opposed to the idea of subs for various reasons, I've yet to read a post by anyone who's actually bought and tried an n-sub & subsequently disliked its affect. Cue...

Some information we may have kept to ourselves:

The n-SUB is a compact, high quality loudspeaker system for reproducing the lowest frequencies. It incorporates its own preamplifier to select inputs and modify the frequency response for the required performance and a very high power amplifier. It is part of Naim’s new home cinema speaker suite, consisting of n-SATS, n-CENT and n-SUB. The n-SUB can also be used to augment the performance of the n-SATS, or other smaller loudspeakers, in two channel music systems.

Cabinet
The cabinet is made from high-density mdf. The front baffle is up to 40mm thick and all other external panels are 25mm. The drive unit is in a separate compartment of the cabinet to the electronics, the air volume for the bass/mid driver being 20 litres. In use the n-SUB cabinet stands on adjustable floor spikes.

Bass drive unit
A 250mm unit with a very rugged cast metal chassis and a large, deep magnet system to accommodate the full excursion of the moving parts. The cone is extremely stiff to ensure pistonic motion over its working frequency range, and the large roll surround and exceptionally long voice coil winding provide low distortion cone excursions of over 30mm. All air pockets within the unit are well ventilated to avoid distortions from this cause.

Electronics
The preamplifier section consists of an input stage, inversion stage, variable filter stage and finally a variable gain stage.

Three selectable inputs are available; line level for av processors, stereo line level for connection to stereo preamplifiers and a high level stereo for direct connection to stereo speakers. All inputs are fully differential to minimize possible noise pickup with long interconnect cables and also to ensure no earthing problems arising from connection of n-SUB to other parts of the system.

The inversion stage is a user-selectable phase inversion stage.

The filter stage provides 22 user-selectable low-pass filter frequencies. The filters are 40dB/decade and time-aligned.

The variable gain stage gives a 50dB adjustment range.

All functions of the n-SUB preamplifier use electronic switching which allows all functionality to be microprocessor controlled. Control is via front panel buttons or i.r. remote control and user feedback is via an led display. Complete sets of n-SUB settings can be stored as presets. Up to six presets can be stored. For example, preset 1 could store an input select, filter setting and gain suitable for two channel stereo and preset 2 could store different settings for av use. A single button push switches between them. The microprocessor goes to “sleep” mode between control changes. When dormant the microprocessor clocks switch off thus improving the performance of the n-SUB.

If care is taken with setup, it is better to drive a room with two or more subs than one. With multiple subs it is possible to even out the room response at low frequencies because the room is being driven from more than one location. For this reason it is possible to daisy chain n-SUBs and lock their control systems together so that they remain synchronized.

The n-SUB power amplifier is recently designed for this product. It is a discrete amplifier derived from Naim’s power amplifier design expertise and it uses a selected version of the NA007 output transistor as used in the NAP500. The power amplifier can produce up to 350W into the nominal 3 ohm loudspeaker impedance.

Thanks again Adam - info on the n-Sub design isn't very easy to come by. Is it a Naim built Bass unit ?

Cheers

James

I'd also heard 250 as opposed to 200

quote:

If care is taken with setup, it is better to drive a room with two or more subs than one. With multiple subs it is possible to even out the room response at low frequencies because the room is being driven from more than one location. For this reason it is possible to daisy chain n-SUBs and lock their control systems together so that they remain synchronized.

Just once wouldn't it be nice if the manufacturer said NO you only need 1 of these/ no gaps between shelves etc!!

quote:

Originally posted by BigH47:
Just once wouldn't it be nice if the manufacturer said NO you only need 1 of these ...

It's not the manufacturer - just physics.

Hi
I've just had one to compliment my NBL's, don't know the technical details as the dealer set it up. All I can say is wish I'd done it sooner.