Naim NAIT XS 3 Integrated Amplifier & B&W 703 Package

Naim NAIT XS 3 Integrated Amplifier & B&W 703 Package 

Best stereo amplifier £1500-£2500 - What HiFi 2019

Naim Audio NAIT XS 3

Building upon the legacy left by Naim's NAIT XS 2 integrated amplifier, the brand new NAIT XS 3 promises to be an upgrade in every way. Unlike the NAIT XS 2, Naim's new XS 3 features a built-in high-performance phono stage, making it the perfect partner for turntables, as well as CD players, Streamers or any other music source. The NAIT XS 3 manages to offer performance akin to their reference-quality SUPERNAIT 3, in a simpler, smaller package. With six years between the release of the XS 2 and XS 3, Naim has made sure that their new release is well worth the upgrade, whether you are a new or existing Naim customer.

What are the upgrades?

• Naim has doubled the speed of the voltage gain stage, which has, in turn, doubled the rate at which the output stage can react. Leading to a faster reacting, more articulate sound.
• The second gain stage transistors have been optimised. Meaning that they no longer require shielding. Removing this shielding means that less amplifier stabilisation is required. Resulting in a doubled slew rate, delivering uplifted sound quality.
• The phono stage circuit is derived from Naim's high-end phono stages, comprising of three stages; the gain stage, passive equalisation and then the final gain and active equalisation. This phono stage achieves excellent performance, with ultra-low noise and fantastic dynamics.
• The NAIT XS 3 also benefits from Class A headphone amplification, Alps Blue Velvet volume control, Reed relay input selection, Ceramic insulators for the power transistors, A galvanically isolated microprocessor control section and Microphonic-isolating PCB mounts.
• "These (NAIT XS 3 & SUPERNAIT 3) are the best sounding integrated amplifiers Naim has produced, now with added love for vinyl. Major performance upgrades mean you'll hear more from your music, whatever format you're listening to" - Charlie Henderson, Naim Audio MD

Who are Naim and what are their new 3rd generation integrated amplifiers?

Naim Audio has a special place in British audio, thanks to its founder and inspirational leader Julian Vereker, a hugely talented mechanical and electronic engineer with a passion for, amongst many things, music. Naim has always had a firm philosophy of music first, measurements second - each Naim product is extensively auditioned as part of the product development process to make sure that it delivers clear, emotional music-making ability. Naim products are designed to bring the closest facsimile of a live music event into your home listening environment, to give you maximum pleasure from your music collection.

Naim Audio, the British hi-fi specialist with 46 years of audio expertise, has launched the 3rd generation of its acclaimed NAIT and SUPERNAIT integrated amplifiers. The NAIT XS 3 and SUPERNAIT 3 feature significant performance upgrades and like their famous predecessors, both are handmade to Naim's high standards in Salisbury, UK.

In the six years since the last NAIT integrated amplifiers were released, Naim Audio's research and development team have worked on a whole host of improvements. Resulting in the best Integrated Amplifiers Naim has produced to date.

The Bowers and Wilkins 703 S2 Floorstanding Speakers

The 703 is the penultimate loudspeaker in the 700 series and features two 165mm aerofoil bass drivers, working in unison with one state of the art Continuum driver and a carbon coated dome tweeter. Its larger cabinet size means that the 703 is able to fill large listening environments with rich, high fidelity sound without a struggle at all both quiet and louder volumes. The 703 is the replacement and upgrade for the previous CM9 S2.

Who are Bowers and Wilkins?

Bowers & Wilkins are a company who needs a very little introduction, having been constructing some of the world's most critically acclaimed loudspeaker and headphone models for half of a decade. Starting at the entry level 600 S2 series, through to the 700 S2 high-end series and up to 800 Diamond series and flagship Nautilus model. These different series of loudspeaker have been praised as the superior listening experience in both two-channel hifi/music listening and in multi-channel home theatre applications, having claimed a vast multitude of awards in both categories. A Bowers speaker can be easily recognised by the signature yellow Kevlar midrange cone, which can be found with their 600 and CM series with the 800 Series opting for a silver 'continuum' cone. 

Bowers & Wilkins' highly acclaimed CM series was one of the company's most important loudspeaker ranges. Combining elegant design with outstanding sonic performance and available in a range of luxurious finishes, CM was positively received by the masses at both consumer level and by critics and reviews. The 700 S2 series builds upon the exceptionally high standard set by CM and raises the bar higher than ever as a class-leading range of audiophile loudspeakers.

What is the 700 S2 Series?

While the 700 series follows a similar model structure and physical profile as CM, both the sound and general appearance of the range has seen significant improvement. While the double-decoupled dome equipped by CM was arguably one of the best tweeter advances of its time, Bowers & Wilkins have trickled down technology from their flagship Diamond series in the high-frequency driver of the new 700 range to enhance this outstanding sound quality while sitting it at a more accessible price-point. While the Diamond range tweeter uses a synthetic diamond coating design, the 700 series features a state-of-the-art carbon dome variant of this, specifically designed for the 700 models. This design allows for a highly rigid yet lightweight tweeter construction, resulting in a life-like and detailed high-frequency response, spread across a gloriously vast and accurate stereo image.

One immediately noticeable difference is the replacement of Bowers & Wilkins' signature yellow Kevlar mid/bass units with a silver shaded 'Continuum' woofer. Kevlar is a great material, highly rigid and extremely light, meaning that vast amounts of air can be pushed at speed with precision and accuracy to result in a punchy and dynamic sound. Bowers & Wilkins' state-of-the-art Continuum material follows this basic principle but vastly improves upon these characteristics to form a faster, more rigid, better-sounding bass/midrange response than was previously possible. This technology was first developed and implemented in the company's flagship 800 diamond series. The larger three-way models in the 700 series make use of intelligent aerofoil profile bass cones for a tighter, clearer and more engaging bass response. 

All of this intricate and highly developed technology is embodied within elegant, beautifully finished cabinets that are reminiscent of their predecessors in the CM series, but also feature new aesthetic details such as trim rings, tweeter bodies and tweeter grille mesh structures. The 700 S2 series is available in gloss black, satin white and rosenut finishes.