Naim NAP 250

Power amplifier

Naim is celebrating its 50th anniversary. Over that time, we doubt it has produced anything more iconic than the NAP 250 power amplifier. This product was introduced in 1975, just a couple of years after the company was formed, and somehow managed to encapsulate everything the brand stood for.

The design evolved both electrically and cosmetically, starting with Naim’s original ‘chrome bumper’ look through the ‘olive’ phase of the ’90s and into the less distinctive all-black look we have had for much of the past couple of decades. This new sixth-generation model does not deviate too much from the established template, but there are enough changes across the board to justify the generational shift.

This remains a relatively slim design that looks unobtrusive against most of the competition, though turn up the newly adjustable brightness on the Naim logo and it will get noticed. A minor point perhaps, but we are not sure how die-hard Naim fans are going to take to the change in the front panel logo illumination colour from traditional green to brilliant white.

Inside the NAP 250 is a huge toroidal mains transformer and an impressively sophisticated power-supply arrangement that makes generous use of the discrete regulation circuit first developed for Naim’s range-topping Statement amplifiers to ensure an even more stable and low noise power feed.

The amplifier’s audio circuit remains a Class A/B design and uses eight of the company’s custom-designed NA009 output devices. The result is that this sixth-gen model outputs 100 watts per channel into an 8ohm load and almost doubles that as impedance halves. That healthy output proves enough to get high volume levels from every speaker we connect to the amp. This is something that you can use hard too, given it has a new heatsink arrangement and fan-assisted cooling.