It's the first all-new line-up for yonks, and while the abandonment of some traditional Naim styling cues - those chunky square-edged cabinets and backlit square buttons - might rile the odd purist, there's no denying that the styling, based as it is on the company's NAP500 power amp, is both eye-catching and much more contemporary.

As is the functionality of the amplifier, which now has not only remote control of volume, balance and input selection, but also user-adjustable input sensitivity. This lets you equalise the levels of different sources - say a tuner and a CD player, for example - so you don't get nasty surprises when switching between them. Yes, yes, you're supposed to set the volume to zero when changing sources, but does anyone ever do that?

Traditional features are there, too: the inputs are the usual DIN sockets, and the speaker feeds use paired sockets designed to accept Naim's own dual banana plugs. OK, so they fly in the face of the standards adopted by just about every hifi manufacturer, but don't let that put you off - cable manufacturers such as the The Chord Company can provide good phono-to-DIN input leads to hook conventionally-socketed kit to Naim amps, while the speaker sockets will accept standard 4mm banana plugs if you want to use them. Look on it as a little bit of Naim eccentricity - though in fact the DINs are there due to the electrical design of the company's products - and not a reason to dismiss this amplifier out of hand.

You see, if you do ignore the NAIT 5 due to its funny sockets, or indeed because the specification says it has what you might consider 'only' 30W per channel, you'll be making a big mistake. Not quite 'the man who turned down The Beatles' kicking yourself for the rest of your life, agreed, but although you'll never know it if you don't at least listen, you'll be missing out of one of the finest amplifiers available this side of 1000 pounds.

Time to blow another myth, and that's the one that Naim amplifiers are only good for rock music. True, a number of reviewers in the past used to use big Naim rigs at 'whoops there goes the neighbourhood' levels, which may have helped spread this misconception, and the fact that Naim kit will change harder than virtually anything else we know - and tends to attract dealers who love to prove this to you - also plays it part. But the NAIT 5, like the company's other products, is no hell for leather relentless slammer: it'll do that if you want, but it's equally at home cruising through some gentle jazz or chamber music, still proving a real startler.

This amplifier doesn't sound like a 30W design, but then we've never known anything Naim that lived down to the company's modestly-quoted power outputs. Whether you're going to partner it with a pair of small bookshelf speakers or big floorstanders, this amplifier has the grip to control them and the drive to ensure they motor hard, whether with the ethnic complexities of Peter Gabriel's Ovo (just about the only good thing to come out of the dome) or the lively pop of Robbie Williams' Sing When You're Winning set. The bass of Rock DJ snarls and thunders, while the vocals are kept firmly center-stage, while even the high-speed Celtic percussion of Gabriel's The Weaver's Reel can't wrong-foot the fast, agile Naim.

And this amp's a stunner with voices, too: play jazz and it has all the taut snap and drive you could want, while with a big operatic voice, be it a tenor or a soprano, it just sounds beautifully real. Orchestral music is a delight, too, the stark drama of Bernstein's live recording of Britten's Sea Interludes being realised superbly.

So how does Naim do it? Well, the NAIT 5's designers have paid close attention to the quality of the power supply, while vibration is reduced by the use of aluminium casework and decoupling pillars onto which the main boards are mounted.
What's more, a resistor ladder is used for the volume control rather than the potentiometer found in most rival designs, while the power amp section is based on the design of the mighty NAP500 power amplifier (but a bit smaller!). Finally, the control microprocessor is designed only to power up when changes are being made, thus again reducing any chance of interference.

This is a very Naim amplifier, but at the same time one that's destined to expand the appeal of the company's range of components beyond a fanatical band of loyal followers. It's very competitively priced, too, and has superb standards of performance, so maybe if you've never given Naim a thought, now's the time to think again.

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