Will have to look it up when I get home. I think that the Nait is 20-30 watts per channel..correct?
I'm thinking that won't be enough. My Creek 4330 did OK with the Rainmakers but the Mira 3 clearly outperformed it with them. Many folks prefer the Creek 4330 to the Nait 1 and 2 so I would be concerned about that matchup.
I've heard the Nait 1. Its an awsome amplifier - In your face, raw, and live. Everything Naim stands for. Naim ultra-purists love it and think the new stuff is too round earth, believe it or not.
As far as matching it up with Rainmakers, I'm not too confident that it'll have enough power to control them properly. As Art mentioned, its only 15 wpc. Probably the most monsterous solid-state 15 watts of all time, but 15 none the less.
If he really wants to keep the Nait 1 around (why wouldn't he?), the best bet would probably be to find a pair of Linn Kans, or smilar Linns of a similar vintage. Maybe the BBC LS3/5a like Rogers, Sterling, or Harbeth?
A little bit of info on the Nait 1 - It can't be recapped by Naim USA (NANA), due to scarcity of parts. Naim UK will recap it though. If it was recapped here, it was done by someone else who most likely used non-Naim parts. That's necessarily a bad thing so long as the person who did it knows the Nait and what they're doing.
I'd love to get one for a second system. They look cool, sound phenominal, and can be had for pretty cheap. They're probably the most idiosyncratic integrated of all time, but that just adds to it. I don't know if I could live with one as a primary integrated though. Its getting tougher and tougher to find speakers that'll match up well and synergize. Most that do are vintage speakers.
Yup, but try to get a 32.5 if at all possible. The 42 and 42.5 is a bit of a bottleneck. Of course there are other brands that deliver power too, such as Densen or 2nd hand Avi, which would drive them. If your buddy does go with Naim of that era, he must buy some Naim speaker cable to go with it of lenghs of at least 3.5m a side. This isn't an option on Naim of that era.