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It was the arrival of the Genesis G7.1f review loaners which underscored two of the most desirable traits of the NAT Symmetrical. The G7.1f ribbon tweeters are noise sniffers of the highest order. Although the NAT Symmetrical displays a low level of tube hiss when cold, this hiss fades away after an hour of use. It does not completely disappear if you get close to the speakers but gets low enough that even with those circular ribbons, it wasn't an issue from the listening seat (and the hiss could not be heard over the FJ OMs at all). That certainly helped explain how the NAT Symmetrical could remain so resolved while offering such a dense and rich tonal palette. To be noted in this context is that the initial set of tubes delivered with the preamplifier was significantly nosier than the later replacement set. Don't hesitate to ask for other tubes if your preamplifier hisses more than desirable. It can be the price to pay with NOS tubes.

The second and most meaningful trait I discovered thanks to the G7.1f is the NAT's ability to return deeper relief and life to otherwise bland and bleached recordings. In many ways the Genesis speaker is a very nice performer but it offers absolutely no tonal reinforcement whatsoever in the midrange which is actually slightly recessed and pastel-like rather than dense and meaty. Except for a few rare recordings of superior quality, the G7.1f and C03 just did not get along. The C03 showed what was on the disc good or bad and the G7.1f reinforced that with an even brighter spot light. What the NAT did in the same context was to inject colors particularly on voices. The NAT simply adores vocals. If you enjoy voices, you will love the Symmetrical.
Similar to what I wrote about Selma's bassoon but more exaggerated, male voices took on a deep and rich timbre, female and children's voices opened up and gained texture at the same time. Where the C03 and G7.1f association often sounded flat, the NAT brought life and relief and pleasure. One sounded like a monotonous litany, the other like a professional singer in control of the entire gamut of expressive scope. As I wrote in the C03's review, it was the association that didn't work, not an issue with
the C03. Mate the Japanese with the FJ OMs or even better the Zu Essence and there won't be any sense of bleached vocals or flattened interpretations. I listened to a lot of vocals during the NAT's stay, from Händel's Acis and Galatea to Islandsmoen's intensely emotional Requiem [2L SACD 36], from Tone Wik in Belleza Crudel [2L SACD 56] to Joyce DiDonato's Furore. All sounded phenomenal - not just good but fundamentally better, with more presence and greater inner nuance. More humanity.


Trying to push my luck, I switched styles and pulled some vinyl. First up was Johnny Cash's tremendously emotional American IV: The Man Comes Around [American Recordings 440 063 336-1]. It reconfirmed just how good the NAT is with voices. Even Cash's raucous and tired songs managed to gain yet more intensity and emotion. What a disc by the way! Loaded, atypical but so intense, a must own whether you love Cash or not. Then the Gorillaz' Demon Days reminded me that if the NAT has one weakness, it's the very deep bass. It just won't reach as far down nor with the same control as the C03. But what the NAT passes on, it does with strength and conviction.


Finally U2's latest album No line on the horizon showed a limit to the good-natured NAT. Poor recording quality remains poor. Enhancement magic only goes so far. I had clearly hoped for a miracle but even the NAT could not resurrect this badly compressed recording (and I mean the double LP - I can only imagine how bad the MP3 will sound). More importantly, somehow the NAT managed to extract a little more perceived dynamics than the C03 - not much but on this disc, even a little more is welcome. It is meaningful in the sense that the Symmetrical will operate as an enhancer for poorly recorded discs, making more (but not all) of your collection fully enjoyable. That's the real power of a tube preamplifier of this stature.

I already mentioned the Zu Essence which arrived a few days before the conclusion of this review. It became the final challenge to be thrown at the NAT Symmetrical. If there was anything inferior to be heard, the 97dB sensitive Essence and their ribbon tweeters should flag it. The exact opposite occurred. To my amazement the association was phenomenal save for one practical aspect. 97dB speakers, 32dB gain amplifier, 15dB gain preamplifier and 2.5V RMS source - this was no winning recipe in a 180 square-foot room. The NAT was forced to operate within the first few clicks of its range, with very limited ability for fine adjustments, clearly not a long-term solution. I feared that the association of a tonally dense preamplifier with a tonally dense speaker would be excessive - and for people not obsessed with the midrange and vocal performance, it might be. For me though, it was simply perfect. Gill Manly was standing in my room and so were Joyce and Patricia. The association did a lot of other things right but voices were positively surreal and materialized and fleshed out in a fashion I'd heard only a handful of times before. It was mesmerizing, intense and beautiful. Completely impractical too. One click higher was too loud, one click lower and the magic went away. But on that lone click, the association of NAT Symmetrical, Genesis Reference GR360 and Zu Essence became my Mount Everest of musicality. Breathtaking.


In conclusion, the time I spent with the NAT Symmetrical was absolutely delightful. Being lush and rich while fast, dynamic and detailed, it hit all my pleasure buttons. The fact that its high gain won't ultimately work with my Zu Essence unless used with a significantly lower-gain amp than mine takes nothing away from its tremendous musical virtues. The Symmetrical does have a few operational idiosyncrasies you need to assess for yourself. But if you are about to write a five-figure check for a tube preamplifier from one of the big names, you owe it to yourself to find a NAT dealer and give the Symmetrical or its cheaper single-ended Plasma R brother a listen. I predict you'll leave impressed and happy - and possibly a few thousand richer if you walk away with the Serbian. I hope that in the near future, there will be a Symmetrical 2 with a gentler turn-off function and a switch to select between 3, 9 or 15dB of gain while maintaining the same incredible musicality. Now that machine would be completely unstoppable.
Quality of packing: Component is delivered in a wood crate with serious foam inserts.
Reusability of packing: Crate seems to be made to last forever.
Ease of unpacking/repacking: Screw driver needed to open crate, otherwise straight forward.
Condition of component received: Perfect.
Completeness of delivery: No issue.
Website comments: Functional and informative.
Human interactions: Always very responsive and helpful.
Pricing: Superb value.
Final comments & suggestions: Put the savings into the NAT AC Coupler Gray power cord, you will be amply rewarded. And perhaps stock up on a spare set of those rare NOS tubes just in case...
NAT website
US importer's website