HDX break in time
Posted by: crackie on 12 December 2011
Just traded in my CDX2.2 in on a new HDX.
What have current HDX owners found as the time period when it really comes on song sound wise ? My CDX2.2 took a bit of time to open right up, not sure about the HDX as it is a different animal HDD etc.
The HDX sounds a bit narrow & constrained - but smoother - in comparison. It is with to a 555PS / Powerline as well.
Or are my expectations to high & I might have downgraded ?
Several weeks to settle down, especially if all the components are new, maybe 5-6 weeks to be really 'finished'? It never fails to surprise me how the sound can get better and also worse at times through the intial run-in. In general I think most Naim kit takes the same sort of time to burn in and with two new bits of kit such as you have they may well not really start singing together until both are really in the groove.
As for being a downgrade, I doubt you will think that. Over a few years I moved from CDX2 XPS to CDS3 to HDX XPS and then finally upgraded the power supply to 555 this year. I'd say in some areas this combination is probably better than the CDS3. Overall presentation is definitely a little bit smoother (especially than CDX2 if I recall-which I always felt was a bit sharp for my tastes) but it is never over-smooth or lacking pace and musicality. I would never have called my set up 'narrow' or 'constrained'. I think those are signs of new kit that has yet to get really swinging. Fresh kit in my experience can sound a bit thin and slow. I'm not very good at describing HiFi sound!
I take it the PowerLine is on the power supplty? A HiLine interconnect made more difference in my system although both were worthwhile. The HiLine may make things a bit livelier but I would definitely wait-what you have there should sound really good as it is.
Bruce
Thank you Bruce,
Powerline is on the 555PS & I have a HILINE.
It is a brand new HDX, all my NAIM gear did sound great fresh from the box & got better over the weeks, however the HDX is so unique being half computer/ half hi fi I was not sure about run in time with this.
I am so happy with the HDX - just the convenience factor alone made the switch worth while IMHO.
Do you have a Powerline on the HDX as well as the 555PS ? I am thinking about it - not sure it would be a step up enough for the cost though.
I have a second PowerLine-but it is on my Supercap (for the 52). I have never tried it directly on the HDX, I suspected bigger gains used elsewhere.
Bruce
I believe that my CDX2 took around two months to settle down and further relaxed over the next three. It didn't seem that the HDX needed much time at all, once it had been switched on and running for about three days. 555PS which I use on the nDAC was up and down for a couple of months and the PLs I have tried seem nice and transparent from day one but continue to give more over a month or so. Of course, it's impossible to factor brain, ears and imagination out of the picture.
Actually, when I put a demo 555PS on the nDAC I didn't like it much. Over the course of a long week end it didn't seem to endear itself but it never stopped us feeding lots of music through it because it was far from bad. Just didn't seem quite right. It was only when it went back that I realised a lot of the music had vanished with it. Funny things ears. And rooms. And just about anything in a system or adjacent thereto.
Hi,
I have tried to put powerlines both on my ns01, and my NDAc. In theory the least sensible type of kit to have powerlines on. However I feel it can make an improvement. Maybe it was just the fun of swopping cables around and power down my system, but it is worth experimenting with.