Going Active

400-450 for the Snaxo and the same for the HiCap
About 1000 for the 250, maybe a bit less.

Remember you'll need another run of NACA5 for the speakers too.

Oh, and it sounds great!

Run, do not walk to your dealear and secure the additional hardware. The leap from passive to active is usually far greater than (even) that between a Hicap and a Supercap. And since you are getting the Hicap used, if you eventually wish to move to a Supercap, you should be able to sell it for close to what you paid for it.

I would suggest trying to power the Snaxo from the 52s SC, but I see you are probably using indwelling phono boards in the 52, in which case this is not recommended.

Ron
Dum spiro audio
Dum audio vivo

yes indeed, I am a phono-boards man, seeing their inclusion as a major advantage of the 52.
Getting quite excited about this active deal. My wife will go mad.

malcolm

IMHO going to the Supercap from the HiCap on the Snaxo was a big improvement primarily in the area of control and dynamics. In any case, as stated previously going active is a huge leap and you will notice big improvements even with HiCap.

DO IT

Get the Snaxo2.4/hicap/250 ~ (£1800, well £2500 from a dealer)...

Going active is the best upgrade ever - its just so Naim

naheed...

Going active with my IBL's was a massive improvement. I had to go back to passive for a while & the musical enjoyment was way short of the active set-up, mind you I wouldn't mind hearing the IBL's with a 500....

Bob

So, nobody has a word to say against it. I'd better go see the man.

malcolm

So deed done, and it sounds great.

Naim approved set-up is for one 250 to each speaker, with one channel for treble and one for bass. Is this only to simplify cable runs from the Snaxo?
Has anyone tried one 250 for the bass each side, and one for the treble?

It can be done, by rewiring the sockets on the snaxo - so i've heard.

Its useful if you have mismatched amps, but speaking to naim sometime ago they said don't bother if amps are matched

naheed...

exactly so. The new (s/h) 250 is significantly noisier than my existing (new) 250, and the noisey one would probably be best handling the bass.

Check the transformer bolt hasn't worked loose, or get it looked

naheed...

"Is this only to simplify cable runs from the Snaxo?"

I believe one of the main advantages of a vertical split is that each mid/bass driver has one transformer of its own to draw power from. If you had a horizontal split you'd make one stereo amp (and thus one transformer) do all the hard work.

Rock on, Doc!

Thomas

Thomas is right on the vertical split advantage.
You can send your 250s to Naim, they can match them.

Emmanuel

All opinions are my own, and reflect those of the organisation i work for, even if not stipulated.

vertical = one amp to each speaker
horizontal = one amp to drive units (Tweeters & Mid/Bass)

naheed...

It is o.k. now.
A few hours warm up and the s/h 250 stopped hissing and humming.

The change to active is easily the greatest leap forward in sound of any upgrade I have made since buying an LP12 in the 70s.

I'm still interested in this power-amp matching by Naim. I may well give them a call after Christmas.

thanks

malcolm

BTW did you know that Naim do a "Connections" booklet showing maps of the correct way to connect up various permutations of Naim boxes.
I've now reached a size of system where I can't keep the correct connections route in my head, so my dealer kindly gave me their copy (along with a very good deal on the boxes).
I think the booklet is for dealers, but very handy if you have an active system.

malcolm

I think in a three-way sistem driven by stereo amps, the recommended configuration is a hybrid with one amp for both treble units, one amp for the mid and bass unit on one channel and the third amp for mid and bass unit on the other channel.

Thomas

quote:

---

BTW did you know that Naim do a "Connections" booklet showing maps of the correct way to connect up various permutations of Naim boxes.

---

It's also available for download off the Naim web site in the manuals sub-section under products.

Cheers,
Simon

Is available at:

http:///www.naim-audio.com/download/connections.pdf

Just finished a day cleaning connections and optiminsing cable-runs, speaker position etc.
Then hours of listening.
Going active coincided with the return of my Troika from Expert Stylus Co.

So; LP12/Lingo/Ekos/Troika, 52/Scap/SNAxo/Hicap/250/250.

Still grinning.

This is the sound I have wanted for years but could never afford. The upgrade to active has been the best value for money step.

Any complaints? Only that the pre-2000 boxes are brown-olive and the post-2000 boxes are green-olive with brighter lights.

Malcolm

I've left the factory settings. I thought that I would probably tweak up the bass 'cos I like bass, but there is so much more just from going active that I don't need to.

Now I suppose I am obliged to ask for pipe and slippers for Christmas, and start growing that beard.

malcolm

Nice One , we told you, did we not ?

Best to leave everything alone over xmas, once your settled and the system, then fiddle/tweak if you really want to, that is

naheed...
Active IS the only way ...

Doc Malcolm,
I just did a quick search through your profile and previous posts and could find nothing concerning a separate "spur" for your sistem(s).

I mention this because I've found that the sound going active makes is similar to a separate electrical circuit.

I had a separate spur before going active (2-140s with Kans). But 4 years ago when I moved into my current home, I thought, because of room acoustics, my hi-fi was the best it ever sounded. When I finally connected the separate spur, I was flabbergasted at the improvement; Active sistems are strangled without their own electricity.

It is surprising to me, even with all the threads here about spurs, hydras, etc., that so few Naim owners have a dedicated separate circuit for the hi-fi. Especially when it's the most cost-effective (and high WAF) upgrade.

Ron The Mon,
Active-Freak

Rockingoc, your new system is very close to mine and doesn't it just rock?! But the good news is that you could make it even better by powering the SNAXO from your SC using a SNAIC. The ideal is a dedicated SC powered from the Bundy but even this 2nd-best option beats a hicap hands-down.
Then, of course your hicap is freed up and could be used with a prefix. This is your logical next step. Anyone who loves vinyl should use a separate phono stage and the prefix is one of the best and, incidentally, one of the cheaper ones too at about £400 or so. I managed to pick up a used one for half that, but they're very rare on the 2nd-hand market.
The 2x250/SNAXO/SBL combination is one of the classic active systems and really can't be betterd for the price, or even a lot more.
Paul

Ron
I had a separate high-rated spur installed in my old house when we re-wired, and it was a huge improvement to my passive (non-Naim) system.

The problem in my present house is that the Naim system is in a room upstairs. The mains enters the house at gound level with distribution box in the garage, and then runs in the walls to the loft space for for distribution back down the walls to the sockets. So a separate spur would seem to involve wrecking the decor of much of the house, and I just can't face it.

Are there any other simpler ways to improve the mains a bit. I have wire fuses in the distribution box which contains a single RCD for the whole house. Changing the box seems beyond me as it takes unswitched "street" mains supply, and that is too scary to play with. would I get any benefit from changing the fuses in the box?

malcolm