Bristol Show - The Pictures

and is that you with him...???

enjoy

ken

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and is that you with him...???

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No, don't know who that is. I can identify my T shirt in John's picture of the back of the 552... I'm obviously on the front side of the amp.

Here is a picture of Roy George telling us how to build a 552. I will buy a shed and start production tomorrow. Mine will be £5 cheaper.

PS The new stuff is seriously good.

regards,

dave

P.S. Nice one Tony. SL2.. sexy and shy looking. Hmmm... always liked that combo

it is clear Dr Channing is reviewing the result of his shot.

John - well done! And thanks also to Tony. Does anyone have a shot of the mid-box for the SL, which I see alongside in Tony's shot? I take it there's a void/aperture/tube that the Tweet passes through...

Very interesting stuff.

And were there A/B's between 552 and 52 in the listening sessions?

Wish I could have been there. We spent the weekend cycling around the vineyards and wineries in Martinborough and sampling/buying. I guess thats a reasonable consolation.

Rico - SM/Mullet Audio

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Does anyone have a shot of the mid-box for the SL, which I see alongside in Tony's shot? I take it there's a void/aperture/tube that the Tweet passes through...

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I haven't got a picture of it, but you are right, the mid box has a hole in it that allows it to slide over the tweeter. The mounting to the bottom box involves some sort of pin and cup arrangement and *no* sealant. In my picture of the internal of the box Timo is playing with one of the pins.
John

dave, many thanks.

i suppose if you already have a fraim, that empty shelf trick is only a £300 upgrade (barring price hikes on april fools day). but if this means i have to have 3 fraims for my active system, then the numbers start getting rather painful. i'll look at the photos again and ponder.

the sl2 is a more straightfwd decision for me although the fraims would benefit the whole system.. an audition i think is the best next step as a said earlier.

enjoy

ken

patrick, many thanks.

i am disappointed the price is much higher than i expected for an sbl replacement (c. 3.5K). it turns out that it ISNT an sbl replacement so i shouldnt perhaps expect the price to be "close" to that of the current sbl's.

it is obvious i am seriously considering buying the sl2 when it is released. i will give a very critical listen first. if its a significant step fwd, then its worth the price. if not, then it isnt.

enjoy

ken

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The picture of the of the 552 appears to show the CD input lead attached to a connector immediately to the right of the two phono input connectors, and to the left of the Burndy power lead.

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Don't read anything into the socket layout, the preamp is fully configurable so you can map any button on the front to any socket on the back.
John

Thomas

wow!!! except perhaps for the powered DIN socket for the prefix???

excellent photos my the way!!!

enjoy

ken

one of the very first things i wanted to know, but answered in the very first post. this means, if i get the sl2, no change to active electronics -- great!!!

enjoy

ken

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wow!!! except perhaps for the powered DIN socket for the prefix???

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What I didn't mention was the reasoning for this. It is so that you can map, for example, the CD input to either the phono sockets for use with fancy cables or the Naim preferred DIN. It was done to give the preamp more general high end appeal. I'm pretty sure you will see phono sockets on all Naim gear from now on because they have no affect on sound quality and give the product more general appeal. I asked whether we would see digital outputs on any new source and they said no.
John

did naim say that?? i.e. phonos have no effect on sound quality??

enjoy

ken

Curious about the RCA comment also. Input mapping- fantastic idea! Wonder if Naim has resolved the difference in sound between inputs with 552 also.

regards,

dave

i trust your judgement dave. lets see now. because of space constraints in my office, max number of fraims i can have is two. and these will be used more or less as per now, i.e. one for sources and the other for power stuff. so on the low current side, it will be cdsii, nac52, snaxo, nat02 -- so 4 level -- or 5 with the obligatory empty shelf, presumably between the cdsii and the nac52 dunno... wish i could take measurements to determine this...

Wow, looking at your profile it's either 135s, Fraims, SL2s or mega-bucks.

unlikely i will go with 135's -- i will need 4 of them. (a) the price of 4x135's is too close to nap500 -- and i believe it was you who auditioned 500 passive vs 135s active in some detail. your conclusions sound right to me -- though i might audition this myself just to calibrate my options in case the lottery numbers come out -- need to be ready to act see .

i suppose i could go second hand -- but i would need to ensure that these are same vintage -- still have a sour taste in the mouth when i had problems with what i believe were unmatched 250's.

(b) i havent got rack space on the QS Std (suppose i could add more levels) but boy that's 7 full width boxes on one rack!!! my wife will finally leave me...

Wonder if Naim has resolved the difference in sound between inputs with 552 also.

so do i...

thanks dave for comments... if you have any further thoughts, please email me...

enjoy

ken

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The picture of the of the 552 appears to show the CD input lead attached to a connector immediately to the right of the two phono input connectors, and to the left of the Burndy power lead.

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I'm pretty sure that's not the interconnect from the CDS, that wire goes to the PSU. There's something similar on the 52.

The pictures were taken after the system had been reconfigured to use the 52.

Is it the digital power supply?

Paul

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did naim say that?? i.e. phonos have no effect on sound quality??

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They don't affect the sound of the other DIN sockets, whereas a digital output does affect the sound of the analogue outputs. Naim though still think DINs are better.

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Thomas: Good to know it's a two-way speaker - makes it so much easier to covet for the members of the Active SBL Club

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As a member of the mentioned club, my question would be, if the S-NAXO for the SBL is suitable also for the SL2...

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ken c about active 135s: i suppose i could go second hand -- but i would need to ensure that these are same vintage -- still have a sour taste in the mouth when i had problems with what i believe were unmatched 250's.

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I use 2 pairs of 135s, they are not the same wintage but work well together (the newer ones are on the trebles). When they need to be recapped, I would like to have them adjusted to match perfectly.

Jun

Wrong dave ... but I'm sure he's right from what I heard *about* the 500 before it was released. My sources said the difference between a 500 and a 135 were like the differences between a Nait and 52!!! If it were me, I'd private email Naim and ask them their opinion on Fraim(s) vs. 500 vs. 552 - which first with my set-up. Who knows, they might say "Ken, stop by the factory, we've actually got a CDS III lashed up on the bench ..."

regards,

dave

I guess that's it then - no more "real mens" speakers then. Plainly, if you can't whip up a quick gasket and re-seal while drinking lager and listening in mono, you just ain't flat enough. Future SL2 owners need not apply for the 32.5 T-Shirt.

Rico - SM/Mullet Audio

now, dont start giving me ideas. i'm a bit gullible see...

dave, many thanks and

enjoy

ken

Allan

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Originally posted by Allan Probin:
Still can't believe how good the SL2s look. Totaly out the blue, amazing. Perhaps too good. If I bought a pair visitors might think I was shallow enough to have bought them on looks alone

Allan

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allan, thanks for making me laugh...

how's the old active system?

enjoy

ken

Unfortunately I only have a passive system here. Never fails to deliver the goods though.

Allan

the system as shown will need 3 power supplies -- 500ps, 552ps, and xps. so i guess the extra box is the 552 p/s??

Ken c,

I've read your 'guesses' at the various boxes and you are right. The system had THREE tiers of Fraims. RH tier contained cdsii/space/space/xps; Central tier had 552/52/space/supercap; LH tier had PS for 552/PS for 500/500(double height).

I was told by Naim (Paul Darwin) that the double space between the cdsii and xps was CRUCIAL!!! in order to keep all the tiers the same height! hee hee!.

Note, the 552ps/500ps/500 were all to the LEFT of the 552/52, but not MILES away from each other. This should help with domestic harmony!

The dems started with one track using the 52/supercap. This sounded extremely good. This track was replayed with the 552/NewPowersupply. This sounded exceptionally good. The difference was remarkable. Finding superlatives is difficult. More detail, more reolution, more bounce, more sweetness in the treble, more depth and power in the bass, more texture in the notes, more music to the ears, more enjoyment. The rest of the dem was done with the 552. The only source was the cdsii....no LP12!

Room 118 was superb. Better than all the other AV dems. An AV system with Panasonic plasma screen, TWO (2) M&K active subs and excerps from Saving Private Ryan that put you frighteningly right in the middle of the action (I know). Oh, nearly forgot, this was the Naim AV system, 112/AV2/180/175/4xAlleas/new centre speaker. Nearly blew my mind! If you're thiking AV, think Naim.

Cheers

Don