HiCaps - new and old

Posted by: Top Cat on 12 December 2003

Hi folks.

To complete my move to the Naim system, I need to add at least one HiCap to my 82/250. The dealer I'm buying the 82/250 from has a 2000-era olive HiCap which is £495, which I am very tempted by (but have stalled on until I have a think about it) and I know of two other HiCaps (one a non-recapped chrome bumper from the eighties at £330 and another which is the same age but has just been recapped at £400).

My instant thought was to buy the newest, olive one, but then I wondered - is it worth the extra over the other two.

My long term plan will be to replace the HiCap with a SuperCap - but I'm in no great rush, I'll bide my time until funds and opportunity present themselves at the same time. At that point, I'll sell whichever HiCap I buy to part fund the new power supply.

So, my decision is really - is the extra hundred quid worth spending, or would the only benefits over the chrome bumpered recapped one be that it is olive?

Or are there other differences? The only thing I know of is that the Olive has a 'black snaic' and the chrome-bumper one has a 'grey snaic' - but does the colour make any difference or is it just a cosmetic thing?

Any (quick) responses would be very helpful to me: especially if you can help me choose, as I want to make a decision today - there are three seperate parties holding a hicap each for me, and I can only currently afford or justify one - so which? Auditioning is going to be a lot of hassle - it was trouble enough hearing an 82!

Thanks,

John

TC '..'
"Sun went down in honey. Moon came up in wine. Stars were spinnin' dizzy, Lord, the band kept us so busy we forgot about the time."
Posted on: 12 December 2003 by greeny
£495 for a 2000 HiCap from a dealer seems fair enough to me. The Black snaic is an improvement.

I paid £425 for a 98 from a dealer about a year ago, so you might get cheaper but it's not too bad.

To be fair there wouldn't be a huge improvement over an older serviced example, but with the black snaic and dealer backup it's probably worth the extra.
There were changes to the transformer at some point, and some people prefer the newer transformer, but not everyone agrees which is best.

[This message was edited by greeny on FRIDAY 12 December 2003 at 14:24.]
Posted on: 12 December 2003 by Top Cat
(by the way, I'm also looking with an eye to not losing much money on resale when that SC turns up, which is another consideration for me)

John

TC '..'
"Sun went down in honey. Moon came up in wine. Stars were spinnin' dizzy, Lord, the band kept us so busy we forgot about the time."
Posted on: 12 December 2003 by Markus
Performance-wise I'd think the recapped chrome bumper and 2000 olive units to be on a par. AFAIK there are no significant design/component differences between the two vintages.

But from my experience, olive units are easier to sell and command a higher price on the 2nd hand market. Price seems to be somewhat correlated to serial number, too. IMHO a 2000 vintage piece of equipment is "new" so would be worth more.

The black snaic is a worthwhile upgrade from the grey. IIRC I paid $120 US for mine and felt it was worthwhile. Black snaics have a definite value on the 2nd hand market, grey snaics have (IMHO) very little.

From these comments I expect it is clear that I would go for the newer unit...

Markus
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Posted on: 12 December 2003 by greeny
You are probably not going to lose much more than £50 on either of these so I wouldn't worry.

Go for the Newer unless you are particularly strapped.
Posted on: 12 December 2003 by Top Cat
Thanks, guys - though neither of you have been emphatically recommending one option over t'other, I detect a leaning toward the olive model.

So long as I can get at least 80% back come resale on either, I'd prefer the Olive. At least it will fit in better, and I wasn't aware of the transformer changes.

I guess what it boils down to is its condition (which I assume is mint - unless otherwise informed) and whether it has the original box (very important if one plans to sell on at some stage and hold value I'd reckon)

John

TC '..'
"Sun went down in honey. Moon came up in wine. Stars were spinnin' dizzy, Lord, the band kept us so busy we forgot about the time."
Posted on: 12 December 2003 by Richard Paget
Chrome bumper hicaps even recapped have a slightly warmer sound than olive ones. It's down to the different transformer
Richard
Posted on: 12 December 2003 by Top Cat
I've gone with the olive one.

Thanks everyone,

John

TC '..'
"Sun went down in honey. Moon came up in wine. Stars were spinnin' dizzy, Lord, the band kept us so busy we forgot about the time."
Posted on: 12 December 2003 by Martin Payne
quote:
Originally posted by Richard Paget:
Chrome bumper hicaps even recapped have a slightly warmer sound than olive ones. It's down to the different transformer
Richard



I'd just like to confirm this comment from experience.

cheers, Martin

E-mail:- MartinPayne (at) Dial.Pipex.com. Put "Naim" in the title.