Prefix and cartridge matching

Posted by: John on 31 July 2001

I have been trying to get information on the Naim prefix options. In the end I got the feeling that Naim does not know which cartridges match up with what prefix other than the cartridges they were specifically designed for. The K type prefix was designed for the Karma and Troika cartridges, the S was designed for the Supex cartridge and the E for the Roksan Shiraz. I understand the K has a resistive load of 560ohms and the S 470ohms and I don't know the resistive load for the E board. If the prefixes are overloaded they will make the cartridges sound brash and harsh. Vuk I don't think any amount of Mana will cure this. I also understand that if the prefixes are not correctly matched you could experience tonal balance problems.

I would like to use the prefix in the future and will probably buy one when I replace my existing cartridge. What I would like to know is does Naim or anyone have a list of cartridges that match up magically to each of the prefix board options? This information is imperative in maximizing the benefit of both the prefix and the cartridge.

Can someone at Naim please comment?

John

Posted on: 31 July 2001 by John
Stephan, I have contacted NANA and e-mailed Naim in England. They will give me an answer for my current cartridge but I would like a list of say 2-3 cartridges that work well with each board so I know which cartridges to consider when I make my move.

John

Posted on: 01 August 2001 by Arthur Bye
John:

I suggest that you try to simplify this by narrowing down your choice of cartridges. Most Naim owners seem to use Dynavector, Linn, Lyra and Benz. In the under $1,000 price range this will narrow your choices. In the over $1,000 range same thing.

I've basically narowed my choices down to the Dyna XX2, Lyra Helicon, and Linn Arkiv B. All between $1k to $2k. I don't see many other choices in this price range otherwise.

Under $1k is similar but with more choices.

This way you can give a direct question to Naim for specific cartridges.

Arthur Bye

Posted on: 02 August 2001 by Frank Abela
I guess if you're really worried about impedance matching and getting the best performance out of your cartridge, you could look into other external phono stages. There seems to be quite a few around, though my personal recommendation would be one of the ones from Tom Evans. Fabulous.

Regards,
Frank.
All opinions are my own and do not reflect the opinion of any organisations I work for, except where this is stated explicitly.

Posted on: 02 August 2001 by Arthur Bye
John:

Frank has an important point here. Most of the cartridges you are going to choose are going to have an impedance mis-match with any of the Naim boards. You won't be able to tell what this means until you hear it. Although I suspect they should be able to re-configure a board to match a specific cartridge without much difficulty. Perhaps this is a better question to ask Naim (if they offer this service).

Arthur Bye

Posted on: 02 August 2001 by Martin Payne
The 'K' boards have a higher upper-frequency response.

Cartridges which have a smooth ultrasonic (up to 50KHz and more) performance will suite these.

Those with nasty resonances or poor performance in this area will inject noise into the rest of the system and degrade the overall performance, thus needing the 'S' boards.

You can only really tell by trying the cart (or your dealer or Naim doing it).

cheers, Martin