New System break in...??
Posted by: Steveandkate on 24 July 2001
From I had read on the forum, I was expecting it to sound rough and disappointing, but does it heck !!
OK, so it's not up there with the demo gear, but boy, sounds bl**dy good to me, and my afternoon at work has faded in a pile of discs and silly grins - may the next week pass quickly, so I can see what new magic is still to come !
Steve
After the XPS, at some point, give the SBLs a go. They really tell you about the authoritive sound of the Naim CD player and amps.
All the best,
Andrew
Andrew Randle
2B || !2B;
4 ^ = ?;
Andrew - The XPS will arrive next week, I hope, but have to say that a listen to SBL's on a couple of demo's still didn't sway me away from the 804's - they certainly gave me some food for thought, and if I could have 2 pairs of speakers, then I would get some, but when final decisions were being made, Kate was very sure which she liked the look of best and I agree too..
Have to say the usual stuff about missing work yesterday afternoon, calling off a dinner out with friends (they came round instead) and getting up very early ( it's now after 06.00, and I've been up for hours) 'cos it's amazing how many CD's didn't really grab me before and now sound great !
As I said, the usual "new-boy" ravings, which you have all heard before...
Really must go to work - got an XPS to pay for !
Steve
Have fun with your new systm and spend loads of money on music you enjoy. I'm not surprised it sounds great now, and I'm sure that it will sound better in due course.
You are v lucky to be able to go to such a good system, but also unfortunate that you you won't experience the improvements along the upgrade route.
Our systems are similar but I am using a TT - are you? The xps is spectacular, or perhaps better than that!
I'm probably supercapping my 82 next, but part of me wants to go for a cdsii!!
Chris
Having done the dem's for the whole range up to this point, I have heard some of what the improvements are, and the idea of loosing money that could be spent on music does not appeal - _ I started off looking for a new CD player, and was going to stretch to a CD5, but then got listening - the rest is in my lounge...
My turntable, a gyrodec, is currently in store, till we move to Spain in a month - just think, an old farmhouse, 18" thick walls, no neighbours, only working 3-4 months a year, so loads of time to listen to music (this seems like the last chance to buy hi fi, as money will be short - no half measures with the system!)
I would love a supercap, but just couldn't stretch to it - in my dreams at present - Good luck to you and yours !
Cheers
Steve
As you have Naim gear and N804's I can suggest you try as a cheap upgrade Chord Odyssey speaker cable instead of NAC A5. I always used A5 like a good ittle Naimie but when I changed to the 804's I demmed the Chord. In my room it is better, with more definition and control and not as "soft" sounding as A5.
Enjoy!
Colin Lorenson
Heard the chord cable whilst doing my demo - for me, the Naim was preferable - as always, personal taste proves that a demo beats a thousand reviews !
So, glad to talk to another 804 user - I'm well chuffed so far, but then 3 days isn't really enought time to get cheesed off with anything, except my credit card bill, due very soon...
Cheers,
Steve
BTW. Long Live Nautilus
Congratulations on a superb system. I use a very similar configuration myself. Two small pointers that your dealer may have already mentioned that I found helpful in my system.
First, due to the fact that the N 804's like biwiring and the Naim amps sound more coherent single wired, what I found sounded best was to single wire the N 804's using Naca 5 running direct into the lower (woofer) input on the speakers and using a short leg of Naca 5 instead of the B&W jumper. I had it terminated with spades for the woofer side and Naim bananas for the tweeter input. Having all Naca 5 in the run helped with coherence and timing.
Second, the B&W's do take some time to fully break in, especially in the tweeters. Playing music is the best way to speed this process. The N 804's can be set up in a variety of ways, I find that I prefer them fairly wide, and angled in towards the listening position, but they sound great in a number of different positions. Finally, you may want to check to see if the two woofers in each speaker are tightly seated in the front baffle. Often they come a little loose in shipping. With the appropriate spanner, I think 4 MM or perhaps 5 MM you can tighten them down with a nice increase in bass focus and note definition.
Happy listening!