Statement has landed
Posted by: Graham Clarke on 09 May 2015
So after three long months of waiting, my Statement preamp finally arrived yesterday. I managed to do pretty well in being patient until we got down to around the last ten days… This was the starting point:
Since my Statement home demo via UHES in January I’ve changed my two main interconnects to Super Lumina ones and have swapped out NAC A5 for Super Lumina, at a somewhat excessive cost, but with brilliant results.
To answer a previous question asked on the Forum regarding how these speaker cables are tuned, it is down to the resistor used. The resistor is soldered across the positive and negative cables and then surrounded in the metal box to protect it. This provides the correct inductance that the power amps require. The tuning is the value of the resistor and the type of resistor used (e.g. RS Components, Farnell etc). Required values were determined for specific lengths via listening and then other lengths were calculated via a computer program.
Anyway, onto the day. The plan was to check the torque settings on the S-600 speakers’ drive unit screws, break down, clean, tighten and reconfigure the Fraim racks, install the six Super Lumina DIN-XLR cables and oh, just add the Statement S-1 pre-amp to the mix, replacing the 552…
To complete this task we had four people. Ian and Norman from UHES of course, plus Jason Gould and Mark Raggett directly from Naim. It’s always enjoyable spending time with Ian and Norman but also getting to spend around four hours with Jason and Mark was the icing on the cake.
Ian first checked the speaker torque settings, which turned out to be fine since their last check nearly two years ago. Given I purchased these as ex-demo speakers from UHES it’s probably no surprise that they had already bedded in and didn’t need further adjustment.
I wish I could say the same about the Fraim racks. These were new a year ago and Ian had told me that I should check the tightness of the spikes after a few months because there is a degree of compression and expansion of the wood from new which will loosen them. Having assumed that they would just be slightly loose combined with a degree of laziness and a manic work schedule I’m afraid I hadn’t bothered. Well, when we broke down the power supply Fraim rack and lifted the base off the carpet, one of the spikes remained embedded in the concrete floor, to my embarrassment! So YES, you really DO need to check these with newly built Fraim racks.
During this time break down time, Jason and Mark had man handled the S-1 flight case out of Mark’s car. At least for the UK, these are delivered direct from the factory to the customer. “Man handled” is the correct term given the 102Kg shipping weight but this was slightly easier than in January as the case now has detachable wheels. Direct delivery is done to ensure that the unit turns up in 100% perfect condition both cosmetically and functionally. This was of course not a problem with mine.
While they were busy doing this, I kept myself busy by taking a look at the long awaited DIN-XLR cables.
Anyone familiar with Powerlines or Hi-Lines will recognise the packaging.
As you can see, both ends use the Air-PLUG technology that the other Super Lumina cables use via a set of interconnecting metal rings. The XLR canons are also metal, unlike the original ones.
Jumping forward slightly, the only glitch of the day was that when installing these cables into my Snaxo BMR, the far end of the Air-PLUG connectors on the top cable touch the one beneath. When the system has bedded in I’ll have to see whether this actually makes an audible difference.
There was another box which was unexpected, this turned out to be the Statement accessory kit, the finish of which was beautiful.
There were three layers to this box with the top containing the manual and a spirit level.
The second layer in mine was empty given I had not purchased the Statement power amps. Apparently I am the first person world wide that Naim have supplied with just the pre-amp, all other purchasers have gone for the complete system.
In the bottom layer of the box were a number of tools
Including some Statement Fraim chips (different from standard ones) and the remote control which is in the bag on the right. This is constructed of metal and is similar in weight and feel to the NARCOM remote.
Given the NARCOM remote is £300, I dread to think how much a replacement one of these would be. I better not lose it down the back of the sofa.
After completing the first Fraim rack, Jason and Mark unpacked the pre-amp.
Given the size, weight and space constraints this does need to be planned! With the protective cover removed it finally appeared for the first time.
Even unpackaged this weighs 60Kg so moving into position isn’t an easy task. This is what it looks like inside to help explain (no, this isn't mine!)
That's a lot of components!
Happily (for me) I left the task of moving to Mark.
No pressure there Mark, I’m sure you loved me taking pictures of you while you were doing this!
We agree not to put it flush up to the racks so that it could be easily cleaned. Getting the position right, ensuring it was absolutely level and parallel with the left hand rack easily took 30 minutes such was the perfectionist nature of Ian and Mark.
Installing the second Fraim was relatively straightforward after this, poor Ian was left to do this while everyone else chatted and watched on. Jason commented that normally with home installs they get involved directly but knew that they could leave this to Ian given his expertise. High praise indeed for UHES.
One added bonus of moving to two racks and separating them slightly is that cable dressing is now much better, with no Burndys touching the wall and all but a few cables off the floor.
Finally, after over four hours of work, everything was set up and listening was about to begin!
By now it was about 6:30PM and we had a dinner reservation for 7:30 as we were all hungry, so we only had limited listening time. I wasn’t too worried about this because the pre-amp is brand new and stone cold, the DIN-XLRs are also new and the rest of the system would have cooled down, so my expectations weren’t too high.
From the first track there was a slight degree of harshness around the sound. This was consistent with the from cold demo in January. High frequencies were also a little tight and I’d say that the pre-amp and system in generally was probably only at around 50% of its full potential. Despite that, some of the greatness from the January demo was already apparent: the super low noise floor (if it was any lower it would be sucking noise out of the room) along with the incredible detail and separation of every instrument being played.
Unfortunately Saturday obligations mean I won’t get to listen further until later in the afternoon, but both main sources have been left active playing into the system and with further warm up I’m expecting a big jump. So you’ll have to wait a while longer for the clichés and superlatives.
More to follow and thanks for reading if you got this far.
Darke Bear pings a cable and all hell breaks lose 
Lucky he didn't pong it instead!
No pongs Tony, we didn't eat curry this time! 
Darke Bear pings a cable and all hell breaks lose
Lucky he didn't pong it instead!
No pongs Tony, we didn't eat curry this time!
I wish I had not used a short word when a longer description will suffice. I should have said:
'Having found that in my System my own Snaxo Burndy Cable, which is of the very old Naim design with the hard plastic sheath, can become stiff and not perform correctly, it is worth checking it has not happened on Graham's Active system.
To do so you need to find if the rather stiff design of cable is free - using a finger to see if it oscillates several times when touched works - if it moves but without several oscillations it is indeed stiff and will not sound as good as it should in a high performance system. This even happens sometimes over a few weeks even if a God from Naim themselves has set the system up - things sometimes settle when a rack has had a major change of configuration, as Grahams had.
After performing the check it seemed free, but sometimes the test itself frees some stiffness, so the only way is to then listen to the system.'
Instead I used a shorter concise word.
I was trying to help Graham, who at the time was unhappy with the overall performance.
I very much now regret that I honestly described what I did - I did not realise it would cause an outrage - and quite frankly I could have done without it. Perhaps safer to say nothing in future.
DB.
Warning! Warning! Adam's in danger of being complimentary.
Fortunately, there is a sting in the tale, so we can all rest easy.
No need to be too alarmed
Darke Bear pings a cable and all hell breaks lose
Lucky he didn't pong it instead!
No pongs Tony, we didn't eat curry this time!
I wish I had not used a short word when a longer description will suffice. I should have said:
'Having found that in my System my own Snaxo Burndy Cable, which is of the very old Naim design with the hard plastic sheath, can become stiff and not perform correctly, it is worth checking it has not happened on Graham's Active system.
To do so you need to find if the rather stiff design of cable is free - using a finger to see if it oscillates several times when touched works - if it moves but without several oscillations it is indeed stiff and will not sound as good as it should in a high performance system. This even happens sometimes over a few weeks even if a God from Naim themselves has set the system up - things sometimes settle when a rack has had a major change of configuration, as Grahams had.
After performing the check it seemed free, but sometimes the test itself frees some stiffness, so the only way is to then listen to the system.'
Instead I used a shorter concise word.
I was trying to help Graham, who at the time was unhappy with the overall performance.
I very much now regret that I honestly described what I did - I did not realise it would cause an outrage - and quite frankly I could have done without it. Perhaps safer to say nothing in future.
DB.
Gary, you do have the respect and support of a lot of members here, man. Speak your mind and if others don't like it either they can look away or get stuffed.
Best,
Tony
Warning! Warning! Adam's in danger of being complimentary.
Fortunately, there is a sting in the tale, so we can all rest easy.
No need to be too alarmed
So good - and then a smilie.
I am really quite approachable - so long as I am not eating, you make no sudden moves, you do not approach from behind and you do not turn your back to me.
Darke Bear pings a cable and all hell breaks lose
Lucky he didn't pong it instead!
No pongs Tony, we didn't eat curry this time!
I wish I had not used a short word when a longer description will suffice. I should have said:
'Having found that in my System my own Snaxo Burndy Cable, which is of the very old Naim design with the hard plastic sheath, can become stiff and not perform correctly, it is worth checking it has not happened on Graham's Active system.
To do so you need to find if the rather stiff design of cable is free - using a finger to see if it oscillates several times when touched works - if it moves but without several oscillations it is indeed stiff and will not sound as good as it should in a high performance system. This even happens sometimes over a few weeks even if a God from Naim themselves has set the system up - things sometimes settle when a rack has had a major change of configuration, as Grahams had.
After performing the check it seemed free, but sometimes the test itself frees some stiffness, so the only way is to then listen to the system.'
Instead I used a shorter concise word.
I was trying to help Graham, who at the time was unhappy with the overall performance.
I very much now regret that I honestly described what I did - I did not realise it would cause an outrage - and quite frankly I could have done without it. Perhaps safer to say nothing in future.
DB.
No, please don't do that. The naysayers are in the minority. If they don't like what you post they can choose to not read it. If you don't post, the people who WOULD like to read don't have an option 
Warning! Warning! Adam's in danger of being complimentary.
Fortunately, there is a sting in the tale, so we can all rest easy.
No need to be too alarmed
So good - and then a smilie.
I am really quite approachable - so long as I am not eating, you make no sudden moves, you do not approach from behind and you do not turn your back to me.
You sound like a lion, Adam.
Do women on heat also need to be careful around you?
Others might argue that anything that costs a huge amount of money should work at its peak immediately and without many months of erratic performance.
...
What does electronics care for what price it is being sold for, it will just take the time it needs to get ready? 
For example, it shows Statement amplification is not for me because I wouldn't have the patience to experiment with cables and take such enormous care over dressing them. (My cables are quite tidy nonetheless). It also explains why the Statement system I heard disappointed because the environment it was in was not conducive to this level of optimisation.
I don't think that is a fair reflection, actually. What we're talking about is trying to squeeze every last drop of performance out of the system. At this price that isn't really surprising, but it isn't mandatory.
If someone "just" turned up with one, plonked it down by your system, plugged it in and didn't bother with cable dressing I'm sure it would still sound pretty darn good. Just maybe not as good as it possibly could be and that's where we become obsessive...
Others might argue that anything that costs a huge amount of money should work at its peak immediately and without many months of erratic performance.
Anyway, I realise I am in the minority of naysayers or, in modern terms, a "denier" (holocaust, global warming) now naim.
As such I have nothing more to say on this matter.
Lionel,
Maybe I didn't explain myself well, permit me to try again.
I'm glad there are a variety of opinions on this forum and that we can debate them. It would be a quiet and boring place otherwise.
What I do feel is important is that we do so respectfully. Challenge the opinion but don't criticise the person.
Not that I am in any way an arbiter of such, but your post isn't disrespectful. Naysayer probably wasn't the right word, hopefully you can understand my thought process on this a little better now.
You do raise an interesting point. I don't really have an answer for you but can theorise (hell, we're all good at doing that, here!).
I think the run in issue falls into to areas - use of components that either do or don't require extended periods of use to reach their top performance and whether Naim should perform run in on behalf of their customers.
I don't know whether electronic components are available that do not suffer from a degree of run in. Outside the audio industry, if they work and are within agreed tolerances, any slight variation (that within the audio context might be quite noticeable) will probably not be deemed important. I doubt that would be a design goal.
Could components be made that didn't suffer from these issues? Probably, but I suspect the required R&D might ultimately make them fantastically expensive given the narrow nature of their intended usage. Would that really be in the best interest of the customer?
As for run in at the factory, people report that it isn't unusual for preamps to take six months to stabilise. In extreme cases I've heard of durations as long as two years. Powering up components for such long periods of time would be a logistical challenge for Naim due to required space (their factory isn't huge), electrical costs and it would also play havoc with their delivery lead times. Is it better to tell a customer they can't have the item they've ordered for several months or deliver early and let them handle the run in?
Also, what constitutes new vs. used? If a preamp has been sat in a factory, permanently powered up for several months before delivery, is it still new?
For an analogy, turn to the car market. When I bought my car new, it had a 1000 mile run in period during which the manual said not to use full throttle, max rpm or steady state engine revs for extended periods of time. In that regard it was not working at its peak. This seems to be an accepted norm and part of the experience of buying a new car.
Just my opinion. Your mileage may vary 
Graham - does the Statement Pre during its burn in wobble still sound better than the 552?
Oh yes! Talk of poor performance is in relative terms, in absolute terms it still sounds great but is maybe 95% of what it has sounded like at its peak.
Since last weekend's posts it has improved. The relative flabbiness of the bass has tightened up again (maybe it's been to the gym while I wasn't looking) which is a big improvement. High frequencies still feel like they could do with being slightly more forward.
Bear in mind that when I took delivery of the S1 I also received the 6 Super Lumina DIN-XLRs needed for active operation and these were installed at the same time. So in fairness it isn't possible for me to separate run in of one vs. the other.
I heard UHES's pre and monoblocks again yesterday (NDS/555 into Statement into passive S600s), they have about 5 months additional run in compared to mine. Although it's hard to separate the strengths of the monoblocks against my comparatively weedy 3xNAP300 it suggests that my S1 still has a lot more to give. Come on, hand over those sonic delights! 
I've been really enjoying my system with its lousy old A5 wiring and the creaky 552.
Since last weekend's posts it has improved.
Well that's great to hear - I was beginnig to get concerned for you
Since last weekend's posts it has improved.
Well that's great to hear - I was beginnig to get concerned for you
Thank you for your concern