Is this normal on Supernait 2?

By 75% do you mean above 12 o'clock on the dial? You shouldn't exceed this on a Naim amp on a line input. What speakers are you running? Must be monstrously inefficient or you are incredibly hard of hearing.

My speakers are Focal Aria 936, the reason I found this was because I was just seeing how far it would had never gone that high before. And yes I meant passed 12 o'clock

Andres

That would have been loud! A slight hum is not uncommon at high volumes. Particularly if there are nearby radio transmitters. I would avoid turning it up that loud in future. Also, upping your source may improve things as a cd5si is a bit below the recommended option on a SN2. Try a CDX2 or NDX streamer instead.

Damn, 75% with speakers with a sensitivity of 92dB. That can't be healthy.

I have had my SN2 as high as 3 o'clock but only once or twice and not for long - driving Focal 926s it was damned damned loud but I didn't have any buzzing at all. The only buzz I get from my system is from the transformers in the amp and power supply.  Seems strange to hear one input device when you have another device selected to me

3 o clock Dayjay? 

Wow, when I get to 10 o clock on my SN2 I'm already thinking about the neighbours (I live in a semi detached, the attached part also has the system in it!).

I can't imagine 3 o clock, the house must be shaking....

Status report: turned up to 11 (o'clock) right now on my Supernait -- purple vinyl pressing of Black Sabbath's "Paranoid". 

(I'm using a HOMC cartridge into a Stageline N, so less gain than a digital source.)

Forget the amp,I doubt the speakers would like too much of this treatment.

philip

Sounds normal as there will alway be some crosstalk you can hear with such crazy volume.

If I recall correctly, the crosstalk on inputs is due to a serial connection for the ground tap on all inputs on all integrateds and slimline preamp (higher end preamps have parallel circuits). So only the signal tap is switched, and only a fainth leakage well bellow human hearing treshold could go through during normal operation (and this means not putting the volume knob at zero attenuation).

The humming comes from the capacitive filtering that is almost directly supplying power to the output transistors on every Naim amps below the NAP 250. The NAP 250 and up have high current voltage regulation boards that will eliminate the very tiny ripple remaining after the capacitive filtering. But again, you shouldn't hear a hum when sitting at your listening position and using the amp normaly.

The Supernait 2 is fairly powerfull, and able to drive a wide range of speakers into a domestic listening environment. But for sure, it won't drive very complex loads or get regular speakers at an insane volume level. This is not a pro sound amp with a power delivery in the Kilowatt scale... 

Bye.

Humming (lauder than usaual) on empty inputs is actually normal. 

Just for fun switch every source off and leave SN2 on - you may hear a loud humming. Once you switch your Naim CD on it will be gone. 

By the way - why two CD players?

You really should not be getting the humming. I suspect that it's an earth loop and that if you disconnect the Marantz and just leave the CD5si connected it will go away. If it is an earth loop, you need to sort it out. 

If you are playing a cd into the cd input and then switch to (say) the aux input and turn the volume right up, you will hear the cd very faintly. This, as others have said, is crosstalk, and it's perfectly normal. 

Listening at 3 o'clock, on the other hand, is not normal. I'm told that my car can go at 130 mph, but I don't need to drive it that fast, just to see what it's like. 

Crikey, you don't want to be taking out the Tweeters too, which will likely happen with any Amp driving hard at 3 o' Clock I suspect.

Andres Herrera posted:

I hear a lot of humming through my speakers when I crank up the volume on empty inputs.

some power cords might cause hum and volume issues when in a sn2 system whatever device they connect to.

From my experience all NAIMs work better if a power supply:

• Has a dedicated earth
• Is a separate, dedicated audio circuit

There are various thoughts on using RFI / surge protecrion strips for powering NAIM. It does degrade the sound quality a bit, but may be an inevitable choice for reducing mains hums. A second advantage is a surge protection - it's better to 'kill' a power strip than yoru beloved NAIM

musica posted:

Forget the amp,I doubt the speakers would like too much of this treatment.

philip

The Focal Aria 936 speakers are rated up to 300 watts so well matched for a SN, unless of course the amp was clipping when the volume was at 75% , which is what I suspect was happening.

So to sum up:

1) Volume was at Thor's Hammer levels;

2) This isn't recommended, as

3) Crosstalk, hum, clipping, and tinnitus can result;

4) Hopefully, this system is sited in an aircraft hangar or the Doge's Palace; and

5) Note to self: when buying a s/h amp, remember to ask the seller if they crank the volume to 75%

joe9407 posted:

So to sum up:

1) Volume was at Thor's Hammer levels;

2) This isn't recommended, as

3) Crosstalk, hum, clipping, and tinnitus can result;

4) Hopefully, this system is sited in an aircraft hangar or the Doge's Palace; and

5) Note to self: when buying a s/h amp, remember to ask the seller if they crank the volume to 75%

The volume dial on my SN2 once got to between 1 and 2 o'clock, but only because the volume button on my universal remote got stuck.  Once I had charged across the room and taken manual control of the situation, I expected to turn around and discover the next challenge would be removing the Mission 752 drive units now firmly embedded in the sofa.  Actually, they didn't seem to care.  They were 91Db sensitivity if I remember rightly, and I can confirm that things were getting pretty loud there for a moment.  A typical volume position for me is between 9:30 and 11 o'clock, depending on mood and loudness of the recording in question, now driving Proac D18s which are rated 88Db, I think.  This is loud enough for me, and i would suggest most people, certainly if I did not have a detached house with plenty of airspace between me and the neighbours, that volume position would have be dialed back considerably.

joe9407 posted:

5) Note to self: when buying a s/h amp, remember to ask the seller if they crank the volume to 75%

Indeed - I thought I can handle loud music, after more than 20 years of playing in a band, standing next to a drummer every week.

But 75% of a SuperNait2 ??? The acoustic pressure must have been enormous. Mine never goes above 10-11 o'clock. Usual playing volume is around 9.