Naim Headline?
Posted by: Lewis on 01 February 2016
What do you need to make one of these work? Idea is to have my Nait 2 in the bedroom with a headphone amp set up for night-time listening and early morning listening. Would the headline just plug into the Nait and i'd be in business? Thanks.
Lewis posted:Would the headline just plug into the Nait and i'd be in business?
It'd be nice if things were that simple. You need a PSU to power the Headline and a SLIC cable connection. PSUs that work on a Headline are; i-supply (no longer made by Naim but available varyingly s/h), NAPSC, any Flatcap variation, a Hicap, or a Supercap. You'll get better performance from the Headline with a better PSU, although with a Nait 2 the Flatcap may be as high as you'd want to go.
Another option would be to sell the Headline to fund any number of HP amps that come with their own internal or wall-wart power supply.
Ok thanks I will give it some thought then. Sounds like a lot of boxes to achieve the required results....
In a world where headphone amps are dime a dozen nowadays, I have always wanted a Headline as the supreme solution for headphones. Upgradeable, too, as your needs change.
Lewis posted:Sounds like a lot of boxes to achieve the required results....
No, just one more box - the PSU - needed for your Headline. In fact if you've got an older Headline it may have a captive SLIC. In that case find an i-supply (~$100) and you'd be in business. You should talk to a Naim dealer and do some reading. Also consider what kind of HPs you'll be using. The Headline will work well with older or more demanding HPs. Cheaper, newer HP amps may not.
Skip posted:In a world where headphone amps are dime a dozen nowadays, I have always wanted a Headline as the supreme solution for headphones. Upgradeable, too, as your needs change.
+1. The Headline is an excellent HP amp and will drive virtually anything out there with authority.
The Headline is superb but given that even with the modest NAPSC it becomes an 800 quid headphone amp, you may want to ask whether the source and headphone are up to it. That hasn't cropped up in the thread yet.
There are some outstanding alternatives out there for less money in one box (Rega Ear springs to mind). Plus a number of highly regarded valve headphone amps that still cost less than a Headline without a PS.
Don't get me wrong. The Headline may still be the right option. I run mine with a HCDR and it's sublime.