Powerline

Best to put a powerline on all boxes if finance allows, you will most certainly notice a considerable difference, in both detail, clarity, warmth ect ect ect

Try it on the XPS.

Would love to put Powerlines on all boxes but at the moment can only afford one for now. I did try it on the XPS but thought there was more improvement on the 250; it's now on the HiCap. As I write the mechanical hum has not returned and the sound has improved even more, so a win-win situation all round.

Imo the first powerline has the biggest over all affect then any other power is the icing, strawberries and cream etc.

I also found while the powerline worked well everywhere including my TV, the best single connection was when it powered my SuperCap.

So power for my pre amp was the biggest game changer. 

More so than the xps or the power amps

The hum, I can't say why, maybe a  loose earth connection in the high cap plug? Or just one of those humming transformers. My xps hums more often than note and it's on a mains spur.

nothing to worry about id say.

Sorry just read that whoops, one more time.

Imo the first powerline has the biggest over all affect than any other. To me adding more powerlines to the system is the icing, strawberries and cream etc.

I also found while one powerline worked well in any box including my TV, the best single connection was when it powered my SuperCap. So power for my pre amp is the biggest game changer.

The hum, I can't say why, maybe a loose earth connection in the high cap plug? Or just one of those humming transformers. My xps hums more often than note and it's on a mains spur.

nothing to worry about id say.

Powerlines definitely alter the system sound. Challenging when you have but one to find the best placement, trial and error the only solution. I've found that the 'source first' rule does not necessarily apply to PLs. Adding more PLs only makes things better.

Interesting enough, while others had indicated that PL on amp and 250.2 for that matter had most impact, I found it gave greater effect and improvement on source and preamp PSUs. 

Chag -  

I put my first Powerline on the Naspc feeding the 282. I found that gave the biggest benefit in my system.  Putting PLs on the SC, 250 etc came later.

Would it be worth trying one on a HC or my Nap 100?  I have always been sceptical about power cables but was also the same regarding the HC and I was quite amazed by the improvement it brought about.

If you are contemplating the cost of a Powerline, I'd suggest that the money would be far, far, better spent in trading up from your 100 to a serviced chrome bumper 250. A 250 is what you need to make SBLs sing, and no amount of fancy cables will give you what a 250 provides. 

Funny you say that.  I had one last week (CB 250 which had been serviced).  It definitely sounded more open and with a tad more detail, BUT, the extra cost of it over the Nap 100 made me realise just how good the Nap 100 is for the money.  I sold it, but may buy another when the time comes.  I really am happy with the 100 I cannot praise it enough in terms of VFM.  It's powerful and produces excellent music with depth and slam.  If anything the 250 was almost a bit TOO open on occasions which kinda made certain tracks a tad bright.

How easy would it be to put the original power cable back on the Hicap to see if the hum returns?  This might help determine whether it's the hiline that's solved the hum or some other disturbance.  If the hum doesn't return you're free to experiment on what piece the hiline adds most 'value' to.

Regrettably, the mechanical hum from the HiCap has returned; however I reckon it's the washing machine that's polluting the mains, even though the Naim system has it's own dedicated spur. I guess it was just co-incidence that the washing machine switched off exactly when I originally swapped the mains leads over. Oh well! 

Over the last few days, I have experimented with the Powerline on  the HiCap, XPS2 and Nap250DR and I have to say that I have a slight preference for it being on the NAP250. Each to his own, I guess.