Quick NAC 282 Question

I found no discernible difference, but others swear that using a Powerline on the NAPSC improves the SQ. I suspect might be down to local earthing conditions.

Simon-in-Suffolk posted:

I found no discernible difference, but others swear that using a Powerline on the NAPSC improves the SQ. I suspect might be down to local earthing conditions.

Thanks for this, Simon.  I'm in the rural US, and the earth to my home is provided by an 8 foot copper clad metal rod driven 7-1/2 feet into the ground by the electrical entrance.  My power comes from a transformer on a pole which is grounded by a rod driven into about 2 feet of soil and then solid granite.  My nearest neighbor is 400 feet away.    The circuit powering the hifi kit is a dedicated 20 amp.  Does any of this make any difference?

i don't know - there is only one way to find out I'm afraid

S

I am using a deep cryo tibia on the NAPSC into my 282, and I am quite pleased.  Since you have one, do try it and tell us what you think.  I had a Powerline on it a while back and was surprised at the improvement it made.  At that time the NAPSC was sitting on the floor.  It now sits on a glass shelf, where swapping the PL (for the DC Tibia) to a new Supercap was an improvement.  I am too lazy to go back to stock Tibia just to experiment.

So I am saying give it a try, and I will be surprised if you do not prefer it to the stock cable.  Caveat:  You will have to leave it in place a few days before passing judgement.  It will likely not sound its best right away.

Charlie

I completely agree with Simon on this. I've heard no difference at all putting a PowerLine on a NAPSC.

In fact, regarding the NAPSC, as long as it is far enough away from the 282, I cannot even hear a differnce when it placed on the floor compared to a rack shelf. Funny thing is, everyone I have actually met in real life with a 282 agrees that special treatment of the NAPSC made no difference whatsoever. I had to join the forum to hear tales of PowerLining a NAPSC being the best power cable upgrade you can do to a 282 based system.

That said, I won't tell you they are wrong. But there is only one way for you to find out which side of such a debate you are on.

I'm not using the Tibia power cord now anyway so I guess I'll put it in; it certainly won't make the 282 sound worse.  "And I am unanimous in that!"

Tallan posted:

Naim states "The NAPSC independently powers the NAC 282’s digital and control circuits," so my question is would upgrading the power cord on the NAPSC result in any improvements in sound quality?  Not a Powerline upgrade, but I have a spare AV Options Tibia Plus Deep Cyro hanging around doing nothing right now.  I know the best answer is "try it and see," but with my racking solution changing cords is far from trivial and if there's no theoretical advantage I'd as soon skip the effort.

Adventurous of me to give advice after the splendid gaffe on the System pics thread, but does the red line mean that your NAPSC is on the same rack of the rest? Because, according to Naim, the best placement for it is as far as its cord allows from the rest. That could be an upgrade.

Where does it say this Max ? I still don't understand why should it be placed far away. It's just a little linear power supply - effectively a ingle rail supply, based on the same basic design as the older (non DR) power supplies and really should be placed with the same care as any of the other Naim power supplies. 

James

It's what I always understood to be the case, based on the 'fact' that the napsc is 'a noisy little thing' - that's electrically noisy rather than mechanically. I thought that's why its leads are so long - so you can get it a long way away. My napsc lived behind the sofa on the carpet.

Am I facing a new débâcle? I have looked for this on the manual and on the Internet: found nothing official. Yet, it is a notion that accompanies me since my first NAPSC, in 2006. Browsing the web, digiting something like 'Naim NAPSC placement' one is re-addressed to a number of posts here, but it's mostly hearsay. Perhaps someone official has solid info?

James, I don't think it needs to be far away.. in fact not sure where that came from.. I suspect it has become like folk lore perpetuated because it has a long captive supply lead for flexibility and for recognition by Naim it is possibly unlikely to be mounted on its own support shelf. The NAPSC is as you say a small low noise linear single voltage regulated power supply with a traditional voltage regulator, really quite straightforward. The only thing I can think of, like all transformers in  Naim power supplies, it is best to keep from being very close by sensitive audio componentry, although the small transformer size would make it less position sensitive compared to a HiCap or XPS2 for example.

Hi Simon - yes i suspect more folk lore than anything else with regards NAPSC placement. As i said in a previous thread, 'dressing' the DC cable as you would signal cables and keeping it on the same mains supply as all the other Naim kit is important thing with the NAPSC. No harm in playing around to find what works best in your particular situation though. 

Learn to love it people and it will love you back 

Massimo Bertola posted:

Browsing the web, digiting something like 'Naim NAPSC placement' one is re-addressed to a number of posts here, but it's mostly hearsay.

Imagine that, hearsay in social media!!

We face NAPSC placement-gate together, Max.

Best, Chris

Well, my NAPSC is on the ground, at captive cord's full length from the 282, and plugged into a separate wall outlet. It's ok as far as I can tell. I suppose the day I'll have a 252 this will be one less problem.. Since the 'napsc' part is well inside the SC.

Thanks for the link Adam - you seem to have an encyclopedic knowledge of past threads. A bit like the Naim forum equivalent of Google. Perhaps we need to rename the forum search function to 'Adam' 

Massimo Bertola posted:

Well, my NAPSC is on the ground, at captive cord's full length from the 282, and plugged into a separate wall outlet. It's ok as far as I can tell. I suppose the day I'll have a 252 this will be one less problem.. Since the 'napsc' part is well inside the SC.

 

Worth trying it plugged into to the same group of outlets as all your other Naim kit Max if you can. 

James,

my system is disconnected now because I'm waiting for my newly bought, 2nd hand SC to come home from servicing, so rebooting everything will be the right occasion for trying this. Christopher will be smiling now – he knows how much I hate plugging, plugging and options... But it's a simple test. Anyway, the system must be moved to another part of the room because I need a second rack; more changes and more options..

Best

Max

james n posted:

Perhaps we need to rename the forum search function to 'Adam' 

Or incorporate a voice function named Adam in the website, like Siri in the last MacOs. You open it and ask: Adam, what is the best place to put my Napsc? Then you relax and enjoy the answer..

(Respectfully, 

M)

Ah ok - something to try when you get the SC back (great upgrade btw, my old 282 loved the SC). 

Great idea on the voice control - Google Alexa meets Naim Adam 

 I asked one of the senior Naim designers about product integration with home automation and Alexa.. the answer was a rather emphatic 'No!' which caused some hilarity... 

Iike everything on this forum, what works for one might not work for another but I  would suggest, their is only one way to find out if it works for you....

I agree on using the same power block for the psc, I've tried a different ring main (same phase) and the second socket of the dedicated spur's wall outlet but the block the rest of the system is on was the best. I also tried putting it on the same shelf as a hicap, this was better than directly on the carpet but it had to go at the back so its power cords didn't touch the shelf. Its final place before it went back in its box was on a sepatate little spiked platform it shared with a TTps when I got a supercap and retired the hicap.

I did like a powerlne on it but this came after the siting changes (and the NBLs).

I'm one of those who heard a big performance improvement when trying a Powerline on my NAPSC powering a 282. I don't know whether a different make of premium mains cord would be worthwhile but if you already have the cable it costs nothing to try.  

When I first got my 282 I too followed the 'conventional wisdom' of plugging it into a separate circuit from the main system and installing it away from the rack. In my case that meant on the carpet. However, having later discovered the benefits that a PL on the NAPSC delivered, I then experimented by putting the NAPSC on the rack and plugging it into the dedicated mains circuit. Both of these actions delivered a performance benefit. Neither were as big a benefit as that gained by adding the PL but still worth having. These two steps cost nothing to try.

Mike    

Massimo Bertola posted:

Tallan posted:

Naim states "The NAPSC independently powers the NAC 282’s digital and control circuits," so my question is would upgrading the power cord on the NAPSC result in any improvements in sound quality?  Not a Powerline upgrade, but I have a spare AV Options Tibia Plus Deep Cyro hanging around doing nothing right now.  I know the best answer is "try it and see," but with my racking solution changing cords is far from trivial and if there's no theoretical advantage I'd as soon skip the effort.

Adventurous of me to give advice after the splendid gaffe on the System pics thread, but does the red line mean that your NAPSC is on the same rack of the rest? Because, according to Naim, the best placement for it is as far as its cord allows from the rest. That could be an upgrade.

No, it's on a shelf about three feet below the 282.  It's just that access to cords and cabling is restricted and any change is likely to mess up the existing cable dressing.  Were I as lithe, flexible, and bendy as when I first worked in hifi back in the mid 70s it wouldn't be an issue, but I'm afraid that ship has long since sailed.

In this case, it is safe to assume that the improvement in sound consequent to changing the NAPSC's mains cord won't be proportionate to the fatigue. Said by one who hates to even unplug and replug a single wire. Relax and enjoy a nice Christmas.

M