Next step

Extremely interesting. I think the sensible first step is to get the NAP200 serviced - it's now over 11 years old - and then to assess the state of play with that in optimum condition.

good move

(sorry for rants -- stuck in the American Airlines lounge at JFK waiting for my flight to Vegas for CES. A looooong day)

jon honeyball posted:

 Is there any surprise that the first Blue Nile album came about because Linn were trying to work out how things really sounded?

 

And what an album! Hats wasn't bad either. A great demo piece, then and now.

If you're interested in people's take on the connections between listening and recording/experience of live music see a thread I started a couple of years ago entitled 'Do you play a musical instrument?' https://forums.naimaudio.com/to...al-instrument?page=1

I studied to be a concert pianist with Maria Curcio, the pupil of Arthur Schnabel

I didn't. But I do have Christmas decorations made from music with Yehudi Menhuin's handwritten notes as unwittingly placed in the music library's 'surplus' box and ingeniously (but unwittingly) transformed by my pupils!

Credentials apart, do you think it has helped or hindered your career/ hobby in HiFi? 

Helped hugely. Playing in a full size orchestra at a number of prom concerts gives a certain view on scale. Which is why I have ended up with six pack dbls. If a system can't sound like my Steinway then it is considerably compromised. 

Couldn't agree with you more! My HiFi quest was largely spurred on by the fact that my mono portable 'carousel' cassette player didn't do justice to Motorhead's Ace of Spades. I needed something bigger.

Seriously, though, playing piano, bass and six string and being immersed in live music daily has given me very clear auditory memory reference points when auditioning equipment.

jon honeyball posted:

Helped hugely. Playing in a full size orchestra at a number of prom concerts gives a certain view on scale. Which is why I have ended up with six pack dbls. If a system can't sound like my Steinway then it is considerably compromised. 

When I first bought a keyboard with sampled real instrument sounds, Playing through my hifi system, I was very pleased to find the piano sounds were incredibly natural sounding, in a way  (though not with the experience of being a concert pianist!) that had usually been the case with recorded piano music, but more variables involved with that. If I didn't know already, that would have convinced me of the naturalness of reproduction of my speakers (then IMF referrence standard prof monitors). And the same holds true now with my PMCs.

Update- I managed to pick up a powerline on a well known auction site for a good price. Looking forward to trying it out. 

What are views on where best to deploy it? It's either on the U2 or on the NAP 200. I think NAP 200 makes sense but would welcome views as to other's experience.

Many thanks 

S3 posted:

Update- I managed to pick up a powerline on a well known auction site for a good price. Looking forward to trying it out. 

What are views on where best to deploy it? It's either on the U2 or on the NAP 200. I think NAP 200 makes sense but would welcome views as to other's experience.

Many thanks 

Well - you only have two choices - just try them both If you do decide to try, resist a temptation to swap every few minutes. Let it run for a few days and only then change.

I would start with a source first - so UnitiQute.

Loki posted:

jon honeyball posted:

 Is there any surprise that the first Blue Nile album came about because Linn were trying to work out how things really sounded?

 

And what an album! Hats wasn't bad either. A great demo piece, then and now.

If you're interested in people's take on the connections between listening and recording/experience of live music see a thread I started a couple of years ago entitled 'Do you play a musical instrument?' https://forums.naimaudio.com/to...al-instrument?page=1

Loki, that was a cracking thread.

Dave

I settled on single PL on NAP200 first, more PLs followed with additional beneficial (but also detrimental) effects - balance restored with DR upgrade to hicap in my case. 

Bodger posted:

Loki posted:

jon honeyball posted:

 Is there any surprise that the first Blue Nile album came about because Linn were trying to work out how things really sounded?

 

And what an album! Hats wasn't bad either. A great demo piece, then and now.

If you're interested in people's take on the connections between listening and recording/experience of live music see a thread I started a couple of years ago entitled 'Do you play a musical instrument?' https://forums.naimaudio.com/to...al-instrument?page=1

Loki, that was a cracking thread.

Dave

Indeed it was - and as I wasn'r a forum member at the time I'm glad it has been brought to my attention now.

I put the Powerline on the Uniti 2. Significantly improved detail in high frequency and tighter bass. John Martyn's Solid Air (first press) sounded absolutely sublime on the RP8. I'll leave it there for a few days and may then try it on the NAP 200. Thanks for inputs.

Hi all, I thought it worth updating as there have been a few changes to my system over the past couple of months. 

First I added a powerline to the Uniti 2 - this certainly brought improvements to the bass response (much tighter and better defined). Moving the PL to the NAP 200 didn't change things much from having it on the U2.

I then purchased a 272 to replace the U2 along with another powerline. This was a significant step up in detail. I stated hearing aspects of tracks I had not before. Clearly a very high quality component.

Then yesterday I traded in my NAP 200 for a 12 month old 250DR. Only a few hours in but it sounds wonderful so far; I can't stop listening.

The X2s seem well suited to the DR and I must say I'm very pleased and proud of this system and am sure it will give me many many years of pleasure. 

Thanks for all your guidance on this.

That's great. The 272/250 is jolly good.