What upgrade hasn't worked for you?

Upsampling.  24/192

DSD ? 

What didnt work for me? Isobariks, both active and passive (I had two pairs at the same time, one DMS one PMS with the external crossovers). Back in my teens I had been completely wowed by active isobariks, naim 250s etc at a hifi dealer in central london (near Wigmore hall?). Live jazz played on it was so lifelike

When I got to have isobariks of my own, I was disappointed. The just werent overall better than the active SBLs I had before. Within a few months I moved to active DBLs which were (and still are) on another planet.

Replacing my NAC72 with a NAC102

It was an instant upgrade in hifi sound to the detriment of music.

Had to sell the NAC102 and buy another NAC72 to get my toes tapping again : )

Debs

Having stereo instead of mono.

To a certain extend, my NDX. Still have it, and it's not going to leave any time soon. However, the NDX replaced my T+A MP1260R which was an almost as good sounding streamer at half the cost. 
The NDX gives system automation and Tidal integration, which is a huge plus. And I've had an issue with T+A support. 

But still, sound quality / cost ratio, the T+A was way better. 

Haven't worked for me:

- SNAPS on 42/110 in 1980s

- XPS on CDX in 1999

- Supercap instead of dual Hicap on 82, 2000

- FlatcapXS on CD5XS recently

- Hicap DR on Supernait 2, recently

Most of the other PSU changes have though!

analogmusic posted:

Hi Massimo

would you please be able to say what exactly about your various Naim components didn't get along with you?

I can't really imagine life without my Naim system, so keen to know what you don't like about the sound, and what you think should be improved. 

am,

I'll be more than happy to elaborate as best as possible, but please allow me a couple of days, I am not at my best lately. Anyway, I myself wonder whether I could live without a Naim system, so my answer will be very open and I fear not fully clarifying...

Best, M

An easier answer would be 'no'. 

Massimo Bertola posted:

analogmusic posted:

Hi Massimo

would you please be able to say what exactly about your various Naim components didn't get along with you?

I can't really imagine life without my Naim system, so keen to know what you don't like about the sound, and what you think should be improved. 

am,

I'll be more than happy to elaborate as best as possible, but please allow me a couple of days, I am not at my best lately. Anyway, I myself wonder whether I could live without a Naim system, so my answer will be very open and I fear not fully clarifying...

Best, M

Massimo,

Hope you feel better soon. Your Luxman venture deserves a topic of its own to allow more people to share your experience beyond the ones who stumble over your post here.

Moussa posted:

I installed a Furutech GTX Rhodium receptacle and it improved the sound especially micro dynamics, but when I plugged in the Audience AR6 PDC there was no contest at all. The PDC made my system sound magical and I found that the best solution is to plug the Audience PDC to the Furutech receptacle. 

Hi Moussa!

My receptacle is “Furutech FT-SWS NCF (R)” so also a Rhodium one. My first impressions is also that it improved micro dynamics but also that the bas is more pronounced and defined. In the mid and high frequencies I think the sound have become a bit “hard” and not as musical as before.

Did you experience some “break in” when you installed your Furutech receptacle? I have read that Rhodium have a long “break in time” and that the high frequencies will become very fluid and sweet. It’s far from that right now… 

The Audience aR6 PDC looks very well engineered and it sound good that it has been developed to work well together with Naim.

Here in Sweden it seems that only one dealer have it for sale and it´s 500km away from where I live. If I pass by I will try to stop by and have a look and maybe a listen. The dealer that sell aR6 PDC do not sell Naim so hard to know how well it works. As always, a home demo would be the best and maybe only solution…

/Marcus

sheffieldgraham posted:

MarcusM posted:

I’m also hoping for Naim to release a well-made power distribution block so that I can change my MusicLine which I suspect still is a limiting factor in my system…

/Marcus  

Naim used to sell the Musicline Powerigel (not anymore) on their web site ,so I guess that's some sort of recommendation.

Musicline (German)  web site sell the Powerigel in various sizes. They also sell the Powerigel Plus which uses Naim Powerline cable and plugs. Obviously more expensive than the "standard" model.

I have the "standard" Powerigel 8 plug version, which works well.

Hi sheffieldgraham!

Thanks for the suggestion but I have actually never been really tempted by the powerigel. My dealer were I bought my Naim gear used powerigel (for some demo systems) and suggested me to buy one a few years back. I don’t like the concept that the power chords is attached to the powerigel which is not very flexible. I have powerlines and would like to use them instead.

The MusicLine netlist that I use gives obviously very good performance for the very low cost. I still have a nagging feeling that a 75 Euro plastic distribution block must limit the performance of my system at least a little bit…

I talked to a few dealers about it and they have all ensured me that it performs very well even though it looks very “plastic”. They have not had any suggestions for other distribution blocks that performs better with Naim. My feeling is that most of them have not tested many variants but only used the MusicLine products that was distributed in Sweden together with the Naim gear (if I have understood correctly).

3 years back I teste a Nordost QB8 but could not detect any difference in performance compared with my MusicLine distribution block. The differences were very small according to my ears…

It would be welcome with a really good distribution block that was recommended by Naim or even developed and sold by Naim. Then I would feel more secure that my power distribution were good enough…

/Marcus

MarcusM posted:

Moussa posted:

I installed a Furutech GTX Rhodium receptacle and it improved the sound especially micro dynamics, but when I plugged in the Audience AR6 PDC there was no contest at all. The PDC made my system sound magical and I found that the best solution is to plug the Audience PDC to the Furutech receptacle. 

Hi Moussa!

My receptacle is “Furutech FT-SWS NCF (R)” so also a Rhodium one. My first impressions is also that it improved micro dynamics but also that the bas is more pronounced and defined. In the mid and high frequencies I think the sound have become a bit “hard” and not as musical as before.

Did you experience some “break in” when you installed your Furutech receptacle? I have read that Rhodium have a long “break in time” and that the high frequencies will become very fluid and sweet. It’s far from that right now… 

The Audience aR6 PDC looks very well engineered and it sound good that it has been developed to work well together with Naim.

Here in Sweden it seems that only one dealer have it for sale and it´s 500km away from where I live. If I pass by I will try to stop by and have a look and maybe a listen. The dealer that sell aR6 PDC do not sell Naim so hard to know how well it works. As always, a home demo would be the best and maybe only solution…

/Marcus

Hi Marcus,

Yes I also have the NCF version and you are right that the sound gets a bit edgy and less fluid but with more details. I had exactly the same feeling like you where I felt that the details and dynamics came at the expense of musicality. These rhodium receptacles take around a month to sound their best, but I noticed that they soften a bit and give you more air around instruments but still a bit too edgy. That's where the AR6 PDC excels, it just makes things really balanced, the sound is again flowing like crystal clear water and you are left with airy 3D sound without any harshness and with all the micro and macro dynamics that came with the Furutech Rhodium receptacle.

Based on my experience,  Naim gear sound better plugged to the PDC than straight to the wall outlets.

If you do get to try it, please post your impressions

Cheers

Moussa

MarcusM posted:

Moussa posted:

I installed a Furutech GTX Rhodium receptacle and it improved the sound especially micro dynamics, but when I plugged in the Audience AR6 PDC there was no contest at all. The PDC made my system sound magical and I found that the best solution is to plug the Audience PDC to the Furutech receptacle. 

My receptacle is “Furutech FT-SWS NCF (R)” so also a Rhodium one. My first impressions is also that it improved micro dynamics but also that the bas is more pronounced and defined. In the mid and high frequencies I think the sound have become a bit “hard” and not as musical as before.

Did you experience some “break in” when you installed your Furutech receptacle? I have read that Rhodium have a long “break in time” and that the high frequencies will become very fluid and sweet. It’s far from that right now… 

 

I have a Furutech GTX-D Rhodium. At $140 it's expensive for a wall socket, yet relatively cheap in overall hi-fi expenditures. I found a subtle increase in mid and high frequency cohesion and a slightly cleaner sound overall with no loss of musicality. Earth shattering, no, but a good enough VFM to remain in my system and I'm certainly not going to re-install my $2 consumer grade socket. The differences were immediate and I can't say I noticed any major break-in period beyond a day or so, but maybe I didn't listen that hard for such things.

My first post.

A while ago I went from a 32 to a 202.

Gained and lost at the same time.

The 252 has got back all the music, and some. 

tonym posted:

I take this thread to mean kit you've actually bought, rather than tried on demo and decided you didn't like it. The only component I bought and realised I'd made a terrible mistake was a Marantz CD player, a three-quarter sized thing (don't ask me what the designation was, I never remember such things) when CD first appeared on the market, bought because, hey, it'll be "Perfect sound forever"! I was dismayed, then thought perhaps it was the discs I'd bought. No such luck! It ended up gathering dust whilst I carried on enjoying my Rega Planar 3.

Wow, must have been the same era, can't remember the model number, but it was back in the day when it was the Belt driven LP 12, or the direct motor driven Denon, I think!

Anyhow, I figured the Denon CDP, couldn't be bad, and I had to give those silver devils a spin!
3 Days, and back it went, Tried the Philips CDP.

Heck of a CDP, wasn't plastic and light weight! It wasn't thin sounding and harsh, like the Denon but rather warm, more like the LP 12.

Just sold it, a couple years ago, still played great, the same company that manufactured, the VAM 1202, that I replaced on my 9 year old Cdx2 last  month!

The Analog TT   vs   The Digital CDP

I though I was up grading, but actually downgrading, and finally realized, I needed both sources, Linn's LP 12, and Linn's Genki CDP.

The warm sound quality of the Analog TT, and the New Kid on the Block, The CDP, without the snap crackle pop. and convenience to boot!

30 years latter, Sounds Familiar, The Convenience of The Third Source, Digital Streaming! 

LP 12, CD555, NDS The New Paradigm, if you have the Loot! 

Brings back memories!This was a Heck of A CD Player.

All is Gone Now, the only think left, is the Baby Grands in my Second System

Funny How Time Flies! 

Allante93!

Moussa posted:

Hi Marcus,

Yes I also have the NCF version and you are right that the sound gets a bit edgy and less fluid but with more details. I had exactly the same feeling like you where I felt that the details and dynamics came at the expense of musicality. These rhodium receptacles take around a month to sound their best, but I noticed that they soften a bit and give you more air around instruments but still a bit too edgy. That's where the AR6 PDC excels, it just makes things really balanced, the sound is again flowing like crystal clear water and you are left with airy 3D sound without any harshness and with all the micro and macro dynamics that came with the Furutech Rhodium receptacle.

Based on my experience,  Naim gear sound better plugged to the PDC than straight to the wall outlets.

If you do get to try it, please post your impressions

Cheers

Moussa

joerand posted: 

I have a Furutech GTX-D Rhodium. At $140 it's expensive for a wall socket, yet relatively cheap in overall hi-fi expenditures. I found a subtle increase in mid and high frequency cohesion and a slightly cleaner sound overall with no loss of musicality. Earth shattering, no, but a good enough VFM to remain in my system and I'm certainly not going to re-install my $2 consumer grade socket. The differences were immediate and I can't say I noticed any major break-in period beyond a day or so, but maybe I didn't listen that hard for such things.

Hi Moussa and Joerand!

Interesting that we have similar impressions from the Furutech wall socket. I tested something a bit weird yesterday and today. Wife and kids were out of the house for a few hours and I did quite a bit of listening at pretty high volume. My system sounded quite hard and I was a bit disappointed. I was thinking about putting my old consumer grade socket back just to try but I decided to wait for another week for the Furutech to “break in”.

When thinking about “break in” and that it would be good to have some current flowing through the socket I decided to connect the stereo to a “normal” wall outlet and instead connect a 500 watt lamp to my Furutech wall socket. I had it turned on for 10h so 5 kWh should have passed through it.

Sure, just a weird idea but I thought that maybe it could speed up the “break in process”. I don’t know how much watts my stereo consumes during normal listening but I would guess that it’s less than 500 W.

Today I got a few hours to listen again and I’m quite sure that it sounds a lot better today. Am I starting to lose my mind or could my weird experiment have made any difference?

Sure, how much you enjoys the music and like the sound depends also on physiological effects. What mood you are in, your expectations and so on. Maybe I’m tricking myself but to my ears the system sounds better today than ever before… 

During the last month I have had an electrician here to install a dedicated “feed” to my stereo and that’s why I also decided to test a Furutech wall socket. I have also changed my rack from a solid oak one to Fraim. The Fraim is better in every aspect but I think the Fraim as well gives a “harder” sound compared to my old oak rack…

I will continue to use the Furutech wall socket and probably change back to the consumer grade socket in the end of next week to see if I can hear a difference.

Moussa, what powerchord do you use together with your aR6 PDC? It would be interesting to hear one in my system but that will have to wait for some time. The Fraim was quite expensive and I will not travel to Stockholm any time soon…

/Marcus

MarcusM posted:

Moussa posted:

Hi Marcus,

Yes I also have the NCF version and you are right that the sound gets a bit edgy and less fluid but with more details. I had exactly the same feeling like you where I felt that the details and dynamics came at the expense of musicality. These rhodium receptacles take around a month to sound their best, but I noticed that they soften a bit and give you more air around instruments but still a bit too edgy. That's where the AR6 PDC excels, it just makes things really balanced, the sound is again flowing like crystal clear water and you are left with airy 3D sound without any harshness and with all the micro and macro dynamics that came with the Furutech Rhodium receptacle.

Based on my experience,  Naim gear sound better plugged to the PDC than straight to the wall outlets.

If you do get to try it, please post your impressions

Cheers

Moussa

joerand posted: 

I have a Furutech GTX-D Rhodium. At $140 it's expensive for a wall socket, yet relatively cheap in overall hi-fi expenditures. I found a subtle increase in mid and high frequency cohesion and a slightly cleaner sound overall with no loss of musicality. Earth shattering, no, but a good enough VFM to remain in my system and I'm certainly not going to re-install my $2 consumer grade socket. The differences were immediate and I can't say I noticed any major break-in period beyond a day or so, but maybe I didn't listen that hard for such things.

Hi Moussa and Joerand!

Interesting that we have similar impressions from the Furutech wall socket. I tested something a bit weird yesterday and today. Wife and kids were out of the house for a few hours and I did quite a bit of listening at pretty high volume. My system sounded quite hard and I was a bit disappointed. I was thinking about putting my old consumer grade socket back just to try but I decided to wait for another week for the Furutech to “break in”.

When thinking about “break in” and that it would be good to have some current flowing through the socket I decided to connect the stereo to a “normal” wall outlet and instead connect a 500 watt lamp to my Furutech wall socket. I had it turned on for 10h so 5 kWh should have passed through it.

Sure, just a weird idea but I thought that maybe it could speed up the “break in process”. I don’t know how much watts my stereo consumes during normal listening but I would guess that it’s less than 500 W.

Today I got a few hours to listen again and I’m quite sure that it sounds a lot better today. Am I starting to lose my mind or could my weird experiment have made any difference?

Sure, how much you enjoys the music and like the sound depends also on physiological effects. What mood you are in, your expectations and so on. Maybe I’m tricking myself but to my ears the system sounds better today than ever before… 

During the last month I have had an electrician here to install a dedicated “feed” to my stereo and that’s why I also decided to test a Furutech wall socket. I have also changed my rack from a solid oak one to Fraim. The Fraim is better in every aspect but I think the Fraim as well gives a “harder” sound compared to my old oak rack…

I will continue to use the Furutech wall socket and probably change back to the consumer grade socket in the end of next week to see if I can hear a difference.

Moussa, what powerchord do you use together with your aR6 PDC? It would be interesting to hear one in my system but that will have to wait for some time. The Fraim was quite expensive and I will not travel to Stockholm any time soon…

/Marcus

Agree a lot of music enjoyment depends on our mood. I currently use an Audio sensibility statement power cable which is a boutique Canadian cable manufacturer and it is a great cable, but I am looking to upgrade the cable to either a powerline or Audience AU24SE. I already have powerlines on the SN2 and HiCap DR.

Moussa posted:

Agree a lot of music enjoyment depends on our mood. I currently use an Audio sensibility statement power cable which is a boutique Canadian cable manufacturer and it is a great cable, but I am looking to upgrade the cable to either a powerline or Audience AU24SE. I already have powerlines on the SN2 and HiCap DR.

After my experiences with the Shunyata power products, which have a very good reputation as one of the very best manufacture when it comes to power products, I’m a bit confused about what one should choose together with Naim when it comes to power products. No filtration of any kind and good robust constructions seems like a good starting point.

I would test Naim PowerLine and also Chord Sarum power chord…  

/Marcus

I think I will wait to get a good deal on preloved powerline and reterminate it with a powercon. Thats probably the best and safest approach

Nait 5, it lasted a month.

Townshend polymer upgrade platter for a Rock 2, the Aro wouldn't track with this platter without the trough when the timing went to pot, impressive dynamics and no engagement.

In almost 3 decades of the hi-fi game, I can recall only 3 things haven't worked for me to the extent that I had to get rid of them:

●  Roksan Xerxes turntable (my first, bought in 1988, and replaced after 6 months with an LP12)

●  Tiger Paw Khan top plate

●  Tiger Paw sKale counterweight

On the other hand, if this thread was titled "Upgrades that worked, but were underwhelming," the list would be a great deal longer.

And despite my 2 for 2 with Tiger Paw, I have great respect for them, and I'll be interested to check out their Tranquility bearing upgrade for the Linn, if and when it arrives on these shores.

Haim Ronen posted:

Massimo Bertola posted:

analogmusic posted:

Hi Massimo

would you please be able to say what exactly about your various Naim components didn't get along with you?

I can't really imagine life without my Naim system, so keen to know what you don't like about the sound, and what you think should be improved. 

am,

I'll be more than happy to elaborate as best as possible, but please allow me a couple of days, I am not at my best lately. Anyway, I myself wonder whether I could live without a Naim system, so my answer will be very open and I fear not fully clarifying...

Best, M

Massimo,

Hope you feel better soon. Your Luxman venture deserves a topic of its own to allow more people to share your experience beyond the ones who stumble over your post here.

The Luxman L 590 AX is a wonderful machine, I believe that Mr. Bertola forget for a long long time love and disagreements with Naim gears. 

Haim Ronen posted:

Massimo,

Your Luxman venture deserves a topic of its own to allow more people to share your experience beyond the ones who stumble over your post here.

Haim,

if you really think so, I may be starting a post shortly, reassuming the path that brought me to this move – and back to the future. It may not be so interesting, but it may help discouraging some from too much mass tourism inside Naim World.

Ciao

M

Corry posted:

In almost 3 decades of the hi-fi game, I can recall only 3 things haven't worked for me to the extent that I had to get rid of them:

●  Roksan Xerxes turntable (my first, bought in 1988, and replaced after 6 months with an LP12)

●  Tiger Paw Khan top plate

●  Tiger Paw sKale counterweight

On the other hand, if this thread was titled "Upgrades that worked, but were underwhelming," the list would be a great deal longer.

And despite my 2 for 2 with Tiger Paw, I have great respect for them, and I'll be interested to check out their Tranquility bearing upgrade for the Linn, if and when it arrives on these shores.

Hi,

Can you say more about your Khan and sKale experiences leading to you replacing them?

How long did you live with them and was it a case of them sounding really impressive and clear at first but then after a while you missed something?

Regards,

Richard

Dungassin posted:

Many years ago (pre Naim/Linn system) I decided to replace my Tandberg TCD310 cassette deck with a new Kenwood 3 head deck, because "three heads must be better and this new deck will do other types of cassette than types I and II".  Big mistake.  Sound quality worse.  Alas, I had already sold the Tandberg before finding this out.   

Loved my Tandberg. Not really an upgrade but I had moved from a reasonable sized house into a flat and had to ditch my large speakers and got told that the next best thing to sliced bread in small speakers was Linn Kans. Well I don't think there was a day where I didn't want to through them out the window.