Stacking and DR upgrades

Posted by: andykram on 23 February 2017

I've had Naim gear (90/92/CD5X/Flatcap) for many years but have gone through a huge upgrade path over the last 18 months or so to the following :- CDX2/XPS/250/282/HC, all non DR. I also have a Little Pink Thing turntable (remember those?) with Tabriz arm and Corus Blue cartridge and a pair of Dali Rubikon 6 speakers, fed by Naim cable. I'd say 98% of what I listen to is Rock and Metal so I wanted this system to kick out some real oomph which indeed it does. I specifically bought the Dalis last January for the meat they provided over similar stuff I demoed such as Spendors and PMCs of the same price. All of the above sits on a seven shelf vertical Quadraspire rack with a bronze upgrade shelf on the top for the LPT. From the top per shelf in descending order it goes CDX2, 282, NAPSC/NAD phono stage, XPS, HC, 250.

I'm very happy with this system but wanted to make sure I'm getting the best out of it so I have two questions.

1. What are the general thoughts on stacking order? I thought keeping the sensitive stuff (CDX2/282) away from all the transformers of the 3 power boxes was the way to go but people may think differently. Unfortunately, I don't have the physical room to go side by side, thus the seven tier vertical stack.

2. I've read a lot on here about the Supercap but also that a HCDR is a nice match in such a set up. So I thought I would DR things first. Bearing in mind I have a HC, an XPS and a 250 to DR over time, what order would be best to do them in? I'm minded to start with the 250 but others may disagree. 

My best mate recommended this forum to me and I've spent hours reading the various posts - its fascinating stuff. But now I'll hand this quandary over to you experts out there - I really would value your thoughts. 

Posted on: 23 February 2017 by Gavin B

You're certainly doing the right things with your ordering so far.

The key thing, I think, would be to keep the NAPSC away from your phono stage. It used to be accepted wisdom to put the NAPSC on the floor away from everything else, but that seems to have fallen by the wayside. I'd be tempted to put the NAPSC either on the floor under your rack or next to your Hicap.

You could try switching the CD and preamp around to see which you prefer - some seem to get results with the preamp higher up - it depends whether you can be bothered with the faff!

I started my DR conversion route with my 250 - before either my supercap or 555PS - but that was partly driven by the fact it was the oldest of the three and needed a service too.

Posted on: 23 February 2017 by ChrisSU

I think it's worth taking the time to experiment with stacking order. Swapping all those boxes is surprisingly time consuming, especially when the associated cable dressing is factored in, but don't let that deter you. My relatively limited experience suggests that the phono stage and preamp are the boxes that most benefit from being kept away from the big power supplies. 

If your walls are solid enough, a wall shelf for the turntable probably helps a lot then you only have space for a single rack. This works well for some, although I could never bring myself to do it as to me, it just looks soooooooo ugly.