300 serviced and DR - now the midrange sounds so cold / hard

Dave J posted:

Olivier1961 posted:

rega1 posted:

Hi oliver, 

i havented posted in a long time, but I have a few ideas. After some upgrading recently to my kit, it wasn’t until I disassembled and reassembled my stand and boxes, that I discovered that my din cable lost a channel due to solder joint fail. Which sounds like the same discovery you may be seeing, a bad channel on a cable. My cables sat hanging in same position for years, and when they were moved and plugged back in, the joint failed. Also, while not on the same level, I upgraded my lp12 with new inner sub chassis, cirkus bearing, and moved from dynavector cartridge to a linn Krystal. The sound was wayyyyyy different. I had to move speakers, toe in, and speaker angle pitch. It took a month+ to find the right combo, and a new din cable to get the sound right. It IS NOT the same sound, but it is much more detail, and my ears are used to it now. Maybe borrow some kit from a friend to swap out and test to see if you find the phenomenon. Mark your original speaker locations and try moving them. It may help. If all else fails call Peter at cymbiosis, as HH suggested. Hope this helps......

 

Scott

Hi Scott,

Burdy’s has been checked by Naim because I had a problem with the sound on right channel. (when I touch the cables....)

Problem is still there so now I find out that one channel Sarum din/xlr is probably not oke. I hope Chord is willing to check / repair this. However I don’t know if this is the cause of my cold/hard sound but reading your post it might be the case!!

And off course I will ask Peter at Cymbiosis for advise if I can’t figure it out myself.

Thanks for your post!

Olivier

Hi Olivier,

If there is a fault with the cable, it's likely to be a connection - the cable itself is unlikely to malfunction unless it's been folded or mistreated somehow - and if it is the connection, you're likely to get no sound at all out of the affected channel or an intermittent sound as the loose ends of the connection make contact.  Hi-Lines have been known to suffer from that given the floating nature of the Airplug.  Neverthless, it should be obvious. 

Having said that, if there is a fault with the Chord cable, let Cymbiosis know and they will simply send it back to Chord for repair; I presume you registered the cable with Chord when you bought it? Likewise, if there is a problem with a Burndy, my experience is that Naim will resolve it without fuss (I had a problem with the Burndy on my 552 and it was resolved immediately). Service from both companies is great.

I still don't think that this will be the reason for the sound you describe, though.

Hi Scot,

This Sarum was bought (second hand) at Lotus Hifi. (and was/is not registered)

Nevertheless I assume that Chord will give me some service and if not I will pay for it

joerand posted:

Hungryhalibut posted:

I wonder how awful the problem really is. It took six months to mention it and it doesn’t seem that he’s called his dealer, which is the first thing most people would do. People are more energised to respond than the OP is to take action, it seems. 

Not everyone is inclined to reach for the phone and call mommy when things aren't swinging their way. Some utilize critical thinking and attempt independent solution. That or they might simply have bigger priorities in their daily routine than hi-fi. It's not everyone able to sit home 24/7 in front of their system and respond to the forum.

Thanks joerand!!

I am glad that the majority respond with understanding....

Richieroo posted:

Having heard the difference from a 250.2 to 250DR .... I think the problem you are having is almost certainly to do with the speaker cable. The 250DR removed the warmness of the 250.2 - in a positive way. I think the step on a 300DR would be equal if not more....... again in a good way. The Sarum cable I would be willing to bet has exacerbated this - you need to try std Naim speaker cable (incidentally due to the slightly warm nature of the 300 ... I would imagine the Sarum would be pretty good - pulling out extra clarity) - I bet that will calm things down. Note for me going from the 500 to 500dr was similar - removal of the slight warmness and an increase in clarity. I use SL speaker cable which seems to suit the DR amps very well - I used mine on the 250dr and now on the 500dr.

I will try a few other suggestions first but take your theory seriously

I’ve lost track.   Has the OP re-installed the original Naim cables?   I’m far from convinced that this is a cable issue but let’s eliminate this first. 

The Strat (Fender) posted:

I’ve lost track.   Has the OP re-installed the original Naim cables?   I’m far from convinced that this is a cable issue but let’s eliminate this first. 

Hi,

No OP has not re-installed original cables yet because I did not have time.... (unfortunately running my store takes a lot of time

I have a week off after Christmas so then it’s ‘D-week’ 

The Strat (Fender) posted:

I’ve lost track.   Has the OP re-installed the original Naim cables?   I’m far from convinced that this is a cable issue but let’s eliminate this first. 

it seems to be a cable issue, you can refer to the last op posts....

Huge posted:

A cable can also have a dry joint .... it can even happen to mains cables.

I've always associated dry joints with solder and mains cables with mechanical fasteners. Are there mains cables out there that are soldered? Didn't think the insulation could take the heat. Or are you referring to lighter power cables associated with transformers used for phono-, HP-amps and the like?

Please try std Naim speaker cables ... and report back :-)

Hello (to all followers who are interested):

Here my update about my problem with 'unsatisfying midd tones' after upgrade NAP300 to DR.

1/ I found out that one of the XLR sockets on the 300 has a bad contact. I will send my 300 back to Naim next week for repair.

2/ After this repair the 300 will go to Cymbiosis so they can listen to it.

3/ Also did I buy a (secondhand) SupercapDR to replace my Supercap 2 and I have to say that this was definately an improvement....also a bit for the midd tones!!

4/ Tried the original Naim XLR-DIN. This was no positive improvement for the sound. (Chord Sarum is better!)

Will be continued.....