XS 2 running in period

I never noticed a running period with my XS2 to be honest. Depending on room size and speaker efficiency you may be running to a point beyond its capability. Also it could be exposing your source. It is quite a revealing little beast.....

I also bought  my XS2 ex-demo — so no clue about burn in. In any case, edgy and bright doesn’t sound right, especially since you are coming from a Maranty amp...  Nitrous makes a good point about the source — I would look into an ex-demo CD5XS or even better ND5XS. The CD5XS was recently discontinued. So good deals should be out there...

P.S. I would also look into alternative speaker cables; and Naim recommends a minimum length of 3.5m. Maybe the short (?) Audioquest speaker cable puts your amp under stress at high volume?

Thanks very much for the feedback guys very useful.

I do in fact have a 5m run of the Audioquest cable so this should not be the issue hopefully.

The Marantz SA 141S did cost me a hefty £1700 plus another £400 to re-clock but do wonder if the CD5XS is worth an audition???

I was definitely thinking of the TT source as i’m a little more familiar with that than your CD player. The nait would benefit from a better vinyl source, but if the problem occurs on both sources than you need to look elsewhere or don’t play it quite so Loud! 

Those B&W CM8 floorstanders are pretty big bangers, I suspect your playing too loud - easy with these - and upsetting that aluminium tweeter.

Change out the AQ speakercables for NACA5 would be the usual solution worth trying.

Put a high quality mains cable in it.

Try using its RCA inputs instead.

what does it sit on ?   The amp can be plonked on anything but still responds positively to a little TLC.

I do have the Naim Power Line Lite cable to try as yet as I currently use a Fidelity Audio custom built mains cable.

I did suspect the tweeters on the CM8 as a contributing factor but this does raise another valid question.

What is deemed as the best volume setting for the XS2 as I don't think I am playing too loud (although the wife will beg to differ!!!)

I appreciate room size/acoustics etc do factor in this but what if we assumed the 9 o'clock point is normal but when we get to the 10 o'clock setting what would we expect?

Sorry if this sounds daft but just wanted someone else to comment on their experiences.

When I had mine 9 o'clock was plenty loud. Anything over 10:30 didn't go any more louder, just more congested and saturated.

Thanks TOBYJUG this is exactly what I needed to hear.

When playing at 9 o'clock it's very good but when going past this I am getting a bigger sound but it becomes too much and then I find myself coming back down to the 9 o'clock point.

The one point I do want to make is that there is no way I am at all disappointed with the XS as this is one piece of "entry hi end" hi fi for sure and outperforms a previous Krell 300i I used to own!!

Thanks for all your feedback, I think I definitely do need to upgrade the TT and also look into auditioning some Naim speaker cable!!!

9 o'clock for line level source and 10 ish for stage line/TT is quite loud in my room, but about right and it doesn't sound harsh. However, I do have the Flatcap XS on the nait and I think this raises the performance nicely and rounds things off (I use Chord mains cables throughout). I have tried my HiCap by-the-way and didn't like it on the nait and preferred it on the stageline, mainly to get as good a source as possible.

Have you tried angling your speakers/repositioning? If you have just updated the amp, your system needs 'setting up' again from scratch really. 

I used to use a Nait XS 2 with Audioquest 14/4 (7m) driving Spendor SP2s.  It would go loud enough that I couldn't be in the room at the same time and it would still stay 'clean'.

I suspect there's more of a Source / Speaker / Room interaction issue and that the more dynamic performance of Nait XS 2 is just showing this up (it doesn't smooth out the dynamics or leading edges as much as the Marantz amp did).

Hi. For the record, I have the same feeling, that the XS2 can sometimes be a bit harsh in the top. That being said, I replaced Audioquest Type 4 a while back because of that. It's also a cable that has specs opposite to Naim recommendations for speaker cables. For cheap stuff, try DNM Reson, or for better, check Tellurium Q Black 2 - or even TQ Blue.

Just a thought

Your not using it with a flatcap are you?

Took me ages to find that ( in some situations, as others have reported an improved performance) the Xs2 sounds worse with a flatcap ...

It would undoubtedly sound worse if used with a Flatcap that needed a service.

Thanks again to all for the great feedback and comments shared very helpful.

I have my suspicions with the speaker cable as rainsoothe has suggested and have a friend who has a good run of Naim cable which i will try out.

I don't really want to change the speakers and I believe I have the room set up as best as possible.

I had a long listening session yesterday and find that it's still a tad fatiguing after an hour or so, not what I was hoping!!!

I even considered swapping out for a Rega!!!!????

I think Naca5 migh still have an "unpolished" top end, but should be better than the AQ. But do try them, and also try to get your hands on TQ Black 2 (not the 1!), that's what I used to cure the slight harshness I had in my system. Also, interconnects might be at fault as well - try Naim RCA to din or Audioquest Equator or TQ interconnects.