What's involved in a proper Naim set up?

Miles.

There are a lot of small details that are worth paying attention to.

You don't mention speakers but that's where the whole proper setup thing starts. There is typically an optimum location for the speakers which needs some trial and error to find. Even assuming someone who knows what sort of location in a room suits a particular make of speaker you can't just plonk them down and say that's it. Listening and making small adjustments until the music snaps into focus is typically a patient process that needs some care.

Assuming the speakers are sorted attention to what you place the electronics on (Fraim , or some other hifi rack) and the order of stacking and location of PS boxes vs CD, pre and power amp head units gives valuable gains in performance.

Cable dressing so cables don't rest on the floor (xcpt mains and perhaps speaker cables) and pick up vibration or don't touch each other more than necessary adds subtly to performance. This is basic assuming you have all naim leads but it can get more challenging if you want to experiment with other make interconnects when listening tests are needed.

Having a dedicated mains supply spur and a dedicated earth, particularly for the signal ground is desireable.

and so on...

Generally a neat and tidy system with cables properly arranged on a purpose hifi rack is what is needed to begin capturing the full capability of naim electronics.

BUT after all is said and done often circumstances mean compromise and one of the great things about Naim kit is you CAN just plug it together and get an enjoyable system. HOWEVER it does pay dividends if you can do the best you can to setup the system

regards
Geoff

Great information Geoff, thankyou. My speakers are Kabers and they are indeed a little fussy in respect to location. I hadn't thought of the other things you mentioned such as cables not on the floor, etc.

I've heard a lot about dedicated spurs. Does this term simply mean a dedicated electrical outlet coming from the circuit box? And when you say a dedicated earth, well we have three-prong plugs in Canada of course. So the ground would naturally be a dedicated one if the outlet is, woudd it not?

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And when you say a dedicated earth, well we have three-prong plugs in Canada of course. So the ground would naturally be a dedicated one if the outlet is, woudd it not?

I think he means dedicated as in seperate from everything else.

In my expereince the tweaking is worth the effort. Some critisize Naim for being so sensitive to such tweaks (warm up, run in, stands, location of gear on stands, wiring, mains, etc.) but in my opinion, it demonstrates the overall sensitivity of Naim gear and that of course is why it produces such beautiful music.

miles, i agree w/ everything posted so far, especially would emphasize the value of having a "dedicated circuit" for the audio gear. then your wiremold or whatever goes into that, and you're in. it does go from the outside electrical wall box or whatever you want to call it, and you can use a heavier gauge cable if you wish, but it shouldn't be more that a couple of hundred for a real electrician (insist that it is grounded to earth) to do it. rgds., artie

Set up involves making the most of a system that is right for the conditions in the listening environment in the first instance.

Without this squared away, no amount of tweaking is going to save you.

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I can understand this with a turntable, especially a Linn, but what can possibly be set up improperly with a system such as mine: CDX2, 282, 150? (Beyond the obvious, of course, such if a system isn't producing sound which is not what I'm talking about.)

Hi Miles,

Not necessarily "improperly", just optimising a lot of seemingly insignificant things that only someone with a lot of experience may have experienced.

Things like power supply, positioning, stands, recording choice and some other important 'ancillaries' such as record/cd/system cleaners/treatments, most of which are significantly worse than none at all.

You would assume that someone with sufficient interest/passion and having worked in the industry for several years should have some good knowledge on these things, though it is often not the case, hence the recommendation for a good dealer.

I'm sure that there will be some with those qualifications somewhere near to you, but in the meantime, good luck and hopefully you will obtain some enlightenment here.

Craig

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I've heard a lot about dedicated spurs. Does this term simply mean a dedicated electrical outlet coming from the circuit box? And when you say a dedicated earth, well we have three-prong plugs in Canada of course. So the ground would naturally be a dedicated one if the outlet is, woudd it not?

Fidelio & Avhed have prety much described what I meant.

The simplest way for an electrician installing a single power line is to connect it onto the existing consumer unit where all the circuit breakers are. A conversation with the electrician requesting that he make it a dedicated power line all the way from the incoming electricity meter through it's own seperate circuit breaker etc, and asking for it to have it's earth kept seperate aswell with it's own dedicated earthing rod, is what I am talking about. This will sound like being un-necessarily fussy to the electrician but it does make a difference to the quality of your audio. It is also important to keep this supply for only the hifi system and not to start adding things like TV sets and cable/sattelite boxes to it.

regards
Geoff

exactly - when i had mine done, the electrician thought i was a nut for insisting on the separate earthing rod and heavier copper, but he did it.

As Far as Mains power, if you have things running into multiple outlets you can even run into the electricity being out phase from one plug to another. so you can even ask the electrician to wire said plugs so all the outlets on the wall will be in phase with each other so all gear is all on the same phase with. It helps with main isolation, sort of kills dirty power.

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A conversation with the electrician requesting that he make it a dedicated power line all the way from the incoming electricity meter through it's own seperate circuit breaker etc, and asking for it to have it's earth kept seperate aswell with it's own dedicated earthing rod, is what I am talking about. This will sound like being un-necessarily fussy to the electrician but it does make a difference to the quality of your audio.

Careful Geoff - need reference to local power regulations when making these blanket recommendations. In some countries only ONE earth for the entire installation is allowed. The recommendation must be: "If in doubt, consult a suitably qualified professional. Lethal voltages are present."

Holy Cripes, I'm in a padded cell. Were my questions that loony that I must be treated like one?

I can only presume the censureship was done because a couple of people were willing to provide me with the definitions/descriptions of wiring terms that are discussed in the Forum all the time. Don't worry, I would never do anything electrical to my home unless it met code.

Thanks to everyone for the ideas provided to my initial question. Very helpful indeed.

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Originally posted by Miles David:
Holy Cripes, I'm in a padded cell. Were my questions that loony that I must be treated like one?

No - But the answers began to run into areas where professionals should be consulted.

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Careful Geoff - need reference to local power regulations

Err.... I thought I covered that when I said...

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A conversation with the electrician

regards
Geoff