Today I received the NAPSC and Headline (both one year old) I bought some days ago. I connected the Headline with the NAPSC to my NAC 102 as described. To try them out I used my KOSS Porta Pro headphones, but I have the impression something is not functioning correctly. When the volume is at zero you can still hear music from the left channel. Turning up the volume gives music to both channels, but the balance is still to the left. Only at around the middle of the scale the balance is more or less correct, but the sound level is too high for comfortable listening. I remember reading that the Headline is designed for use with high impedance headphones like the Sennheiser 600 (300 Ohm) and the Koss (60 Ohm) isn't, but shouldn't the sound level at zero be zero and not only coming from the left channel?
Does this sound familiar to anyone? Is something wrong with the Headline or do the headphones I used cause the problem? The previous owner is unfortunately on a holiday, so I can't ask him.
Ciao!
Willem
P.S. The Headline Owners Manual is rather useless. There is only one page with images of the different ways to connect the Headline and that's it! No word about the type of headphones to use, not even a word about the Headline itself. To me it looks more like a misprint than an Owners Manual!
Posted on: 13 March 2001 by Willem van Gemert
I just tried the Headline again and I noticed that when I push the volume knob a little to the right, the left channel doesn't sound stronger than the right anymore. Looks to me like there is a problem with the potensiometer. Shit!
Still would appreciate any suggestions/comments.
Ciao!
Willem
Posted on: 14 March 2001 by Willem van Gemert
Hi Jonathan,
Thanks for the suggestion. I borrowed a friend's Sennheiser HD 570. Also no high impedance headphones (64 Ohm), but I've read they benefit from an headphone amplifier. They work better than the KOSS, but the volume knob remains problematic. Touching the knob provokes a creaking noise and the left channel becomes louder. I'm pretty sure it's the potentiometer, but I'll e-mail Naim to see what they have to say.
Ciao!
Willem
Posted on: 14 March 2001 by David Antonelli
Willem,
I had exactly the same problem with my headline two years back. And whenever I got it fixed it would go again. I even got a new one and it went on me. I was using grados at the time. Since I switched to HD 600s no trouble at all. Using a headline with 30 ohm headphones is a tough and risky game, especially when you like loud music. I use it with a CDS 2/52/ and a hicap and love it. I wish the cables wouldn't fall out of the senns, though. I also find if I haven't listened for a few weeks the headphones get cold and I have to play them for twenty minutes to get the warmth back.
get that headline fixed!
dave
Posted on: 14 March 2001 by Willem van Gemert
Dave,
Thanks for the info! Glad to hear it's not my imagination, but a "known" problem. I hope the German Naim importer will accept to repair the Headline under guarantee.
I was actually looking for a NAPSC to add to my NAC 102 when I found this one year old NAPSC together with the Headline. As I had been thinking about a pair of headphones recently, I decided to buy the set, with the idea to switch the NAPSC from the NAC 102 to the Headline whenever I want to listen to the headphones (for the time being). As soon as the Headline is repaired, I will look for a pair of decent headphones. Candidates are the Sennheiser 600s and one of the AKG models. There is a dealer here in Luxemburg who has both brands, so a comparison should be possible. Looking forward to it!
Ciao!
Willem
