Help! My N-Vi sounds like a washing machine!

Sorry to hear you have a problem.

Did you contact the Naim dealer who supplied your equipment, as suggested in the manual?

quote:

3 General Installation
Naim equipment is designed to offer the finest performance possible avoiding compromise wherever practical. This can lead to circumstances that may be unfamiliar...

3.6 Problems?
...A problem may be due to a fault in the system or its installation so it is essential to make full use of your dealer’s diagnostic skills. Please contact your local distributor, or Naim Audio directly, if any difficulties cannot be resolved...

I am surprised that the dealer didn't set it up for you, as I believe this is still a customary service expectation of Naim dealers in the UK.

Hope you get it sorted out.

I was composing something along the same lines - as the range of problems seems wide and possibly involves earthing problems between the N-Vi and items that become connected when you connect the television.

As it is - I have sent a note to Naim's AV expert but this is his weekend and you had posted off his immediate radar (Home Theatre).

First course of action - contact the dealer and get him to earn his keep.

ALSO - please note http://forums.naim-audio.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/7801938...342960807#3342960807

Be careful making and unmaking the connections - it is advised to have the units switched off when doing this. Connecting a device with a floating earth can (upon connection) do damage.

I had a similar problem, which I thought was related to the DVD player but on trawling various forums found that it might be related to the aerial / coaxial cable. I used this little device from Hama and no hum since. For under 20 quid it might be worth a try.

Huw

Ok here's where I'm at.
N-Vi connected to 552 with 5pin-5pin din.
552 no other connections.
N-Vi connected to Tv via Naim component cable. Only other thing connected to the Nvi is a mains cable (naim) and a centre speaker (directly.
Tv not connected to anything bar the NVi ( via component lead) and the mains (disconnected the aerial). The Tv mains is plugged into the same separate Mains spur specifically for hifi. High pitched digital noise, principally from the dvd drive. Ok so that leaves 2 possibilities the TV and the N-vi. The Tv works in every respect and is brand new. I could take it back to the Sony shop and say there is a noise coming through my hifi when connected to an NVi - yeah right! Or the Nvi is faulty, I've eliminated every other possibilitity. Both the N-vi and Tv do not have a setting called make earth floating or whatever. It actually reminds me of the problems connecting my ipod in my car. In That case the problem was eased by getting the garage to wire a direct 12V from the same circuit that the stereo was on and using that to power the ipod as opposed to the accessory 12V. Even then a newer version ipod was quieter than a old one and when I listen in the car I pull the charger off. The digital sounds that came through then are similar to the sounds I'm getting with my NVi now.

quote:

Originally posted by Adam Meredith:
First course of action - contact the dealer and get him to earn his keep.

I am sorry that you are having these problems but it sounds as if this continues to be your best bet.

The product should have been installed and these problems addressed.

Oh and when only my new monster DVI cable is connected to my new DVI to HDMI converter (http://www.hdtvsupply.com/dvi-audio-to-hdmi.html) without any other connections to it (not even the power connecter) and with nothing else attached to the NVi I still get the noise. Very strange.

Well well well, Of course it would be wouldn't it. The one thing I had failed to disconnect from my 552 (why would I) is my CDS3 via a Highline. And voila! not a peep! So I tested various cables into the CDS3 with the same results. So what I seem to have is either a fault with my CDS3/XPS2 or a compatabilty issue (surely not).

No - you have 2 paths to earth and therefore an earth loop. Within a Naim system there is a one point at which mains and signal earth are connected - in your case the CDS3.

Has something awful happened to your retailer? Proper set-up of this system would quickly have identified the cause of your hum and proper solutions.

Rather than keep thinking something is "faulty" you need to find what is incorrectly connected - or, rather, your retailer does.

You can remove the DVI to HDMI converter altogether and purchase a HDMI to DVI cable. In North America, this cable would set you back around $5-$20 from Monoprice

Not sure if this will resolve your issue, but it's one less link to isolate

cheers,
elapsed

Hi,
I doubt very much your reference earth is at fault, it seems strange that when this is dis-connected everything is ok.

Steve

Unfortunately both the HDMI and DVI plug contains a pin called Ground.
Both plasmas and LCDs are grounded nowadays and your TV will compete with your CDS3 for the ground reference.

A lot of questions, and a lot of answers. First off let me explain that the way I have my set up is a pair of speakers (isobariks) either side of the TV, The AV system although connected is distintly separate. So that when the rest of the family use the TV, Sky box, video they listen through the tv speakers. Thus when I purchased the N-Vi it was very important that not only could I have decent picture and decent sound through the rest of my system, but sound going back to the TV. At first I feared that this wasn't possible given that the manual states there are only 2 audio outputs, one analogue which goes to the 552 and one digital (my TV doesn't accept digital audio). What the manual doesn't say however was that audio is available from the scart socket. Great I thought - component video and audio broken out from the scart socket - job done. But then I started to look at the DVI socket, which would need to be converted to HDMI, and came upon a product which adds digital audio to a DVI signal and produces HDMI with audio - perfect. Now I have the choice of both an analogue or digital input to my TV.

Now the rest of the system includes an O1 and an Armageddon, all of which (including the N-Vi) is on a Hydra, so if the mains and signal earth are connected in the CDS3 why is it not in the 01 also? All the Hifi is on its own spur with the TV.
As to the question of a dealer, well like thousands of others I have assembled my set up from a mixture of new, second hand and exdem - so I don't really have a dealer, none has ever offered to set my system up, and to be honest I kind of prefer it that way. Having owned countless Naim systems for nearly 30 years but not having a dealer doesn't make me less of person does it? Virtually every dealer I have bought from were either happy to post or for me to collect. Just because there is a dealer network who look after their own customers shouldn't mean the rest of us fall by the wayside.

Adam is correct on both counts, earth loop and dealer - they should be helping you out.

What we need to do now is sit down and figure out the signal paths and create a fix. I doubt anything is actually faulty.

Can you mail info@naimaudio.com direct and mark it for AV@naim, then we will chat and get this issue cured.

PS not all panels are mains earthed in my experience. These (especially audio via SCART socket) and aerial installations are the usual culprits.

I had a similar problem when I attached my blu ray laptop to my nait 5i (the laptop was also connected to a projector) for sound processing. There was a lot of hum and the level of the audio signal even with amp volume very high was fairly low. I got various ideas from here and elsewhere including that a) it was an earth loop problem (so I needed a ground lop isolator); b) it was a signal to noise problem due to the sound processing occurring within the laptop (I needed an external sound card), and c) it was a signal to noise problem due to the fact that the laptop is always operating from the battery even when connected to the mains (so I needed to take out the battery).

Of course, just so the whole job didn't take forever - going back and forth to the local electronics shop - I bought an external sound card + a ground loop isolator. To cut a long story short the noise largely disappeared once I connected the ground loop isolator on the amp side of the external sound card. I haven't got around to checking if it would all work with the external sound card removed but the ground loop isolator still connected between the laptop and the amp, but I strongly suspect it would be fine...

Best of luck Nigel

Thanks Andy for your post - a ground loop isolator? I just looked it up and essentially its an audio tranformer used at line level - maplin sells them. I had one of those once when I had tons of stuff in my car and was having terrible problems with hum. It totally knackered the sound and I threw it away. As I recall I solved the problem (mostly) by wiring all the earths to the same point and finding a quiet place on the car body to place it. Since last night I have found a solution to my problem - however forum rules don't allow me to tell you. Something to do with mains cables and I admit its not ideal. In some way optical cables solve this very problem as there is no ground link between the devices, however I would have to convert the N-Vi's digital output to optical and then add a DAC before going back to my 552. Now if I had a Supernait...
One other thing though, I'm having increasing difficulty selecting items on a dvd, because when I use the up/down controls on the remote the N-Vi just changes the input. Is it a software fault or am I doing something wrong?

quote:

Originally posted by Nigel Stewart:
Since last night I have found a solution to my problem - however forum rules don't allow me to tell you. Something to do with mains cables ...

If you have removed any earth connections from Naim equipment you are being dangerously casual about your, and more importantly, other people's safety.
It is not optional but a necessary part of the unit's safety design.

As to the remote - re-read section 6.2 of your Owner's Manual. It may be that you need to press the appropriate system component key to access the controls specific to that section of the N-Vi.

Adam
You're absolutely right, all the more reason to solve my earthing problem.

Of course what I failed to mention is what a simply fabulous product this. In terms of what does with the picture and sound is quite awesome, a pity about the remote though.