anyone tried different power leads on naim eqt?

Many previous Naim products had the removable IEC/C13 power-cords. In fact it may be only the minority like Pre 5 Series Nait amps, the CD3/3.5 and other entry-level products that had fixed cords.

Opinions vary enormously on the benefits of using third party power-cords but Naim themselve advise against it and most users report that it alters the Naim Sound (for better or for worse). I don't have any personal experience of other than the supplied cords but do a search on the forum and you'll turn up plenty of references.

David

Not just entry level kit. The NAT02 has a captive lead.

Simon

I discovered the Hydra via this forum rather late in life, so have wasted much time, energy and money on other mains leads over the years. A home-made hydra, with the fuse relaced by soldered in heavy duty copper wire, easily outperforms all previous experiments.
malcolm

David,
I am interested in the Hydra, are you plugging it into a dedicated spur?

Simon

The Hydra is such a cheap option it doesn't really need much thought. A Maplin multi-way plug is 7 GBP, and if you use your Naim leads in it, that is the total cost!

David,
Are the hydras easy to re-write to a 15amp plug? As this was going to be my next VFM upgrade as I have already done the 6MM spur and fuse change.


Simon

Of course, we have different chords over here. I tried an Eichmann power cable, at the request of my dealer. I used it only with the XPS powering my CDS2. What I noticed is that it reduced distortion during the middle of the day. In the evening, however, when the power is a bit cleaner, it actually stole something from the performance. It seemed softened and slower.

At approximately 200 quid, it didn't make much sense for me. I suppose if you had really bad power or RFI (not with my dedicated circuit), then it might be more beneficial than detrimental.

BTW, I tried it only with my CD player because my dealer assured me it was crap for amps.

-=> Mike Hanson <=-

P.S. The Eichmann has good plugs, and a large bar of aluminum encased in plastic. Apparently this acts like a big version of those ferrite rings that you see on VGA monitor cables.

If you think you have a problem with mains borne noise or RFI, cables changes can be an expensive way to address the problem.
As you can buy clip-on ferrites that can be fitted and removed at will, these are potentially a more cost effective way to do it. If it proves not to be an RFI problem you've not wasted a bundle of money

David

I've eventually settled on Black Rhodium Supermains 25 after trying out Music Works & Kimber. Not truly cheap, 40gbp per meter plus 30gbp per Rhodium plated IEC socket.

At the minute I've got them on my CDS2, 52 & S/Cap. Tried the Naim leads again last night which did sound good, if a bit bloated in the bass. Connecting the Rhodium leads back in left me stunned, sooooo.... much more detailed, far tighter bass and faster to boot.

There is now an order in for my power amps, you can't recomend better than that.

My leads are soldered directly onto the spur cable which saves me buying 13amp plugs. If my memory serves me the leads are 150GBP for a 1.25m length fitted with Rhodium plated mains and iec plugs.

TRY ONE OUT!!!!

Black Rhodium,
32 Derwent Business Centre,
Clarke Street,
Derby,
DE1 2BU. Tel:01332 361390

yours,

Sean.

How does cable change sound?

Simple.

In changing speed of transmission in a manner that is not uniform, phase linearity is lost, hence differences to tonal color.

The failure to realise that has fanned the flames of fiasco for an entire industry.

Not only that, but people arent aware that your friendly neighbourhood hi-fi manufacturer buys them in huge quantities, and it's probably an insignificant cost component in any item you buy. I guess there's no fun in it unless you pay for it.

There are cable that have appreciable benefits over others, but the question to ask is if these benefits are consistent across the board or do they do some things better and some things worse...

In the case of Naim the cable is already optimised for use, so experimentation here, from any reasonable standpoint, is a complete waste of time and resources.

There may be validity in use for other brands where one is just plain lucky - more often than not - with the cable operating as a form of tone control that, in conjuction with the rest of the system interacting with the room, still sounds phase correct. I'll be damned if these systems sound truly musical, however.

It's no wonder laymen with mini-compos think audiophiles are crazy.

This post is not meant to piss people off, and i hope it's taken the right way. Personally, outside the naim system (black snaics) I use a mix of belden, canare and some old hitachi lc-ofc
interconnects for my other stuff.

Vik.

Hi Vik, Great post - agree with everything you've said. best, Dev

ps. do you know that your written style is almost indistinguishable from that arch-weenie Chris Koster. you'll go far with Naim my son

The reason why i started this post was because i just got my hands on a naim power lead.

Previously i was using a normal power lead, probably one of those power leads that one would use with your computer.

When i plugged in the naim power lead, i realised what i was missing. Its just seems to PRaT better.

So it lead to me to think how will naim go with other brands of power leads eg the VDHs, the Nordosts, the Synergistic Research etc.

In fact, I was rather surprised to read that there a quite a number of naimees using power leads of other manufacturers with good effects.

Different cords can and do make differences, at least in my experience. My thought is: If a company designs and builds a component using a particular cord, are you, the end user, hearing what was intended in the original design? (I'm not saying it is not OK to want to change that presentation, just asking!)
My experience has also been that the worse the AC supply, the larger the perceived differences in cords. Kind of points to getting the power sorted out first.

Of course this only works with the foam from Naim boxes. Please contact Naim for prices.

quote:

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Originally posted by silklee:
I was rather surprised to read that there a quite a number of naimees using power leads of other manufacturers with good effects.

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And my continual mortification over the number of Naimees out there who still havent gotten THE POINT, many of whom have KILLER NAIM SYSTEMS is only assauged by the philosophy that this is the way of the world.

Tonality and soundstage are terms behind which most bewildered audiophiles lurk, their weapon being the phrase "hi-fi is subjective". In other words, look, it's personal, so leave me alone. You'd think Naimees would be different. This isnt entirely a damnation, because there is a learning curve behind any great system.

Good that youre experimenting, Silky. Try and get all of what I'm about to say, because it's good money that's been spent and it had better make sense. No point writhing in bed in the dead of night wondering if an i-POD and some good headphones would have made a better choice.

PRAT is not everything, but it's the foundation. With hi-fi, you must have a measure of everything. PRAT gives you MUSICAL ACCURACY, and this is primary. Next down the list is TONAL ACCURACY, and this is secondary. If your system can do both (very nice), good speaker positioning (if youre lucky) gives you convincing soundstage whether it's a tightly focussed rock band or an expansive choir. Call it SPATIAL ACCURACY, if you like.

Few ever realise before hifi is subjective, it's got to be fundamentally correct. It's not hard to understand..... Next time you're faced with a tweak so powerful it's said to be a panacea, look at it with fundamentality as the desired result, and ask yourself.... would you go out with a stunningly gorgeous woman if she's a raving looney who'd want to BOBBIT???????????????????

Vik

Happy holiday, Dev!!

I have to agree with Vik, like the NAP500 still uses that teeny-weeny power cord, but it really kicks hard as hell.

However, tried the Naim power cable from the wall to a couple of power distributors (passive, no filters, etc) and it could not deliver, truly lacking in dynamics. But hooked up to Naim gear, one shouldn't feel the need to change power cables.

And yes, you got it, Vik. PRAT isn't everything, but is the foundation. But it gets lost with many "high-end" hifi ... so I really can't understand why many audiophiles can like a PRATless system ...

quote:

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My leads are soldered directly onto the spur cable

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Sean
How have you organised your mains supply? Are you following the Roy R model? Have you a separate consumer unit with RCBOs? If so which do you use and what rating? Have you increased the fuse rating in your components?
Terry

Actually I wasn’t doing much of an experiment. I was just trying to get the Naim power lead so as to ensure I am optimising the cd5 by using everything Naim.

I would have imagined that Naim would have designed the power lead together their equipment in mind and not designed the power lead as an afterthought. Am I correct to assume that?

I do have a DIY belden power lead. Maybe I should do an AB between the 2 of them. But I am getting lazy and really hate the idea of sitting in front of my hifi and trying to spot differences rather than enjoying the music.