Does Anyone Find The Hicap DR To Be Sensitive To Power Cords

I'm listening to the music while typing this. On one track, the piano in the background sounds softer(more organic) with the Chord power cord. The overall presentation takes on a slightly less forceful presentation than the stock Naim cord.

It has been mentioned a few times on forum that a powerline on the hicap, can make a significant difference,  improvement,  I have tried swapping powerlines between different boxes just to see what works best, ( I am actually one powerline short in my set up) ...interestingly I've kept the powerline on the Hicap as it seems work well that way, not that I can explain why.

I have heard the TQ ultra blue powerline in action , very impressive....( but not on a Hicap) 

I can imagine it does make a nice difference. I'm hoping to get a HCDR to add to my SN sometime soon. I use TQ cables so I'm interested in what one of their cables does for the PS. They work extremely well on my CDX2 and SN 

A correction on the remark "the bass comes out more with the Chord". The bass actually sounded less with the Chord. Less but cleaner bass with the Chord. There is more bass with the stock Naim's cord. With bass-heavy music, the Chord will provide cleaner and more textured bass than the stock Naim cord.

I noticed a much cleaner more detailed improvement with the powerlines but far significant has been a TQ black diamond  interconnect I've just borrowed , ( thanks Finkfan). 

I have TQ Graphite rca interconnects which now sound a little harsh in comparison..... Definitely a more cleaner bass...but also more depth of bass.

TQ and Naim seem to work well together,  that said the Chord reviews I've read are all very good..

You're welcome [@mention:50422349809511500]. I am going to need that back at some point!! 

wenger2015 posted:

It has been mentioned a few times on forum that a powerline on the hicap, can make a significant difference,  improvement,  I have tried swapping powerlines between different boxes just to see what works best, ( I am actually one powerline short in my set up) ...interestingly I've kept the powerline on the Hicap as it seems work well that way, not that I can explain why.

I have heard the TQ ultra blue powerline in action , very impressive....( but not on a Hicap) 

Thanks for the post. I haven't experienced a Powerline yet, but this Chord power cord has surely brought a difference to the Hicap DR.

The Chord power cord certainly has a different presentation when compared to the stock Naim power cord. With the Hicap DR. I have not tried the Chord power cord with the NAP 250 DR but I suspect the difference will not be as significant when used with the HCDR.

After listening to more music, I can now confirm that the Chord has a more natural presentation. It is "softer" sounding than the stock Naim cord which sounds more forceful in comparison. Vocals sound forced and less natural with the stock Naim cord.

Does the Powerline tone down or "soften" the hardness of the stock Naim cord, producing a more natural presentation?

Finkfan posted:

You're welcome [@mention:50422349809511500]. I am going to need that back at some point!! 

Who are you again? 

Ryder, yes definitely,  presents more clarity , certainly a softening but as previously mentioned other factors certainly come into play  eg ....add a black diamond interconnect and it's more of everything, and more open natural presentation... 

Thanks Wenger. Just curious if my experience is consistent with those who have compared the cords. Although my experience is with the Chord and not the Powerline, somehow there are marked differences.  

May I ask what are the components that are connected to the TQ Black Diamond? RCA to DIN or RCA to RCA?

Cdx2 to 282, din to din, incredibly transformation,  if I hadn't had finkfan loan me his and try it, I would probably be somewhat sceptical about it making any difference at all 

'I've overspent on hi fi '...... Me too, but hey you only live once 

ryder. posted:

After trying a modest power cord on the HCDR, I feel the HCDR deserves a better power cord than the stock cord that comes with it, in the box.

You certainly will not be disappointed if you audition any of the TQ range or of course stick to naim powerline also very good

wenger2015 posted:

'I've overspent on hi fi '...... Me too, but hey you only live once 

Yes, I can surely understand. We need to indulge once in a while. :-)

wenger2015 posted

You certainly will not be disappointed if you audition any of the TQ range or of course stick to naim powerline also very good

I will investigate these cords later. I have been doing more listening. Although the Chord power cord does most things better than the stock Naim cord, one area which I didn't like was the reduced fullness in the bass. I have reverted to the stock Naim cord and the bass is fuller and punchier despite not having the naturalness and refinement of the Chord. 

I'm not sure how other cords would sound like in the HCDR especially the Powerline. Will check on the TQ range. As for now, music still sounds great with either cords. They just sounded different. I will need more time to evaluate the permanent arrangement of these cords as I have a new DAC coming in sometime next week. The Chord power cord may go to the DAC. 

If you want to maintain the fullnes of bass within the TQ range start with the black. The ultra blue is really designed for source components really. It's very airy and detailed with a more delicate sound than its bigger brother, the black. 

That explains it. On the box, Chord recommended to place the cord on the source first. Perhaps the Chord power cord was meant for the source, but it did little when I used it on my CD player. Differences are quite negligible, though I thought the Chord slowed down the pace a little. I have a dynamic and punchy cord on the CD player anyway (Virtual Dynamics Nite II) so anything else may sound "slow". 

Thanks for the information on the TQ.

Finkfan posted:

If you want to maintain the fullnes of bass within the TQ range start with the black. The ultra blue is really designed for source components really. It's very airy and detailed with a more delicate sound than its bigger brother, the black. 

+1

Found the standard naim cable on the Hicap DR made it sound a bit flatter than a cable made of belden 19634, with my supernait 2 . never tried a powerline on my hicap DR but will sometime ..

I've used belden on my cd5sx it works very well I have now put it on my dac, flatcap, 202, nap200 with great results, I have yet to try on my hicap olive, if used with decent quality plug and iec it is well worth a try