Superlumina DIN-XLR: Almost like giving birth
Posted by: ayisgroovy on 30 September 2016
It's Friday evening, the Mrs is out partying, my son is in bed and in dreamland with Thomas the Tank Engine et al. I have enjoyed immensely the forum posts which I have learnt a fair amount from - thanks to all contributors. So I thought I'd just put my contribution in and put fingers to keyboard and tell of my experience with a less topical part of my system but gee whizz an important and integral part. It is to do with my (not so) recent acquisition of Superlumina cable for my system. Firstly, I am not running the "full loom" as I had demoed the speaker cables between SLs and Tellurium Ultra-Blacks on an A-B basis (both 6m each leg so therefore an equal comparison in this regard) with both pairs having been run for about 20hrs each as I had been informed. This was moving from NACA5. For me, I preferred the UBs for their edge on 3D, relative clarity, and sweeter high end. This is not to say the SLs were bad, absolutely not, but for me it was the UBs, which did lack a little of the "grunt" in pop/rock but I could live with that. If the UBs were not around, I would be running the full loom for sure.
So that's the speaker leads out of the way. I run a fairly high end "dream" system (details at footnote), one which I would never have dreamt of owning even as recent as 5yrs ago but luck came my way at work and the rest is history. Having focused solely on the "boxes" during the upgrade path, start from a humble olive 82/250/Supercap thro' 52/Supercap/2x135, sourced by a CDX2 and basic LP12/Ittok/K18, and thro' to current system, it was time this year to look at (as always) the weakest link in the source--->speakers chain. Clearly, the lavender DIN-DIN and DIN-XLRs needed looking into and decided that the first move was to shift to a Hi-Line (using the "source-first" philosophy). This proved to be a worthwhile move pound for pound and was enjoying very much the tunes the system was delivering.
Moving along the logical chain of improvement, the next target was the DIN-XLRs. Now, the natural extrapolation of replacing your (almost) freebie leads with a set that is equivalent to a very decent family holiday would be instant gratification and an upgrade that in no fewer words would wipe the floor with the Lavenders. Ermmm, not so. At least not initially. Not having demoed the SL DIN-XLRs, I bought "off plan" in March 2016 and thinking synergetic thoughts and that a straight swap for the SL DIN-XLRs would take me those extra few steps toward system Nirvana. On installation and having inserted/withdrawn the leads a few times for prudent cleaning, I sat back and hit the play on the NDS. Yes there were immediate differences with the Lavenders such as relatively better clarity and detail BUT the music sounded almost monaural, closed in, and analogous to tunnel vision. Bass definition was good but not exceptional. Cognizant of former Forum posts on the SL DIN-XLR and the subdued nature of this lead in comparison with the SL speaker and interconnect versions, I knew that it would likely be a long slog to "burn-in" this baby and so music was constantly played for a good part of 5 days non-stop which did make a slight improvement but not enough to make me warm to the DIN-XLRs (sorry for the pun) as I would have wanted (family holiday syndrome?) but nonetheless persisted. Fast forward 3m. The narrow soundstage did gradually open up slowly and bass frequencies on better recordings did appear to go lower and better defined whilst the mid and high frequency detail also improved and sounding "sweeter" somewhat. It was at this stage when I thought well, the next improvement then has to come from swapping out the Hi-Line for the SL interconnect which I did and first impressions were that it did make an instant positive impression in all aspects. Greater "air" around instruments, detail, and even sweeter vocals were the most obvious that was heard. Also, and this might sound strange, better timing and a perceived slower delivery of music was noticed but all in a positive way as the music for the first time in 3m did really begin to flow. The SL interconnect didn't require much burn in time, or not that I could definitively attribute between the DIN-XLR and Interconnect but hey, the system was noticeably coming back with really enjoyable tunes. That was back in July-ish. August was a busy month at work and I did not have that much time to sit down and have a proper session with my system, most of the time it was a couple of tracks late evening and then flunked out on the sofa until the wee hours of morning. So it was not until mid-September when I dedicated a few days off work to re-engage with my favourite mode of R&R and the system and.....wow! Again, performance attribution was a bit difficult having introduced the Interconnect way before the DIN-XLR was fully bedded in but now, the two SL leads have synergistically fused their capabilities and are producing very agreeable music! I am quite convinced that the Interconnect had paved the way to musical enjoyment quicker and sense that the SL DIN-XLR still probably has more to give over the coming months.
Sorry to babble on a bit but I am finally enjoying (or is it relief?) my upgraded leads and can hand on heart say it was worth the cost of the SLs and my system is really catching my attention on all types of music I play. Bass notes are defined with ease, hammond organ/synth lines are clearly heard and followable (e.g. a lot of Joss Stone's albums), the detail around guitar strings being plucked, the "snare" from snare drums (eg. Dave Brubeck's "Take Five") and the air around piano notes are now common attributes when playing music. This is just great!
So the long and short of my journey is that it was worth embarking on the SL DIN-XLR journey, albeit a bit volatile and long. So much so that in the period of ownership so far, I could have given birth (hypothetically speaking - I'm a guy!). I am somewhat convinced that the DIN-XLR still has more tricks to show me. My next embarkment, subject to funds, would be to get my 500 DR'd which I hope the queue at the mothership and the burn-in time after the DR metamorphosis does not require such enduring patience such that I could have given birth yet again.
NDS+555PSDR+555PS, 552DR, 500(non DR), LP12 Ittok II, Lingo Mk 1,Dyna XX2, Superline fed by olive Supercap. Tellurium Ultra Black, B&WN802, 6x Powerlines.
Eloise posted:I'm curious about your choice of topic thread... the men piss of for the boring waiting and then made inane comments for the painful parts, but ultimately you get a bundle of joy at the end which the man claims is all their work!
........... veering off topic but talking of child birth; a few years ago I had a knee replacement & part of the pre-op was a questionnaire that included questions about pain, rate the pain 1 - 10. I asked the (male) nurse how to gauge these numbers (thinking how to level out pain threshold tolerance variables) & his reply was 10 is like childbirth. !!! ??? eer right OK I've seen a few but never actually done it myself, but thanks anyway. 
I still don't get why people buy blind - don't your dealers let you have alternative cables to try for an extended home dem? 
Chris Dolan posted:I still don't get why people buy blind - don't your dealers let you have alternative cables to try for an extended home dem?
Dear Chris; maybe in UK but not the rest of the world, let alone the demo we dont even have dealers for most part of the cable brands. Also home demo is not part of the market retual in some countries unfortunatly, if Naim send a kit dor home demo of every product for every dealer at least we can demo Naim products but the dealer is only keen on a home demo on some items depending on stock levels, his profit margin, the stock speed of demo products rtc
I'd agree that the SL DIN / XLR, compared to others I tried at home, is the best sounding, and, in tandem with both the SL DIN / DIN, and the SL speaker cables, prompts the old cliche about synergy.
As for the least painful? ....................as I required twin XLR's, so far from painless! 
But, to use another cliche, it's all about the music, and the SL full loom certainly has brought out the best in my setup.
Emre posted:Chris Dolan posted:I still don't get why people buy blind - don't your dealers let you have alternative cables to try for an extended home dem?
Dear Chris; maybe in UK but not the rest of the world, let alone the demo we dont even have dealers for most part of the cable brands. Also home demo is not part of the market retual in some countries unfortunatly, if Naim send a kit dor home demo of every product for every dealer at least we can demo Naim products but the dealer is only keen on a home demo on some items depending on stock levels, his profit margin, the stock speed of demo products rtc
let alone my state of California is bigger than most of the world's countries
Emre posted:Chris Dolan posted:I still don't get why people buy blind - don't your dealers let you have alternative cables to try for an extended home dem?
Dear Chris; maybe in UK but not the rest of the world, let alone the demo we dont even have dealers for most part of the cable brands. Also home demo is not part of the market retual in some countries unfortunatly, if Naim send a kit dor home demo of every product for every dealer at least we can demo Naim products but the dealer is only keen on a home demo on some items depending on stock levels, his profit margin, the stock speed of demo products rtc
Emre - Couldn't they just pop the interconnects in the post - with a credit card deposit taken?
If you don't buy them then the cost of sending them back would be less than travelling to the dealer's place - and a small price to pay for knowing that you have made the right decision for you and your system.
Or is that just a non-starter where you are?