Pops & Bangs

Hi Les,  welcome to Naim,  belt up tight, its a fun ride.     Turning On/Off correctly should not give pops & bangs.    You will always get a thump from the power amp (speakers) if you turn off the source or preamp when leaving the poweramp on. The correct OFF sequence is power amp off first,  then the pre (FC) & finally the source.      Turning ON is done in reverse - source first, pre(FC) & finally power.    However the idea with Naim is to leave it on 24/7.   

As for your description of how to connect the FlatCap, its just plain wrong.  The FC is powered & the 122 is powered from the FC.  This diagram is as it should be 202 is your 122,  200 is your 155,   CD5x is your CD

Yes the way to remember the sequence is that you want your speakers to be unpowered for as much of the switching as is possible. So, power amp OFF first and ON last. Makes sense if you think about it. And wait a while between every switch. Especially to let the power amp drain down after switch off before doing anything else.

I’m not sure how it’s working, but as Mike said above, the Flatcap must be powered. Once it’s wired up properly it should sound much better. It really is best to leave it switched on, but you will find that once everything is wired up properly, the switch off thump will be more of a gentle plop than a frightening bang. 

I'd Like to thank everyone for their help and support.  I can see quite clearly now that the flatcap should be powered up and to be fair to the guy I bought it from he clearly meant the pre amp would not need it's own power cable as indeed it has no place to connect one.  I feel such a fool for not working that one out for myself.  Sorry guys.  Well it's now connected up correctly thanks to Mike-B easy to understand diagram and sounds amazing.  As for the "pops & clicks"  I will now follow the advise that you have given me, turning each component off in the right order, power amp off first etc and in the reverse order to power up again. Head scratching problem resolved thanks to you guys and very much appreciated.

What are peoples thoughts on my changing my speaker cable to the much talked about NACA5 ? My current cable is ESCOSE single wire.  I'm also wondering if I should trade in my much loved MF XLP phono amp for Naim's own MM phono.  My turntable is a Debut carbon with an Orforton Red cartridge.  It sounds pretty good as it is but you know what  its like when you get the upgrade Bug.

Regards Les.

Les, 

As Winky says, do give it a few seconds when powering down the amp before switching other kit off. Naim's m.o. is to use large transformers, hence why it's better to leave Naim kit on 24/7 and let it stay warm and 'stable' (or ready to rock so to speak) - the sound can improve markedly due to this. It doesn't (shouldn't) get hot to the touch if you do this - although some of the amps do if driven hard (see on). I'd suggest trying to seek out copies of the manuals for the kit you have if you haven't already got them (assume the kit came with original boxes? - if not ask the vendor for same if possible, as these are vital for servicing regimes etc,.).

Manuals can be found here:  https://www.naimaudio.com/downloads/manuals

Re speaker cable, suggest visit the FAQ tab in the Forum header bar and see the various items under Topics - in particular the specs for NACA5, and the min lengths. I could not locate the specs for the Ecosse cable you mention - these stable of cables appear to be of the same theme as NACA5 i.e. low capacitance/high inductance, which is very important for the operating stability of Naim amps. Naim amps can run warm (never hot I would say - they have shut-down protections). Issues can arise if the incorrect cabling/an over-demanding speaker is hooked up.

I would suggest speaking to a dealer to see if they have a pair for dem or you could take the 2nd-hand plunge. BUT please be aware of the need (ideally) to use proper Naim terminations at the amp end, which need soldering (properly!) and correctly orientated to left/right outputs (NACA5 is directional). These come with the amps when new  - often these can be left in the boxes. 

Also do check the manual around the left/right aspects of Naim's speaker outputs. Many of us have to cross over the speaker cables - it's a legacy thing from recording studio days. 

I suspect NACA5 will be better for you. Please be mindful that it's quite stiff to bend - the help of a hair drier is useful in some cases.

I'll let others advise on the phono aspects etc.

I’m pleased to working properly now. I used a 122x, FCx and 150x for quite a while and really loved it; it’s a great amplifier. NacA5 is very good cable and well worth looking into. 

Now, I don’t like encouraging people to spend money, but you will find that what is holding your system back is your turntable. If your amplifier were made today, it would cost about £3,000, yet you are using it with a £350 deck. Before thinking of Stagelines, I would consider something like Rega’s Planar 6. With Rega’s excellent Fono for £200, you’d have a really nice setup. If the 6 is too expensive, a 3, again with the Fono, would be good too. 

I agree with HH.  There's no better upgrade for you in future than to the front end.  A Rega Planar 6 and Fono would be an excellent combination.  If you do go for it then try to also buy a copy of the new Rega book - A Vibration Measuring Machine - which is a most informative and enjoyable read.

Again Guys can't thank everyone enough for all the help and advice offered it really is appreciated and I'm looking forward to the future with my new adventure into the realm of Naim.  I guess by now you may have realised I'm not the world's best expert on Hi Fi.  Although I have in the past owned some pretty exciting kit, my previous set up included MF A1008 amp/psu that along with 2 pairs of MF 550k supercharges powereng top and bottom a  pair of  B&W 802D speakers Bi-wired with Russ Andrews speaker cable. Front of house is my MF A1008 top loading cd player which I still use and a Debut carbon record deck which I still use.  I did own a Michiel Giro Deck some years back but traded it in because my menagerie of rescue cats thought it was a new toy just for them. If the "pops and bangs" caused my anxiety level to peak you can imagine what a curious kitten sitting on a GroDeck did for my stress levels.   Recently my circumstances changed and a move to a much smaller house was necessary.  I put the speakers up for sale and they sold pretty quickly.  The guy who bought them asked if he could also buy my MF amp/psu combo and one pair of superchargers and Russ Andrews speaker cable.  He made me a very fair offer and the rest is history.  I am now left with a cd player which he didn't want because it is top loading and wouldn't fit into his hi fi rack.  One pair of superchargers and my record deck.  Time to start afresh.  I auditioned some B&W PM1s which had been suggested as a suitable replacement for my 802's given my new listening  room dimensions, 13-12 feet.  WHAT !...  I hear you say or a least that's what I said, but to be fair these little speakers have a mighty big sound.  The guy I bought them from was also being uprooted and was selling all of his hifi kit.  They were being sold along with the Naim amps, flatcap etc so I bought them as well.  Sound familiar?  He also had for sale a Project carbon 9 with Oferton Black cartridge.  I think I've got that right.  The sound quality was truly amazing.  I wish I'd bought that too but it had already been quite an expensive afternoon.  With the help of you guys and this brilliant forum I now have the system sounding as good as it was when I first auditioned it several months ago.  I still have a pair of superchargers which I'm reluctant to part with. I suppose the sensible thing would be to part ex them for a better record deck and power supply etc which I may end up doing but for now they look good disconnected , in each the corner of the room.

Sorry this Reply turned into an essay as it seems to have done but I found myself unexpectedly free this afternoon so listening to music through my now correctly assembled kit and letting you guys know how I came to be an accidental Naim fan seemed to be as good a way as any to pass the afternoon .

Thanks again guys regards to you all.

Les.

Again Guys can't thank everyone enough for all the help and advice offered it really is appreciated and I'm looking forward to the future with my new adventure into the realm of Naim.  I guess by now you may have realised I'm not the world's best expert on Hi Fi.  Although I have in the past owned some pretty exciting kit, my previous set up included MF A1008 amp/psu that along with 2 pairs of MF 550k supercharges powereng top and bottom a  pair of  B&W 802D speakers Bi-wired with Russ Andrews speaker cable. Front of house is my MF A1008 top loading cd player which I still use and a Debut carbon record deck which I still use.  I did own a Michiel Giro Deck some years back but traded it in because my menagerie of rescue cats thought it was a new toy just for them. If the "pops and bangs" caused my anxiety level to peak you can imagine what a curious kitten sitting on a GroDeck did for my stress levels.   Recently my circumstances changed and a move to a much smaller house was necessary.  I put the speakers up for sale and they sold pretty quickly.  The guy who bought them asked if he could also buy my MF amp/psu combo and one pair of superchargers and Russ Andrews speaker cable.  He made me a very fair offer and the rest is history.  I am now left with a cd player which he didn't want because it is top loading and wouldn't fit into his hi fi rack.  One pair of superchargers and my record deck.  Time to start afresh.  I auditioned some B&W PM1s which had been suggested as a suitable replacement for my 802's given my new listening  room dimensions, 13-12 feet.  WHAT !...  I hear you say or a least that's what I said, but to be fair these little speakers have a mighty big sound.  The guy I bought them from was also being uprooted and was selling all of his hifi kit.  They were being sold along with the Naim amps, flatcap etc so I bought them as well.  Sound familiar?  He also had for sale a Project carbon 9 with Oferton Black cartridge.  I think I've got that right.  The sound quality was truly amazing.  I wish I'd bought that too but it had already been quite an expensive afternoon.  With the help of you guys and this brilliant forum I now have the system sounding as good as it was when I first auditioned it several months ago.  I still have a pair of superchargers which I'm reluctant to part with. I suppose the sensible thing would be to part ex them for a better record deck and power supply etc which I may end up doing but for now they look good disconnected , in each the corner of the room.

Sorry this Reply turned into an essay as it seems to have done but I found myself unexpectedly free this afternoon so listening to music through my now correctly assembled kit and letting you guys know how I came to be an accidental Naim fan seemed to be as good a way as any to pass the afternoon .

Thanks again guys regards to you all.

Les.