Does using the Auxiliary Power Output on my 552 impact PreAmp Sound Quality?

First of all, are you really running a Stageline off a 552?  A Superline might be more appropriate.  But anyway, in my experience, not only does a Naim phono stage sound better powered by an independent PSU, the load on the 552 preamp does degrade the performance of other connected line sources (CDP, etc.).  It's subtle, but a real effect.  There is no free lunch.

I run a stageline off my 552....I could not detect any difference....I am not saying there is not...but for me it works just great.....

I have no experience of a Stageline run from Aux2 on a NAC552. I'm happy with mine on Aux2 on my NAIT XS.

This is neither here nor there since the fact you are asking the question suggests you think there is a problem.

Your words posted here following your Sondek dem towards the end of May,  have stuck in my mind:

........"Peter the dealer I believe would strongly recommend the better ps (or indeed, a number of other possible upgrade options) before changing the phono stage. Yesterday, we listened throughout with just a Stageline powered from the preamp and If my budget had been considerably higher, even multiples higher, Peter would still say there would be many more effective ways to spend any extra cash for the build on bettering the power supply (Radikal) or sub-chassis (Kore) etc. before thinking about line stage. Nothing I heard yesterday during his fascinating demo would contradict that phono stage advice. "

Anyway, I hope it works out for you.

Coincidentally, I am demoing a SuperLine E today, vs Aria, for RP10/Aphelion.  So far, the 552/SuperLine is winning, except that I think, for this cartridge, the standard-gain would be better than the low-gain E.

The E sounds great, but the gain diff vs CD and NDX makes it less user-friendly than Aria.  Aria gain is higher than both SuperLines, but close to the std model.

We shall see.

Nick

Nick, interesting.  I have a Superline E - mainly to allow me to use a wider range of LO MC carts - and, in spite of the superb sound, on one or two occasions  I have wondered whether the standard Superline with the slightly higher gain would be a better choice for the Rega MCs, giving closer parity of level between digital and vinyl sources.  Admittedly the gain difference between the standard SL and the E is small - the E allowed better headroom with MCs with an output of 0.5V-0.6V where many well known models reside - but it occurred to me all the same...

As to Kevin's question: the NAC552 has a dedicated supply for the AUX2, fed from dedicated windings on the 552PS transformer, so any performance impact on the rest of the unit is minimised. However, as is the nature of the things, there could be some impact on line sources - but it will be extremely small indeed and whether detectable, appreciable, or not, I'll leave to you to decide.  

Hi, Richard.

I can attest that the Aria gain is close (enough) to e.g. NDX/nDAC such that whole-house and main system volume needs little, if any adjusment when the source changes.  Despite the fact that the E requires more correction, the performance is compelling.  I have the rare opportunity to compare the E to the Std, and will let you know my findings.  

I understand that the difference is not necessarily only about the gain level.

Nick

Nick, AFAIK, it's just a slight gain reduction to give a bit more headroom with higher output LO MCs such as Lyras.  Obviously with that the s/n ratio is not quite as good (albeit still fab).

I was surprised the S/N number was higher/better for Std vs E; or is this to be expected?  Signal being relatively louder on Std.

Thanks for the replies all. My experience so far is like Richie’s; that I don’t think I can reliably hear a difference in the sound of my streamer with the power socket in use or without, but I will swap it in and out a few times going forward to confirm.

I guess it begs a second question of :

Does anyone have experience of switching from my arrangement to adding a HiCap to the stageline?

Would that kill two birds by relieving the 552 of power duties and improving the Stagelines performance to a worthwhile degree?

On a seperate topic, I certainly can hear the effect of having the Lingo left powered up while I listen to the streamer vs switching it off. Dynamics are quite significantly impacted and the streamer definitely thanks me for switching the Lingo off. This may be because the Lingo is currently plugged into the same set of sockets as the Naim equipment which I know is not ideal. I’m moving house soon, at which time I will ensure that the Lingo gets a seperate feed. I may even be able to get it onto a seperate phase as the new house has a 3 phase supply. 

Kevin

kevin J Carden posted:

Thanks for the replies all. My experience so far is like Richie’s; that I don’t think I can reliably hear a difference in the sound of my streamer with the power socket in use or without, but I will swap it in and out a few times going forward to confirm.

I guess it begs a second question of :

Does anyone have experience of switching from my arrangement to adding a HiCap to the stageline?

Would that kill two birds by relieving the 552 of power duties and improving the Stagelines performance to a worthwhile degree?

On a seperate topic, I certainly can hear the effect of having the Lingo left powered up while I listen to the streamer vs switching it off. Dynamics are quite significantly impacted and the streamer definitely thanks me for switching the Lingo off. This may be because the Lingo is currently plugged into the same set of sockets as the Naim equipment which I know is not ideal. I’m moving house soon, at which time I will ensure that the Lingo gets a seperate feed. I may even be able to get it onto a seperate phase as the new house has a 3 phase supply. 

Kevin

There is a "Mains Filter Upgrade" that fixes the issue of having to unplug the Lingo (switching off is not enough); I've had mine done as well as the Lingo being serviced.
Class A (Sheffield) did the work and they are Naim and Linn authorised too.

All is good.

Guinnless posted:

kevin J Carden posted:

 

There is a "Mains Filter Upgrade" that fixes the issue of having to unplug the Lingo (switching off is not enough); I've had mine done as well as the Lingo being serviced.
Class A (Sheffield) did the work and they are Naim and Linn authorised too.

All is good.

Thanks Guinness. I believe that issue is known to affect Lingo1 used with Naim, but my info was that Lingos 2 - 4 had different componentry and shouldn’t have the same issue. However, it appears to me that they still do something undesirable if plugged in to the same mains feed. With my Lingo4, power down seems to be enough to fix the problem. Pulling the plug doesn’t seem to me to make any further difference. 

Yes it does!

Simon at Reading Audio t always maintained his 555 didn't sound as good with a superline on AUX power from his 552 and kept an i-supply to keep the superline warm when he unplugged it to use the 555, I think Frank Abela (sadly missed) said he couldn't hear a difference. From my own experiments the only thing better than AUX power from a 552 for a superline is a supercap, a hicap is a step backwards, in fact having tried a supercap via a Snaic I quickly went back to AUX until the Burndy arrived. My priority was and is the vinyl source and I wasn't going to muck about hot plugging a superline so, I was also running a CDX2/555 at the time and couldn't detect a problem with that. A stageline will be a lighter draw on the ps so should have less impact.

kevin J Carden posted:

I’m currently using the powered input/output on my 552 to power my Stageline Phono Stage. Do we think this is likely to have any negative effect on the performance of my 552? Thoughts welcomed. 

I run my Stageline (LP12) off the 552 aux supply and can detect no difference. Mind you, vinyl is a very distant fourth choice source for me, and I have no doubt it’d sound better with a discrete PS and improved phono stage (but I don’t care).

yeti42 posted:

Simon at Reading Audio t always maintained his 555 didn't sound as good with a superline on AUX power from his 552 and kept an i-supply to keep the superline warm when he unplugged it to use the 555, I think Frank Abela (sadly missed) said he couldn't hear a difference. From my own experiments the only thing better than AUX power from a 552 for a superline is a supercap, a hicap is a step backwards, in fact having tried a supercap via a Snaic I quickly went back to AUX until the Burndy arrived. My priority was and is the vinyl source and I wasn't going to muck about hot plugging a superline so, I was also running a CDX2/555 at the time and couldn't detect a problem with that. A stageline will be a lighter draw on the ps so should have less impact.

Thanks Yeti. This is a really helpful reply. I’m pretty sure I can’t detect any effect from using Aux2, so I think I side with Frank Abela on this. Short of going totally Vinyltastic and spending a  total fortune on Superline+Supercap I think I’ve already got the best solution. Peter Swain agrees that a HiCap would be no improvement over Aux2, so I’m forgetting that idea. I’m loving the Vinyl, but I don’t want, nor feel the necessity to go that far. I’ll stick with what I have for phono duties. 

I tried the Stageline E with my Lyra (Argo), as it appeared to be a better match for the stated specs of the cartidge, but the gain was just too low.  Switched it out for a K and everything was much better.

As far as using the powered Aux 2 input for the Stageline on my 252, I couldn't hear any difference with it connected or disconnected so I'm assuming (in my system) it does not influence other sources.

Stageline E has not enough gain to work adequately with a Lyra Argo.  It's really for Medium to High-ish output MCs carts like the EMT or Roksan Shiraz.  At a pinch it will even work with proper High output MCs like the Denon DL110/160, and some report good results, but I'd imagine headroom might be a bit tight.

It shouldn't be confused with the Superline "E" which is still for low output MCs, just for those at the higher end of the low output range.

Point of information:  I have a Superline with a Kleos SL.   How can I tell whether it is an "E" or not?

A Kleos SL works best with the Standard Superline, so that's likely what you have.