NDS

I found that a few upgrades to the system feeding the nds made a huge difference. I upgraded the nas from synology ds213j to synology ds218play, the switch from a trendnet gigabyte one to a cisco 2960g, and the ethernet cables from nas to switch and nds from belkin cat 6 to audioquest vodka, also from switch to router I now use audioquest cinnamon.

Each of these upgrades made a difference but collectively they have had a significant positive impact on the nds performance.

Hi David,

Ok, hopefully you'll get to the bottom of it eventually, working through things as you are. 

As Foot Tapper has already said, it may be that you just prefer the vinyl sound signature.  However, I really do think that you should have experienced a similar uplift in performance with the NDS when you opened the window upgrading the preamp.

If you do decide to try a Melco, do ensure it is one of the later versions that have improved network isolation; I was told it was a significant improvement over the earlier models when using it in a network.

As Mr Happy has also found, some improvements to the source of the music before it reaches the NDS has reaped benefits for him too.  I'm not suggesting that an NDS should need all of this attention to perform properly, but it does seem to be affected by how it is fed and this may answer whether the issue lies with the quality of the feed it is getting from your network.  Clearly in my case mine was getting a poor feed and so the Melco resolved that.  Just a thought.

Have you heard the NDS in any other systems and found it perform differently? If you are anywhere around Essex/Suffolk area, you would be welcome to come and hear the difference in my system and see if it connects with you just like your RP8 does?

You cant see the Bundys' direction bands under the braid in the photos, they are at the NDS end I trust.

yeti42 posted:

You cant see the Bundys' direction bands under the braid in the photos, they are at the NDS end I trust.

Yes the braids are at NDS end.

Thank you all for such useful and constructive contributions. I’m extremely grateful and there is plenty of food for thought.

Kind regards

David

Just checking you have removed all 4 transit bolts

tonycurran1 posted:

Just checking you have removed all 4 transit bolts

He did say in the original post that he had...

I have made a similar move myself to the OP

Replaced the 272 with NDS and 252 (and core) ...only I have sold the LP12 in an effort to go all digital

The reason for this was that tidal and the core sounded so good through the 272 ...a match for my high spec LP12...that I thought if I went up a level in digital I could loose records altogether

Time will tell if I get rid of the albums...but very pleased with the NDS / 252 combo 

So I powered down, removed the NDS burndies, gave them their massage, cleaned the glass shelves etc and reconnected.

It’s different. Much smoother presentation, more analogue without the slightly grating / harsh top end that I was hearing before.

This is what I was expecting the NDS to deliver.

Thank you all again.

David

Well that is good news that it's impoved

Just shows it can be the little things

The original concern was stated as a lack of musical involvement. Tweaking the burndies etc has made it smoother and resolved issues around a grating top end, which weren’t reported as an issue before. So while the smoothness is what was expected, no mention has been made of the musical involvement. Has that improved too?

Yes Nigel it has.

That’s very good news in that case. The further up the Naim hierarchy you go, the tweakier things can get and the more critical good setup becomes. 

Don't want to open another can of worms ...but 

Found my (new to me) NDS was still on 4.4.   Wasn't sure if I should "upgrade" to 4.6 as I've read it's 50/50 if there is an improvement or not ..but decided on balance to do it as I could always go back.

Well the NDS seems to have lost a degree of its punch and slam since the change...a factory reset seems to have helped a little bit to restore it's vigour...but still sounds a little off.  Think I will give it a few more days and then change back...and see if that sounds better to my ears ..

Slightly bizarrely my 2018 model was running v4.5.

I upgraded to 4.6 and didn’t notice any negative impact.

Regards

David

I tried both and prefered 4.4. 4.6 was impressive but 4.4 was much nicer and more natural to listen to in my system. 

That's strange you mention impressive...because that's exactly the opposite of my thoughts...underwelming is more what springs to mind ...lacking in punch ..

I found 4.6 had a more 3d soundstage but to me it sounded thinner with less emotion. I tried it for a week but as soon as I re loaded 4.4 I immediately felt that the sound had more body and richness.

Yes that's the feeling of what's missing... I will give the 4.6 a few more days to prove itself .. but can see me reverting also ..

David, That's great news.  I'm glad you were able to work a little magic to bring things back to where they should be.  In short, if the NDS isn't doing it for you, there's something amiss????

My view is the hi line with NDS is not good .... super lumina is fabulous....however the RP8 with good vinyl will beat it.....

RP8 is seriously good.. .

This is simple.   Forget cables, forget racks, vinyl to the ears of the OP is just preferable.  I share his view.  

Regards,

Lindsay

Richieroo posted:

RP8 is seriously good.. .

It is. Can’t stop listening to it. The 252 has brought it to life ????

For what it is worth, I did not like the HiLine on my NDS, but this may of course not be the source of the 'problem'.

I really like the hiline in my system. A friend locally with a naim system had the super lumina on loan and let me try it in my system. I was quite excited about hearing it but the excitement soon turned to disappointment. It did some things well but sounded dull to me. As soon as I re installed the hiline the music came to life again.

As it turned out it was the same in his system, he also prefered the hiline. As usual a home dem is a must before buying anything, no matter how many good reviews it has as rooms, systems and our hearing/expectations are all very different.