Hi-Fi Corner

Thanks to Cymbiosis and Alan and Doug for the ChordMusic demonstration on Friday. Interesting to hear of the development process all the way from the bottom of the range right up to the Music. Difficult to get an idea of its full capabilities in a unknown room and system. But its improvement over the Sarum Super Aray was easy to hear. Good enough to warrant a home dem at least. Price quoted was £3,800 for rca/rca

When I bought my SL speaker leads, they were exdem and came without any instructions. After a while I found that the sound was a lot better once I had run the spare wire in a straight line away from the speakers and then back again, rather than looping it under the rack. When I bought my SL din to XLR it was on approval, and came in a Jiffy bag, again with no instructions. Now, while this cable gave a significant improvement, it was sitting on the floor, as my rack is low. Knowing that the...

Hi all, I am using a normal speakers cable Monster S16 standard 1 FT and I would like to upgrade it. I want to buy the Nordost White Lightning (here in Italy cost 350 euro). There is someone who know or use these cables? You think I would get more transparency and better sound quality? Or only an extremely sensitive ear can hear the difference? I also look forward any suggestions about other cables brands. My music system consists Unitilite, Elac BS 263 loudspeaker, Rel Sub.  

I have 2 naim standard grey interconnects. Was does the numbers on the green band mean? The one says DA-0054 and the other DA-0020. 

Just a plug for the Chord Company. I've recently changed to Naim Fraim and had to re-route the cables as part of the setting up. However the system didn't sound quite right and after some detective work it turned out the plugs on the Chord Sarum TA din/XLR had been over stressed during the installation. The cable is fairly stiff and needs a decent amount of space to hang freely, which is not that easy with Fraim. I emailed Nigel Finn from Chord and he agreed to have a look. Just received the...

I have finally relented and decided to purchase a set of Focal Sopra 2 speakers. Previous speakers included Ovator S400, PMC DB1i, Focal Aria 926. Thanks to HH I have also had a very good listed to SL2. Before the speakers land on my doorstep and before the Mrs finds out the real cost, I'm interested to note the ownership experience from other users and mention how my own will progress. Front end is 272/250DR, NACA5 from S400s, Synology running Minimserver off a single 2TB SSD, custom Cat6e...

Bought my first naim component yesterday.   So far utterly enthralled with the sound.  A few questions though: Is the unit intended to left powered on at all times? I gather this from the location of the switch and the obvious labour on the unit during power up/down.   When the volume is turned up to 1 or 2 o'clock there is a light audible high frequency buzzing sound. Is this normal? I'm sure some improvements to my AC feed could help this, and in any event this doesn't...

In keeping with this month's theme... Bis Audio Power Bis Cryo-treated, naturally.

hi, I am currently running an Audiolab CD8200 into the Chord 2Qute which is connected to a Supernait mk1. My main listening is via laptop USB connection to the DAC. The amp is driving Focal 816 W SE speakers. The electronics are connected to the mains via a mains conditioner - not expensive. I am thinking of adding either a Hicap to the Supernait or a PSU to the 2Qute. I would appreciate thoughts on where I am more likely to get an improvement. Or indeed whether to wait until I can perhaps...

On loan from my trusty dealers, I've been feeding him a diet of room-corrected Amarra music files from my Mac Mini via USB iFi supply and from my USB/SPDIF convertor through BNC. He seems very keen on everything I've given him so far, and is performing some excellent little tricks; like extracting more detail, giving bass a clearer focus, and adding rather a lot to depth of image, the latter quite striking. We've become very good friends over the last couple of days and he's indicated he'd...

SWMBO was saying the other day that we have too many CDs on show.... so.... Starting to think about a streaming option. So I need to get an NAS / switch / cable, no problem.... I currently have a Supernait 2 (and I am very happy with it), so I started to think which would be best: a) Audition an ND5XS  b) Listen to a 272 using the SN2 as the power amp until such time as funds allow for a 250 or even 300.... I know that listening to both options is going to be the ultimate but I was...

I am interested to know what speakers you like and use.

A very popular choice and just received the system this week. Playing with kit to enjoy the journey as the system matures. Out the box plugged in NACA5 and Aria 926 through standard supplied IC and it sounded good, 250DR drives speakers very well, but the room and cables etc it wasn't stellar, as yet. Top end replay sounded Ovatar esque but bass was a little plumb and too full on first play. So as a masochist I am taking a step back to appreciate more the increase in kit as it is added.

Hello folks, so, I bought this player with FlatCap brand new in 2006. Lately the player developed a couple of problems - sometimes it makes clicking noises like the CD is scratched or it abruptly stops closer to the end. It doesn't do that on a particular CD, and not every day, but there is a progression of that behavior.  Your comments are much needed and appreciated.

It has been quite some time since I was active on the forum due to poor health. I have memory problems and was hoping I could clarify something relating to my phono stage. I purchased a NAC52 some 3 years ago and my source is a Linn LP12. I seem to recall that I had the tt fitted with a prefix phono stage (Prefix S?) rather than fitting phono cards in to the 52. The Linn is connected to input socket 2 on the back of the 52.  The input selector on the front is the CD source, not the...

That time of year and I'm updating the inventory for insurance purposes. Any thoughts on what I should value the CDS 3 for in USD? (priceless isn't an option, but that's the way I feel about it)...I recently sent it into the shop for a tune up, new transport and whatever else they did to it. Remarkable change, just remarkable. It made me realize why I bought it those many years ago. I think as our kit ages, the degradation is slow and we don't hear the change and don't realize the change...

Hello, I want to record cassettes from computer (computer - hiface converter - dac). Is it possible to record from the dac line out straight to the deck (bx-300)? If not, I would have to use a preamp (in my case Nait 2). Do I need a special cable like din - 4 rca or a more standard din - 2 rca would be enough? Thanks. Cristian

Hi guys, Has anyone compared NAP 250DR/XPS vs 300DR? I don't have the money for the NAP300DR but would be great to build my system in stages. My preamp would be the 272. Thanks, Tom

So currently the internet rumour mill is going with stories of Apple's next iPhone dropping the 3.5mm headphone jack, with the implication it will spread to other manufacturers.  Recently headphone manufacturers have been putting out new devices with lightning connections ( Audeze spring to mind) as they get better 'digital sound' and Sennheiser didn't seem to be phased based on a recent article. What are people's thoughts here ?  Not worried as it's portable hifi and not...

My SBL Drivers are Buzzing. I tried having them repaired all to no avail. They buzz with certain frequencies of the piano. I have a pair of Credos and SBLs. After comparing the two There is no contest.... The SBLs walk on them even with the upgraded crossovers. My question is this: Can I simply put the Credo drivers in the SBL? I know its been said that "physically they are the same driver  but selection and matching a bit different." What does this mean? 

Is anyone using tellurium q mains cables? Which ones and on which components?  Im using TQ interconnects and speaker cables and I'm interested in anyone's  experiences with their mains cables? I've not demoed any yet. I've heard what a Powerline can do but I'm keen to keep the same cables throughout my system. 

Finally concluded my divorce settlement and looking to make a few changes to my system.   I had been hoping to downsize since I'm sick of the box count (555/552/500) but nothing I've heard has done it for me, so it looks as thought I'll do the DR...

Hello everyone, New to the Naim world. We recently completely changed our hifi setup and did some extensive listening with various set-ups at home. My wife and I quickly fell in love with the Naim Xs 2 (compared to the other amplifiers we tried at home, including Rega Elicit R, Hegel H160, Roksan Caspian, ...). We had a bit more trouble choosing the speakers and were really hesitating between the Focal Aria 926 and the PMC twenty 23. We finally decided on the PMC as they are better fitted to...

Firstly, I'm assuming that K20 is basically the same product as NACA4. If my assumption is incorrect I'm going to make a few mistakes in my next paragraph. I started on my Naim journey a year ago, with an old 62/90 combo. I read that it was imperative to use the right kind of speaker cable with it due to the NAP expecting particular levels of resistance etc. I could understand it in theory, even though I'm no engineer. And so, unable to afford 6m of NACA5, I read that K20 was basically the...

I've finally managed to track down a dealer who still has a pair of 802 D2 speakers in the showroom. Tomorrow Richard (Fangfossflyer) and I will spend the afternoon comparing the two speakers. We both currently run the D2s in our systems. Last Friday when I first visited the shop in Central London I managed to listen to a couple of tracks on the new D3 and was impressed enough to arrange the demo this week. Will keep you posted, if interested.