252/SC/300 replacing 282/HiCAP/250

[Rosami]

Thanks for the suggestions guys.
It seems my amp or possibly speakers may be the cause of what I am hearing.

[HappyListener]

The use of standard Naim interconnects and speaker cable shouldn’t drive out the symptoms you identify above. NACA5 cable is brighter in replay than SL speaker cable but it shouldn’t exhibit any ‘spitting’. If , for the moment, we assume the kit itself isn’t at fault, then I’d suggest:

1- if the symptoms are with CDX2 playback, the issue could be due to siting as CDX’s as a breed don’t like certain surfaces. The 555PS should calm things down a lot but you may still hear some sibilance/brightness if not careful.

2- are all the various burndy connections and other interconnects free hanging, especially those of the 300? If not, this can lead to issues with bass and general coherence IME. The worst thing is to have the 300’s burndies lying on the floor behind a rack.

Are we to assume the replay issues envelop both the CDX2 and the LP12?

I may be wrong but you don’t mention what speakers you are using? Why do you think these may be the issue?

[Rosami]

Thanks for your suggestions.
My speakers are Thiel CS3.6s; I’ve had them 21 years and am considering updating them; they can tend to brightness, however this wasn’t an issue prior to the DR update.
I have a longer pair of NACA5 on loan; mine were 11.5 feet, but the loaners are 14.5 ft. and have been cryo’d. Interestingly, these new NACA5s have eliminated the “spittiness” of my old cables; I still hear excess sibilance but it s now “clean sibilance” which is much better than the old A5s.
I am going to tear my system apart and reposition all power sources on one side and pay more attention to layout of cables and burndys.

Best …

[HappyListener]

Having read a review of the Thiel’s in Stereophile from 1993, I think the issues you are getting could be due to:
1- ageing Thiels, which have a lot of electrical components in them, which could do with a service? Looking at the price adjusted for time, the Thiels are the most expensive bit of the rig?
2- for a Naim amp, even a 300DR, these are quite demanding speakers at 4omhs going down to 2.5 (when new). IME, Naim’s amps really like 8ohm loads, the more efficient the better. I get the impression the speakers better like a more current pumping amp?
3-IME Naim amps and metal domes aren’t always the best of friends and can veer towards sibilance, which is why a lot of people/Forumites struggle with Focals and their Beryllium tweeters. Metal domes can be ruthlessly revealing and need very careful application, and even then some parties hear them like wailing cats, which may be the trait you are hearing as ‘spitting’ around vocals? All else being OK (installation et al - a big assumption), the ‘spitting’ trait is normally down to a system mis-match (often relative below par source/bright sounding listening room).
4- DR’ing the 300 may well have increased detail and transparency, such that the traits of the Thiels have now been amplified (sorry), especially with the likes of a CDX, which even with a better PS can still be a tad zingy in presentation.

Once you have resolved your rack issues, I would suggest seeking out other speaker cabling* which may be able to calm down the higher frequencies (if ‘spitting’ remains). NACA5 can be a touch bright, especially with metal domes.

*making sure this is high inductance, low capacitance.

[ChrisSU]

Are your own speaker cables terminated with Naim plugs, and are these well soldered? If in any doubt, maybe worth getting them resoldered as you are stripping the system down. These details seem to matter with Naim amps.

[Rosami]

Thanks guys for all the suggestions. The Naim forums are the best!
I’m in the process of tearing down my system and looking at positioning, cable layout, power, etc. and will take all your suggestions into account as I rebuild my system.
Wow - moving Naim stuff is a lot harder than I remember - or I’m getting too old - this stuff is heavy!
I’ll report back after I’ve completed all this.

[Rosami]

Yes - I’m actually auditioning a loaner set of NACA5s that we’re carefully checked.

[Rosami]

Thank you! These are very good observations. The Thiels have always been hard speakers to drive and since they are 20+ years old I’m sure they need updating. The metal dome tweeters may not be a good match for the DR amps; there was never a problem pre-DR though. I have a good set of loaner NACA5s so I’ll see how things go after I am finished “rebuilding” my system.
I guess it’s “one step forward, two steps back” when improving these very revealing systems.