I have some pop pops and stridency in my speakers, audible however if I touch my speakers with my ear. But sometimes in the day it’s even a bit stronger.
Some members here said it’s certainly EMI RFI.
I had this same problem with my ex NC 250 , connected to my Ear 912.
Now with the Ear 534. A bit less however now with the 534.
I tried a lot of things to reduce that, like well isolating the cables, changing my preamp tubes…tried different XLR cables, also RCA…
My building and home is very old, so I will try also the help of an electrician.
For now I will borrow the Audioquest 707 , a new item, positioned between the Niagara 1200 and 300.
I will connect both the Ear 912 and 534 into it. The other items will stay on my Furutech 608.
Those having the Niagara, have you heard a reduced noise in the speakers? Had you EMI RFI?
Just interested, do you have any regrets at swapping out the NAP if you have a similar, albeit reduced, issue with the EAR? Or is the EAR better anyway?
Good question. Honestly I don’t know really. The Ear is different. Both are on a similar level. As recently all that bothered me a bit, having spent a lot of time experimenting, I have to take more time to really appreciate my new system. It’s even not fully run in.
For some recordings I prefer the NC 250 , for others the 534. But the Ear adds something that gives the impression of a truth fuller sound, more realistic and human.
The Niagara 1000 and 1200 cured my system of a persistent glare and graininess, especially in the higher frequencies. The effect was and is the same with both Naim and other gear. I heard no difference in the noise level through the speakers.
Which approach to mains conditioning is best for you and if you need it at all is very much dependent on your environment. At my place listening with no conditioning for more than half an hour is simply unpleasant and unnecessary. Balancing via transformers from Plixir and Signal Projects lowered the noise a little and completely silenced the amplifiers own transformers. Conditioners from Shunyata and Transparent had some positive effects, but not nearly the level of the Niagara. I know at least one other system which responded best to Shunyata, though.
Thanks for sharing. The Ear 534 makes some transformer noise too, but only if I am very close to it.
As I can borrow the 707, I have nothing to loose. The Audioquest products have good reputation. Let’s see.
Hi Mr.Rooster. With the level of gear you have I think you should consider a
Niagara 3000, yes it’s expensive but it’s at the appropriate level for the rest of the system. The other choice is Shunyata. I use the Shunyata Denali 6000S V.2 very happy with it, my system is dead quiet. Shunyata makes several Power Distribution units specifically for Europe. Best Wishes. I can only speak for the US but AudioQuest has a 1 year warranty… Again in the US , Shunyata has a lifetime warranty.
I have recently bought a Furutech 608, around 2800 dollars. With an expensive Kharma power cord to wall, it should be at the level of my gear
I want to see if the power conditioner will have an effect or not on the little noises ( RFI EMI probably) I have in the speakers. The goal is not to increase sound quality but cancel these little noises.
If it works, we will see.
It has to not decrease the sound quality I have now with the Furutech/ Kharma combo and cancel the noises.
Can you try a Shunyata unit ? borrow from a dealer, or the European Importer? FWIW I now live in an apartment building with 11 other units my system is dead quiet.
Good Luck Pal
Europe Audio Diffusion
Chateau De Marrault Avalon,
France 89200
Europe
Phone: 33 386 33 01 09
The only power conditioner my dealer has is the 707, an upgraded Niagara 1200 . As the 3000 is no more produced , if it works, I may go for a 3000 second hand.
You have an excellent new block which should already help with noise. Using in-line filtration to suppress an existing small noise such as yours would be like putting an extra muffler to your car - sounds less grainy and smoother but also distant and less exciting, and with less horse power.
I’ve had a 3000 for at least 3 years, I bought it after trying the 1200 for a couple of weeks and bought the next model up . I took it out of my system once for about 10 minutes and then put it back … Very good IMO .
M Performance, Akrapovic and, admit in my younger years - a couple of No name pretty crappy ones.
I guess same range in hifi but a rather longer list.
So I speak from experience … and in the context of a Naim system.
Solid point. I have had issues with DC offset negatively impacting my Naim and Tube gear. I have elected to kill a fly with a sledghammer and for my Naim gear, I use a Furman Elite 20 PFi (designed by Garth Powell while at Furman; think of it as a ‘Niagara 2500’) that is fed by an enormous 5.2kVa Xentek 1:1 iso transformer (.001pf). This nuked DC offset from orbit and all my Naim transformers have been dead silent, even with ear pressed against the chassis, ever since. I found for my use case that the Naim transformers were being saturated by DC on the AC line and this greatly hampered SQ. I got big improvements, all around, with no negatives. But I also know folks that have heard zero or near-zero improvements from the same strategy.
The Puritan, the AVA HumDinger, the iFi DC widget, all will reduce or eliminate DC on the line for far less money, weight, space, and cost.
