Considering moving away from my Supernait 1

Looks promising, I’d imagine a lot cheaper as well. I’ve only had to contact Chord Support once but they were really good. Did they say how its connected etc. Just for reference for anyone else who finds this thread and has the same problem… I’ve seen it come up a few times and this looks like an easy and cost effective solution.

As per Chord’s message.

If the Naim has a ground lift switch this should be moved to the other position. If this has no effect, you will need something like THIS to go from an unused input on the Qutest to the ground of the Naim.

Yes they responded very quickly! I emailed Naim at the same time, let’s see their solution.

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Surely just connect to the turntable signal ground connection on the ‘nait? I wouldn’t bring a mains plug into the equation.

This is how I have my Qutest grounded. My power supply for the Qutest, Allo Shanti, has an external ground connection. A ground wire from there to the Supernait 2 ground post, hum eliminated.

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BNC to ground added, hum gone!

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Excellent… if you can, it’s still worth using a Power bank for powering it as it does help lower the noise floor. Just use a micro usb extension cable plugged into the Qutest and run it to a point of easy access and then plug the power bank into the extension.

As well as making it easy to access, it also saves plugging and unplugging the power bank into the Qutest which would wear the contacts over time. The Anker 20100 used to last me abut 12-14hrs or so playtime.

One better put the battery on a timer switch!

Certainly if that’s an option… If the plug on the back of the Qutest is going to be unplugged often though, it’s still a good idea to pop in a small extension as micro usb sockets have a habit of wearing out. It’s a lot easier to replace a £1 cable than replacing the socket on the circuit board.

Anyway… enjoy, the Qutest is a little powerhouse of a DAC for something so small it seems almost impossible!

Decided before taking the plunge on the HCDR and the upgrade path to 282/250 that I will, to keep an open mind, home demo a few of the competitors integrated. I am still struggling to swallow that I need to move to a 6 to 8 box setup to replace my SN1 (282/NAPSC/HC/250/Stageline/Qutest + potentially LPS, second HC and roon, rahter than laptop)

So the demo list

  • Hegel H590 (2 box need a phono stage)
  • Accuphase E-380 plus DAC and Phono card ( 2 box need a roon end point)
  • Yamaha S3200 (2 box need DAC and endpoint)
  • Any others…?

BTW - 2 weeks now and still no reply from Naim support on the ground issue that Chord replied next day…

Luxman integrated options. Class AB and Class A are available.

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Added to list - thanks!

I am surprised to see so many with VU meters, is this a thing currently?

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The meters are an acquired taste, some like the looks of it, some don’t. It’s the sound quality that counts in the end. I have both 282/250DR/HCDR and Luxman L-590AXII (Class A). Both are good in their own ways. The Luxman’s refinement is better than the Naim. After getting the Luxman into the system I have been optimising everything from cables to power cords and receptacles and things keep improving. At some point of time I will get the Naim back into the system to evaluate as the new power cords and receptacles have brought a MASSIVE improvement to the system. The Naim amps may well sound different now when connected to the new wall outlet and power cords.

The build quality of the Luxman is exemplary. Very high build quality indeed as it looks like a big chunk of metal.

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Have you thought about a SN3/NDX2: 2 box setup?

I think they look pretty cool tbh, though I am quite used to the Area 51 look of Naim products which I know some people also have issues with. The VU’s would actually visually complement my L100’s quite well.

Yes - my main source in Vinyl, so the move to SN1 to SN3 only give a subtle improvement - have demo’d - like the SN3, but the upgrade isn’t big enough and it would still make sense to use my Stageline plus Hicap. Really just brings me back to were I am today.

NDX2, nice but a lot of $$ a a second source esp as I am yet to be convinced it would significantly outperform a Roon endpoint and Qutest.

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Well, I’m sure slumming it with a SN1 isn’t much of a hardship. The thing with upgrading at this level is that costs and box count spiral upwards with incrementally reducing sound benefits.

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Exactly, sticking with could be the possible conclusion here. Switch to HCDR and Superline, invest in some fancy new cables and stay put.

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New integrated amp, with streaming dac, phono, Roon, Qobuz, Tidal.
Boulder 866. ( 14k).

image

Specs look awesome on that! Unfortunately I really don’t want a colour screen on my amp.

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Linn Selekt DSM worth adding to your box options.
Not a lot it can’t do in one box.
I recently chose one to replace my aging Arcam AV amp and I chose it above a Uniti Nova or current AV amp based on specs and longer term flexibility.
Think of it as the streaming equivalent of an LP12.

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