Critique my HiFi system

Hi-Fi Corner
1

Hello all,

I am hoping one of you knowledgeable people can take a look at my system to tell me if I have any obvious weak links. I mostly listen to music on vinyl. Speaker placement and room acoustics are already good.

Analog source:

  • Rega RP8 with Apheta cart
  • Rega Aria phono stage
  • Audio Art IC-3SE RCA Interconnect 1.5M

Digital source:

  • Samsung smart TV
  • QED Performance Optical Toslink Cable 2.0m
  • Naim DAC V-1
  • Ecosse The Composer RCA Interconnect

Rest:

  • Naim Supernait 2
  • Non-Naim power supply
  • Naim NAC A5 speaker cable 13ft
  • Kudos X3 loudspeakers

Thanks for your help.

2

The digital source, but perhaps it’s not a problem for you. The non naim ps ( TP?) .

3

Does it sound good to you mate?

1 Like
4

That looks like a nice well-balanced vinyl system, very good front end, excellent integrated, the x3s have a good reputation. Personal view is that if you like how it sounds stick with it, it’s quite dangerous to tinker, it’s a well balanced rig and a change may not improve it.

2 Likes
5

The system sounds great to me, so I’m definitely not looking to tinker or upgrade just for the sake of it. Was just a bit worried that I had some obvious weak link (I’m nowhere near as knowledgeable as many people here!)

The digital source certainly sticks out. I’ll look into that.

6

Are you using the Samsung TV to feed streamed music to the dac? If so . . . I have to imagine that a proper streamer front end would be a nice improvement. For watching TV, I’d be happy with that. But not for music replay.

3 Likes
7

Are you just feeding the TV signal into the DAC ? That’s a very expensive way to do it, given that you are also paying for the PreAmp part of the DAC .

I would also say that my system is a Naim 200/202, HiCap, NAPSC, Stageline, CDX2, NAT 03, UnitiQute2 (for DAC and streaming) Clearaudio Emotion and Harbeth P3ESR (chosen for size of room).
On a Quadraspire system with Nordost interconnects

My first Naim system was a Nait, a CD3 and I think a NAT 03 with Mordunt Short speakers and a Rega 3. A lot of the systems you see are literally the work of 30 years to achieve and we ALL started somewhere

So please , relax this is a remarkably unsnobbish website , simply because 99% of us started of with far more 'umble systems than the ones we have today.

Best wishes

3 Likes
8

I’ll pile on. Given that you have a Supernait2, and thus by def a pre-amp, I’d look at selling off the dac and getting a Naim streamer/player. An NDX2 would be well-matched to the SN2, but an ND5XS2 likely would make you happy as well. But this all begs the question - what do you want to do with the digital front end? TV? Streaming from online services? Internet radio? Buy cd and rip them and/or buy digital downloads?

9

Right now I am feeding the TV signal into the DAC (but I’ve disabled the preamp part of the DAC so that it uses the preamp in the Supernait2).

I mainly stream digital audio from Tidal/Spotify. I don’t rip CDs or play digital files.

It does seem to make sense to replace the DAC with a streamer+DAC as both Ian and Bart suggest…

2 Likes
10

Nothing wrong with your system… but if you are looking for suggestions I’d sell the Dac V1 (due to redundancy), and buy a used Chord Hugo.

11

Note that the the V1 fixed output doesn’t actually bypass the preamp, just the volume control for the preamp.

1 Like
12

  1. what type of support is it on?

  2. are you using RCA-DIN cables? I’ve found that makes a nice difference.

  3. get a RCM and buy more vinyl

13

Lose the non naim power supply and either run the SN as is or with real naim PSU

Only a real Naim PSU gives that original intended Naim characteristic sound.

I would also look into vertere DFI RCA interconnects

I’m delighted with my vertere cables

2 Likes
14

Go for a decent usb streamer with a good PS. The Dac V1 is phenomenal given a good transport. A borrowed sonos play sounded absolutely horrible in mine before I got an Aries mini. Or go NDX…
Otherwise you could also go for separates if youre looking for some refinement and overall improvement in both vinyl/digital.
Powerlines!

15

“The Dac V1 is phenomenal given a good transport”.
Very strongly agreed.
Dave

16

Wallshelf for RP8
Rebuild Apheta to mkII
Couple interconnect
Ditch psu on amp
Resolder Naca5 connectors

17

This topic was automatically closed 60 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.