Cure for upgraditis

Hi-Fi Corner
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My system at home consists of a Uniti CORE, 272, 300DR through SL cables into PMC Twentyfive.26 speakers. The original system took a little tweaking to get rid of sibilance and treble harshness; a 250DR was replaced by the 300 (a big difference) and the NACA cables exchanged for SL cables. That also smoothed out the reproduced sound noticeably.

I took the 272 into my dealer recently (a wonderful man – Harry, at Audio Genesis) for a firmware update, and whilst there had the pleasure of being able to hear an ND555 + NAC252 combination, with a NAP 300DR into NEAT Ultimatum XL10, and then A-B’d with my 272 and the 300.

From the 272 to changing the streamer only, there was an incremental improvement in all aspects of the sound (detail, soundstaging, presence), and then stepping up to include the 252 gave a further improvement.

The question is: was I blown over, superly impressed? Well, not really. Yes the improvements were nice, but IMO not worth the huge cost increase. The streamer alone cost more than my whole system. I left happy, knowing that there is still a superb system at home to be enjoyed and that the 272 is a seriously good piece of kit. Just for old time’s sake, I had a listen to my first NAIM system which I still have – a NAIT 5i, CD5 player and Spendor S5e speakers. Total cost of that: $5000. I then could really appreciate and was grateful for what the current system is capable of.

I read a lot about tweaks and upgrade-itis; not too much about satisfaction with what one already has, so I thought I would write in.

Just a little more. I had originally connected the CORE to the router by cheap cat5 ethernet cable, and then used wi-fi for the 272-router connection. Harry suggested I use direct connections (as NAIM recommend as well), so I obtained a Netgear 1000 switch box, and used cat5 cable to connect the CORE and the 272 to the box. Then – having read a little on the qualities of Ethernet cables - I swapped out the cat 5’s for some cat6c shielded which were also inexpensive. An amazing difference, especially with internet radio. I went further and used cat 7 (Chord C-stream) interconnects, and I have to say I didn’t like them. They seemed to make the reproduced music more “dense”, so out they went and back with the much cheaper cat6c shielded cables. Happy again, and that’s where I am staying. Cheers everyone.

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The best cure is coming home, turning on your music, and enjoying it!

(Best cure for not buying a new car is similar; test drive the new one, go home in your old one, and take that same ‘test drive’ approach to your old one. )

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Harry’s a wonderful man I to often struggle with the idea of how and if I should upgrade, thankfully he’s never put me on the wrong path yet.

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It’s not clear from your post whether you have a power supply in your 272. If not, you are in for a big surprise if you add a 555PS. I wouldn’t run a 272 into a 300 and the 26s without one.

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Hi HH.

I tried the power supply, and I didn’t like it. Somehow made things “screech”. Sorry - that’s how it was for me in that system, in that room, etc.

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Well, you certainly got a surprise, but not the one I would have expected. Very strange; I found it transformational, and in a good way too. It made everything much more lifelike and engaging. It may be worth trying again at some point.

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I’ve gone from 4 boxes to 2 in the last few cycles of changes in my main system, having not so long ago had a SN2 + HiCap DR + CD5 XS + ND5 XS2. It’s now a SN3 + NDX2 and whilst it’s mostly doing the same things the enjoyment of it has stepped up considerably and whilst there is room to add in power supplies I’m certainly in no hurry and enjoying it a lot as it is, certainly more so than the last couple of versions of the system I’ve lived with.
Whilst my most recent plan included adding back in PSU’s to the NAIT and NDX2, I’m now leaning towards improving the turntable source in another system elsewhere in the house in line with the source improvements I made moving to the NDX2 in the office system.
I’ve had that running from new now for a few months and moved it on to a new full Fraim rack at the same time and by accident partly also have an empty shelf between the NAIT and the NDX2 which was originally intended for the HiCap which is now gone.
If I’ve learnt anything in this most recent cycle of changes it’s that focusing on the source improvements first brings the greater overall enjoyment even though it’s tempting to keep going further and adding things you know are there to enhance what you have further.
Overall I’d say I’d like to add a 555PS to the NDX2 and for that to be the system that gives the best balance overall in performance and enjoyment against cost and box count.

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i think that is the perfect answer to be honest, music first and then system but being happy with the music in my view is the most important

how did I put it in a recent post “in climbing a mountain, sometimes it’s best to stop for a while and admire the view”

enjoy the music!! :+1: :+1: :+1: :+1:

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I must have missed the firmware update update??? My 272 is approx 2 and 1/2 years old.

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You could just buy a statement and be done with it :slight_smile: hopefully that will cure any upgraditis …

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But then, there’s always active … :thinking: :thinking:

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The latest version is 4.7.

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Thanks. Is it worth upgrading? I do find the app loses rooms more regularly these days. Is there any improvement to sound quality (as good as it is)?

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From memory 4.7 was a technical tweak but there was a good step up sound wise in 4.6, so if earlier than that it’s well worth updating. It’s really best to be on the latest version.

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Is that a typo - think you meant Cat 6a - the ones I use are around £5 for 2m (Connectix) and are excellent. I also use BJC Cat 5e with my Linn kit as per recommendations from Linn and these are superb.

A wonderful system - you did well to keep it.

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Active Statement systems do exist, not many of them but there are a few out there.
I guess those folks spend their idle cycles on furniture forums looking for a more comfortable chair to sit on.
I certainly made most investment in my current system evolution on source improvements and a final suck it and see move to full Fraim as well as a modest investment in speaker treatment by adding IsoAcoustics Gaia feet to my PMC’s.
I’ve now got the least amount of boxes and cables spewing across the floor than I’ve had for years and find I am able to just sit and listen and it still surprise me and unquestionably leave me impressed with what that level of simplicity in a system can do.
I’ve had a long and varied journey with NAIT based systems in particular and this one is probably the first that really gels and stands on it’s own feet without crying out for a PSU buddy to polish, refine, improve, open up or somehow alter what it provides in terms of listening enjoyment.
I can easily sit in front of it working away for hours on end and not tire of what it presents in terms of musical enjoyment, even with budget to allocate to add more to it, it’s almost smirking at me as I grow with it knowing it will carry on surprising me for many months ahead and whilst ultimately adding a 555PS to the NDX2 source will max it out and let it fly to heady heights, It’s doing a pretty fine job keeping me entertained as it stands today, that includes what the SN3 brings to the mix and of course the Fraim rack which when you stand back and think of the synergy of the system as a whole, you begin to see how well balanced and finely tuned these components are when brought together in certain combinations.
Lots of options ahead but for now as impressed with what I’ve found myself with as I have been for some time.

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Hearing this @Mr.M , I think I’ll abandon my quest for a NAC202 + NAP200 and look at the SN3. Will this cure my upgraditis? Maybe. I thought it was under control, then Covid-19/work from home hit. :slight_smile:

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I hadn’t really planned any of the current changes, it was just circumstantial!
I’ve been very happy with the SN3 and not found it lacking, the NDX2 was a bit of a gamble and also
a bit of a stretch financially if I’m honest but certainly no regrets at all.
The other aspect of this is I actually have very little time to actually sit and enjoy this investment so it needs a bit of balance and not be a very expensive thing sat glowing green in the corner getting dusty!

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HI TM. You are right - it was a typo. Cat 6a ethernet cable, shielded.
And HH was correct about the 272 firmware upgrade. It is 4.7, and will (I am told) probably be the last NAIM will do. It took around 15 minutes to do at the dealership.

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Y’know, it’s a big world out there . . .