Hi all,
I’ve just bought a new Core and as much as I love its slick, user friendly music access, the sound seems to lack ‘body’. Now there are two things I think may be the reason:
I’m using the adapter for RCA to BNC, so my digital Sarum T is compromised.
The Core needs running in.
So it’s 1) or 2) or 1) + 2) OR 3) the Core is a lower league to the HDX.
Can anybody give any information/advice?
(I have a full 500 system + Super Lumina + Chord T interconnects I.e. revealing.)
Thanks,
Jon
Try going UPNP with ethernet cables. I found using the BNC digital connection to my ND555 a bit strident sounding. Chord Music ethernet cables made the best digital sound between my Core & ND555.
Core rips should be superior to the HDX.
Recently acquired Core here, which sounds better than my US SSD both via ethernet.
You haven’t stated whether you have transferred existing rips or created new rips via Core.
You likely need to do the latter for best results. Core performs well, no lack of anything sound wise!
I’m mystified by the Core. Is it appreciably better at ripping than an external CD dive for the Mac? I can buy one of those for $30; a Core will set me back $3,200!
Am I missing something here?
Stick a better power cable up it.
Accurate rip. A NAS box four rooms away. A HP pro desktop in that same room running a UPnP server (roon in my case and coincidentally also Plex). Connected via Ethernet cable. That isn’t getting beaten sound wise. But I understand why it is offered.
If you stick with the digital out to your DAC lose the BNC RCA adaptor.
They are the devil’s work and sod up the required impedance of the connection.
Very much agreed ue with ethernet.
Can this really help? You experienced much improvement?
Yes. Plenty of experience.
There’s probably zero audio device that doesn’t improve with a power cable upgrade.
Not necessarily the most expensive either.
Plenty to research on this forum and much else on the wild world web.
You should know better. 
The Core playing its own rips into NDX2/XPSDR was to several listeners as good as the excellent 2-box CDS2, and dramatically better than rips made on my laptop.
I am not sure about the expensive power leads, but good cables elsewhere that are not knotted into a gigantic mess were necessary.
BNC adapters let you hear whether other things work properly, but they often/ always do pretty horrible things to the sound.
If the core feeds a digital streamer device via an ethernet cable then it’s a computer not an audio device. Or I am seriously missing something here.
I don’t have esoteric level Naim gear but I can’t tell the difference between a core rip and an NDX2 stream of the same (has to be the same) CD. Probably a daft question but have you compared a rip to a stream? Some CDs are strident. Some are dull. Many are wonderful. All of this comes through on my Core rips.
Just out of interest what software did you use to rip the cd on your laptop?
Yes. A computer device would be 70% cheaper and with a rubbish power supply.
Do you leave it switched on? If not do so. Plus most Naim kit takes 3-4 weeks to really settle down and burn in. Some say longer.
Bruce
Yes cheaper. A second hand HP desktop with an i5 or i7 chip is a few hundred quid. And the power cable or supply into it would make absolutely no difference whatsoever except for the pc polluting the mains circuit that the hifi might be sitting on I suppose. I am getting my linn ds upgraded to utopik tomorrow… Maybe I should get it installed in my pc upstairs instead. 
You’re getting the wrong end of the stick.
You should know better.
Clearly.
Anyway my advice to op would be to run Ethernet in as well as others recommend.
That’s what I’d do as well. I remember someone from Naim telling me that they never understood why the Serve had a digital output when upnp was clearly better, yet they replicated it in the Core. Obviously it’s helpful if you want to run it into a DAC, but with an ND555, why wouldn’t you use upnp?