End of my tether

I just put my Sky Box through a DAC , just a small Pro-Ject DAC, worked a treat. About the best pound per pound spend I have ever made on my audio system. Really improved the sound.

Also feed my Blu Ray player through it, again noticeable

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No James. There’s definitely a difference. Very noticeably so. Going to listen again today.

@Ian2001 I did wonder whether a cheap DAC might sort this aspect.

The sibilance is pointing me toward the XPS2 which is disappointing but we’ll see. One thing at a time.

I’d rather HQ didn’t step in. I have a dealer who I have great faith in. However, they’re 40 miles away so trekking back and forth via public transport isn’t a realistic or quick option when it comes to testing/loaning cables. I recognise that’s a consequence of my decision as to who my dealer is but I can live with that. I could ask for them to come out for the day but they’ve done that multiple times and I’d genuinely like my relationship with them to be one that doesn’t just involve repairs or testing. They’ve been great but I can imagine the groan if I were to ring with this and frankly they’ve done more than enough. Next time I go there I’d like it to be for another NDX2/Innuous demo with a view to purchase.

So, gone locally initially for cables and discussion as that makes sense practically. If that experience remains good then obviously there’s an incentive to rethink and switch allegiance but at present I’ve moved to the stage when I am at least engaged as to narrowing down and have good people helping me here and offline. Let’s see how it progresses.

Ah, got you Mike. I missed that bit early this morning. If you can bear TV sound through the TV then i’d keep it this way if you’ve found an improvement. This can be addressed later again if needed - adding a DAC (no need to go Naim here but the Naim DAC is still a great buy and integrates nicely with the rest of the kit) but would allow you to go via Optical from the Sky box, effectively isolating the Hi-Fi from the AV kit. Something to think about later once you’ve got CD playback to where it should be.

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It’s a decade old 50” Pioneer Kuro so no sound unless it goes through the Naim. I’m thinking that optical to DAC to 202 may indeed be a way forward but, as you say, music first.

We’re the same Mike - all the TV (and DVD) sound are piped through the HI-FI speakers rather than the TV which certainly adds to the viewing pleasure.

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Slightly improved sound tonight. Still bass/mid light and with vocal sibilance but removing the Sky/DVD has definitely impacted.

Had to go back in as a 14 year old (and me to be fair) wanted to watch His Dark Materials.

Decided to go for Aux1 for the 1st time in years. Noticeably brighter and more dynamic. Will leave it in a couple of days and see if the audio deteriorates again.

I’m doing the same with my 50" Pio Kuro Mike but use the AV2 to take optical from the Virgin box, then the output lead from the AV2 into the Pre and has zero effect on the 2 channel side of things.
AV2s are rare but go for peanuts if/when they do show up.

No room for an AV2. I’m thinking optical to portable DAC would more than suffice. The thing I’m watching/listening to at present is that having moved TV to Aux 1 there were some periodic audio dropouts on His Dark Materials. May have been programme specific so I’ll check again tonight.

Mike I noticed the frequent short audio dropouts on His Dark Materials last night, viewed via SkyHD too, so it wasn’t just you (or just me!)

Best

David

Sorry, after 17 years it’s entirely possible that your CD player could intermittently not sound good, if the analogue stage is failing.

Phew :slight_smile:

It could indeed except that, allowing for the very different character of Sky Plus over cheap analogue cable, the deficiencies are similar on the TV audio. Notably a lack of mids and some sibilance.

That said, 24 hours into the SPB having been reintroduced to the pre but on Aux 1 I noted a lot more detail than has been there for a while and a bit more slam. Not listened to music tonight and it’ll have to wait until Wednesday but it’ll be interesting to see if that’s changed since the SPB was first removed then reintroduced.

I hope you’ve found the issue. I sympathize with your predicament.

A long time ago I’d put Tv through a ~Rega pre power and it mucked up sound generally. I don’t really remember the details. In the end I took TV sound entirely away from the Hifi and fed TV through a Sony sound surround set up. This has been superceded by a Q acoustics sound bar on the wall above the TV. Not as bassy as the Sony with a sub perhaps but big improvement overall .
Good luck

It’s certainly worthwhile removing any AV/TV kit from the music system and trying it without. TVs often float at half mains voltage and when connected to a nicely earthed Naim system then find all kinds of routes to earth through the Naim kit. This can have a marked impact on performance. Connection of TVs and set top boxes etc… is best made via an optical digital connection to a suitable DAC an then via analogue to the main system. Worth investigating perhaps?

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That’s what I do, in fact I don’t see any need for a conventional TV , the signal comes from either the Sky Box or the Blu Ray. Sound comes from the audio system, when the TV goes I will get a 28 inch 4 k gaming monitor

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I will never pollute my audio system with the tv and box tv. To improve the sound of the tv I would go for a sound bar and an inexpensive amp.
However the sound of the tv alone is enough for us.

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I use a fibre optic cable from the TV to my 272. That works fine and I don’t have to worry about earths…

Best

David

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I have put my tv and sky box on its own little mains distribution block. Has cured the earthing pops and clicks heard throughout which I was plagued with.
Those times of critical listening I just simply unplug the mains cable feeding the AV block.
I don’t have a dedicated mains outlet, so everything helps.

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