End of my tether

Ask a friend with car for help…

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Spot on - i doubt Naim wants its customers to need a PhD in Tweakery to play some tunes.

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Out of the box and on the table is just fine. But for some of those that have spent $$$ on higher end separates get a lot of pleasure from “tweaking”. While you really don’t need to, benefits can/will be had tweaking rack,cables, room, house power etc.
Imo If your the type of Rooster that can’t be bothered with it all, naim have a solution for you in the nova, star…etc. But for those that would like and can afford higher end Naim Audio buy the separates. These boxes that have exact specifications seem to be environmentally sensitive almost like a delicate measuring instrument. It’s easily discernible when things click and gives an excellent job well done rush.
Those who find it all to much, best go and find some other brand of audio maker where you can just plug and play like everyone else. I’m sure it won’t be hard to find it on the second hand market needing a service.
So you see no PhD required, just use your ears and enjoy the hobbie.

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What if someone is not the kind of person who enjoys tweaking, but is the kind that likes the best possible music replay, and finds the Naim sound to be the variant that does it? Surely the idea is to buy from a Naim dealer and get him/her to do all the tweakery necessary, leaving it in a perfect state for the person to enjoy thereafter without any tweaking, with no need ever to change anything except if upgrading, or after long enough for a service to be required (in which case same again, though with service it presumably would also to be user unplug and refit without tweaking).

There is of course a difficulty where people live too far from a dealer for that to happen, or where there is not a competent dealer - outside the UK that may be the norm rather than a rarity.

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From my experience, some naim dealers these days are more into selling than setting up with love. I’ve seen 500 systems with hilines touching other cables, birds nest power cables etc after all time is money. If one has the ability to pull down their system once in a while clean then set back up with confidence how hard is that. Even the Fraim rack has its tweak do you think a dealer will spend time doing that? I’ve read back in the day naim would send people to the US to fix an issue, has their ideology changed.

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It is important to remember that being sensitive enough to extract microdetail and be as faithful as possible to a delicate signal is somewhat mutually exclusive with being insensitive to environmental facts.

Tweaking and adjustments on setup and care to avoid issues like mains and RF interference kind of goes with the territory. Anyone who thinks it does not is kind of kidding themselves. Things that are less sensitive to environmental conditions are less sensitive across the board and that also comes through in the quality of the replay.

As for power conditioners, I always feel people have the wrong end of the stick here regarding advice from Naim. Naim advice against them as they are detrimental to sound quality but the context of that recommendation is a mains supply that is functioning within norms without added noise and DC offset. If you actually discovered that the mains was a major problem and do not want to rewire stuff back to the breaker box, then an in-line filter or isolating transformer makes a lot more sense than putting up with the significantly worse degradation caused by the mains supply.

The advice from Naim is correct. But a few people take it to extremes and dogmatically avoid a filter and put up with far worse problems instead. Just be sure that the mains is accurately root caused and whatever device you employ is targeted for the specific mains issue you have. And stop using it when no longer required. Simple.

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I would provide more context, in that Naims advice is somewhat outdated. Most homes now have much more interface from low cost power devices and mobile chargers, and filters/conditioners have advanced with many good ones that will enhance a Naim system.

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I do feel for new home build owners. Regulations these days certainly do not encourage fine audio. Every power point has to be RCD for a start.

Does the CDX2 have switchable outputs. i.e. Is it set to DIN only? Hence the silence on RCA connections.
Just a thought…

Yes, it does. Mine sometimes switched from the usual din to phono all by itself. I was at the hifi shop once when someone phoned to say their CDX2 had gone silent. The dealer was at a loss so I suggested it may have done this and lo and behold, that was the problem.

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Yes if tweaking hifi is your hobby then that’s fine. It is only when posters imply you have to do it or you’re missing out that it can become irritating. To me, if music is your passion and the hifi system merely a tool then most of the tweaking is a waste of effort. Sure you can make a system sound different, but you can achieve outstanding results without. I really like the post about the guy who bought a system, had it professionally installed and enjoyed it for many years. Now that is an achievement worth celebrating.

Of course, getting a reliable home network is well worth the while.

I know folk have fun in different ways; some folk are tweakers. A neighbour is forever playing with his cars. Me, I have my music and my music catalogue. So to reiterate if you are a tweaker that’s great, tweak away. However, you can enjoy superb musical replay without it.

I sympathise with the OP. I really don’t wish to spend hours trying this and that, I like things that work out of the box. I detest self assembly furniture, but some folk enjoy screwing things together … perhaps if I were a carpenter …

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Yes - my dealer will set everything up properly. Professional installation is part of the service. I do not expect discounts, but I do expect customer care. I have not been disappointed.

I don’t think that any of the OP’s problems are down to tweaking nor will they be solved by tweaking.

There is a fault or several faults. This (or these) faults might be intermittent or persistent.

It’s a headache, and a time-consuming one at that, to trace such faults. And a potential cost if professional help is needed.

And possibly even more costly to rectify.

Without the necessary skill, inclination or funds, I think the OP’s decision to give the whole hifi thing a rest for now, and seek enjoyment in other activities is a sesible course to take.

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I think most do it because of the money it saves, rather than because they enjoy it!

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Having assembled several Ikea kitchens, closets, kid’s rooms, etc etc, I can unequivocally say that it’s done for the $ savings, not for the enjoyment. I’d much rather tweak audio cables…

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Regarding myself: both. It is just fun to do, part of the hifi game. Same counts for soldering.

If the OP does want to deal with his issues, I would be looking at the CD player as culprit. Maybe borrow another one (could be anything) and hook up via RCA just to see. Could even use a DVD player. Or trade in the lot and get an all-in-one - a late model Uniti with CD player might do the trick, a UQ with a cd player, or plenty of other brands and options. With such highly efficient speakers you don’t need much.The problem with Naim separates is they demand tweakery and maintenance. Better to go a different path if not up to that.

Also, maybe try and run them off of a different circuit in the house (via extension cord if need be). Possibly something wrong with that outlet/circuit.

At 156 posts… This is a long tether indeed :grinning:

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This is oft repeated but simply isn’t true. Once set up properly it just works.

It’s almost as if some people think that there is fairy dust in Naim kit which makes it behave differently from other makes! Yes Naim is well designed and performs well but it still is subject to the same laws of physics as the kit from other manufacturers.

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Yes I doubt that Naim needs more tender loving care than other brands but I do suspect that the higher up the tree you go with any brand, the more susceptible to changes.
That’s why I am sticking resolutely to integrated (SN3)!

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