Help me find those micro-details

I know! Shoot me with a feather. It’s probably a conditioner :shushing_face: And you know what, it sharpened the edges around every sound and brought everything into focus.

Don’t tell Mr Murphy🙃

Mr Murphy has done fine with my power supplies, but they need Mr iso-tek to bring out their best and everyone is happy.

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I ran a SN2 for 3 years fronted by a CDS3, all sat on Fraim. I swapped it out for an early unserviced 82 with two hicaps, and a serviced 250. The pre/power whooped the SN2s arse!
Now unless the SN3 is leagues ahead of a SN2, and i doubt that given the feedback so far, i would put my money firmly on the pre power.

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I think the word “Fraim “ is the key word

You’re quite right, about 50 seconds in. I clearly hear the lips through my CD5Si, NAC92, NAP140, NACA5 and Piega TS5s with an inexpensive SoundOrganisation steel and MDF rack. Source, pre, power, cables, rack, speakers, what makes the difference? Apart from the CD player it’s a 20 year old system and I love it. Is the sum greater than the parts…

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Hello, Your mail has alarmed me a bit and I’ve listened to the song on my own system, and I can hear just the lip sounds you’ve described. And that at normal listening volume so by 60 db.

My Naim system is not as elaborate as many others presented here and so I briefly describe my setup - maybe this will help you:

Melco N1> ND5 XS> nDAC -> SN2 -> S400

Rack is made by Hutter, for the power supply I have an Isotek Aquarius, power cables are Isotek Optimum, and the DAC is coupled to the SN2 with a Cord Signature. Speaker cables are NACA5.

I have heard a 16/44 FLAC Rip the CD (not Tidal). Produced with dBpoweramp.

I may add that I can convert some of my rips to 24-bit / 44 kHz later with Xivero Xisrc. In my opinion, this brings a little more transparency to the playback of both FLAC and WAV Rips.

I hope the information will help you a bit.

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:+1:

I love the sound of breaking glass!
https://youtu.be/BDbUEydkuR8

I first heard the sounds when auditioning PMC twenty5’s on the end of many £k’s worth of Chord gear. Its also clearly audible on my ipad with headphones. Utterly irrelevant to my enjoyment levels but a seed has been sown…

I too have just wasted a couple of minutes of my life and listened to this track on my iPad Mini 4 and Shure earphones via Spotify. The smacking lips are definitely there. If the OP can’t hear them on his system it’s either faulty lugs or there’s a quite significant problem with his system.

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Goodness me, speakers not doing a very good job? You haven’t cooked the top end by any chance?
Mate I can hear it on my iPad mini 2 without head phones🥴

I should know better Frenchrooster. I was hoping for ‘I had the exact same problem - you need an X’. But some nuggets in there. I think Support & Power will be my starting point

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so what you choose finally among all these advices ? what do you mean by power ? a better power amp ?

I did and experiment last night moving the power amp from the end of my home made power block to the second wall socket of my dedicated supply. I’d been meaning to try this after reading some of Darkebear’s postings but one of the tracks I played was Peter Hammill’s Gift of Fire, which I’d also used years ago when I demoed the Sugden A25, at the end of the track there is a laugh and the comment “it’s only a practice anyway” on my system the comment is bearly audible but I remember the Sugden made it very clear, far more so than the Rega amps I also tried in that demo and eventually bought. Moving the power amp to the wall socket made for sharper contrasts, a bit too sharp on the electric piano but it increased sibilance and it also spoilt the music’s flow to some extent losing some of the interplay between musicians, something I’d rather not trade. The low level comment was possibly a little clearer but still not even as clear as on a Rega Cursa Maia combo, let alone the Sugden.
On Mojo Pin the indrawn breaths between the oooos in the intro was obvious, I’d not noticed them before and the clicks and pops of close miked consonants, which is what I hear where you say there is lip smacking, were more promenant but were also rather distracting.
My linear wired power block has, from the power input, ND555ps,TTps,SC,552ps,DVD5 and 500ps. An order I’ve arrived at after considerable experimentation, which maximises musical flow and gives me an impression of a wide sound stage with reasonable depth from my passive NBLs, I won’t be changing it. When I has 282/250 etc the differences from changing the order were there but not nearly so obvious.

The NAP180 provides plenty of power (you don’t need any more power unless you want to play music louder than the 180 can manage), but in combination with the KEF500s there will be a lack of fine detail.

The KEFs are probably more of a factor here than the NAP180, but together they’re not a particularly revealing setup.

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Reminds me of a conversation I had when I bumped into the Dalai Lama in Tescos the other day.
He was saying that the good Buddha himself was at the top of the mountain and calling out for believers. Those that listened were greatly rewarded.
Proof that great listening brings great rewards.

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what means : you bumped into the Dalaï Lama , ? you were listening to one of his teachings or speaks?

Were you buying munchies?

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Yeti, did you eat Buddha on top of that mountain?

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