I bought mine used and they (Focal-Naim N.A.) fixed it free. Never asked for sales paperwork or anything. That was ca. 2020-21.
They should fix those free. They are too fragile. Telling customers they need to exercise extreme caution is bogus. That’s not always so easy when dealing with a bunch of cables off the back of a system rack.
I never did a comparison between the two, I just ordered the AVO cable and replaced my Hi-Line at the same time as I replaced my 250DR with a 300DR. As the 300 was several years old, it took maybe a few days to settle down. Since then I’ve noticed the sound of my LP12 gradually improving with each passing week, which I attribute to the new cable. I expect further improvements, as I only have about 20 hours on it out of the recommended 150.
The AVO cable costs a bit more than the Hi-Line but even at this early stage I think it’s a worthwhile upgrade, and I’m glad to be done with the breakage issue.
Remember the key bit is not so much the cable, but the connector plug… the least sexy bit in interconnects is the most performance sensitive… this can include microphony decoupling, removal of inductive fields, optimising impact connection, RFI termination and probably many more…
Oddly enough, while I found the Hi-line was really good on the Naim DAC (and other Naim digital sources), on analogue I preferred using the lavender grey interconnect.
I prefer the more muted performance from the lavender interconnect on my NAT03, but I do leave the collars unlocked, and pull the plug out by a fraction… I suspect that provides a degree of decoupling.
Well, damn it to hell. My HiLine DIN5-5 broke again. This time the entire rack of collars came separated from the plug. I just left it with my dealer. It’s for my NDX2 that I don’t even play that much, so the lavender will do for now.
This product is utter garbage. I hope Focal-Naim NA does the right thing and fixes it free again. It’s a badly flawed design. Once I get it back I think I’ll sell it on and get a 3rd party cable. I don’t need this headache with cables. Shame on Naim for unloading this expensive crap on us. I still have a DIN4-5 version for my Superline. Maybe I should sell it on and get something else before it breaks too (and it will, of course).
There are quite a few reports on this site of HiLines falling apart. It seems to be a basic design fault. These things are no good if they simply break in normal usage (and they’re flipping expensive too!).
The HiLine cable is Naim’s version of Apple Magic Mouse 2 in terms of really stupid and user-hostile design decisions. The difference is with a Apple Magic Mouse 2 you just need to spend an extra $79 to have two of them.
Slightly exaggerated due to a frustrated experience which is understandable, however they are an innovative and super effective design for DIN cable decoupling, (the RCA HiLine has no articulation ) that normally last for many many years, unless there is undue strain put on it where the extra pressure will stress and ultimately snap the delicate articulation, or perhaps there is very genuine occasional product wear or failure.
I highly recommend AV Options new line of interconnects. I replaced my SuperLine / Supercap 4-5 Hi-Line with one, and I couldn’t be happier. It costs a bit more and it takes a long time to burn in, but the sound quality is already markedly better with barely 20 hours on it, and it won’t fall apart when I look at it. You will not regret it.
Doesn’t matter since a good design need to have all elements including quality. It’s nice to have a rocket taking me to the moon but it’s great if I also can come back.
I’m sorry, I completely disagree. This is more than just frustration. The sound quality is quite excellent, but the execution and build quality is complete crap. It doesn’t just take “undue” strain to break it. All it takes is a fart in the wrong direction. This is a really bad design. It’s far more fragile than it should be for public consumption. Shame on Naim for this shortcoming. I know you are a fan but this is garbage and to put it on users for it breaking so easily is a really lame cop out.
To add, naim users who buy these expensive cables know how to use and handle as no one with their right minds would abuse with the hard earned money specially who have no dealers in their country and have to import the equipment and accessories.