Greetings from Australia! I just bought my first Hi-Line cable for my new NDX2. The source end fell apart when I was plugging it in so I designed a couple of fixes that I hope will retain the decoupling benefits of the delicate connectors.
First I printed a ring that fits VERY snuggly over the broken ring. I thought that was the fix but the weight of the cable broke it again. I designed this support frame that holds the cable with rubber bands in an effort to retain the decoupling.
Any constructive criticism is welcomed and I’m happy to share the STL files.
Ingenious, but heterodox. I use a piece of string to keep a signal cable away from a power cable. In case you didn’t know, Heath Robinson was a Norse god.
I think part of the intended design of the Hiline is to let it hang freely without any contact. I’d send it in for repair and call it a day. Nice effort btw!
The two things you have done will negate the whole point of the Hiline design. Send it back for a repair and then use as intended, ie hanging freely, not touching the wall, rack or other cables.
Even though most didn’t like my “fix”, I thought I would post the improved version. This one holds the broken ring well enough that the support is no longer needed. I know two of the joints are bridged which will reduce the decoupling effect a little. When I compare the fixed one to one that hasn’t been broken, there barely a difference in how they feel.
Of course, sending it in for a proper fix would be the ideal solution. However, this seems like a better work-around than the suspension rig to me. At least several of the microphonic absorbing rings can function as designed.
I went through three and had two repairs before it being a contributory factor to leaving Naim. I will say that, regardless of how it was intended to be used, I never had any change in sound quality when it was in contact with anything whether other cable, wall or skirting board. The only time there was a noticeable, describable change was when it broke.
Semi off topic but I have long wondered why certain DIY topics are banned but DIY ND? screen replacement discussions and even screenshots and how tos are permitted.
I thought maybe it was because it was an out of warranty unserviceable part but other similar problems in other products are still under a DIY discussion embargo.
Do you know why Naim permit free discussion of aftermarket screens where everything else is verboten?
I understand it is an exception, I’m just wondering why it’s an exception. The old streamers can to some extent still be serviced and repaired, but things like DIY repairs for components that Naim cannot work on any more like CD mechs, or Uniti Serve etc. don’t have such an exception. It would be nice to have a clearly understood line like (for example) once something reaches EOS (Naim can no longer repair it), then DIY repair discussions for extending the product life become open.
The current application of the rule feels a bit “fuzzy”.
[addendum] some brands even have a policy where when something hits EOS, they publish the service manuals.
Re. the screens I have allowed some very limited discussion - giving some clue as to where to source (but no specifics), but that’s all. If there’s anything beyond that then I must have missed it, but I’m surprised if it hasn’t been flagged.
The bottom line is that Naim discourage end users from opening up the equipment to “have a go” themselves - such an act would likely invalidate any existing Naim warranty. They would encourage going to an authorised Naim service tech. Obviously with much older kit where Naim can no longer supply certain parts then that’s a problem, so I guess, yes, you could say any attempt to assist would be somewhat “fuzzy”…
If I recall correctly, a reply from Naim help desk was something along the lines of “you can buy them from eBay” so that kind of opened up the discussion.
I just found that 2 out of 3 Hi-lines with plastic rings broken at both ends, and 1 out of 3 with a broken ring at one end, last week when I pulled out the SN2 for fuse replacement. So sad…
I contacted the authorised dealer in Hong Kong, but they replied that the price of the spare part is approximately GBP142 for each pair (both ends) for self-repair.
Any chances that I can send them back to Naim UK to fix them for free? Of course I will pay the cost of delivery in two ways.
