I purchased a HiCap DR upgrade used to upgrade my SN3. It came with the Snaic 5 Pin, and I then bought a Snaic 4 Pin used.
I plugged the upgrade in according to this chart:
I powered the Hicap DR, NDX2, then the SN3 on, and there’s a fairly loud buzzing noise coming out of the speakers. I turned off the HiCap DR, and the noise stopped.
Am I doing something wrong, or do you think the unit is malfunctioning?
If the HCDR was purchased used, how old is the unit?
Have you double checked that all of your DIN cables connecting to the HCDR are fully inserted, seated properly and tight at both the HCDR and SN3 ends? Possibility that the DIN sockets may be worn and require replacement or that there is an issue with the DIN cables.
Can’t tell from the manual, but does the SN3 have a ground selector switch on the back panel? If so, what is it set to (Float or?) . You can try changing the switch setting and see if the buzz disappears.
Worst case scenario if the HCDR was purchased used is that it requires a recap. If new then possible issue if not solved by the swapping/reseating the interconnects.
If we take as read that you have connected it correctly as per the diagram, and that the locking collars on the two Snaics are tight, I suspect there is a fault in one of the Snaics, possibly with the earth. For now, use the system without the Hicap and it should be fine again.
Undo to Din plugs on the Snaics and check that the connections are ok and fix if necessary. If they look ok try borrowing some different Snaics from your dealer so that you can work out whether one is faulty, or take the Snaics and Hicap to the dealer and ask them to help you.
I figured it out. The culprit was my recessed lights that are on the same circuit. Yes, I know I need a dedicated main, it’s actually in the works to happen soon.
So it wasn’t the HiCap DR or the Snaic cables, after all.
Couple things I noticed: It buzzes loudly when I first turn on the HCDR and then the SN3, if the lights are on.
However, it ONLY buzzes during the muted phase when you first turn on the SN3, and then goes away. There is no buzzing at all if the lights are off.
The speakers buzzed before the HCDR, but barely audibly, and only in the right channel.
So, the buzz is nothing new, but is a lot louder in that muted phase of the power on then before. It appears the HiCap DR makes the buzzing more prounounced.
Either way, seems to be perfect with the lights off. I’m stunned by how much better the SN3 sounds with the Hicap DR. It’s an awesome upgrade!
Good to see the buzz has gone - a good bit of detective work there.
Just one other thing to note is that as you have two Naim sources (CD5si and NDX2), it’s worth checking what position the ground switch is set to on the NDX2. It should be set to floating as the CD5si is also providing a signal ground to mains earth connection.
One thing I noticed is that the Hicap DR still has a low hum when you get up close to it still. I don’t quite hear it when I’m sitting on my couch, but it’s there.
Is the HiCap DR supposed to run completely silent?