How do you burn in your new Naim?

I am anxiously awaiting a Supernait 3 and NDX 2 here in the US… the NDX 2 is currently out of stock but should be in inventory by next week, so my step up from the Nova is likely only a couple of weeks away.

I seem to hear more about burn in with Naim than I have with most other audio brands. My Novas both sounded great right out of the box and I don’t really know if they changed over time or if my appreciation of the sound grew over time…

Regardless I’d like to get off on the right foot with the new gear and I’m wondering how the Naim community goes about burning in their new components for days and weeks at a time. Is it low level music constantly playing? Just leaving the units powered on is enough? Do you have to have the volume wide open all the time?

Interested in hearing what (if any) consensus there is.

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Plug them in, turn them on and wait. The sound will go through phases: good, bad, boring, terrible, better, wow. You’ll know when its good.

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So turn them on and play music 24/7 or just leave them on 24/7?

Leave on 24/7 always. Play music as desired. Enjoy.

Let us know how those Volti’s sound with you new Naim electronics.

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Play music through them. Just turning them on doesn’t really get it done. I use internet radio at different volumes.

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My 500 has not been powered down since DR about 4 years ago.

Yes, play music through them at normal listening levels, when not listening put internet radio on at a level that does not bother you when sleeping.

NDX and variations don’t need to be playing at listenable volumes as they have no awareness or interaction of the amp’s volume, so playing any music through it will move burn-in along. In that case you can leave it playing internet radio 24/7 if you wish with the amp down to zero or switched to another source.

The amp will benefit from listenable levels, so you might want to push it when you can and leave it on low when not practical e.g. overnight.

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Thanks for all the replies… they actually lead to an additional question about the NDX 2.

I understand the NDX 2 remote is similar to the Uniti (Atom/Nova) remotes. So it is possible to control volume digitally from the NDX 2 going into the Supernait 3 I assume.

Is it advisable then to set the NDX 2 input on the SN3 as an AV Bypass input so the volume can be controlled through the NDX 2? Or just maximize the SN3 volume and then control from the NDX 2? I will have no other components going into the SN3.

You just connect the NDX2 to the Stream input of SN3 and you’ll need a mini jack cable to connect up the remote sockets on both, switch on system automation via the app and away you go

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You’ll probably find that turning it off and on again every few months improves things. And don’t forget the annual plug and unplug of all connections, Fraim tightening etc.

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The NDX2 gives you the choice of using its own digital volume control, so you could do this, but it’s disabled by default, as it’s likely to degrade sound quality. Nothing to lose by trying it, though.
If you use System Automation volume control as Hollow suggests, you can still use the streamer remote or app to control the preamp volume pot.

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Great, so a standard mini-jack/trigger cable etc can connect the 2 for remote control? I use Roon exclusively rather than the Naim app, and with my Nova I usually will use Roon to control the volume. Sounds like it will be a better idea to connect the 2 units and link them via the app, then use the NDX2 remote to control the volume.

You’ll enjoy the NDX2/SN3 over the Nova, I took the same route and despite others findings I found it a big step up, a lot I think is to do with speaker synergy and I never really got on with my Nova with the Spendors, they’re a fairly revealing speaker and I think they showed up the Nova, good as it is.

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Unlike the Nova, Roon does not have access to the System Automation volume control that you would use with your Supernait. You would need to flip from the Roon app to the Naim app or remote to change volume.

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Don’t buy a cheap cable. This cable is properly shielded… perfect to control the Supernait volume via the NDX2:

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In my more youthful days I used to spend a morning on hi-fi maintenance. Even down to removing the cover to the wall sockets and retightening the screws. Used to go through a pile of dusters and Duraglit. At my age its now not on. I have asked my dealer if he would like to do the job and I would be prerpared to pay the going rate. No rush to book a date from them.

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My Novas both sounded great right out of the box

(bit jealous about the use of plural here :slight_smile: )

My Star as well. I had the impression my speakers had to get used to the new amplification though coming from a very modest TEAC predecessor. I wonder if someone could provide a scientific argument why an amplifier would need a burn in - and specifically how the limited human ear would be able to notice…

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Had to get a Nova in my office once I put one in my main system. It really was overkill though. To fund the NDX2/SN3 upgrade I’ve sold off both (among other items) and now have a Muso 2 in the office, which does the job (background music while working) just as well!

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So the proper cable is RCA on one end and 3.5mm on the other? Good to know, I was thinking it was 3.5 on both ends by the description.