I hear you but with enough dedication and patience you can make very affordable tweaks. I’m very much of the same opinion as you. Some members on this forum have a lot deeper pockets than me but their feedback is always helpful in understanding what works and what doesn’t.
For example my most expensive cables to date are the custom built Furutech DPS4.1 limited edition cables that I’m currently using on the 500 series. Believe me when I say I paid a fraction of what some members are able to spend on cables.
mate for sure, like power cables I have power line on everything, I trusted the system on that. its all the network stuff that I dont get. are routers etc that unstable these days? I just use chord c stream (I think thats the one)
From my experience the closer you get to the source, the more cohesive and enjoyable the system will become. So I can completely understand why changing an Ethernet cable can make a significant difference to the overall sound. Believe me I used to question every one of these claims but it was only after exhaustive testing that one realises these guys are spot on.
I’ve recently posted on one of the other threads about my very affordable upgrade. Solid ebony wood feet under my components. They have brought about such an improvement that I’ve now doubled up on them. See upgrades can be cheap and very cheerful.
I shall continue to follow all this, not something I have really played with. things like interconnects and speaker cables I have, I have two stacks of fraim etc
@Geko
Who is the fasted one …
Searched for a dealer and found out that the distributor was 10 min away and know a guy who worked there (former naim guy ).
Cable on demo!
It’s new - needs some burn in I think,
First impression… dressing is HELL - soooo stiff…
- in between diamond and vodka. More together than vodka. Less colour than vodka - but more than diamond. Very Musical - less sibilant- good!
Thanks - Sarum is 1m in usual length?
Need 1,5 m
It’s in any length. I use a 1m length from Zenith to PhoenixNet and then 2m Music to streamer (which replaced Sarum T)
Wow, that is fast. The one I’ve borrowed has been well burnt in but still took a couple of days to come on song. If it’s new it may take even longer. Initially I thought it was only slightly better than Catsnake then it just continued to open up. I’ll be really interested to follow how you get on with it.
Oh, I take it you’ve seen the directional arrows?
Yeah - seen it!
But it is sooo stiff. Trying to dress - always a bit worried it will destroy my Ethernet socket on nd555.
Cable is really good. It is so easy playing along. As you have mentioned- telling you all the small things… perfect for Lambchop
Sigma is tremendous !
Thank you so much @Geko
There is an ease in an almost anologue way. Nevertheless- stiffness is pita.
Bass is so good - nothing shouty - rough and smooth in same way.
A bit harsh - but think this will pass with burn in
Give it two or three days and I’m sure it will be glorious. I agree it has a very analogue sound. It mentions in the blurb that it has some special hi-tech insulation from NASA. I’m wondering if this is similar material to what’s used in Chord Music?
Funny, I’ve just draped mine without much care from the EE8 switch under the Fraim and back up into the ND. Took about 2 minutes to put in and I’ve not touched it since.
It was sounding blooming awesome earlier this evening.
@Geko Do you have v2 or v1?
Mine is the newest version = v2!
Maybe v1 is less stiff. EE8 must flip over with this 2 balls being quite heavy.
You know … now that you are in the LPS half of the game, you need to test PN again
Really like it playing without anything over emphasizing… your description earlier this day is totally spot on!
I am really interested what the omega cable could do - only 1k more
I know where my“colour-gate“ came from. With brightness from (silver) diamond came maximum grip and punch - but in my system it dried out and lost colour and deep soundstage. Vodka was way better in colour and very deep soundstage, but lost details in the mids and felt a little torn apart.
Shunyata is best of both worlds. It is slightly less forward sounding than both AQ cables - but it is also less sibilant
I’m not sure actually. I think it’s the v2 but I could be wrong. It is bloody stiff but mine’s in a sort of half-loop resting on the floor pushing the EE8 up rather than pulling it down, so it’s holding in place.
I have wondered what the Omega might sound like but at the moment it’s sounding so good I don’t want to mess with anything that might upset it!
Will you keep it - thought it is only on loan by a friend
It is but my friend is using something even more expensive and exotic. Most of his kit isn’t Naim and looks more like the kit Bert has been reviewing in his Munich report! I’m going to make him an offer and see what he says?
@Geko Looking for your posts right now. Could not find it
You initially tested it with ee8 and smps and it made no difference to catsnake (or what you have been using before) and afterwards you plugged the LPS in and … hurray! Correct ?
Found your post - yess. Shunyata sigma v2 works well with switch on LPS
The „liquid“ sound returned which I liked so much.
Sigma is less expensive than diamond and it really is worth a look. And a listen
Yes, that’s right. I didn’t like the Shunyata on the SMPS but on the LPS it is wonderful. If I put the Catsnake on the LPS it sounds a lot worse than the SMPS. Very strange. It’s almost like a perfect synergy with the Shunyata and LPS that the Catsnake seems to lack.
Are you sure the Sigma is cheaper than Diamond? Over here Diamond is about £1200 and the Sigma about £2k.