Interesting that cymbal is a sound you, as well as I, use to determine naturalness. I find it weirdly easy to hear if it’s right or wrong and I don’t have many references to real cymbals or have an understanding of how it would sound when recorded, streamed and played back to sound natural och real. I wonder why that is? I choose Nac 82 over 282 much on the replay of cymbals.
Test songs very welcome!
Test Song for speed:
Charlie Winston - Square 1 - Song 1: spiral … listen to complete song
Got it, what is meant with cymbal reference… with sigma it sounds as it should! As live!
My best guess is cymbals contain lots of energy and might be difficult for digital to replicate. If a sound is making your brain work extra to decode it it will sound worse than if the brain tells you it is correct. Removing noise is one of these things that you don’t think about when it’s there but when gone you can feel your brain can relax bit more. Similar as to when your fridge is on and you don’t think about it but when it goes off you really enjoy it.
I’ll be away for a couple of days treating myself with some relaxing spa and will when back follow your proposal and see where it takes me 
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Fridge off? All food will rot 
You are bringing it up really scientific… thought this was my job 
Giving advice is so much easier as doing it yourself…
With diamond there is jurrasic park…
But with sigma all music is fine on its own … now stress albums to put away.
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The compressor
I know with the fridge
With scientific I meant the brain stuff - brain doing decoding for indentification of tunes
In my experience, but it’s personal, I stood with all Naim components for some years. I liked a lot that urgency, organic sound, very dynamic and full of prat.
However, the day I could listen to good tubes, I realised that something is missing with Naim: the diversity of tones, the true natural timbers. I found that all Naim, despite of all its qualities, tend to sound also a bit aggressive sometimes, bright, and lacking colours.
However, until I discovered Ear Yoshino, I couldn’t find tubes gear that give me the same involvement and sense of urgency in the music. Most tubes gave wonderful midrange but were slowing the music.
My first step was to find a pre that can compensate what was missing, for me, with an all Naim sound. After 2 years of research, I finally found the best match with the Esr 912.
I kept that combo for around 14 years, just changing from 250.2 to 300 dr, to 250 dr and finally NC 250.
I wrote that because the discussion above made me think that the compensation can be partially found with cables. Diamond with Ear Yoshino is a good match. With Naim, Sigma or Entreq may be better and give some delicacy, nicer tones.
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@frenchrooster
Very nicely written…
The naim sound has its limitations - all is with compromises.
With all the speed comes some dryness.
Tubes… interesting… but … no… no temptation again.
I think the fine midrange detail of 500 is hard to beat! 
I really think that diamond will do wonderful in your system. The attack will never be too much.
Now I understand better what I liked with PN - the colour it brought as it has a tendency to play darker.
Have googled ear amps - will not hear them … no no no
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I agree that a full 500 series, I heard 3 or 4 times, is less lacking in midrange richness vs the below range. But at a price I can’t reach unfortunately.
For 18k, 2 boxes, included phono, my combo can’t be beaten by Naim, imo.
Enjoy your big Naim system, lucky guy.
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There are a few sounds that I think are very hard to replicate well on a hifi system. The dynamics of applause is particularly difficult to achieve but if the system produces it well then usually everything else will sound good. Piano is a good test for pitch and tone and yes, cymbals can be very revealing. Get them all to sound real and you know you are going in the right direction.
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I can tell that cymbals are tough on ears even when you are standing 2m from them in real 
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I have found over the years you change.
What you first thought couldn’t be beaten somehow now just doesn’t do it anymore.
Also, as you get more time and maybe more money to play with, this also changes the mindset, as you start looking and hearing different kit.
But what i have found is that, i like to mix things up, and all the best sounding gear i have ever heard, have never been from just one manufacturer, trying to do it all.
Getting that balance that just works for you is key, and that does take time and effort.
You also need to know what you are looking for, and be open to try stuff that you probably wouldn’t do.
As i own 2 different manufacturers kit, that i had never even heard off, till the day i saw them, and got to listen too them. Both showed me a completely different way to do things.
You can only try for yourself, and most systems will react differently to what changes you make especially when you have completely different kit.
But what i do know is that my dac set up sounds absolutely fantastic with just a £3 ethernet cable that comes in the box. Yes i know i can get better, but i wouldn’t say any have changed how an instrument has sounded at all, and i don’t believe a cable can.
I do believe that a cable can give you a better noise floor, and help with spacing, etc.
Also some cables are darker sounding, and some brighter.
It could be that with a brighter cable it is highlight the problem more in a system with how a certain bit off kit sounds?
But i don’t think for a second a cable can make a piano sound more like a piano, or a cymbal more like a cymbal.
That’s my take on it all
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Yes - but my system should not be so tough and brutal to me.
I am a coward wearing ear wax in live concerts - ruined my left ear in an Depeche Mode concert some years ago
Totally fine with it.
But with bright and dark as well with noise in and out the tones sound so much different that a piano will sound more like piano. Sigma has done this!
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When I had the Etheregen switch, I tried during 14 days the Farad lps with it. Even after 24/24 burn in during 2 weeks, it made my system sound a bit bright. Especially with cymbals which sounded metallic and a bit aggressive for my ears.
So I believe that a cable can restore a certain balance or make the overall sound a bit dull, or too forward, or a bit aggressive. It was the case with the Audioquest vodka for me.
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It’s funny, while reading the differences between the two cables it also reminded me of tubes.
For me, to find that right balance of pace, midrange and realism etc it required a custom built amp that takes many different tubes and the best transformers I could get a hold of. The changing of the cables with subtle differences in sound reminds me of my fine tuning that I do with tubes to change the emphasis depending on genre and mood etc.
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Vodka is more on the dark side but with a lot edgy prat - love it
Was my first costly cable - will never forget. And it is so good looking
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There is I thread in the „what’s best forum“ called „ Sigma and Sotm dCBL-CAT7 Ethernet cables“
Same description on sigma as we found out here.
Think it is validated now.
@Geko
We both (but especially I) should not read the last post … Omega…