Lack of bass with 333. Ground switch on in non Naim system?

Hi-Fi Corner
1

A friend of mine has a NSS 333 connected to a Michi P5 pre / S5 amp combination but there is a lot less bass than with his previously connected Bluesound Node. It sounds lean and not very pleasant. He uses Audioquest Mackenzie XLR connection to the Michi and also already tried another XLR cable which doesn’t solve the issue. Speakers are B&W 803 D3. The 333 has been playing for 3 months 24/7.

3 questions:

  1. Could it be that he needs to change the setting of ground switch to solve this?
  2. Has anyone experienced downsides of using XLR connection to a non Naim pre?
  3. Any other suggestions?
2

Could it be that his previous streamer overemphasised the bass register and he had got used to that, whereas the NS333 is telling it like it is and only giving heavy bass when it’s there on the album? I’d expect the Naim to be a lot tighter in the bass and some hear that as leanness.

I’d suggest trying some albums with some really deep bass — Anna Lapwood’s Luna album of organ music might be worth a go. I don’t know the Michi gear and wonder if he could ask his dealer to listen to a 333 in a full Naim setup at his dealer’s just to see if the problem persists. And I guess he could try a power supply on the 333.

Roger

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3

Thanks for the info but a NPX 300 is NOT an option.

I also wondered whether it is a case of sloppy vs tight bass but haven’t been able to confirm this by myself. For now I have to take his and his hifi buddy’s word for it.

4

Probably worth checking the XLR cables and the two link plugs are fully seated

Also any unused audio connections (RCA, DIN) should be disabled in the Naim App, as per guidance in the user manual.

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5

Use RCA’s !! it might be that that the pin outs are NOT the same and you are experiencing an out of phase situation.

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6

Thanks a lot. I’ll tell him to try this asap!

7

If at any point he disconnected the speakers, get him to check they’ve been connected in-phase - if incorrect that would cause negative effect similar to your description.

8

This part was untouched.

9

I suspect that’s more likely the issue.

@Hifi_Naim_CNNL, has your friend experimented with moving the speakers ? These might now need a touch more boundary reinforcement to reflect the change in source. Certainly worth experimenting here.

10

I told him that also but that didn’t show improvement.

11

I see. Did he listen to the 333 before buying ?

As suggested above, it’s worth trying the RCA out into the P5 as RCA vs Balanced connections can sound different.

12

Yes, true. Just because a component has XLR’s does not mean it’s actually Balanced. As an example my Mark Levinson amp has a true balanced preamp stage. My Chord Dave has XLR outputs but it’s not actually balanced. So I use RCA interconnects

13

The 333 and Michi might simply not work well together.

G

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14

Correction: For what it’s worth, speakers are B&W 802 D4

I gave him some "homework so will report back if we can solve the issue.

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