It could have to do with the fact that it’s helping with actual mechanical vibrations of the equipment that affect noise in the system versus the actual vibrations of “ones and zeros” which we know is not a thing. Vibration and isolation is not a new thing in audio nor is it generally considered “voodoo” or snake oil. But I find it interesting that putting the Nova ON TOP of glass reduced vibrations for you. My concern when my Nova sat on top of a sheet of tempered glass was that the glass would be prone to vibrations. Either way now it is in my console on a wood shelf.
Thought I’d post an update on the tweaks I have been working out over the past couple of weeks.
I think I may have maximized the sound quality of the Nova at this point… each “tweak” I implemented made marginally incremental improvements in sound (aside from the final one which I will get to in a moment)… So it may be at the point where the next move could pan out to be an NDX 2/SN 3 combo depending on how motivated I am to deal with selling off a few other pieces of unused gear. If that did NOT happen I would be seriously happy with the sound I am getting from the Nova for a LONG time.
Wow Factor rated on scale of 1-10"
EtherRegen: 8.5/10; remarkable improvement right out of the gate. Was like the difference in upgrading DAC really, with an increased soundstage top to bottom and more focused, precise placement in sound field, as well as tightening and focus of bass.
Stillpoint Ultra Mini (3) under Nova: 7/10; noticeable improvement, did not have to convince myself that something had changed - the Ultra Minis under the Nova really did one thing very well and that was to add a more holographic sound to the music. Listening to “Crawling Back to You” off Tom Petty’s Wildflowers, the cymbal taps and brushes all around behind the opening piano intro had greater depth, seeming to have more 3D placement back to front as Steve Ferrone played around the kit - just as one example. The holographic sense was not as pronounced as a great tube amp or preamp would present, but it was a subtle improvement of depth that draws you closer into the mix.
Stillpoint Ultra Mini (3) under Innuos Zen MK III: 0/10: With the Stillpoints under the Nova, I took a second set and put them under the Innuos which is only acting as a Roon Core and server. I honestly noticed no difference from before.
Corner bass traps in front corners: 10/10; This was probably the most significant difference and improvement in sound of all the tweaks, and I did it on a whim. I have decent acoustic treatment around first reflection points in my room, but no corner treatment. So on a whim I grabbed 2 7" GIK Monster Bass Trap panels from the back wall and put them in the front corners behind my speakers. This was a major, I would say stunning improvement in bass, clarity, and evenness of sound across the entire system. I’m still going through and re-listening to all my favorite tracks (especially the bass heavy ones) because of the improvement in sound.
So that is my experimenting with getting just a bit more out of the Nova over the past week, take what you will. I think cumulatively from where I started I squeezed maybe another 15-20% of fidelity out of the unit, which is a pretty big deal.
In fact before I moved the bass traps into the corner, I was happy with where I ended up but pretty sure I’d be moving up the Naim ladder in the next month or so. Now with the bass traps in place I can honestly say although I am still inclined to see what the NDX 2/SN 3 can offer I would be in no hurry to do so at all.
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Great summary there and the Nova is a real sweet spot for its price. Have you improved the power connection (cable, power board etc)? I’ve found this makes quite an improvement as well.
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Yes, I have been using a Transparent High Performance power cord since I first owned the Nova (inherited from my old Luxman separates). In fact, the Nova PC is still bundled in the Naim box. I know the Transparent is a good PC but I’ve never had the chance to experiment with other brands.
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The cost of a Nova plus all those fancy accessories is pretty close to the cost of an NDX2/SN3. I’d have got those key boxes in place first, the rest is just the icing on the cake at best.
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Not really in the US. Nova, $5990, etherRegen, $640, Stillpoints (3) $350 = $6980
US cost for NDX2, $7690; SN3, $4990 = $12680
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Your tweaks could be used on any system, so that’s a bonus.
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I was including the Zen in my calculations. Obviously US pricing won’t be exactly comparable, and there will be stuff that you already own, but at UK prices I reckon you would only be short of the NDX2/SN3 by about £1200.
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Sorry, I still can’t see the equivalence. Your original post seemed to imply that with all the tweaks I had, I’d be really close to paying for the NDX 2/SN 3 combo, correct? However I have only spent $990 on the tweaks, whereas there is a $5,700 difference here in the US. UK prices are meaningless in my situation. I spent $990 USD and got a benefit from that, and came nowhere near being close to bridging the USD $5700 gap between the Nova and the NDX2/SN3 combo. That’s just numbers, there’s no other way to look at it as far as I can see. Bottom line, I could have spent $990 for the 2 tweaks I got, or I could have spent $5700 more and gotten the NDX 2/SN3 combo. That is not close to the cost of the Nova + the fancy accessories. Anyway, for UK consumers it’s a different ballgame. But I would be happy to spend $990 + the $1200 you mentioned to acquire a NDX2/SN3 here in the states - spending only $2190 more than the Nova. But the reality is here, in America, the cost of a NDX2 and SN3 is $12,680. Also, I am not factoring in the Zen at all. I’ve owned the Zen for 2 years, through 3 different systems. I didn’t buy it as part of the Nova system tweaks nor would I sell it if I bought an NDX2, as it is my Roon Core and server.
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In NZ then SN3 and NDX2 is twice the cost of a Nova and you’d use the tweaks in either set up.
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Yeah I would not be selling off the etherRegen nor the Stillpoints if/when I upgrade to the NDX2/SN3, they would benefit the new system as well. The Nova + ~$1K worth of tweaks still doesn’t come close to the cost of the NDX2/SN3, at least in the US or NZ.
And then I added power supplies, Superlumina and Powerline full looms, and double the cost again 
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Try to use ISO-PUCK (set of 2) / ISO-PUCK mini (set of 8). Instead of OREAs they are dedicated for pro audio. They work as good as OREAs and cost 40-50% of them. An official legend says only OREAs are for a true audiophile but it is just a legend 
And PUCKs are black, hence they are almost invisible, especially under naim 
unless you want to have cool jewelry…
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Hi Chris.
Yeah, the costs in the US and Canada are pretty high. Ideally, I’d like to get a 555PS for my NDS, but the list price at my local dealer is $14,000 cad plus another $2,000 in taxes. $16k is alot for a PS.
It kills me …
I think it’s $10k in the US.
Dave
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Don’t forget to enjoy it, its not a race.
If your happy with the tweaks enjoy it for a while.
If you ultimate end goal is the NDX2/SN3, the best to only purchased accessories that can be taken forward to that combo, which I think you can.
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I realise, of course, that you already owned some of these ‘tweaks’ and it doesn’t make sense to just sell everything and start again. I was very much factoring in the Zen, as a £2k server, that’s about 50% of the price of a Nova.
I guess I was really just making a wider point about the way this forum, in recent months, has seen an absolute orgy of tweaking, mostly of network hardware and cabling, isolation devices, etc. Most people, myself included, often don’t have the faintest idea how or why these things work (not that it necessarily matters as long as they actually do work) but if people enjoy this and can afford it, that’s fine.
Still, when people claim that a new switch, server, Ethernet cable or whatever makes a massive improvement to sound quality, sometimes I simply don’t believe them. I’m not saying these tweaks don’t make any difference, but my experience is that those differences are generally very subtle. I look at what some people have spent on networking gear, and think wow, if only you’d put all that cash towards buying a better source, amp or speakers, your system would be on a completely different level of performance.
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I live in Canada too, and the price of a 555DR is why I moved away from Naim. Used ones are impossible to find, and a dealer will not just order one for you to try. I had a 272/XPSDR/250DR with SL full loom, so the next upgrade for me was a 555DR, and 16k was just too much for me.
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Yeah, I hear ya. Many of us are forced to avoid the whole dealer thing and only buy pre-owned Naim gear from each other. I guess we just pass it around. (Lurking in back alleys, keeping to the shadows, while we wait for an unsuspecting Naim owner to lag, or stay from the pack …)
I’ll stick with Naim, though. It does everything audio that I like. There are other PS sources that can fill the gap until a good deal on a used PS presents itself. At least you can listen to it in the meantime then.
But it does suck that the dealers are not as helpful here. Customer service, in Canada is a farce. The businesses here feel that they are doing you a favor by being in business. Very weird.
When i walk into my local Naim dealer on a slow weekday, there are 2 or 3, 50 y.o. guys, sitting there kind of chatting, and none of them even look over to say Hi, or anything. And then if you want to ask a question, you have to go back over to them and maybe, just maybe, one of them will stand up and follow you to the gear you were looking at.
And they get away with it, because Canadians are so used to this treatment from businesses, that they just put up with it, I guess.
Shameful, really …
Dave
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In France you can’t look at the gear without the dealer behind you. Even listening, the dealer stays in the room.
My dealer sometimes lets me alone, but he knows me since 20 years.
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