Hi all guys, I’m Antonio from Italy. It has been a long time since I listened to my Naim hifi system and now I am so happy to have it playing again! My Naim hifi is composed as follows: Supernait (year 2012, I think it’s 1, right?) - Naim CD5 XS - HI-CAP - PROAC STUDIO 140 MK2 loudspeakers. I’d love to know what you think of it. Thanks to whoever will answer me
Welcome Antonio, well looks like you’ve got a really nicely balanced system.
I owned ProAcs once, in the form of Studio 100’s but that was before my Naim days but plenty of happy ProAc owners on here with Naim.
Enjoy the forum, it’s a great source of finding new music to listen to.
Thanks a lot Adam1.
I am proud of my implant because I bought it after a very delicate surgery. For a while I put it aside but now I want to awaken it. I’d also like some advice from you experts about speaker cables; I now have the 3m Naim NAC A5s. I am aware that Naim have designed these cables to a minimum length of 3.5 metres. Do you think it is appropriate to change them or are they good for this stereo system?
You are correct, in 2012 the Supernait 1 was still in production. Still a very nice system.
As your amp and Hicap age it may become necessary to have them serviced to keep them sounding at their best. Nothing to worry about, but if the sound starts to sound a little dull you will know that it’s time.
I didn’t know that the amplifier needs to be overhauled. What does it consist of? However, since 2012 I have used it very little
The main need for service is the replacement of capacitors which deteriorate as they age. Naim suggest that after 10 to 15 years this can be required to keep an amp in top condition.
If you are in Italy, consider LASA in Piacenza. They are an Authorised service centre. They can give you advice what’s best to do. They have recently serviced my SuperNait 1 too
My Nait was from 2007 though, quite a bit older. It’s also worth asking if they still do the DR upgrade to your Hicap - that’s a massive improvement.
What is the DR update for HICAP? Is it very expensive?
Get a quote from your dealer. Overseas service depts may be doing upgrades but I understand Naim UK are not doing DR work at the moment.
In the UK it was very expensive to have a Hicap upgraded to DR, and it was generally cheaper to sell the non-DR Hicap and buy a new one with full warranty.
It may have been different in other countries, but Naim officially discontinued DR upgrades last year so the idea is probably moot.
I doubt any Naim distributor outside the UK will do this. This was what musicline in Germany told me that it was recently discontinued. I am not even sure the complete status of the distributor in Germany Hamburg. I think they were all let go
Hello Antonio and welcome!
You have a similar system to myself (SuperNait 1 with HiCap DR, CD3.5 with non-Naim ‘HiCap’ and Dynaudio Audience 52’s). I love the sound of mine but have never had the chance to own some ProAc’s - I’m sure yours must sound fantastic!
From what I understand, 3.5 meters is the minimum recommended for NACA5 but best sound starts at around 5 meters length with a ‘sweet spot’ between 8-10m. It’s probably not worth you going from 3m to 3.5m, but upgrading to 5 meters or more could be worth considering. But if you’re happy with the sound as it is now, then stay with it.
Hope you enjoy the forum, there’s a lot of great non-hifi threads as well.
They simply remove the old regulators and install the new discrete regulator (DR) board.
This forum is fantastic, I’m finding a lot of news that I didn’t know. Of course the DR update of the Hicap is expensive in Italy too and if it’s worth it I’d like to do it, but only if it’s really worth it! In the meantime I will be doing maintenance on the Supernait 1 by changing the capacitors as it has been standing still for a few years
The DR update also involved replacement of the capacitors and anything else involved during a service such as any worn socketry. Essentially all would be changed inside during a DR update bar the transformer and some of the wiring.
Antony, DR updates were suspended a while back due to component supply shortages. I’m not aware that they have been resumed and it may be that they have been suspended indefinitely. It was a costly update too, so if a DR Hicap is what you want it probably makes a lot more sense to trade your old Hicap against a secondhand or ex demo Hicap DR. However, don’t think that the regular (non-DR) Hicap is chopped liver by comparison. It isn’t, and a freshly serviced one is mighty fine.
“Chopped liver” might be a struggle for those for whom English isn’t their first language!
In essence, the non-DR hi-cap is still a very good power supply.
Just because it doesn’t have later DR technology doesn’t mean it suddenly sounds bad.
Oh and a friend of mine has the Proac 140’s too. Great loudspeakers. Make sure they have room too breath.
If this is on the Pets and system pics thread, there would be some already licking their chops