not sure why the insensitive comments, but focusing on the question, in my view the TQ (apart from their very high end range) is unlikely to be the best match for the Nova in my experience as these cables are darker (smooth yes) and while this might suit another brighter setup or may be ok with SN3 (not too sure tbh), I would personally recommend an audition with Chord (or similar) sounding brand before final commitment
… it’s easy to kill a Nova with unsuitable partnering, it’s a bit of a delicate flower but can be a great sounding one
The alternative is Chord Epic X and that is too stiff , I switched to Chord Shawline from the original Chord Epic when I went to the Nova, also part of the fall off in performance
Re-reading my post i can see how you thought a pic was included Ian. I shouldn’t of put this is my humble system haha.
But i was just replying to Antz after he had heard the 501’s and Nova together and my system is similar.
Will be keen to hear what you think between the tellurium q black 2 vs the phantoms. I recently got the Phantoms and despite some running in, I felt that my sound quality went down instead. I think may be a bad batch as I’ve only read good things about them.
Sorry to hear that, I’ve had the Phantom on the Nova for over a year and like the results, replaced Witchhat N2. The Tellurium Black II, which I’m also happy with, are on my main system and, being lazy and second guessing the results, I have never swapped them over.
The guys from Witchhat are good to deal with, as you are probably aware they do the 30 day no quibble return, even if you are outwith this period it may be worth a discussion with them.
I had one of the early Atoms and was pretty happy until the screen failed within a few weeks . It got RMAd and my dealer was happy to demo the newly arrived Nova vs their Atom. Twice the price but it was I’m afraid night and day on complex music. Took a Nova home.
Interestingly I’ve been invovled in many older firmware discussions when many of us were convinced of significant sonic differences.
I believe the actual streaming circuitry for the Uniti range has commonality with the new ‘source only’ streamers, but after that there are naturally major differences in supporting circuitry and enclosures.
I tried an early NDX 2 against the Nova and the NDX 2 was streets ahead - this was with old firmware.
I later re-tested NDX 2 vs Nova both with newer firmware and the difference was marginal to say the best.
To clarify this was using Nova and NDX 2 as sources via analogue out to a NAC 282 and active SBL setup.
If the Nova has ‘caught up’ to some extent with the NDX 2, I guess the Atom might sound closer to the Nova now as well.
Were I starting afresh I’d get the NDX 2 or better (bear in mind Atom/Nova purchased when main system in storage) but I consider it a very fine device.
That doesn’t seem like an ideal comparison. The NDX2 is built around the analog out, it has a large analog output section dedicated to this task. The Nova is designed as an all-in-one device, it’s not really intended to be used as a standalone DAC or streamer.
If you compare the board layouts of both devices you can see that a lot of the attention in the NDX2 went to the analog stage, the digital stage in the NDX2 is roughly identical to the one in the ND5 XS2.
No, I agree BUT when the margins have narrowed via anlogue out between the two in my personal experience I’m happy using the Nova in that manner. It was originally purchased as I explained as a temporary all in one but has stayed once my main system came out of storage.
I really think the NDX2 would need a PSU to take it well ahead of what I get from the Nova used in a manner it was not really designed for, perhaps an uncomfortable truth but I’ve demoed both side by side at home.
When I tested the nova against my Atom I definitely enjoyed the sound quality and could certainly live with it. I could hear that there were benefits in not only the power delivery but there were small improvements in the source also. I do think that the advantages of the Nova would be more pronounced with less sensitive speakers when compared to the Atom. For example my little bookshelf speakers require double the volume number, on my atom, for a similar sound output when compared to my big speakers. I didn’t test them with the nova but I have no doubt that the Novas extra power would have been hugely beneficial here. The jump in quality was just not what I had expected with my big speakers, maybe I expected too much. I feel my big speakers need the investment in the source upgrade rather than power. It has also highlighted to me, how much we have to pay for these small increases in audio quality.
It’s not necessary to leave on 24x7 because it’s not designed for audiophiles with OCD. The Nova is for well adjusted folks who enjoy listening to music reproduced through a high fidelity system.
Apologies for this question and I am not trying to derail the thread, but as there are a number of Nova users here, I just wanted to take the opportunity to pose a quick question, which I have put to Naim Support, but that was nearly 4 weeks ago.
Anyway, the question is that I have 3 inputs, Nas, Turntable and Radio, but when I look at the Nova screen for available inputs and toggle through, only the Turntable and Radio come up as options.
I can access the Nas from an iPad, but should I be able to access and control it from the remote as well?
Hi Maxwell, I have four analogue inputs on my Nova plus a plethora of digital inputs
analogue being listed as 1, 2, 3, 4 on the screen
Two of these being RCA and two din . I feed a turntable, CD , a Naim NAT 03 radio and DAC into it .
Not sure what you mean by radio , is that internet radio or a tuner ?
When I bought my Nova I listened to a 250DR/272 combination as a comparison and although it was “better” I didn’t think there was much in it, certainly not worth the price difference.
I came form a silverline system 135’s, 32.5, Isobariks etc. and I’ve never regretted getting the Nova.
In HiFi terms it’s a bargain, there are glimpses of real high end Naim in there.
