Yes, of course, I see, and I have to remember we’re talking Olive and not Chrome Bumper here. I don’t know what part they are, but I’m sure @NeilS may well know. Have you tried with and without on the boards?
Sure.
Only in the sense that some boards have this part. Others don’t .
Looking at photos of other NAC72’s inside, this situation looks common.
Maybe it’s possible for some to slip off, then get lost
If you’re talking about the black nylon ‘clip’ thingies, I always assumed that they are fitted to stop vibration, and thereby cut down on microphony.
It comes in a strip from R.S. not sure if I can post a link ?
Hi @Darran
Thanks for joining in…
Following your prompt, I’ve worked it out
It’s called “Edging Grommets”
… high-quality edging grommets designed for protection and to provide a smooth edge to workbenches, chassis, panels, and much more. They are made from polyethylene (PE) that can be cut to the required length and are available in a choice of colours, natural or black.
Darran, thanks a bunch
R
Thanks Darren. I’m sure a link is not needed.
Close up, showing cross section of “Edge Grommet Strip”.
It measure just under 20mm long. Appears cut at each end. (Assume cut from longer length material ).
Colour is “ natural”.
PCB is maybe just 1mm thickness.
For reference, board shown is Naim NA 323/3
Sounded better without them, when I compared.
Darran has always replaced the missing ones from my olive gear that i have sent him ( well over 20 units now)
Yes, standard on all 3 series daughter boards in units with extruded covers - without them, the boards can fall off the pins when in transit due to inertia. It’s not uncommon to uncover units & be faced with a pile of loose boards!
As discussed - grommet strip from RS.
Bolt down 12s & 32s had self adhesive foam pads stuck to the underside of the lid for the same reason. Many of which have now turned to dust & require replacement.
Regards
Neil.
All I have left on my NAC12 is the slightly dusty remains of the adhesive strip which used to hold the foam pad.
I’m impressed, Richard - but not greatly surprised- that you have an NAC12.
I used to see a bolt-down one occasionally in the window of Russ Andrews’ shop in Edinburgh, when I was at school there. I was amazed that something looking so handbuilt could be so costly!
I never plucked up the courage to go into the shop to ask to listen to it with (presumably) an NAP160. In any event, I aspired to a (less costly) QUAD 33/303 system in those days.
Sincere thanks to @Richard.Dane @NeilS and @Darran for their combined wisdom during today.
Thank you guys
Had an interesting experience tonight. A little experiment…
Listened to the following…
NAC72 + HCDR → SN3 (power amp only).
Most pleasantly surprised with what we heard. Clearly, the NAC72 has more to give and sounded so much more competent (than usual configuration of NAC 72 + Olive HC → NA140 ).
Haven’t had chance to work out yet what the HCDR and the SN3 power amp are each contributing separately ?
But it got me thinking…
Is anyone else using a NAC72 with combinations of original Classic, or maybe even new Classic pieces?
Kind regards
R
Yes, I have but not nearly to similar extent. I have used my NAC 72 with a Hicap DR. I do think the DR is better than my Olive Hicap. However, I tend to revert back to the Olive purely based on aesthetics and the combination still sounds great.
I very often swap my Nap 140 for the Nap 200 in my Nac 72 and HiCap system and it sounds great.
I have been using mixed Naim generations since Jan 2023, NAC82/HC (both serviced in 2022) with SN2 as a power amp and I am pretty satisfied with this system. Prior to this I had a bare Supernait 2, so cannot really comment how it is compared to an olive power amp for an instance, but I am pretty confident that the SN2 as a power amp is no slouch, maybe its preamp section is the weak point, as when I added the 82/HC it made a very noticeable improvement, kind of expected actually.
Your comments are somehow calming me down a bit though :), as I was wondering whether an olive 250 would be a big improvement over the SN2, and maybe it will, but currently my kit is probably pretty balanced, so no rush for a separate power amp, for now.
Think we discovered something similar
I’ve plugged various cb and Olive nac/hc ,32/42/62 but never a 72 in to the 250DR to test them. All have sounded good. I ran an 82 with a hc dr in to the 250dr for a while, sounded superb. The only combination that sounded off was hc dr with the 82 in to a cb250. Swapping the hc dr with a non dr hc corrected it.
Project Olive, update…
Found myself tinkering with our Olive NAC72 this week. Changing one or two things inside. Then, being curious, wanted to listen to it again. However, didn’t really have much time to do a wholesale change and reintroduce all the Olive pieces. So, thought of a short cut and just plumbed the NAC72 into the Classic system we are currently listening to.
Swopped HCDR from SN3 to NAC72, then routed pre out into SN3 (as power amp only).
Albeit, it took a few moments to figure out how to switch the SN3 into power amp mode. Otherwise, just a case of moving all the sources (interconnects) across to NAC72…
The nett result was putting an Olive pre-amp at the heart of a Naim Classic system.
Resulting system and sources are :
(1) LP12 (Selekt) → SuperLine + HiCap DR psu → Std DIN →
(2) Innous ZENmini mk3 S + LPSU ( SSD server, via Roon ) → LAN → ND5 XS2 → DC1 → nDAC → HiLine DIN →
Into…
NAC72 + HiCap DR → SN3 (power amp mode ) → NACA5 → Epos ES14
Not sure if I really achieved what I intended, which was to see if the small internal changes (within NAC72) made any difference. However, found something else, maybe more interesting. Which was a pleasant surprise and the idea the NAC72 is much more capable than maybe we appreciated (from using previously with Olive HC & NAP140 ).
So this has me thinking about this possibility
Definitely have a soft spot for “shoe boxes”, whether Olive or Classic.
Anyway, just having fun, moving boxes around.
Happy Sunday listening.
Just listening to Lloyd Cole, “ On Pain”, (2023).
Best wishes
R