Naim Powerline

regardless of the device, the powerline is always mentioned very positively. I have an AQ Z3 on my Nova. is the effect of the powerline similar in all countries? I come from Germany.

I think not being U.K. you will lose the effect of the decoupled wall plug, so may not be as positive as in U.K.

I think the European Schuko plugged Powerline works really well. Just be sure to always get the polarity correct and the same for everything in the system.

You still benefit from the decoupling and super tight grip of the Powerline IEC plug. Instead of the UK decoupled mains plug you get a very high quality Schuko selected after extensive listening tests. Some of the design decisions for the UK Powerline mains plug came about due to perceived issues with the square pin plug design that don’t exist on the European Schuko. Also bear in mind that in the UK the plug holds a fuse needed to protect the flex. In Europe this is limited instead by the circuit amperage.

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Z3 was great in my system compared to a lot of different power cables and I could happily have lived with it on my 300DR. Powerline is also great. They are different so I would say it’s not one is better than the other. If you can then as always do an evaluation. The EU Powerline use a high grade Furutech FI-E38 Rhodium wall connector.

I have found that individual PowerLines with Schuko plugs offer benefits for the devices they are connected to. However, when all of the devices in a system have PowerLines, then the overall effect seems to be more than just the sum of the individual PowerLines.

For example, I had PowerLines on a HiCapDR, 250DR, 555PS, NDX and nDac and they were great. Only when I added one to the NAPSC for the 282 did I get the full benefit.

The same was the case when I completed a full set of PowerLines for the main system consisting of 252, SuperCapDR, 300DR and NDX2 (still waiting for an XPS or 555PS).

They turn up second hand on the usual auction and local sales sites (Kleinanzeigen) for around EUR 350 to EUR 400 here in Germany At that price, you can buy all you need and try a full set. If they don’t work for you, you can sell them on with little or no loss.

Given the cost of the Powerline, do you have to suggest cheaper and more effective alternatives for the cable to be connected to the Nova?
Thanks

I re-auditioned the Powerline recently and compared to my current NBS Dragonfly III cords and the Audioquest Monsoon XTRM. The last time I tried it was 5/6 years ago in a different house & room and it left me lukewarm. Not enough to reach for my wallet.

This time around I was very impressed by gains and sonic signature from the Powerline. Specifically the bass and the natural/musical overall presentation. Both on my streamer and on the power amp. And I was equally disappointed by the AQ that didn’t perform half as good as I expected. So I’m now waiting for the delivery of 3 Powerlines. That’s for everything (streamer, pre, power) as my CDX2 will be up for sale soon.

Amazing to read that a Powerline on the NAPSC can make a clear difference too? I have a shielded Belden with Furutechs on it now. AFAIK the NAPSC doesn’t power anything in the signal path on a 282? :flushed:

I am not sure that the PowerLine on the NAPSC alone made a major difference. I see it in the context of the complete system powered by PowerLines, where the overall improvement seems greater than the sum of the individual PowerLines.

Please note that I state that it “seems” better this way, but I cannot and do not feel the need to prove that.

If I had the time and inclination, I could try all the various combinations of PowerLines on all but one of the components, with a standard power lead used on just one of them in turn. But I can’t be bothered and the system sounds great to my ears, in my room and with my music.

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Hi guys, have any of you encounter the sleeve of your powerline turning “sticky”? Anyone knows how to “clean” it?

Never happened to mine. Have you used strong solvents to clean it, that can cause some rubber to degrade and turn sticky with age?

Nope. Never touched them. But seems to happen to everyone’s powerline here in hot and humid Singapore.

Quality issues then. That can be avoided if they know plastics.

Have you spoken to your dealer or distributor about this?

I don’t have experience of a powerline but I recently had a Canon lens that was manufactured with a lovely grippy rubber like finish, nice to hold and seemed like a great idea. Eight to ten years later it began to break down becoming stickier and stickier until I eventually spent an hour cleaning it all off carefully with a light solvent. It looks great now and much as it would have had the rubber not been available when made. I had a similar thing with the squeeze box touch remote control, but that was after a year or so. I wonder if it’s a similar product.

My dealer definitely knows about this. He suggested to use wd40 to clean it. I honestly thought this is as common a issue as the fragile plastic collars on the hiline.

I was wondering if there is a “better” way to manage it.

Did you store any of it in an oak chest or cabinet? It happened to me with my old Nikon cameras and when I sent it all for repair I was advised not to store any camera kit of similar in an oak chest of drawer or cabinet as this would hasten the breakdown of the fine foams within and rubberised finishes.

I’ve never come across it before, but then I’m not in Singapore, which I know presents some rather unique challenges due to the climatic conditions - it was here that prompted Naim to offer the option of stainless steel balls for the Fraim glass as the mild steel ones rusted really fast (even though the mild steel ones sounded better). I mentioned your dealer or distributor as I guessed they may be familiar with the issue and would have a solution.


Speaking of which, I had some fraim chips which totally rusted and I had them re-chromed locally.
Sorry… off topic. But just to share the challenging humid climate we have here

Ah yes… IIRC back in the day we did some special plating of stainless parts as even the stainless steel could start to get discolouration and surface corrosion in very humid climates. IIRC @Adam.Meredith arranged this and knows the story here.

My guess is that your Chips were used under speakers and that they had spikes which were non-stainless steel. Paradoxically the stainless Chips if in contact with mild steel would make things worse due to differential metal corrosion.