Soon getting a Uniti Atom HE and noticed that it comes with a Powerline lite mains cable. I see these are sold separately by some dealers for around £100.
Question is, is it better than a ‘bog standard’ mains to IEC cable? Would it be worth upgrading this cable to say an Audioquest mains cable, as I seem to noticed that they have extra shielded on the actual cable, so I’m thinking it will cut down on any RF getting into the cable.
Interested to hear what other users or or could kindly advise me,
I am not saying that shielding or screening doesn’t have its place - it clearly does.
Just not on Mains Cables, on HiFi. IMO…
Most - but not all - Naim cables are screened. The exception is the DIN4 to XLR cable from a PS to a NAP250 (or above). This is an unscreened cable - and mine is certainly made of of 3 core mains lead (I cannot say what current versions are made of).
There’s a bit of debate about this for the Atom HE.
Power line full fat cables certainly give an uplift on Naim power supplies and power amps. Other makes of cable tend to change the sound but not necessarily for the better.
You could try a full power line as opposed to the lite on the HE, but personally I didn’t think it made a difference.
The Powerline Lite is an upgrade over a bog standard IEC mains cable and Naim designs all their kit to work with it or a full Powerline. My advice is to stick with the supplied Powerline Lite for a few months before making any decisions. I have always used one with my Star and whilst a Powerline might add a little to the SQ I don’t believe the cost-benefit ratio works for the Uniti range. Once you get to the 200 and 300 series then it is a different matter and I will in time be investing in Powerlines for my main system.
Oil.