I have has 12s, 42.5, 72, 82 and now 52 Pre-Amps into a CB 250 and 135’s and I can confirm that each preamp was an improvement, the biggest improvement I felt was from a 12s to a 42.5, an 82 with a single hi-cap will sound superb, one proviso, the sources need to be up to speed and the amps being fully serviced, enjoy your listening.
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Some updates since my last post, managed to get a hicap olive (serviced in 2016). Oh my! The 82/180 with hicap was so much more than I had expected, overall improvement in all aspect of the music, I left it there for a good week of listening wondering if I need to add the 135s.
Had some time over Easter weekend and I took out the 180 for the 135s, first listen was again a big overall improvement, but I noticed that the vocal was off center (right biased), I would like to ask since the 135s were both just recapped and I had new WH cables between the hicap and 135s, is this ‘off center’ issue normal both 135s and the cable is running in? or it is some issue with the 135s that needs to be looked at?
Thank you so much.
Well said. Pair it with some gently loved Kans and he should be all set.
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Forgot to mention that the diagram is how I had connected the Hicap to 135 to the speakers, just in case the “off center” is due to incorrect connections I had made
I can’t think of any obvious reason for the bias. It’s not something I’ve ever observed with my 82/135s, through HC, SC, passive or active. Those are the right DIN outputs on the HC, but out of curiosity what colour XLR do you have going to the right channel? WH normally do you a red and a white and the red is for the right. The cables are not identical. Whether that would cause a bias though, I don’t know.
My NAP135s (now over 30 years old, and in need of a return to Salisbury for a recap and general fettling) don’t show any ‘off centre’ bias.
Have you tried switching the LHS and RHS speaker cables, to see if the balance problem persists?
Again…the 135’s need as much a preamp as you can give them. I have used the 135s with…
82/Hicap, 82/Supercap, 102/Hicap, 42.5/Snaps, 42.5/Hicap, 42.5 Supercap, 112/Supercap and a 552…I may have left a preamp or two out of that list.
But it is easy to reduce things to absurdity…a 52/150 completely destroyed a 112/Supercap/135s. A 52/110 also greatly outperformed a 42.5/Supercap/135 into some vintage Advents.
But the 552/135s is a sublime pairing. And yes, much, much better than a 102/Supercap/500 that I compared it with.
When I owned the 82/Supercap for a year or so, it was pretty good, but completely lacked the goosebump factor that slotting in a 52 provided.
I actually felt at the time that the 52 was the single greatest VFM product in the entire Naim product line at the time-this was circa 1998 or so.
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I still have my NAC52 thirty years after I bought it, and nothing would persuade me ever to change it. At the time of its release, it was acclaimed as Naim’s greatest ever product (it’s staggeringly complex, compared to any other Naim control amp that preceded it), and it’s still utterly fantastic.
The NAC252, NAC552 and Statement S1 may all be ‘better’, but I have no desire or inclination to change.
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This morning I did another round of listening and the vocals are still bias towards the right.
I will do the switch over LHS / RHS speaker to see if the issue persist.
Fingers crossed.
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Thats a lot on the 52! and my plan is to snatch it if a good 52 comes around.
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You could also try swapping the 135s over, which would show if it’s a preamp issue. Does the left-right bias remain at all normal listening levels?
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Another point to consider is speaker positioning and your room. Perhaps the 135’s are revealing a problem which the 180 was masking…?
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Another thought, have you got the 135s wired in phase? If you use Naim plugs at the amplifier end, you will need to turn the plugs round on one cable owing to the amp outputs being the same orientation on the 135s, whereas on the 180 they are opposite. I hope that makes sense.
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Oh my, you hit the bull’s eye! I happen to look at the back of the 180 and realised I had the speaker cables connect wrongly, argh Silly me!
Now everything is good. I was suprised how good adding the Hicap was, but the 135s brings even more and the music just opened up.
Thank you so much guys, it is a relief that all is well, as I had waited months for 135s to be recapped, WH cables to arrive and a suitable hicap, but well worth the wait.
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