This was a quote by Blackbird on the Julian Vereker thread. I think it’s very fitting to my situation.
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It surely can be frustrating and I hope it will eventually settle down. The Furutech DPS4.1 is an excellent mains power cable(I have one too) and assuming it’s on the NAP 500DR and still doesn’t settle within several weeks, perhaps try swapping it with another cord such as Powerline. The mains power cable is really quite critical and have a rather big impact in a resolving system. The DPS4.1 is on the smooth and detailed side, perhaps a little smooth with the 500dr. It’s just a guess and I may be completely wrong though.
Good luck.
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A mains cable on the smooth side, the mind boggles.
Whilst I realise there is more on heaven and earth than is dreamt of in my philosophy, how can a power chord be too smooth for a NAP 500?
.sjb
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It’s here 
. So far coming from 250DR I would say is not night and day difference. A-bit disappointed for sure, but I know it needed like several months to know for sure.
Bass is boomy on first try, but quickly settle in fast.
Run-in is real I guess, I needed to give it time!
PS: Not on the best of rack I know.
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On day three after the tear down. I have the Naim Powerline on the 500dr and Furutech on the 552dr. The rhythm and beat is beginning to shine through now. Also that treble focus is no longer there. Even though the 500dr has more treble information than the 135s it’s no longer a problem with my Harbeths.
I neglected to mention the characteristics of the amp as I was too focused on the comparison. The 500Dr does tone very well. Coming from a guy who has always opted for tube source components for this very reason I’m surprised how well the power amp does here. It’s absolutely spot on. I’ve heard high end SW1x tube, Audio note and Shindo gear which do tone absolutely brilliantly. This amp matches them.
It’s faster than anything I’ve heard before. Play a track, pick an instrument and listen to what that musician is doing with that instrument throughout the song. That’s the level of resolution we are talking about here. It never muffles the sound together. The bass thankfully is not bloated at all. It’s very well extended and as neutral as I have heard.
It’s a shame I won’t have much time over the next 2 weeks to listen because of work but I can’t wait until I put more hours on this amp.
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I never run away with hyperbole. The differences in high end audio are not night and day. BUT when a system sings it’s difficult not to appreciate the last percentile of difference that it makes to ones enjoyment.
Yes the 500 series is more enjoyable than a lesser one. But at every level there is enjoyment to be had and one lesser system may cater to a listeners preference more than another more resolving system.
One more thing that people don’t mention enough. It’s a “hifi system” which means all the components work together to create a sound. This system can be easily unbalanced with a component that doesn’t play well with another or perhaps it changes the tone or another characteristic of the system that the listener is really enjoying. This is why companies like Naim are crucial because they are building systems. From source to speakers. Well not speakers anymore but you get the point. They are doing the work of putting together components that work with each other.
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Very true in the whole system. It could be my speaker being the weak link now.
Hey buddy I have owned the Dynaudio heritage. IMHO speaking of system the superlumina and special 40s are too much of the same thing. You will get great texture and spacial detail to the music but I think you will miss the prat of Naim. Try NAC A5 if you can.
Interesting. I doubt I will touch the speaker cable anymore. My next stop will be a speaker change though.
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Well said. I have the 300 series (333, 332 with 300, 350s) and really enjoy my music. I am not sure of the individual contributions but the whole is excellent. As you point out, Naim build systems which is why I made the wholesale change.
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I picked up a 2018 552DR last year and could have sworn it went through a ‘run in’. Probably took about 6 weeks before I felt the performance was consistent which made no sense considering it was second hand. Initially thought I’d made a mistake coming from a 252DR.
The dealer who I got it off did say it was part of a system at a ‘second home’ so I was strongly suspicious that maybe it has never been run in the first place… who knows. Never seems to be plain sailing in hifi!
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I bought a brand new 552DR last year. Having owned one before I thought this one was broken lol. Many conversations with my dealer who kept assuring me that it will get better. I don’t think I would have believed it had I not owned a 552DR before. The 500 series take quite a long time to run in and even to warm up.
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To not hear a material difference, even from cold, is worrying IMV – and probably more to do with set-up.
As has been recorded many times on here, with the 300 and 500 especially, the burndies need to free and clear of walls, and especially the floor. If not, the bass can be badly affected.
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Judging from my pic, I guess you know right now I unable to let it hang free haha. I will definitely buy new Fraim with more height to do better. These 500-series deserve better treatment and I shall provide it!
Tks for all the encouragement!
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A 500 system is one of the most musically resolving piece of hifi you can own. However, it is very demanding of set-up and ancillary equipment. It’s taken me a very long time to understand what affects performance and how to maximise this.
Everything you’ve heard regarding cables touching one another, plug orders, power-leads, interconnects and stands is absolutely true. Unfortunately, you’ll only get about 90% of the potential performance from your system if you don’t bother with these things. And it’s the last 10% that really brings the magic.
It’s at this point the system seems to transcend normal hifi and starts to play real live music. Those little musical cues the tell you it’s live, the timing, the tempo, the dynamics, the interplay. it all comes together and just makes pure musical sense. Every track will be a performance.
Get everything right and all this will become perfectly obvious. Get it wrong and you will wonder why you spent so much money!
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And when it finally sings - DO NOT TOUCH IT!
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Until a spider or some wind remove the fragile balance 
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Just don’t get so worried about it as it’s all so much just in your mind or buy kit that’s not subjected to these so called problems.
Every day, well actually different parts off the day, you will hear thing’s differently. Trying to say after a few hours let alone a day, week or month that things have got better is really not viable.
If you do believe thing’s are happening then just play a track and get the other half to move a cable or even do the never touch thing and you should hear it instantly as they touch. I bet you won’t no the difference.
Sit back and just enjoy the music
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think the problem resides into the Naim Fraim. It’s optimised for Naim equipment and it works very well.
But the 500 series are heavy and the Fraim has a lot of moving parts.
So with time it moves, and the right balance is lost. You have to install all again.
Not my experience, I have a lite and not so heavy components.
But sometimes read that some 500 series owners moved from Naim because of that fragile balance in the set up.
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