I’ve been enjoying my NC250. It’s a cracker of an amplifier and I’m really pleased with it. One slight fly in the ointment is that after warming it up for a few days in Instant On mode, the Auto Standby functionality doesn’t seem to work (rear switch changed from Instant On to Auto Standby).
I’m not using it in a Naim system so there is no optical comms connection, but even so, in this mode it should go into standby after ~19mins of no signal and then come back on when it senses a signal. Mine just stays on.
I’ve tried a reset, powering down completely (mains removed), using the source both idling (no music playing) and in standby. There is no hum or any signal / noise i can detect which is stopping the amp going into standby. The only thing yet to try is disconnecting the XLR cables from the 250, just to rule that out…
I’ve seen the thread by @sinewave where the solution was a trip back to Salisbury to fix, but before I contact my dealer tomorrow to discuss options, I was curious to see if anyone else has had problems with their NC250 (or NC350s for that matter) and Auto Standby ?
There is something in the manual that says the music sensing is switched off if you manually put the 250 into standby using the button on the front. Maybe the answer is to unplug it from the wall, put the switch to auto standby while it’s off, then plug it in. If you play some music it should turn on, and vice versa after the 19 minutes. But you’ve doubtless already done that….
My setup is similar to yours, I press the power button on the front of my NAP250 when not in use for any length of time.
I think my auto stamdby is on but also doesn’t activate, need to check again.
As you point out, perhaps it’s a different behaviour in a mixed system like yours/mine.
Thanks all - I think it looks like a problem with the 250 itself. I tried Auto Standby with my NAIT50 and that dropped into standby fine after 19 mins connected to the same source.
It’s not a biggie but obviously i’d like a fully working amp. I’ll call the dealer tomorrow and see what they recommend.
Post back what you hear, I’d be curious what the recommendation is. I just got in to the habit of doing it manually in my case and didn’t think about it much beyond that.
Will do. I must admit it did take a few re-reads of the manual to make sure i had things right for what should be something really simple.
Finished listening the other night, pressed the power button, logo goes off and i’d assumed the amp had gone into standby. I did think at the time that Naim had done a great job at silencing the relay switchover (compared to my NDX 2 days) as i didn’t hear the PSU relay click and sure enough, the next morning i found the amp was still on - not sure why it only switched the logo off here rather than go into standby ?
I run 4 NC 250s in my setup .I do leave on 24/7 as I play daily unless away for a couple of days . I just zip down the 4 buttons and it kills display and sound .
Never come in to one of them coming back to life overnight .
Good point, mine is either in standby (press of power button, naim logo off and power button lit) or on and working (naim logo on and power button unlit).
I don’t have a fixed routine with mine, during run in I left it on 24/7 and with radio playing and volume low to give the components something to deal with. I can’t recall exact duration but probably ran it like that for a few months at least, now I tend to turn it off more often than not at end of day.
If I’m not using it I leave it on standby, I’ve never know it wake itself in to power on mode either.
I have my Selekt DSM in standby also at the same time, I’m not sure if that is doing anything whilst in standby (checking for firmware updates etc) which in itself might trigger the NAP to wake up?
I’d imagine the behaviour of my Selekt DSM would be very similar to your KDSM anyway @james_n
Just got home and checked things again. Powered off the 250 completely at the mains, then powered up. Starts up in standby. Press the power button and on it comes (music plays). Press power button again and it goes to standby. Before I put it back into standby, I did leave it for 25 mins with no input signal and again, no auto standby. Looks like a trip back to Salisbury but I’ll see what my dealer says tomorrow first
Hi James just did a very basic test only turning on 250 (not 222/300) to see if it would go into standby automatically after 20 minutes. It did not. When 200 series is all connected up it does go into auto standby as it should. My 250 is an early model so backs up Sinewave’s comment. Hope you get it sorted.
Does that imply the feature is dependant on system automation being connected and present, such that a Naim preamp must be connected in order for standby to automate?
Neither myself or James have it setup like that, both having Linn pre/source devices.
I’ve lived without it for months anyway but I’m now curious if it’s by design or something to fix!
Thanks Mark - Interesting about the need for a power cycle when changing modes. I did try that after trying a reset, but still no joy. I think i’ve now tried all the various combinations so it looks like a fault. I agree though, the manual could be a bit clearer on this topic.
With the rear switch set to Auto Standby and the powered up (logo on, music plays) when I press the power button, there is a gentle click of the power relay, display goes off and it is in Standby – no sound from amp. I realise that if I press the power button to manually put it in standby, it will disable the Music Sensing function.
