If the SN eventually isn’t bringing what you are looking for then I suggest you try a XS3 with your NDX2. I found that the XS3 with my ND5XS2 was already an improvement over the Nova with more controlled bass. With a ndx2 it will probably be even better.
This is an interesting discussion, as I went from a Nova (which I still have in my second system) to a SN2 (about a month before the SN3 came out). It’s been a good move for me, and the SN2 is a big step up from the Nova, but with a similar presentation and generally more punch, cohesion, soundstage and detail. There has been quite a bit said about the SN3 being a bit more polite and refined over the SN2 - with the SN2 being known for that visceral nature. A bit like how the 252 is compared with the 282.
It’s interesting how a more refined presentation does not necessarily mean a more enjoyable presentation in any given system and room.
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There is no way i would describe a SN3 as polite and refined. Compared to my NAIT XS 2 it’s a much more ‘up for it’ beast. The newer amps are faster with a bit more harmonic distortion, less smooth and less mechanical sounding. Even in all the press reviews they describe the newer NAITs as more feisty and open. A bit like the NAIT 3 of old. I’m finding some of the opinions here at odds with my own findings…
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To be fair, I haven’t heard the SN3 and would quite happily have one 
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Keep in mind the only thing I have to compare the SN3 to is my Nova. So I cannot make any conclusions or observations as to how it sounds vs an XS 2 or XS 3 or SN 2 or 250DR, etc. I am solely comparing in this thread to my expectations moving from the Nova to the SN 3.
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Speaking from recent experience I think the OP will be better served to let his new equipment run-in a little bit more, but also use the stock Naim cables as a baseline. I don’t want to speak ill of his current cabling just try the stock first then decide where to go from there. Just my opinion of course.
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To be fair i only use Naim cabling so can’t comment beyond those. One thing i will say is that the minute i installed my SN3 in place of my NAIT XS 2 the music really came out of the speakers by comparison. The presentation is more upfront, wider and deeper with a bit more grit to it, but in a good way. I always found my NAIT XS 2 a little dark, smooth and refined and needed waking up with a Vodka Ethernet cable, when streaming. I was always yearning for a little bit more zest, no so with the SN3. Ever.
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No worries @Stephen_Tate. I had what you Brits call a “full loom” of the cabling that the OP has. Nothing particularly wrong with it, but he’s slowly finding what I did it kind of sucks some of the verve out of the music IMHO. I could only replace it one piece at a time but the first “WOW” moment came when tried a Hi-Line. That’s the link that got me thinking maybe the stock cabling isn’t bad, which is contrary to most stock cable I’ve ever used. Naim synergy I suppose… Of course, my system, my ears etc…
Bottom line is I want to see the OP happy as we are with the SN3 combo.
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Any new findings or any update?
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Still running in with the stock power cables & DIN (with the Triode Wire Labs speaker cables). I will try to swap some of the Transparent stuff back in over the weekend and listen closely to what happens. I discussed with my dealer and he stands by the Transparent speaker cables per a 30+ year Naim “guru” they work with who did recommend the TA cables (after the Naim cables). He is willing to take them back to swap out/demo NAC A5s but I am going to continue with the current game plan for now and see how things shake out.
One thing I have noticed is the system is sounding very good as-is right now. I am finding that I am getting great results with the volume a little lower now - did need to have the SN3 around 9-10 o’clock to feel any engagement but keeping it closer to 9 on the dial during evening listening is still giving really good results.
More to come for sure…
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Last night was probably my low point with this new system and today is probably my high point.
Last night I sat down like normal to listen with the all-stock Naim cables etc and was happy with things until I started noticing weird imbalance issue, the left channel was definitely stronger than the right. I made several adjustments to balance and ended up with balance set around 2 o’clock and still had trouble. I was worried that I had one of the SN3 Alps balance problems.
Then it got really weird - suddenly when listening to a few songs I started hearing a weird clipping in the right channel. After about 10 minutes, I got to the point where there was definite buzzing on everything in the right speaker. So this freaked me out, and I turned off and unplugged everything.
After about 10 minutes I decided to plug the speaker cables into my 2nd home theater speakers to see if it was the amp or the speakers. When I reached behind the Volti Rival I discovered HA! the entire speaker cable had worked its way out of the speaker post!
So apparently the whole time I had been battling the loosening of the Triode Wire Labs banana plug working its way out of the speaker post on the Rival.
Once I plugged it in, everything sounded fine again… so crisis averted.
Tonight is another story… I have been listening since early this afternoon and the sound has completely “settled in” with all the stock cables. It has sounded brilliant all evening so I decided to be brave and swap out the Naim DIN for the Transparent DIN.
Turns out with the rest of the system settled in (going on about 350 hours at this point), the Transparent DIN has been able to stand apart in a direct comparison. I can attest that it was NOT the source of the earlier issues I mentioned above. It DID have the effect of smoothing out some of the edges of the dynamic peaks on some material… the aforementioned horn hits etc from Marcus Miller’s Higher Ground cover sound less harsh and by virtue of that a little less dynamic maybe, but the energy and engagement is all still there, with a refined smoothness that the Naim DIN did not offer.
All the rhythm energy remains, as I listened to the first 2 Robert Plant solo records transfixed by Phil Collins’ drumming in a way I have never heard before.
This weekend I will experiment with swapping out the Naim power cords with Transparent… then if all goes well I’ll move onto the speaker cables last.
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Excellent news @JSQT. I think most of us have had issues like yours previously (Ok I can only speak for myself) 
Best of luck with your experiments with Transparent cables. The Naim Hi-line cable is definetely a step up from the stock DIN cable but that’s for another day.
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Nice track. Just listened to it via Roon. Not harsh for me (via Roon I do use volume leveling so it was -5.3 dB) . Sounded really good! Thanks for the musical tip. Guess I should queue up a little Stevie Wonder tonight…
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It’s a great track… “harsh” is probably too “harsh” a word, actually. What I meant was that on those hard-panned horn hits they stand out and are a little brash on my horn speakers, but the Transparent DIN seemed to tame them just a bit. The track overall though is very smooth and one of my reference tracks for sure.
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Ah I see! Yeah probably a little brash on horn speakers. I have ribbon tweeters and they are silky smooth. Again everyones room/system etc is different. LOVE the bass on that track. It really does stand out.
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How are you getting along now on lower volume compared to your Nova sound?
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It does seem that the lower volume has filled in and I’m not sure if it’s become “louder” but I do know the first weekend I had the SN3 (and posted here) I was having to get up to 9 o’clock + on the volume dial to have the sound “come into the room” in any engaging way. Now I am listening in the evenings barely beyond 8 o’clock and the sound is full and engaging at that level. Listening to any recent pop releases or high energy rock music still requires more volume from the amp but that’s to be expected.
I have noticed that the Nova was “nicer” to recordings than the SN3. There are some recordings that I had rediscovered on the Nova because it was much more forgiving of bad mastering and lousy mixes. Playing them on the SN3 now the differences are much more jarring which is the sign of a more honest amplifier I guess but it makes it hard to listen to those other recordings now.
The Transparent loom incidentally is back into the system now 100% with the Super speaker cables. I have run the speaker cables around and underneath the console on some homemade cable risers to prevent them from having to be coiled or bundled with other cables behind the console. I think that makes a big difference from the veiling effect I had earlier, plus the fact that the SN3 has settled down quite a bit over the past 10 days.
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That seems to be an amazing looking room you have!
Can you post some more pics?
I agree that not all recording sound very flattering on the SN. Seems the Nova covers up the lousy mixes much “better”. Looking forward to hear further developments on your SN3 journey (after about a month in) !
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Thanks! I will post a few more pics here. I do love this room. I recently added the corner. bass traps and moved the JL Audio subwoofers onto Sound Anchor stands in the front of the room. The bass is so focused and musical now, a substantial improvement to having them on the floor in the corners before.
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Wow that room is gorgeous! I’m so happy that your system is bedding in nicely. You’ll likely enjoy many many hours of bliss listening to your favorite tracks.
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