Drago, if you’re getting a bit of hum no matter what and the sound is a bit thin then could I ask you, what connection are you making to the Superline? RCA Phono or BNC? I ask because if it’s RCA Phono, the WBT Next Gen sockets can cause problems with some RCA Phono plugs. The outer conductor can often make a poor or no contact. If you have RCA plugs with locking collars then do them up as tight as you possibly can - I found this got rid of some hum I had initially when I connected my RP10 and also improved sound markedly. Otherwise fit WBT Next Gens or 50 ohm BNCs.
And if BNC then the plugs may have degraded, in which case replace them.
Thanks Richard for all your help
I use bnc sockets with a new (burnt in) cable I got for demo from my dealer on Friday.
The hum is nearly completely gone now - but with the free space stacking of Fraim (see picture = tuner and 250 offline)
Sooo…
Superline is warming up… there is definitely a very very good bass!
As I need to work on my TT for A-B comparison I decided to listen to SL.
Impressions after 3 days…
more details as prefix
more Dynamics as prefix
slightly brighter soundstage
midrange not as present as with prefix (still a bit missing the earthiness)
live factor… ? (I might be influenced by reading in another forum, that he mids are not good at SL…stop Reading!)
Some guitars missing a bit of the body…
So I plugged a bit …
Oups… there is a difference.
Going from 500r to 1k gives back some earthiness and body but for minimal loss of details and dynamics. 1k is the strong recommendation for my Benz.
Removing the 1nf plug might give back details but also some Russian language… think I need a 470pf plug.
I changed back to 500r as I like the details a lot :o)
I love and hate this trying. I will get losstürmen sometimes, which is typical for being a scientist
Drago, there is a “Superline loading thread” on the old forum, started by Cymbiosis (I think). It was incredibly helpful.
It also showed that changes as small as 25 Ohms in resistance loading make a material difference to how music sounds. For example, Dynavector moving coil cartridges sound very much better with a 470 Ohm resistance plug than the standard 500 Ohm plug. The 453 Ohm plug was even better. Linn MC cartridges sounded best with a 576 Ohm resistance plug. The differences in sound between these load plugs were not subtle when we auditioned them.
Note that none of these optimised load plugs come with the SL as standard. A good dealer will speak to Naim about these specials and order them for you, as they are pretty much essential if you want to realise the potential of your Benz cartridge and SL.
If all else fails, you could contact Naim customer support or even Cymbiosis and ask them for their recommendations.
Thanks a lot,
I went through the thread searching for Benz wood, but there was no match.
As I do not want to test with custom made into the blue, a Mail to cymbiosis might be a perfect idea ( bought my prefix there
I understand that there is no standard tendency when changing the plugs - e.g. going up with resistance = more mids… a small issue is still the earthiness I am missing from prefix
Last time I looked, the special resistor plugs were about £175, so not cheap but they were absolutely worth it. I think they are also cryogenically treated Z foil resistors, mounted in a Naim Airplug of the type found on a Hiline cable.
They look and are completely different to the ones that come as standard with the SL.
We were shocked at the scale of improvement that they brought when we used one for the first time…
I will go for air plugs only if is 100% fine with the chosen R and cap. @Bluesfan
Do you miss something in the mids section of the superline. I very much like bass and treble, but the mids are a bit more upfront in prefix
Good question. A small period of adjustment is needed to get used to it.
I think that the Prefix is more limited at both frequency extremes, so draws the listener into the midrange.
The SL has both greater resolution and more extension at both ends of the frequency range, so is the “truer” phono stage.
The extra frequency extension will also draw more attention to any weaknesses elsewhere in the system or between the speakers and the room (especially the low bass)
So the SL should give nothing away to the (already delightful) Prefix but will present a more balanced tonal palette.
However, if you prefer the mid-forward balance of the Prefix, then who cares about accuracy! We’re supposed to play music for enjoyment, after all.
That’s exactly what I assume … more at the extremes and therefore less mid prominent. Mid prominence is a characteristic from the early Naim days I remember, which is burnt into my ear. Need to adapt.
My concern was, that I now have left the olive path. I very much like the olive sound and superline is from black area. Don’t think so
@Bluesfan Thank you so much - 1 like is not enough
No luck in suggestion for resistance plugs for my benz.
Not correct - 1k is given in a German forum. Internal 10k is given here. Both sound a bit darker but with some less resolution and dynamics. At the end the ear will decide. And there will be a lot of re plugging € I know that …
Hi Drago,
While our living room system no longer has Naim electronics (but our others do!), we enjoyed our 52/135s for many years. During that period, we auditioned many phono stages from different manufacturers to fit between our DV XX-2 cartridge and the NAC52.
The Superline/Supercap DR (with 453 Ohm Z foil airplug) was the most enjoyable and talented phono stage that we have ever heard in our system. The risk of switching to it from a Prefix is essentially none.
I am sorry that I don’t know the right resistance for a Benz cartridge but when you next change cartridge, if you go for Linn, Lyra or Dynavector, then Naim or Cymbiosis (other dealers too such as TomTom, Signals or a number of others) should be able to advise you on the perfect loading plugs.
Oh damn … it has happened …
I tested again and rebuild the prefix setup. But I forgot to plug out Burndy.
I had a small time, when both prefix and SL are plugged in.
There was only faint sound from prefix, so I switched off immediately
I plugged correctly and the sound was fine. Changed to SL again and sound is fine as before. @Richard.Dane@NeilS
Could it be that I burnt my supercap? Nothing to hear or smell. Sound perfect. Would I hear, if I burnt a regulator? Think so.
Thanks for some calming words…
Yes, I doubt any damage would have been done to the power supplies within the S/cap. You would have been joining the two signal outputs from the phono stages, so if the S/L was still within its switch on mute mode, the output relays would have been pulling the Prefix output signal to ground - hence no sound.
Thanks Neil - thanks for support on daytime (will never forget your late night support)
SL was only powered in. The signal cable was pulled out of SL. I only have one TT.
Prefix sound was very faint - as if it had not enough power - what is the thing that have happened.
Could be that SL was in its boot mode - the sound from prefix was not completely muted but very faint.
The signal output from the S/L goes along the Burndy, so would have been connected.
If the relays in the S/L were on (after the 2 min mute period), I doubt the output stages of each device would have been very happy about trying to drive each other. So a reduced output would be expected.
@neil
But… if still in mute (which I think as I recognized it fast) or not.
It is highly unlikely that SC will have taken a damage. Correct ?
So it is good, that sounding faint indicates that there is something wrong connected.
But is there output in Burndy in SL when no input from TT connected?
There wouldn’t actually be any signal on the output, but it would still be actively connected.
But any damage would be immediately obvious.
So all good.
Remember, when you switch on the Superline the period when it’s muted is quite long. This has caused one or two frightening moments in the past, even for yours truly…
