NVC-TT vs Superline

Anybody had an opportunity to compare these phono stages?

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There’s a few comparisons done HERE with the concensus being that a SL/SCDR is better. I don’t think anyone has reported findings of comparisons vs. a bare SL or vs. SL with any other PSU (eg. HCDR), but my gut says there’s probably very few Solstice owners that had an SL that didn’t have a SCDR with it.

@Cohen1263 can testify. He uses now a Superline / Supercap on his Solstice.

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Thanks BB. I followed that thread for a couple hundred posts last year but then moved on. I’ll have to re-visit it.

Hope to hear from @cohen1263 !

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I can only report that the Superline / Supercap DR is better than the Solstice Phono Stage. I’ve never powered the Superline with anything else!!

The Solstice phono is the NVC phono.

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Interesting that Naim chose not to sell the Solstice with the Superline, expecially as they sell it with a cartridge, somewhat obviating the need for all the adjustments available on the NVC-TT. Economies of scale would have suggested the Superline would have been more economical (no R&D costs, multiple manufacturing lines, multiple component sourcing)?

Oops!! :wink:.

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Yes but the Solstice phono stage is powered by the Solstice power supply which in turn doubles up it’s duties by also providing power to the Solstice motor. That config reduces box count keeping costs down.

The guys making the marketing decisions in France obviously wanted to “pitch” the turntable as a package. If you think about it that way nothing goes unsold does it? I will speculate that if our friends in Salisbury were making those decisions the turntable might be available in different guises!

I’d add that it’s difficult to persuade anyone who hasn’t heard my turntable combo as to just how good it is. The Solstice with its P/S and the ARO 2 are superb designs. Roy George should be congratulated here for his major part in the R&D….

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Hold the presses, after nearly a month of run-in I’m finding myself preferring the sound of the Solstice phono stage over my SL/SC-DR. The NVC-TT is more open/detailed and seems to gel better with the Naim cartridge. I’m not ready to make any definitive statements yet, but it’s a very good phono stage and deserves more attention.

Back to playing records and ignoring my ND555.

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That’s not an opinion shared by HQ

Does anyone know if it is possible to power the NVC-TT with a HiCap or another Naim ps?

No it´s not possible sadly

What is HQ?

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Headquarters ( in Salisbury)

Although I totally disagree that the Solstice phono stage is in any way better than S/C - S/L I feel that a significant reason for this is freeing up the Solstice P/S to just power the turntable motor and the excellence of a Supercap thrown into the mix.

What would be interesting IMO would be to power the Solstice phono with a Supercap. Comparing it then to the Superline might change opinions. Sadly it can’t be done.

Have you heard the Equinox with Superline /SC before going to the Dynavector ?
Maybe the specs of the Equinox match better the loading of Chris Superline ?

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Yes I did. I used S/C - S/L with Equinox for several weeks. The phono stage and power supply was at least as big an upgrade as Equinox to DVXV1t IMO.

It’s all subjective of course and my opinion is simply that. Forum posters too often make definitive judgements which is why it can all feel like a merry go round of information :crazy_face:. All good fun though.

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Some people tend also to believe strongly that what they have is better than an upgrade, to avoid doing it. And perhaps to keep the original Solstice phono which match better aesthetically the Solstice turntable.
Not saying that it’s always the case.

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Fair points :+1:

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Why do you think that? It has the standard NAIM 270 degree/8 pin PSU in/audio out din socket?