I have ordered a Powerline which will be with me by next week, what do you guys think will have the best affect on the sound quality, I will test on each equipment when I get however I want to know what you guys suggest will have the greater affect, will it be Nap 250-3, NDX2 or the Hi cap DR?
When I faced this dilemma, I wound up placing mine on the HiCapDr. I was surprised to be honest but at the time it sounded the best on the HiCap. YMMV.
I hope you mean a pair.
You need 2 , one at Router other at your Hifi end, With a Cat 5 cable in each
Iām not following you. I think @BackToNaim is asking about a Naim Powerline which is a powercord.
The answer must surely be to put it on the xps-dr or 555ps ?
His profile doesnāt mention either of those PSUs.
Exactly.
Worked my through all boxes. Prevailing forum view at the time was pre amp for the most impact. Having tried source, power supplies pre and power mine ended up on the power amp. Iāve taken it off twice since to see whether my view remained the same. It has always gone back on the power amp. YMMV.
I can only talk theory hereā¦ as I am unfamiliar with the full product range with which the OP is talking.
I would theorise that a power box that supplies āother equipmentā would give the best likely improvement, due to the number of other items that may then benefit.
Digital front ends stand to gain the mostā¦ being most sensitive, and the old adage: āgarbage in = garbage outāā¦
of course freeing up power amps to flow is always great, and āarguablyā the sensitve source kit no doubt has a lot of effort given to improving their isolation from RF spuriae.
testing of course is where it comes into playā¦
although some would state that it takes awhile for the electron flow to settle into itsā own path of least resistance down the cableā¦ (in this regard, like a river cuts through the valley,ā¦ a little time does equal an improvement as well.)
from an amp I would expect deeper bass notes and a more free flowing delivery (and more āairā around the instrumentsā /āblacker backgroundā)ā¦ Great power regen/good power delivery seems to net an extra 10dB of Signal to Noise or āis like taking the kit up a tier in qualityā (depending where one is at in their system synergy and present build).
from a digital source component I would expect a whole range of improvements.
I recall putting a Thor powerboard onto a surround rig and couldnāt believe how much it improved that audio system. Others could hear it without me mentioning I had changed anything about the system. (Thor had a few patents on those old powerboards (before Monster aquired them)(they restarted as PowerGuard, still West Australian based is my understanding)ā¦
Sure that power board āenvelopedā the 240hz wave,ā¦ (brownouts were ānot a thingā),. but just using āniceā power cables, even if they do nothing else (not my belief),. they at least give great RF rejection /āshieldingā and even if just in the last length of the journey,ā¦ they DO make a difference (especially so in a world where EVERYTHING has bluetooth and wifi in it)ā¦
Iād go ādigital front endā (if you are exclusively digital)ā¦
more so a power box (if it feeds two components)
or the amp, which , if not already with multiple stages of power recreation behind it (ie the Supernait has this strength over the lower Naits)ā¦ then the power amp.
Of courseā¦ if it proves itself on ANY of the items, then you are likely to get some for the others in due time anyway
enjoy.
(oh and as my post here is littered with the words āexpectā and other setups for cognitive bias, bewareā¦ do not rush your listeningā¦ try it out on components for a week or soā¦ You might not notice the improvements when putting it in place, but you WILL notice the strangle/choke that happens when you remove it. (hindsight being 20/20)
Iād keep the alternate cable hooked up to power so that when you replace /āswap cables overā you are not putting a ācoldā one back into the system. (that would be night/day and not in a pleasant way).
Yup. Exactly my experience. HiCap DR the least for me.
Yeah, not sure where that came from, OP specifically states the components they have. Theoretically I think the source would be the first place but opinions differ and they should try each and listen for themselves.
Iād suggest you look around for used Powerlines and get one for each box. That way there is no āwhat ifā involved. Keep an eye on eBay and Pink Fish.
Agreed. It took me well over a year to have one for each component. IMHO worth it for all.
Oops thought he was on about Powerline Internet adaptors
No worries. I kind of figured that was the case. Same name but different applications.
On my sn3, hi cap dr and ndx2 I settled on the source which for my ear at the time sounded best. (Un) fortunately per HH comment above I ended up asking what if and bought one for each unit which inevitably sounded even better. Best post a letter up the chimney and see what Santa can source.
Thatās an interesting hypothesis.
It makes sense to me as a possibility.
I started with one powerline on the Supercap 2. And then got 3 more. One for each 135 which go into mains double socket. And then another powerline for the block.
I stopped there. I havenāt got them on XPS2 (chord purple) or 555PS (chord purple) or ND5XS2 (HB labs cable). I have good cables on everything and have spare powerline lites. I put a powerline lite one on the Lingo 1 and it sounds little different.
I think the Powerlines make a big difference on amplification. The sound is a tad darker with deeper bass and improved imaging. My son heard the difference immediately.
Would be great to have them on every box but I stopped at 4. All bought used.
I havenāt experimented with them on the NDS (555PS) or CDS2 (XPS2).
Iām quite happy with it all as it is.
My plan is to at least get two of them as having plans to sell the Supernait 3/Hicap DR and ndx2 and buy the NSC 222 to match the preamp but again the dilemma is whether it would be a upgrade or downgrade. I am unfortunate to have a demo before buying as having no dealers in the country which I reside, have to depend on this lovely forum to decide and get the equipment imported.
Iād be tempted to put it in the 250-3 and forget about trying it anywhere else.
What with it being the new hot number in the system. Give it the special care and attention it deserves.