Don’t put too much trust in reviews, regardless the media. Yes, v1 is good, very good, I have even given my comments in this very thread if I remember correctly, that I preferred its pre amp section over the one in sn2, but that was during the burn in period, now sn2 has finally fully settled in (I guess). A great overall amp, not for everyone’s taste, but not meant to be either.
One of the few things I didn’t rate on my SN2 when i had it was the headphone output. It was mediocre at best and easily bettered by my then Chord Hugo
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That’s what I thought! Interesting how different people rate the SN2 headphones output differently.
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I suppose it depends on whether you have heard better or not. For me I have the Oppo HA2 and chord mojo. In my opinion the SN3 is better in most cases but the chord is very good too.
If I had a Hugo then I suspect my opinion of the SN3 headphone amp may be different.
Comparison is not relevant really - Hugo is dedicated headphone amp, sn2 is an integrated amp. If people intend to listen to headphones, why buy sn?
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Perhaps because of its mass and weight? I would need to glue the Hugo to a lead socket to use it as a headphone amp with the HD800!
Maybe you are not an headphone man at all.
Personally, I have to hear the first headphone which sounds sufficient. I think it is a state of mind for me - I hear all the sound but it does not touch me.
I completely agree Dayjay, I owned the SN2 for a couple of years. I tried my headphones with it once, that was enough for me, not good enough. I bought a Hugo 1 when they first came out, and instantly I loved its sound through headphones. Not even in the same league, my current TT2 is even better.
Just to give an alternative view, as I happen to be using my modest Grado SR125e headphones into my SN2 this evening - listening to the new Chick Corea Trio ‘Trilogy 2’ CD I think it sounds excellent.
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I view headphones as a necessary evil when the situation dictates - I always prefer “regular” listening.
I agree. I found the SN2 headphone output lacking too. I now have pre and power and not inclined to get a headline with separate PSU any time soon (although the Chord TT2 is tempting)
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Perhaps you are right, in fact I use headphones very very little. Still I am under the impression that there are much better headphones outputs than the one of the SN2. Not a big deal for me, but a better headphones output would have made the SN3 more appealing to me.
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Yep I agree that the Grados sound superb with the NAITs, even with my 5si and XS2, so must be at least as equal or better with SN2. My Grado SR325e sound really good out of my XS2 output. I don’t yearn for any better that’s for sure.
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I also have the Grado 325e. They sound great with the headphone out of my SN2.
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Hello Supernait folks.
I was almost on my way this morning to go and buy a Supernait 3. Then someone pointed out to me the posts in this thread about balance control problems.
I have now read all the posts about this. Not only does it seem that the balance can be slightly off. It’s apparent that balance levels can change sunstantially as volume goes down.
To be totally honest, if I bought a Supernait 3 that did that, I would go nuts. There are reports in this thread where users had to turn the balance control quite hard left or right. This is as they reduced volume to a whisper.
I am a quiet user the majority of time, but sometimes like a bit more volume. That means any amplifier I would buy, would categorically have to be auditioned for very low volume listening. The reason being that reviews sometimes say amplifiers can lose sparkle, life, or quality at low volumes. Then secondly I would have to check for balance changing at low volumes. Balance would have to remain constant for me to even buy the amplifier.
I was saved from potential disaster by being alerted to this balance issue. I could have gone to audition and amplifier today. Then they would have given me an amplifier that is in stock. Or had one sent to me, that was not in stock. Had the stock amplifier had a balance problem, I could have got stuck.
Now I am lost as to what to do. It means I will have to ask to box open any Supernait 3 that a store has in stock. That’s just to check how it handles balance. I could not cope with having to alter balance as I altered volume.
Or choose another amplifier, with or without balance. Am feeling really blue right now, as I had gradually over time decided to buy the Supernait 3. Anyway, I thought it would be worth adding my thoughts, as someone may have suggestions.
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Just had an XPSDR plumbed into system, great addition,so now have,
SN3,HCDR,CDX2,XPSDR,ATC SCM40’s ,sounding great.Extended listening session begun !
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Hasn’t the SN3 got the same volume control as the SN2? I have no problems with my SN2 and I’m not concerned about the SN3 I have on order.
My SN3 has to have balance control slightly left of centre,but that’s where it stays,haven’t had to adjust it with volume levels.
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Interesting. Mine is right at 12:00 and I’m not hearing the need to move it one way or the other.
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If you base decisions solely on the basis of internet opinion you’d never get anything as they’ll always be someone who has an issue - and who is then vocal about it. The silent overwhelming majority just enjoy their purchases!
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