Deffo not an old SNAIC, I think Richard … grey all the way through … and uniform all the way through. Looking on ‘How to identify’, it seems the old SNAICs have black ‘shrink’ insulation at the ends. These others ones, that I’ve seen all over the place (& stated as SNAIC), do not. Usually going for around £50.
Probably just an interconnect then.
Damn !! SNAIC 5 cable has arrived … definitely the genuine article, but still the buzz. Now need to gum-boot through the original vendors on eBay, anyone (hopefully an engineer) I can get to talk to in Salisbury … and any Naim specialist repair outfits like Class A in Sheffield, as suggested by Robert. Bummer … I’d so hoped the cable would rectify the problem .
… does seem to be sounding better overall though, despite the persistent presence of the buzz, even with volume turned right down on the NAC. I can’t hear it with music playing … but my son says he can.
You might want to do a bit of troubleshooting. You’ve got quite a lot of kit connected so may have some unintended ground loops.
I’d start with only the ND5XS2, NAC202, Hicap and the Creek (as power amp) connected first.
Do you still get the buzz ?
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… yes - definitely a marked improvement in the sound. So … happy with that, for what cost me a mere 75 quid.
Another thing that had helped the SQ of late, is the Audiolab DC block 6 I recently bought for £350. The single units are £99 … they’ve have just brought out a similar thing that serves 6 units via (included) IEC cables. Previously, the SQ of my system would depend on whatever rubbish (or lack of) was eminating from the mains socket at the time. This has really helped & evened things up. Had been meaning to get a mains conditioner for a long time … but it seemed the ones that people claimed did any good were well over a grand. This unit seems as very good value-for-money to me.
I’ve tried all sort James … seems to persist.
To add to James post above (and I agree here, strip everything back to just Naim source, pre and PS), do you have a Naim amp you can try just to see whether that is all OK.
Also don’t discount the i/c between the PS and the power amp. I had a similar scenario some years back with a couple of non-Naim power amps. It turned out that the RCA phono plugs were not making the best ground contact with the RCA sockets on the amps. Swapping to different plugs or a different i/c cured the problem.
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Ah ok – It’s just worth trying if you’ve not already gone right down to the basic setup suggested. At least in this simple, single source setup, if it’s still buzzing, then that that will help narrow down where the issue lies.
As Richard suggests, borrowing a Naim power amp would be ideal as the Naim / Creek pairing isn’t one of the more usual combinations.
Good luck🤞
… comes back to the problem of my affinity for driving two pairs of speakers . I have floorstanders (KEF R7s) the at front (A’s) and standmounts (KEF R3s) at the side (B’s) and can play with just main spkrs or add-in the side spkrs (A+B) … with the press of a button on the Creek remote. I would need two Naim (stereo) power amps (or 4 monoblocks) … and switching would probably involve getting up to adjust at source (?) PS. … also have a Muso between the floorstanders (on a cabinet under the telly) … and sometimes add-in that (also connected to the HiCap via DIN/RCA adaptor/connector and RCA to 3.5mm minijack cable -NO hum from the Muso at all). I’m sure some, if not many, will think this all mad … but it works for me … and gives me a very full, layered, detailed, pleasant sound at low volume, without disturbing the neighbours. If I want to turn it up loud … then I will generally just employ the floorstanders. As per HiCap to Creek DIN4-RCA cable … have tried a few - don’t think the problem lies there. Will, however, probably get a Chord Shawline DIN4 -2xRCA when can afford. (Don’t believe Naim themselves make a DIN4 to 2x RCA). Have spotted a Chinese cable on eBay with silver connectors, lovely-looking braided main insulation, nice tidy banding and heat-shrink insulation on the individual RCA plug strands … may try one of those.
Sorry … the Muso DOES also hum (otherwise would deffo be the Creek, I suppose). Apologies … starting to suffer brain burn-out from all this confused perusal, I think.
Disconnected everything else … made sure ND5 XS2 on DIN for audio output
Hi James,
Never did quite eliminate the hum … but have acquired a pair of LInn LK240 monoblocks for a song, so removed the Creek integrated from the equation. Sounds a lot better overall … and extraneous noise much reduced. NAC202 & HiCap may need a service … which may or may not happen at some point. Many thanks for all your help.
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