Sound

Hi maybe Richard can help… Curious when I first setup my equipment the sound ie bass vocals everything just sounded fantastic then it mellowed then the bass went… I put it down to running in which iv read about on the forum… So the other day I stuffed about with cable unplugging everything n checking everything then after I plugged everything back in and turned on… That sound was back… Big smile n again it seems to die down a bit… Why is there sumthin wrong with my equipment or is it normal… Thank you for the help in advance :grin:

If it’s all new, I would just leave everything on.
If your unplugging, turning off and on, then your just prolonging it.
This is normal.
Could be worthwhile to keep a little notebook. Making notes of your thoughts over the sound. With the date. To help keep track of what’s going on.

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If it’s not all new then one or more of your boxes has a capacitor issue and needs recapping.

What’s the system ? Are you using a audio stand and if so is it sitting on thick carpet ?
What you are describing is the signs of a system going microphonic.
If you can post a pic of your set up as others may be able to spot a simple issue

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not ideal stand at the moment…
Nac 252. Stageline… Supercap and 300 dr all dr and project rpm 10.1 evo turntable
Will b getting a superline and frame as soon as funds allow

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I’d say that the system needs to be set up
I bet you will be super happy once you have your Fraim
But that piece of furniture is probably sucking the life out of what’s on it
Try putting some cork coasters between the feet and the wood ( just for a quick test )
Then try putting something between the amp / supply and the tile ( anything just to test, like a small hard cover book )
See if you hear any difference but you should have a bit more life in the system … the Fraim will be eye / ear opening

Awsum thanks for the tips I will give it a go nuthin ventured :grin:yep when I first set it up and done the cables the other day I felt like the old memorex add from yrs ago the dude in the chair getting blasted with music n after a day of playing records it sort off mellows out still sounds good… But nothing like the first few hours

That’s exactly what happen when the gear goes microphonic
Unplug it / turn it off then it takes time to go nasty again …
Once it’s on a proper stand the microphonic issue is dealt with.
Some electronics are not as sensitive to this as Naim is but quite a few are.

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Microphonic? To be honest, I’ve not heard that one.

It would be helpful if you could elaborate and explain what is happening.

I get that some stands are better than others, but not sure what you mean about the system going microphonic unless you buy a Fraim

How does that work?

To get an idea what microphonic means or how it effects electronics I believe it’s all over the naim web site on the products pages.
But basically my findings are Electronics go microphonic once they are powered up
A equipment stand allows the energy to leave the chassis of the electronics and pass into the stand and hope it goes into the floor below.
Some stands are better or more efficient then others and in fact some pieces of ikea furniture are very effective at doing this as well and tend to be the cardboard core type , lack table ( I believe it’s called )
Once a component goes microphonic unless this energy is sent elsewhere the value of the components in the circuit can not be the true value the designer intended them to be and thus we hear the system as “ going off “
This is why some find there system sound great to start but soon changes and report a down grade in performance.
And again some gear does not go microphonic but it has more to do with how they mount there circuit boards and or how there chassis are designed.

Per @Thescotsman 's original post, what he’s most likely hearing is the initial warm-up phase of the kit, which will be different across the various PS’s.

Initially, things can be a tad bright/vocals forward, bass isn’t really apparent, it can seem detailed. I’ve liked it when in this phase too, which has happened various times when re-stacking my Fraims. Microphonics, as a primary reason, is some way down the list IMV.

As the kit warms up, things change as the electronic components rise to operating stations (esp the caps), sometimes up to a month or so later - especially with the bigger PSs. The changes involve a widening of the musical soundscape, with more/tighter bass - sometimes bass emerges which you simply didn’t appreciate was there and, bass, can transform a musical picture (so to speak), as it affects everything, including vocals.

Above said (and with respect), the picture posted shows a very sub-optimal stacking and placement of the kit (duly acknowledged by the OP), which is likely to be having a material negative effect on performance cold or warmed-up system e.g. it looks like burndies are on the floor, perhaps interconnects hanging down too? Getting the kit disconnected from the floor may help (as suggested).

In the world of a 300 and Naim kit such things are big ‘no, no’s’.

Fraim will benefit the system/performance enormously - with a Superline on the way (?), this suggests 2 stacks may be best, one with the brains (252, Superline, 300 head unit), the other with Supercap, 300PS.

Warning to the OP - this will need some planning, potential creativity to ensure burndies and interconnects don’t touch the floor. I’d suggest engaging a dealer for advice (there are differing Fraim shelf heights available) or perhaps seeking assistance on the Forum*, with details of the kit etc. *Post a read of the operating spec’s of Fraim on the main website, as (in theory), there’s a weight limit on how tall it should be stacked, if there’s only room/money for one stack. If 2 stacks are possible, then the height and reach across needs to be adequate for the cabling to hang freely.

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Happy listener… I think uv hit the nail on the head but when it’s in warm up stage everything is there drums bass it’s just like a like setting n as u say once stuff starts to warm up n settle I still get the sound but not bang in face :pensive: :grin: yep I was thinking 2 stacks as I v read brains one side n pre up top n muscle otherside… Maybe I’ll leave superline n invest in the fraims as I think that is more important and to get cables of the tiles…

You’ve got wonderful kit and the Fraim and attention to detail required around cabling et al, is the icing on the cake and should release far more performance.

As many of us have found, the Fraim costs aren’t immaterial (one way of putting it :grin:) - but it’s worth it and IMV essential.

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And yes brundie from the 300 are on the floor but the supercap to the 252 isn’t… I just thought it would b better setup like that until I get fraims… Or should I move the oppo 205 to the floor and an onkyo amp on the floor n lift the other equipment up so brundie hang rather than on tiles

Thanks happy listener I bought spur of the moment just heard a 250 in the shop n thought wow… As I was buying new speakers n had just bought a supernait 2. 6 months previous n then I found naim community n enjoying the journey :grin:takes a lot of saving up… But love my music so u gotta go as good as u can

@Thescotsman do anything you can to get the 300 head unit on top and the cables (all of them) off the floor. You will need an empty shelf on each side of the Fraim to ensure the Burndies are off the floor. You could put a non Naim item on the Braun side at the bottom but I would leave the brain base free.

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Cool cheers Steve I’ll move stuff off my unit until I get the fraims cause yep better with the cables off the floor

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I see system photos like this on this forum showing very lovely and very expensive equipment in a room with tiled floors. Surely having such a reflective, reverb laden echoing room is the worst acoustic environment you could have. The system will never sound right in an echo chamber. There is a great deal of talk about room acoustics and how we are actually listening to the room as much as the speakers. Listening rooms at dealers are always carpeted and usually include floor to ceiling curtains and/or wall hangings/tapestries etc. in order to stop these reflections. I would suggest the biggest and most effective upgrade you should make that would certainly improve the sound significantly would be to cover the floor tiles with carpet. Spending thousands on the kit and then thousands on power supplies, speaker cables and hifi furniture and then putting it in an echo chamber is counter intuitive to me.

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That is very true about getting the 300 burndys off of the floor. In fact after checking mine I raised them up even further and there was a tangible improvement using the CDS3 in terms of tightness and punchiness of the sound. Top tip - many thanks!

I run the 300 head unit at the lowest level of my brain stack and the supply higher up on the brawn stack so there was a bit of flexibility in terms of getting separation from the floor by routing upwards.

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The benefit of experience @Dynaudio1! My first set up when I had my 300 meant cables were far from optimum!!

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