I’ve just recently joined the Naim camp. Using a SN3. Mainly listen to vinyl. I bought a Stageline which I run off my SN3 just to see how it sounds.
The Stageline has seen off my more expensive standalone phono stage I have had before getting the Naim. There is some great synergy going on and I don’t want to mess with it too much.
I’m super happy (pun intended)!
I have a chance to get a Supercap Dr at a really good price. Is this overkill for a Stageline?
Might upgrade to Superline in the near future but quite happy as is.
Supercap DR is the best thing for the Stageline, but it is also overkill for the Stageline in terms of cost. But if you have an eye on a Superline, then I would snap it now before it disappears.
There is a plenty of different cables for different budgets to choose from, Naim/Chord/Flashback plus others.
Basically, you would need a 5-5 pin din from the Hicap (or Supercap) to the Stageline then a 4 pin din out of the Hicap (Supercap) terminated with whatever your pre amp needs, 5 pin din for Naim, RCA for most others.
A Superline phono stage can be run from ‘Aux in & power’ on the back of your SN3 in the first instance, just as your Stageline is now. Power supplies could come later.
That said I love my Stageline S and am happy with it running from Aux2
I run my stageline from an olive HiCap and the improvement was very good when I changed from the 202 Aux2 Pwr socket.
I can’t really comment how much better an SCDR would be over a HCDR, perhaps not a vast step? However, I would prefer a HC that has been serviced over a SC in need of a service, so if you’re keen to acquire the SCDR, perhaps factor in a service in a few years if its an older one. The DR version of the SC is from 2012 onwards.
I’d rather run a bare Superline than a Supercapped Stageline. I’d buy a Superline first, you may find that is good enough for your needs.
I see you’re new to Naim. With Naim there is almost always an upgrade available to you. The trick is learning to stop at a point where you are happy rather than constantly chasing perfection.
Elsewhere the OP has declared his liking for an EMT, if that is still the cartridge of choice than a stageline E or superline E is just made for him, it’s what the E stands for.
Also let’s not forget if you add a HCDR to your SN3 the powered output to the Stageline will also benefit from the upgrade, of course with the preamp section of the SN3.
Not sure how much difference compared to a directly powered Stageline. I should try one day.
The Superline has enough gain and is quiet enough that it should work with even some very low output MCs - Some of the top end Ortofons go down to 0.125mV. However, 0.25mV is about as low as you would want to go with the slightly lower gain “E” version.
For the regular Superline I’d say you don’t want an MC with an output higher than 0.5mV. The “E” version you can go higher - up to about 0.7mV
