It’s very, very good, and just works so well in the context of a Naim system.
I’m surprised though by the result with the Hi-line as, if you have it connected up just right and completely relaxed then it should give an even greater sense of openness and larger soundstage. It might be worth working on optimising the installation and then re-asses.
Interesting. FWIW, I have tended to prefer the Hi-line with Naim digital sources but prefer the Lavender/grey i/c with analogue. But I’ve never tried either on an NDX2, so maybe that makes the difference here?
Also…I am not a big fan of the very delicate construction of the armadillo-like plugs…years ago, I had another which broke too easily. I just thought to try one out.
But I am perfectly happy now with the synchronizity of the system…
No, I don’t think anybody likes the delicacy of the airplug, but it’s an awful lot more robust than the prototypes! With careful handling it should be fine - I’ve had them since launch and, despite multiple times of plugging and unplugging, I’ve never had a single one break.
I had a hiline with the ground connector broken inside the connector. It sounded very off. Hiline is not the most sturdy cable out there and have a rather high fault rate. Maybe the one you tried was faulty.
I once had an “expensive” din cable from my NDX2 to my SN2. It was a TQ Silver Diamond. There was nothing wrong with it. But, when I went back to the standard Naim Din cable, I lost nothing. The standard cable is really good!
Don’t worry about it forget the hype and silly prices if suits you then that’s all that matters.
Let the Jones’s argue amongst themselves.
You enjoy music more when relaxed.
If my assumption that these products were developed using the standard interconnects, then none of this should be a suprise. Speaker cables is a different matter, as there is no standard length.
FWIW, I found Hiline as much different as better - slightly better at ‘sudden’ and stereo effects but if anything it was less focused on foot-tapping enthusiasm. However, the NDX2 and 82/HC/250 didn’t show much difference overall.
With 52 (or presumably 252), the Hiline was a clearer winner, whether with NDX2/XPSDR or CDS2. However, the now unavailable WH Morgana was a fraction better than either overall.
With 552/300DR, the standard Naim lavender cable is still good, but Hiline and Morgana are noticeably better.
All of these have worked well. For my room and ears at least, the difference between best and worst interconnect is much smaller than several other ways of spending money on upgrades, and much more noticeable with the flash pre-amp options.
If you like the lavender cable, but don’t gel with the Hiline… you may want to look at DNM interconnects… ridiculously affordable, and sound to me more ‘Naim’ than even the Lavander cable. DNM is copper only and low reactance … everything just breathes perfectly… and sounds natural… with no horrible highlighting, little lumps or dips or worse still, glare, in the frequency response… oh yes phase performance is great, so it images well, and great PRaT with great differentiated dynamics. I find it opens out more than Hiline… with a lovely natural balance from sub bass upwards. You hear masters as they should be without adding salt and pepper.
I use my DNM HFTN interconnects between my N50 and DAVE
I wouldn’t mind giving a DNM cable a go between DAVE - 552 but browsing the DNM website its all over the place, how do you go about ordering 2x RCA to DIN, do you just drop them an email?
Yep… it is, true fanatical cottage industry… best give them a call tomorrow.
They will tell you what to put on the order… you do need to tell them it’s for Naim DIN, as there are different ways of wiring DIN for different makes.
