That was many years ago, things have moved on some since then i would say
I’m no engineer, so couldn’t say. Probably Steve Sells would know.
Dunc,
I found that the Superline was unusually sensitive to the selection of resistor.
Changing the resistor plug by +/- 25 Ohms made a noticeable difference, e.g Dynavector MC cartridges sound noticeably better with the 453 Ohm plug over the 470 Ohm plug. The standard 500 Ohm plug seriously degrades the performance. In contrast, with other phono stages, a change of +/-100 Ohms made a barely any difference.
For this reason alone, most phono stages are fine with a selection of circa 5 resistor values, which can be managed via a switch, whereas a Superline would need many multiples of this.
This seems to be a peculiarity of the Superline design and may be another reason for Naim choosing plug-in resistors over a 50 way switch.
Best regards, BF
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Hi BF
There was a Superline Z Plug Deep Cryo-576R & 470pF for a previous sale from a ‘sellers’ website . The seller said they were a perfect match for Linn & Lyra cartridges. Looks like i’m going to be doing a lot of fiddling around. My Ortofon A95 is low output and it was set up by a lovey guy and Linn specialist who’s no longer with us, he put 100R and 4.7nF combination in and it has sounded fantatisc for the last 3 years or so.
Good to know. I recognise the 576R as being optimum for Lyra & Linn cartridges from the original Superline Loading thread on this forum, after Peter Swain of Cymbiosis fame did a lot of testing shortly after the Superline was launched.
It would be interesting to know which values best suit Ortofon cartridges, even though I now follow a different path with the new Hana Umami Red.
Best regards, BF
I agree with Bluesfan regarding sensitivity. I played with a 560R on my Krystal and then went to a 576R. There was a noticeable improvement despite it being such a minor change. I then ordered the Naim Z foil air plug and once again a big boost in SQ. Noticeably more relaxed, dynamic and open. Like going from Lavender cable to Superlumina. I can’t fault the Superline. One of the best things I’ve bought for my LP12.
It might have been the rega cartridge’s i was using, as these didnt seem to alter with different loading, my dynavector drt xv1t cartridge is totally different, massive difference, its like having tone controls back.
Switching them over instantly while playing, you can really hear the difference they make
Indeed Dunc. Now imagine having a phono stage where you hear that same level of increment every 20-30 Ohms!
I have been there and done it with the superline thanks, not interested going back to it, unless naim bring out a new updated version maybe in the future? As like i said, i like things a bit easier to live with than the superline.
But i might try different phono stages in the future, the luxman sq500 or ???
Indeed Dunc, I wasn’t trying to suggest that you should go back to a Superline.
Enjoy your trials with phono stages, wherever that path takes you. There’s quite a range of exotica out there to try, whether Luxman, Allnic, Tron, Sim Audio Moon (the 810 with external power supply), Whest or many others.
Best regards, BF
Lots to try, very happy with what i have, but as normal, you can’t help but look, plus i feel my aura is more suited to rega stuff, probably being silly about that.
Would be great for naim to update the superline, especially with vinyl having a bit of a come back, as i am sure they could make it even better these days and then i would probably go with one.
But been running my dynavector cartridge at 400 lately and its certainly much more lively than at 100.
Think you’ll be waiting a long time for Naim to produce a reference phono, I hoped they would
The Mastergroove SR is well worth a listen, it’s a different league to the Superline SC/DR so is the price
Lyndon
Hi thought I’d follow up with my findings regarding the Lyra Etna SL and Superline.
Firstly I managed to fit the new cartridge to the Ekos SE, which as it’s the first time I’ve ever attempted to do, was a nerve wracking but fullfilling experience!! It sounds absolutely sublime and led me to 10 hours of continuous listening pleasure yesterday. Only another 80 hours left to full run it in 
This morning I’ve played around with the load plugs and found, for me and my system, that the best combination is 220 resistance with 10nf capacitance. Lower then this the sound is too bright and above I lost some of the magic of the Etna SL : the huge soundstage and incredible detail.
Thanks for the help and advice given with this project from forum members 
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Could be part of the run in and your preference will change over the course of it, assuming the superline lasts long enough.
Thanks good thought Yeti. I’ve got a couple of home demos booked in over the next few weeks with options on phono - I’ve always used NAIM so I don’t know what the difference could be. I could come to the conclusion that the SL is the best match, it certainly isn’t a bad phonostage.
ATB Pete
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