Supernait 3 - Addition of HiCap DR

Thanks all, good advice as always.

If you do the xpsdr upgrade on the ndx2, is part of the ndx2 original ps still being used in some way? To power other parts of the circuitry for example?

Otherwise it can feel that say, the ps in the ndx2 amounting to 1k of the overall cost, that you are throwing away £1k in value. Just curious.

As for getting a Core, I’m not IT savvy at all and prefer a simpler one stop set up, albeit at cost. You can pick up the Core at very decent second hand prices of course .

As for rival brands like Melco and Innous favoured here, what with the economic effects of the pandemic , i am concerned that a significant number of businesses could fall by the wayside and i think that a well run company like Naim would have a greater chance of survival, than the likes of the other two, theoretically. But then what do i know? Naim would also attempt to service their products for a longer period as well.

I appreciate that a number of people prefer the Melco/Innous set up on sonic and flexibilty grounds, but for the reasons stated above would prefer to stick with the Core, taking into account, price and possible flaws, but that is someway off i should add.

Enjoy the break . Good time to tackle cable dressing again, aiming to hang free and everything not making contact with anything else, a bit like social distancing!

1 Like

Looping back in on this one.
I went from a SN2 + HiCap DR + ND5 XS2 to a SN3 + NDX2 having traded in a NAIT XS2 and SN2 to get the SN3 and then a trade in of my ND5 and HiCap to pick up the ex demo NDX2.
I already had and reused Hi-Line DIN IC and Powerline mains as well as the NAC A5 and PMC speakers remaining the same.
I was also able to move to a full Fraim from an Isoblue rack as an offer was on combined with the purchase of the SN3.
Most choices were made for economic reasons and to take advantage of demand for kit to trade in and offers from Naim giving substantial discounts on new kit.
The end game in my case is a 4 box setup adding in psu’s for both the SN and NDX2, HiCap and XPS respectively. The order you do things in doesn’t really matter and will be mostly based on budget and available funds. The music ripper/server is a personal choice, there are as many lovers as haters of the Uniti Core, your mileage may vary accordingly!
I use an upgraded Mac Mini as a Roon server and that works fine for me as an example. I’ve done home demos of most of the obvious choices including Naim, Melco and Innuos and ended up saving my money and putting it elsewhere. The general view with the core is you’d mainly choose it for asthetic or completist reasons as opposed to price/performance.
I’ve not found the 2 box setup without PSU’s lacking vs what it replaced, the Fraim has made a nice improvement and is a very well designed and built rack, no question it’s a good “match”.
I’m hoping next to add the XPS then HiCap then maybe change IC/Speakers to SL but see where I’m at by that point!

2 Likes

I think the SN3/NDX2 is the lower level sweet spot in the Naim range and i would happily settle for that. The two power supplies aren’t truly essential, but would ideally max out the system and the likes of P lines and uprated i/cs would be the icing on the cake.

This little lot costs a packet though for the less well heeled, so as the cliche goes, one day at a time.

I presently have Rega Saturn R/Elicit R and Kudos C20.

Bluesound Node 2i into the Saturn dac provides streaming. Isoblue rack.

I heard the SN3 recently on home demo and well that’s got me started again. Will i ever learn?

1 Like

I can see that the Core is a bit marmite on here though.

Yes the 2 box combo is no slouch, neither was the system it replaced which was a 3 box combo on Isoblue.
I’ve said it plenty of times before, almost anything in the Naim range is going to give you a lot of pleasure, the main constraint is time and money.
I think the main issue with the Core is price against features. Overall it’s ok and fairly easy to use and integrate to a Naim based system, however for the money you can achieve the same ease of use and performance levels for less money. The downside being it’s not a black box with a glowing Naim logo on it hence my asthetic comment earlier in this thread.

The answer to the question in the second paragraph is no. Once the external PS is added the NDX2 mains lead is removed.

Missed that one, correct regards power source either/or on NDX2. Next step above that is ND555 with external 1x or 2x PSU only, at the kind of money I’d get in trouble even thinking about spending on a streamer.
I think for me the NDX2 solo or combined with an XPS DR is about as far financially and box count wise I’m prepared to go. I’ve heard a ND555 2x PSU setup on a passive Statement system with Focal Utopias and using full SL cabling. Sound was decent no question not an order of magnitude better though considering the enormous cost to build and own something similar at home.
Having owned and enjoyed various Naim systems I feel a Supernait 2 or 3 + NDX2 gives more than enough of what most of us would need from a system of this type.

7 Likes

“Having owned and enjoyed various Naim systems I feel a Supernait 2 or 3 + NDX2 gives more than enough of what most of us would need from a system of this type”

I agree. Unless you are comfortably off or don’t have other pressing financial commitments, if you can’t really be happy with a £8k system plus speakers etc, then it starts getting a bit obsessive and everyone else thinks you’ve lost the plot. How much on an amp? A cable ???

That’s the only trouble with the Naim upgrade path it goes on forever and you are always thinking of just, that one more step. Forums like this don’t help much either, telling me how a solo ndx2 is good but only with a £4k or £7k power supply does it get really really good! I wasn’t even contemplating the ps upgrade until I read this!

I should really be happy with the system I have, but this damn hobby is crazily addictive, when you genuinely love music and the reproduction of it.

Sod it, I’m ordering a ND555 with 2 ps.

6 Likes

I’m pretty content where I’ve found myself and also like the fact it’s a mostly finite end game, although you could add a Supercap and PS555 to my setup if you wanted to be extra decadent.
The main thing that tamed my ambitions was the arrival of my children and a massive renovation project on an old house, both time and wallet needy things vs a lusting for ever more capable black boxes and a rapidly decreasing pocket of time to actually sit down and enjoy it all.
You’ll find a fair few folks on here at similar points in their journey having reached similar conclusions.
I do find when I go away, hear others systems and then return to mine I’m reminded what the fuss is all about and why there are so many of us here and over the long term.

2 Likes

@Mike_S does the XPS DR make loads of difference to the NDX2 ??
Think this maybe my next step
B

…yes it does, if you do a home demo you will not want to send it back so make sure you have the cash in hand.

7 Likes

Yes, quite a big step I found, though on its own the NDX2 is certainly excellent as it is. The XPS DR gives more resolution and soundstage with a lower noise floor and is immediately a clearer and wider presentation with more cohension.

I was hesitant, as I don’t like having redundant power supplies in my system, it there is no escaping the fact that adding the separate power supplies moves things up.

2 Likes

I’ve certainly heard the 4 box system I’m heading towards and was left suitably convinced it was going to not leave me with a nagging desire to scrap it all and start again a few years down the line.
The last few weeks have been a curious and somewhat unplanned set of deviations from my original thought process and having taken a deep breath and leap of faith in letting my HiCap go to gain the NDX2 I can say with a degree of certainty now that it was the right move and with more gains than losses.
The difference between the SN2 and SN3 are mostly quite subtle, it is overall a better amp but it’s not a transformational change having lived with both a SN1 and SN2 in the past, mostly with a HiCap in both cases but always with XS level sources either ND5’s or CD5’s in various iterations.
It’s true to say that from what I can tell so far, the combination of the SN3 and NDX2 even as a 2 box system just gels together better and has more balance to me, it always seemed to fall short somewhat in the past, even with a HiCap to prop it all up.
I know what benefits lie ahead taking it up towards a 4 box finale, I would also say moving to the Fraim rack was a good decision and it has helped with isolation as the floor is wood and has a room beneath it so whilst it’s solid, it’s not concrete or a ground floor setting for the system.
The other thing I heard fairly recently was a comparison between a Hi-Line and SL DIN IC. I may borrow one for a few weeks to get a better feel of if I like it enough to swap it, initial thoughts were quite positive, almost like adding a HiCap to my ears, similar cost of course having said that!
I’ll certainly update the thread as I bed everything in, it’s actually been a positive side effect of being trapped at home to have way more time than usual to actually critically enjoy the new system
and both old and new music in a new way, you can tell the NDX2 is a very capable performer with suitable quality input, I did enjoy the ND5 XS2 but knew within the first 6 months of owning it it wasn’t going to stay longterm. It was well loved and has now found a new owner via this forum and my dealer so a happy ending and the start of a new journey elsewhere.
@Mike_S and @seakayaker are very helpful guides on this specific setup and have helped tune my thinking towards this choosen system
direction, it really does give so much of what a Naim system can deliver at an attainable level in terms of cost and box count and I’m enjoying the next step very much already.

3 Likes

So far, I’ve resisted any temptation to make that change as the system is quite delightful as it is. One has to stop somewhere, well now with a different future to consider…

3 Likes

Oddly enough I hadn’t actually planned to get a SN3 myself, it was mainly a means to get rid of both my SN2 and NAIT XS 2 at the same time and to take advantage of a 50% discount on accessories so having done the sums and with that offer being time limited I took a chance and did a much simpler trade in deal. I didn’t plan to swap out the ND5 or get rid of the HiCap either!
I think in part the justification was a refocus on the source and knowing I had demand for the kit I had and availability of suitable replacements and essentially upgrades.
I think I’d still be as happy with the SN2 as I’ve found myself with the SN3, I am however more clearly happier with the move to the NDX2 from the ND5 and the potential and options that presents in the future.
I’m probably going to get a new HiCap, funds may force me to be less flexible on the XPS but other priorities once again push these problems a little further down the queue again!
I’d like to try some new speakers at some point, maybe Focal Kanta 1’s but not urgent and just a desire to fiddle about, almost certainly unneccesarily!

1 Like

FWIW - I found the uplift much more substantial with the XPS-DR on the NDX 2 then with the HiCap DR on the SN 2.

…obvious my ears, my system in my room.

I added a NDX-2 to my SN-2 in March 2019, the XPS-DR in September 2019 and the HiCAP DR in February 2020. It does make a very, very nice four box solution…

6 Likes

similar here seakayaker
I bought an old 555ps for the NDX2, SN2 and Hi cap DR.
Was surprised at the improvement - to me more than adding the Hi cap DR was.

Once all this is over the 555ps will be getting a service as its long overdue.

Interesting to read Mr. M comments about the superlumina being a similar upgrade over the hi line to adding a hi cap. Ive got the hi line…

1 Like

I’d also anticipate the source PSU giving the greater gain overall.
I need to give the IC’s a more extensive comparison, I only had two relatively short sessions at my dealer, from memory that system consisted of SN3 + NDX2 + Dali speaker cables + Focal Kanta 1 speakers.
I’d expect a DR 555 to be somewhat better than a XPS DR, I think that’ll most come down to economics and if something suitable ex demo materialises, my worry being it opens up the path to an ND555, must be strong…

2 Likes

cheers @Mike_S appreciate it…
Stay Safe

1 Like

I climbed to a tower of black boxes (NDX, Dac, XPS, 282, HiCap, 250, Fraim, Hi-line) and realised I’d forgotten the thing I started buying hifi for: music! My advice is to find a system that can move you emotionally and then stop… because there’s only really added expense and obsession after that! My new Supernait 3 and NDX 2 arrive on Monday and I’m super excited! Although I do still have the XPS :smiley:

11 Likes