I had an etude on loan when my ultima was in for repair and its a cracking little amp. My ultima is way better than the 282/250dr with a pair of hicaps I had previously and i wouldn’t be surprised if the etude was too
I don’t get the repeated comments on this. I installed mine and listen to it, full stop. Now and again unplug snd replug a few times to clean the contacts. All fuss free. Having less boxes would be great, but nothing else sounds half as good so they stay and I listen and smile
Our turntable goes via a Moon phono stage to the Chord pre-power amp. The step up in performance from the 52/
135s or a 252/300 was not subtle for us and will be even more marked with a tough loudspeaker load like the Totem Mani-2.
Best to audition and also to experience Accuphase, Vitus and Moon 700i so that you know first hand.
Best regards, BF
When I had my multi-box Naim system I found that it would ‘drift off’ from time to time and it would then be a question of trying to establish the cause and correct it. Not always so easy. The system I now have is much simpler and much less prone to that sort of thing.
Of course it really depends on how fussy you are. Maybe I was being too fussy. Yes it’s certainly possible to set up a large multi box system and just live with it. Whether it will always be giving of its best is another question. But then maybe that doesn’t matter or isn’t noticeable to some people.
I find more often than not it’s the HiLine’s that need re-dressing when the system goes off. Either that or just a power down cycle can sort it. I read somewhere you should do that to de-gauss the cabling - whatever the hell that means.
In my case it’s not box count that’s driving my thoughts about changing, it’s the sad fact that all of my DR boxes have failed. The only saving grace is they failed inside the extended warranty period.
I do do that occasionally as well as the unplugging replugging business. Forgot about that. It does help but uave no idea why.
This does go slightly counter to your previous post where you say it’s ‘all fuss free’. Unplugging, replugging, cleaning contacts and the ‘power down’ cycle doesn’t sound especially fuss free. Whichever way you look at it, more boxes means more faff.
Replugging is something you need to do with every hifi system once in a while, regardless make or size. And to do the replugging, you need to power down so it’s all in one go. I wouldn’t call that Naim related fuss.
I’d be doing the same thing with an all-in-one system - maybe as much as twice a year No big deal. Sure there are more plugs and interconnects on a multi-box system, but you’re still talking minutes per year.
I think people either get what Naim does or they don’t….
Just for clarity’s sake, that’s what cleans the contacts. I’m not talking about any intricate separate operation with special fluids etc….
It’s the spirit of a forum, you have no escape. If you unplug and clean you will be criticised, If you never clean, you will be criticised to not taking care of such an expensive gear.
I had a similar problem with a mini- Cooper and it turned out that the car was right! Turned out to be one of two lights (or perhaps the only one - memory gets fuzzy) that lights the license plate was out. Don’t know why with advanced monitoring, they couldn’t provide a system that would show where the actual problem is , even if only thru diagnostics rather than looking all over for the flaw.
I certainly wasn’t meaning to criticise @Michaelb. I suppose some of us have different fuss levels but I get that all ‘high end’ systems need some sort care and attention. The good thing about an integrated as the lack of neuroses about dressing.
I was more on the humorous side….
Don’t worry: I didn’t take it that way!
Humour? Here?
And now for something completely different…
I understood you were a bit irritated….so replied after being a bit tongue in cheek
Whatever way you look at it a large multi-box system is more fuss than a simple one-box or two box system, ie. source and integrated amp. Yes the performance will be better, no question, but there is a price to be paid in terms of time and attention required to keep it in tip-top shape. Nothing at all wrong with that if you enjoy it or it doesn’t bother you.
Forty years ago I used to enjoy nothing more than crawling around the back of a hi-fi rack, messing with cables etc. etc. It was great fun then and I was in my element. These days the thought of having to do anything like that just gets on my nerves. The other day I needed to do some work tidying up cables after re-positioning two mains blocks. I had put this off for some time as I was frankly dreading it. I spent the afternoon crawling about, stretching, twisting etc. The next day I ached liked hell and my knees hurt every time I bent them! These are clear signs to me that my days of doing such things are over and they need to be avoided wherever possible!
So it’s keep it simple for me. Everything’s set up nicely and it will now just be used and otherwise left alone. I could obsess about periodic contact cleaning, making sure all the fixings on my rack are tight etc. etc. But the truth is I really can’t be bothered. Life’s too short. It is what it is and that’s that!
Latest news and it’s 2-0 to Naim.
This week I’ve tried Sugden monoblocks with the Sapphire pre. A lovely sounding combo but ultimately too smooth for my ears.
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