From what I heard before the wife came in it was definitely a major improvement. I played three tracks that did sound really really good. The sound signature had suddenly filled out and was much more rich and full bodied with the treble being far less bright and more natural again. The bass was also very good, deep with lots of texture but not overpowering like before. This occurred within minutes of changing the ground switch position, so I’m concluding that this may have been the issue.
From memory the ground switch does have this kind of impact on the sound. In the wrong position the sound can appear incredibly detailed but very bright, disjointed and phasey. In the right position it all becomes much more homogeneous, integrated and natural.
However, I am acutely aware of how Naim systems can shift and settle after changes are made, so there is still a slim chance it could be just that and I’m barking up the wrong tree but it doesn’t take long to check.
Run it in the opposite position to what you have now for a thirty minutes or so. Don’t get too tied up in what the correct setting ‘should’ be but just change it and have listen.
Well it would have been in the ‘wrong’ position on the previous firmware but still sounded good? I suspect changing the switch position has provided a cognitive nudge, enough to convince your brain, sometimes it’s all it needs!
I’m not sure you should think of it as a right or wrong position. Neither will sound particularly bad. It’s just that on a 500 system, when you have everything working in complete unison, it takes you to another level of musical performance. It’s the really small stuff that can throw the system off, a cable touching here, a plug not inserted properly there, it’s bloody stupid but that’s the price you pay for owning this type system. Sure, you’ll get to 90% of the systems potential without putting in any real effort but the last 10%, where the proper musical ‘magic’ resides, is much more tricky.
Yes I totally agree! Same here with my full 300 system, small changes can disturb the balance.
With respect to the new Firmware even my wife (she normally thinks I am crazy if I talk about SQ of my system ) noticed that the sound has changed in a negative way.
My Nova has never played as good as after the last update. On my two Qb 2 and NSS 333-NPX 300 I can’t hear any significant difference. They play absolutely superbly as they always have.
Hope this is the correct topic. But today I used the Focal & Naim app for the first time after the update and I’m missing all of the volume controls on the app. Any changes done in the app doesn’t affect anything. I’ve restarted my phone and the app and the device itself.
Same happened here. Ms drago (normally Shaking her Head) Found the Sound to be Not good as before.
Tweaks (like Floating-chassis) can do a Bit, But it is still Not as emotional involving and Musical Than before.
My final thought is whether you’ve restarted the Atom by unplugging it from the wall. It’s worth trying again anyway, and if that fails I’d contact Naim support.
I take it no major change to your system by playing with the ground switch? I, on the other hand, seem to have got my old sound back. I’ve still not done a proper full-on listening test as the wife is working from home today but Radio Paradise is sounding really awesome this morning. Based on what I’m hearing the system is much more settled and has a lovely rich but also dry type of sound - if that makes any sense. I’m really not sure if this was the ground switch or just one of those unsettling glitches that sudden changes seem to inflict on my systems stability??? This really has been a ‘flip-flop’ of a FW transition! I Think I’m going to start a new thread “ those that we’re happy, then unhappy, then happy again” with the new FW update!!!
) noticed that the sound has changed in a negative way.
