Frenchrooster - I might take it over to the dealer where I got the Rega from - he is doesn’t sell Naim but has done so in the past and I really like him, particularly seeing as I am still running his demo P6 while I wait for mine to arrive from Southend but having said that it is certainly sounding clearer tonight than the horrid sound I was listening to last night. Actually enjoying it tonight but will have to pack up soo to go and watch the football.
2 Likes
For what it’s worth, my Star has gone through 3 firmware updates by now and it’s not sounding thin. Rather the opposite now that my PMC s have 200h on them… Recently loving the warmth I got on Bela Fleck s Flight of the Cosmic Hippo
I would certainly would have agreed - I was totally loving it until about last week but it is sounding much nicer tonight compared to last night. When I got it about six months ago it was the perfect all in one box that just got better with age but the turntable has extended the enjoyment so it was a bit of a let down when it started sounding shrill but as I say I am much happier with it tonight. Listening to London Grammar and then will try a bit of Martin Tingval before the football
Sometimes you can experience what I would call a cognitive twitch and you get it in to your head that something has changed and it sounds off when in fact nothing has changed and it’s fine, it takes a while for your brain to hear things the way they were again and then everything is ok.
1 Like
Let’s try again. Go look at your cables.
Hello, Greybeard, I totally agree about L.P.s sounding better through the Star, I was amazed how much better they sounded than with my previous Uniti, as good as that was.
I was almost provoked into buying a P8, but resisted.
Mike, believe me I have looked at cables. I have five sets of fairly expensive RCA cables - tried all of them. Three sets of speaker cables from Talk 3.1, Linn and Chord, tried all of them, just not sure how you relax a cable.
Geoff, one of my concerns when thinking of getting a turntable was the Star converting the analogue signal from the turntable to digital before outputting it as analogue again. I needn’t have worried, it still sounds great. Interestingly (well to me anyway) was that today I hooked up the P6 to my old Arcam Solo which is totally analogue and it still didn’t sound as good as the Star. Someone on here said that the turntable creates the RIAA curve and this is preserved through the conversion - I don’t really pretend to understand how this works but somebody else said the Star is good at everything it does and I think this is right
When cutting a vinyl disc, the RIAA curve is applied, which de-emphasizes the lower frequencies because at full amplitude (volume) the groove would make the stylus skip. When playing an LP, the phono stage must apply an inverse of this curve and boost the lower frequencies again, so that in the end all is even.
(Usually it’s the RIAA curve. Some old vinyl uses the Decca curve, which is similar but uses slightly different attenuation levels per frequency. Therefore some phono stages can be switched between RIAA and Decca curves. Which phono stage are you using with the Star if I may ask?)
1 Like
Hi Suedkiez thank you for the straight forward explanation. I am using a Rega MC Phone Stage with the Star. Seemed sensible being new to vinyl to stick to one brand for the turntable side of things
Thanks. Absolutely, those are fine stages. Enjoy
1 Like
Read up about it on here. If nothing else has changed then certain Naim cables get less and less happy over time.
Rub the cables with snake oil?
2 Likes
I’m guessing that the extra power has improved the sound through my speakers (Doublets), too, as well as improved circuitry.
FYI, my phono is an Arkless modded CA640P, feeding into the Din connection, as preferred, but haven’t noticed a significant improvement over the RCA imputs.
Happy days.
Yes the Din connection has intrigued me. Is it better to have RCA to RCA or RCA to DIn? My goodness what a rabbit hole this all is
Goodness only knows, sir. Such opinion as I have seen is inconclusive, as you may suspect.
I decided to try the Din input, knowing that Naim prefer it, and haven’t seriously compared inputs, as I am happy as it is. My hearing can vary from day-to-day, so I never have an absolute datum to which I can refer.
I will have a window of opportunity to compare the two inputs and cables in a few days time, so may arrive at a conclusion. The Din cable was made by a local company, my RCA is Flashback. But as you’re well aware, the proof of the sound is in the ears of the believer?
I will continue to enjoy my music and explore the Star.
This discussion reminds me a lot about my previous issues with my star before i gave a try to some audiophile filtering device and main cables. Some of those device where useless and i agree with Clare as some really “strangled” the sound, but others put together solved my problem by 95%, i can detail it you want. I still think the ideal is a good and clean main and no filtering at all but even if an electrician re fit everything from the mains spur to the outlet, the main you receive at home is the main that comes from the energy supplier : if it’s polluted you can’t do anything except filtering it. The difficulty being to find the proper gear that doesn’t cost twice the star and doesn’t kill it’s dynamic and balance. The Star’s sound is amazing on it’s own but it is fragile, it takes a little to ruin it and it can be anything, the source, the power supply, the rack/furniture the cables, the room…anything.
1 Like
Couldn’t agree more with this. I have an Audioquest Niagara 1200 with my Star and it has provided a significant refinement.
1 Like
Just looked at the Audioquest Niagara. Ow, that is not cheap
I think my plan is to wait for the new rack to turn up and move the Star to a different corner of the room which will be back on the socket it was previously on. See if that makes a difference and if there are still problems worry about mains conditioners then.
I do wonder if some of my problems are caused by the extensive house building going on across the road from my house and them messing around with the mains but the neighbours and I are blaming them for everything at the moment particularly the frequent power outages!
I was really happy with the sound previously so it has been a disappointment that it hasn’t been so great in the last week. I hope it is a temporary issue
If it’s sounding shrill and uninviting, that’s your problem right there 