So this combination all sounds very good but I think there’s upper detail missing… especially at lower volume.
Any ideas please? I was wondering about trying another brand of amplifier partially as moving on the speakers isn’t too easy!
Technics 1200gr ortofon blue
Cd5xs innuos mini WIIM ultra cd5xs
Supernait2 hicap Dr
Ovator 400 and also tried audio vector floor standers
I wondered about a musical fidelity m6si
Any bright ideas? Thanks
Is the problem generic or specific to one source?
I think the SN2 deserves more than a CD5X or WiiM. And if you are using the Naim’s phono stage, the Ortofon cartridge may not be the best match.
very good in many ways apart from that detail
i guess its easier to try another amp than the speakers…
Bear in mind the Ovators are getting on a bit and once the BMRs go there is no replacing them.
I sort of feel like the amp and turntable are the strong parts of the system, and the cartridge and other sources could be better and perhaps the speakers could deliver more.
Rather than make specific recommendations (which will soon follow from other members), the options available to you are limited by what your local dealers stock. If the issue with upper end detail is across the board, I would be more inclined to try a different speaker than an amp. And yes, that is certainly harder. Especially as your profile says you have a sub so that would need to be re calibrated (though the sub may simply be unnecessary on a different pair of speakers).
Anyway, good luck! My view is the amp and deck are your anchors. Others may disagree.
What speaker cables are you using?
I have a SN3, and one reason I like it, it is that it is not overly bright, as I find some others are. I find it a bit rolled of in the high and low extremes.
I have a SN3/Hi-Cap DR and Technics SL1210GR2 and wouldn’t be looking at these for a lack of detail, as @Bassman53 says I wouldn’t call the SN3 bright, but it doesn’t obscure details.
What is the phono stage you are using as SN2 doesn’t have an inbuilt one ?
On my Technics turntables I have Ortofons as well, with the 2M Black on one and Concorde Black on the other, these are real detail retrievers and would offer a significant increase in resolution over the Blue.
I listened to the Ovator’s a few times and didn’t gel with them, have always preferred to date stand mounts for my purposes, so again with @feeling_zen here that does the lack of detail extend to all sources equally or more noticeable with one over the other.
Last one is question on servicing of the amp and the hicapDr ? I had my hicapDr serviced in last 2 years as it was bought preowned when I had an XS2 and I noticed that music didn’t have the vitality and that the SN3 on its own sounded much livelier.
Once the HiCap was serviced and put back into the system it brought the increased refinement but kept all the detail and had obviously been on the decline for a while before it reached a point where it was noticeable that music had gone soft. My SN3 isn’t close to servicing age but your SN2 could be due.
Best of luck.
thanks for replies!
its the same when i put the audiovector floorstanders in instead
which perhaps points to an amp issue…. but the supernait 2 was one of the last produced - 2019 so shouldn’t need servicing yet and the hicapdr about 6 years old(?)
the phonostage is a mobile fidelity
it isn’t too easy to move on the ovators on due to size!
I have an exposure 1010 integated in a second system that I can try to see if that has any effect(?)
thanks!
Given your age, it may be worth asking your doctor to refer you to the hospital for a hearing test. With my hearing aids I can hear treble detail that had been missing for years.
That was exactly my thought reading tge above! When I got hearing aids a couple of years ago I discovered how much the sparklr of cymbals had diminished without my having realised!
To the OP, it creeps up on us all at some time, as inevitable as many other things as part of ageing. People often claim their hearing is still good, but discover the reality when tested! There are some smartphone apps that you can use with a pair of headphones or even earbuds, which can give some indication, though may be limited by the headphones/earbuds.
How does the second system sound comparatively . Realise them that the different components will bring their own aural palette but do you find the second system lacking in the same areas?
If not I’d be tempted to swap the other way round and drop the SN2 into the second system and compare that.
Realise that this may not be the route of preference as the SN of any variety is a dense lump to shift around. I’d also just move the SN and try it on its own without HiCap just for ease of comparison, which will mean digging out the rear connector plug.
in another (smaller). room I have the treble detail with either set of speakers with either a nait XS 1 or the exposure so hearing ok but i had considered that!
thanks
I think a whole system approach is spot on but would also observe that when I heard some Neat models with their ribbon tweeters they did have rather fantastic treble. They weren’t my favourite speakers overall but might be worth seeking an audition?
Bruce
thanks but selling the enormous ovators doesn’t make this easy!
I’ll get my coat!
There have been references here to the OP’s age in relation to his hearing. I’ve looked through the thread several times and I can’t see where the OP mentions his age. A suggestion to visit a GP and ask for a hospital referral based on a perceived lack of detail in a hi-fi system seems to me to be an extreme and weird course of action to take and amounts to an abuse of the NHS in my view.
As for the perceived lack of detail itself I would only comment that Naim systems are all about musical coherence rather than detail. There will certainly be more detailed sounding kit but you have to consider whether this will organise the detail into a satisfying musical whole.
Hearing fine at no lack of detail on the other room with either the ovators or the audio vector floor standers so it’s odd
Thanks
Perhaps consider room acoustics then.
Ah, but if you know who the OP is, you will also know their age.
Or just book in at the neighborhood audiologist, get a test and have an ear wax suction if necessary. Quicker.
An interesting thread, which to my mind prompts a couple of questions based upon the information provided.
Do you tell the OP what you think they would want to hear? Or do you suggest where you think the problem lies and tell them that?
To answer the first, though I feel incredibly disloyal to Naim saying it, I’d try a Sugden A21SE.
To answer the second, I’d address the sources, in particular the streamer/DAC, and the phonostage, and possibly the cartridge too.