To be fair Bob, that is not so easy (in fact, quite impossible in the UK and many other countries) right now, under current circumstances. The dealer appears to have done what I would expect - tested and measured the unit to determine whether outputs on each channel are within allowed tolerance.
That being so, it is either a source component or cable, or the room does indeed have an effect. I know that when I put up a small xmas tree in the music room next to one of the speakers, I have to alter the balance a bit to centre the image, so room layout and furnishings can have a profound effect, which is just one reason why the balance control is there and the best way to set it ācentrallyā is by ear.
For what itās worth I have the same issue with a SN3, room acoustics, your ears, sources etc can be easily and quickly dismissed by reversal of speaker & source cables
Obviously but either at the time or place @BX830 went to his dealer Covid restrictions couldnāt have been in place otherwise how was he able to enter the shop at all.
Of course we are mostly only hearing one side of the story here on the forum and the dealer isnāt here to speak for their part and Iāve owned several amps where Iāve had to set the balance slightly off to get things sounding ok.
I think if Covid restrictions are in place where @BX830 lives then once they are lifted the simplest way to sort this out as mentioned above is for the dealer to loan him another SN3 to try.
May I know what you mean exactly by reversal of the cables?
I tried switching the cable for each speaker, switching the speakers themselves, and moving the system to another side of the room. I think the issue still exists.
Reverse speaker cables at rear of amp, if issue now moves to left speaker you know itās not speakers, speaker cables, room acoustics or your hearing! To completely prove its the amp and not your source you need to do the same with the source input, can be tricky if itās a din cable but I used my record player and just reversed the rca inputs. In my case after all of these tests it points to the amp. And as said above, it appears to be more than just a balance issue, the right side just seems a bit limp with less oopmh, adjusting the balance pot doesnāt seem to sort it fully.
I live in California and the restrictions here are not that strict. Daily commute is allowed as long as masks are worn.
From what I can tell, I think my dealer is operating the store by himself. Itās not a huge store, and it mainly does car audio and custom installation.
I think he has been responsible overall and I donāt want to discredit him for his help. Right now, the challenge I am facing as a customer is that I found this issue to be hard to prove unless you listen closely and know the tracks well(or if you have really good ears). I know the issue exists because:
I have listened to the amp for long periods(not too long since itās new, 45 hours or so) of time
The amp sounded normal when it arrived.
I think the best thing I can think of doing right now is to test it with some mono recordings. I hope this will demonstrate the issue more clearly if there exists any, but I have to wait until next week to do this.
Life without proper music is a bit lacking I must admit.
I finally got the chance to try some mono recordings but found the issue to be less obvious. I had no experience with mono recordings before so I was not that sure whether what I am hearing is how it should be or not.
However, I did notice that the body of the sound is still not entirely centered even with the mono recordings. I wonder if this is how it should be, since I have already made sure that the speakers are symmetrically positioned in the room with equal distances to the walls.
Also, can you please suggest me with the mono recordings you used for testing? I am using a streamer as the source and I am having a hard time finding good mono recording on the music services I use.
Iām a bit confused. You bought the SN3, hooked it up and it sounded good. How did the one channel get wonky? Was it just one day it goes off? You do leave it powered up right, not turning it on and off? What speakers? What speaker cables? The Hicap is it a Hicap DR? Give us more info.
Iād suggest disconnect the HiCap, put the jumpers back in Then while the SN3 is powered off check the basics. Speakers in phase connections all correct and tight etc. then fire it all back up. Iād also recommend leaving the SN3 powered on all the time. Theyāre happier that way. Oh and who terminated the Nac A5?
The NAC A5 is terminated by a local Naim dealer, not the dealer I bought my amp from. The owner of that store seems to be the only one who can terminate NAC A5 in this area.
In an ideally symmetrical room, the amp in balance, and both ears working the same, a mono recording should have the sound come from the exact center. Can you try with headphones to check the amp balance and the ear balance?
Hi Naim records has a great true stereo unpocessed recordings CD that has a booklet inside that shows the musician positions when playing back in stereo.
This is the link to buy individual tracks or buy the whole album.
