BB, l lost track of what you are at nowš. Many cables you are buying now.. and whereās all your ansuz? And the ansuz jumpers you hadā¦
Itās great to see a new purchase.
What is not so great is the lack of caption to tell us what it is, so please let us know.
Would be intrested to know what you think of the Meze Elites driven by the HE?
I agree, but this is also a contemporary thing to do as Iāve also noted elsewhere. And it being Naim cables it was likely thought of as self-explanatory.
Let me venture a guess, as I think thatās the desired engagement and interaction behind it :
A box with a Lavender RCA>DIN interconnect and some NACA5 terminated with QED Airlocks, lenghts unknown, not sure whether used or new.
Hi. Sorry. NAC a5 3.5m x2 and an rca to 5 pin 180 degree Naim interconnect.
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*new.
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Very good - the best head-amp Iāve heard with the Meze Elites, with one caveat :- I am using the Headphone EQ for the Elites provided now in roon. Without the EQ it doesnāt sound so balanced or consistent through the frequency range.
The long-running initial forum thread on the HE refers to a Focal headphone being used to āvoiceā the HE during its development.
Iāve previously used them with Hugo 2, TT2 and Mojo2, with good results from H2 and TT2. The HE is way better than the headphone out from my Linn Selekt - which lets the Selekt down compared with the quality of its Organik (or previously Katalyst) Line Out output.
Iāve put isolation feet (OMEX Symphony 2S) under the HE, and its being fed with a good quality ethernet setup, a good roon core, good interconnects and good power - or at least the best I can use from within my existing setup with no additional money spent. These enhancements have helped elevate the SQ (not trying to open or invite a debate here) in terms of clarity and an organic sound.
I got the HE for a silly price from a remote dealer who had literally just dropped the online price which makes this purchase particularly satisfying.
Also using it as a [trial] DAC pre-amp between my Linn Selekt (with SPDIF out) and NC250 - it works nicely for daytime background listening.
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Thanks for the review.
I had/have a variety of cans. HD600, HD25, Audeze lcd2c, focal clear pros and Meze elite. Each gets better as i moved through them. Apart from HD600, I still have and use them all.
What has made them go from ok to great was the head amp. Currently im using the Mcintosh. Its ability to change output impedance is usefull. The Mcintosh is driven via the 252 with either TT or Ndx2, so no eq changes. Are the emotes worth their money? At Ā£4k Iād be less happy. At less than Ā£2k ( slightly used) im very happy.
Do you run the elites/HE balanced for just TRS via 1/4ā output?
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Changed back to bare wire NACA5. Wow what a difference. Bare copper wire sounds much better than gold connectors on the same cable on my speakers (jumpers). Such a beautiful low end is back.
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So far, with the HE, Iāve been using a 4-pin XLR balanced Meze cable from the rear socket - a cable I happened to have from my year with a Bricasti M3 DAC - another really good DAC-Headamp which I only sold when I bought the Selekt.
I should have mentioned the Bricasti in my overview. Until recently I had stopped using headphones but domestic/neighbour considerations have changed so the renewed interest in headphones.
I am considering buying a Pentaconn (balanced 4mm) to 4-pin XLR converter - just so I can get an extra foot or so of effective length from the cable - not so worried about the manual button override to utilise the rear socket. I will try the 6.3 mm jack soon.
I have had, in the past, pretty much the same Naim front-end as you (NDX2, [XPS-DR, then 555DR] and 252 /SCDR), these with a 250DR. I thought the 252/SCDR a really good pre-amp, and regretted selling it as soon as I did.
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Yes, always amazed that naim make a dedicated streamer head amp and put the best output socket on the back.
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Indeed. I have been contemplating an HE to replace my current headphone amp / streamer (Burson / Bluesound), but the 4-PIN XLR socket at the back is a problem for me.
Id like to have seen the thinking behind the decision to stick the 4 pin balanced on the back !
( Serious) can users would want that output front and centre. And especially on a ā headphone editionā.
This is how it should look naim.
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A Madison Power S for my Wattson Audio Emerson Digital Network Bridge.
I didnāt want another box in my system so I was kind of rooting against the Madison Power S (if it didnāt make a difference then I could return and avoid adding another box) but the darn thing made a surprisingly large difference (blacker background, more distinct imaging, and wider sound stage) so now Iām stuck with another box!
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Hey @Adikt , giving the Gravity 2 another go, this time on the Technics in the house, only difference on the front end is this is an Ortofon 2M Black, not the Concorde version of the cart. Turntable another 1210 GR2.
Listening this time on headphones as a few under the weather loved ones in the house and so far listening has been good.
Would need to do more side by side and certainly when I am free from the cold stuff too but definitely not robbing the music of its life, currently listening to The Colour of Spring and sounding its usual brilliant and dynamic self.
Lets see, or hear.
My secondary system consists of Meze Elites driven by the Atom HE using Cardas Clear Headphone cables. Not the most detailed but regardless I highly recommend the pairing. The comfort of the Elites is also second to none imo.
The reason for the 4-pin XLR being on the rear is due to Internal space limitations in the Atom chassis from what Steve Sells posted a while back on the main thread.
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Ah, so did I. A beautiful third hand Atom HE, to be used as preamp for a set of Buchardt A500 active speakers. (Using their XLR inputs.) Took some experimenting to find the right Master Tuning for the A500s, as they can get a bit bass-heavy. But the combo now works beautifully!
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