Oil hasn’t been popular since the late 90s.
And as for the electricity produced via Russian gas…
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I have found the Naim green logos glow more brightly with nuclear.
@Alley_Cat, don’t panic, have a break from listening to music, do some system housekeeping as AJK suggests, relax and listen again.
If it is any consolation, I too have swings in the enjoyment I get from my music. Best not force it and return to listening when the mood takes you. I know that, even when I am enjoying a music session, it does come to a natural end and I take a break and do something else. Quite natural, I think.
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I didn’t want to pollute that thread which I saw yesterday, strangely around the time I thought it was sounding harsh which began when I started listening to The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway from the bass thread in Music. Maybe it’s a poor digital stream, but other things started niggling when I played them.
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I certainly notice changes during the day if I’m at home, it’s often excellent mid afternoon or early hours when there’s probably generally less domestic consumption.
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I find that too. Weirdly Sunday afternoons/evenings sound good, but that could equally be a mood thing.
It is sounding great today. Just listened to Jack Johnson’s ‘On And On’, and it has never sounded so good. Now listening to my favourite Crusaders album, ‘Images’, and it is sounding a little dull, so I do think the quality of recording/mastering also plays a part.
Putting a system together is a creative process.
A creative process that such folk like us get much satisfaction from.
When that process and the dust has settled, those creative urges can get confused.
I would suggest ripping something else more ephemeral up and starting again.
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I prefer the nuclear option. Oops, missed the rest of the thread!
Roger
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NAC 282, not that old.
2 x olive HiCaps, 2 x olive NAP 250s and active SBLs (NAC A5) - the boxes were serviced last year apart from an old CB NAXO (it was lost in storage).
Sources:
Old LP12/Ekos/OC-9/Lingo/Linto (Linn boxes also serviced recently).
Early Nova acting as digital source which was a temporary purchase while the rest was in storage. I’ve noticed big differences with different firmware and often revert to an early one which to me is more musical atthe expense of detail. Was going to get an NDX 2 last year - I’d tried an early one and it was streets ahead of the Nova but when I compared at home last year there was barely any difference which I found odd - perhaps firmware changes had evened out sonic characteristics, I just felt the NDX 2 wasn’t going to offer much without a PSU as well, and I’m not fully enamoured with digital.
Various non optimal equipment supports but that’s not new - will re-appraise when I move stuff to another room.
Standard Naim inteconnects for most things, the odd Chord cable for sources. A couple of Powerlines - guess I need to check where I tried them last! Cable dressing not optimal by any stretch of the imagination!
Thanks Bluesfan - I got most of the kit serviced last year, but at the time was not running active.
I think I really need to get the NAXO looked at, annoyingly one of my PAXOs is faulty with a broken connection internally. Also an old CB HiCap and NAC 72 are far from happy but not in use currently.
Originally had olive HiCap/250 and NAC 72 - I briefly substututed the 72 for the 282 last year and preferred it but it soon became apparent there was a problem with one channel.
Cheers NigelB.
Cheese !
How many of us have paid good money on fine wine, and to then find it tasting a bit meh - only to find the wine transformed after a bit of quality cheese.
I could suggest the same with the hifi. Find the most cheesiest bit of music you can and see if that makes a difference.
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Good thread and the does it last, just at a time when I’m in the midlle of for me, a major upgrade. No doubt in my mind that the current Covid hoo hah has affected my mood and made me realise that life is too short and I should really spend some money on what I want, not just what I need. I’ve been fortunate and never felt that anything I’ve previously bought sounded a bit rubbish, whether it was my first Sansui 101, up through the Pioneer pl112d and sx 450 ( complete with wood effect ends and vu’s), and on to the Naim journey, but I 've also been aware that I could find better. It’s all out there somewhere. It’s been 7 years since my last upgrade and what I have doesn’t seem to be hi fi in this forums sense, but it suits me. So a bit fed up at the mo has led to spending on ‘improvements’ but in the overall scheme of things, it’s all worth while.
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That’s weird, I too was about to suggest cheese. Tobyjug beat me to it!
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Very true, I just find it strange how variable it can all sound, and the listener must be a factor in all of this.
I suspect many of us have that itch we’d like to scratch of trying completely different equipment outside our comfort zone/familiarity, even starting afresh and simplifying things.
I’ve always wanted to try valve amplification but haven’t even listened to any to know if it’s a direction I’d like to go.
I think many of us after the pandemic will decide we’re only here once and splash out on certain things while we can still enjoy them.
Mentioned it before but my Linn Lingo upgrade cost £500 around 30 years ago which was silly money as a student but remarkable value over the overall term of usage.
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Have you tried acoustic treatment?
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Shouldn’t be difficult I have lots of cheesy music - ABBA, BeeGees and Dollar might do for a start. 
The taste thing is odd though - I could have sworn yesterday regular wine and foodstuffs didn’t taste/smell the same as normal.
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No, good thought, and the current listening area is far from ideal due to clutter, but the system is destined for the room next door which is even more badly cluttered so I’d probably not consider that until the system is where it’s ultimately ordained to be by SWMBO - I have too much gadgety stuff, lots of it quite old but costly at the time so I don’t dispose of it as many people would these days, despite it being of little intrinsic value.
Strangely enough, I wasn’t joking. The mix of renewables is clearly increasing. It tends to be generated by DC. Then chopped to AC. Whereas traditional generation was via 3 phase AC. And in theory produced with minimal noise.
Currently there is relatively limited demand for power, particularly in the south of the UK. The grid relies on large generators to keep the frequency stable. Think if it like a large physical large mass ( flywheel if you like). The large generators providing the inertia. However, with limited demand, you have to be careful on relying on large generators. If they trip a unit you potentially loose 600MW. Not easy to find with renewables. So, what you do it reduce your dependency on them ( by getting them not to generate) and then plan to top up with ( noisy) renewables.
In the south of the UK, there are a small handful of 600Mw generators left.
National grid will have limits on generated switched noise from generators. But I expect it is “generous”. And hence noisey.
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Off topic. A couple of years ago I had an upper molar tooth extracted.
After a week or so all my taste and smell accumulated knowledge just fell from the floor.
The dentist did warn about this, but I didn’t expect such a transformation of familiar scents and tastes.
Cut grass. Ham. Red wine. Water. So many very familiar things just turned sideways.
Still have some that haven’t been able to be relearned.