I was wondering which EU power cord comes with a new SN3. The UK cord looks like a Powerline Lite. What what about the EU cord supplied - is it of an equivalent standard ? If not should I use a plug adapter and the UK Powerline Lite. I also have a MCRU no 75 from my old amp. Should I use that in preference to either power cord in the box ? I have seen the difference Naim speaker wire makes so I don’t just want to think the MCRU cable will be better than anything supplied. Thanks for your thoughts.
Put it this way; it’s not retailed separately and does not have an rrp of £99.
Personally I would not use a Powerline Lite with an adapter. You are introducing an extra contact in each conductor, and a fuse that you don’t need.
As for the quality of the cable and IEC plug, they are the same as the old non-Powerline lead. The EU version is slightly different, using a thicker cable, 1mm instead of .75mm IIRC.
You’ll get the standard EU cable with a over molded black schuko. Start saving up and get a used Powerline down the line. For EU these use a high quality Furutech rhodium plated schuko. You can find used ones pretty often at around 30-35 EUR. Great upgrade for all kinds of Naim boxes.
The EU cord I got in the box is a Shih Yang SY -009 with I Sheng cable which eBay tells me is a cheap as chips cable which is a bit of a surprise. Do you think this is really the Naim standard ?
The MCRU must be better than this EUR 5 power cord supplied.
Agree using an adapter does not sound like a good plan.
On the power line - what can I pick up for EUR 30 to 35 ? Second hand power line cost more like EUR 400 so I misunderstood something
1 Like
In my country at least they normally go for 300-350 EUR (Sweden). The cable itself is nothing ordinary on either the standard one or the powerline. Actually Naim R&D said the cable sounded just OK with other connectors than the ones they ended up with. The Powerline looks like this which is dead simple construction, more like a lamp cord. But it’s a conscious decision by Naim.
I have never seen an EU PowerLine anywhere for 30-35 Euros. There are two on the shark, in Sweden - the cheapest looks like the one in your photo which is 112 euros because it doesn’t have a plug. The other with a US (not Schuko) plug is 337 Euros. The EU Powerlines are well over 400 Euros…
Wow - that is a bargain. I am living in the wrong country (Germany). Funnily enough there are loads of people selling their UK Power-Line Lites which they cannot use ! Power-Line costs EUR 750 here and second hand accordingly.
Just use your MCRU, great cables.
Hi Neil - I think you are right. The MCRU 75 is a nice cable and given the supplied cable is EUR 5 quality and the Naim solution is EUR 400 secondhand / EUR 750 new, I should stay where I am.
Sorry guys, brain issues (currency issues…) 350-400EUR that is of course 
1 Like
I’ve recently installed four PowerLines in my system. Didn’t buy new, but pre-used off eBay and they did make a big improvement to the sound quality.
See if you can borrow one from a dealer to demo at home.
DG…
Hi - thanks for the suggestion. I will look out for one second hand but no rush.
@HHBruno I’d be interested to hear the difference between the supplied power cord and the MCRU 75 on your SN3
Hi James - I will give it a A vs B listen and let you know. I should say the SN3 is a week old and my NAC A5 wire 3 days old but both have been playing music 24/7 since arrival so are broken in to some extent.
1 Like
I’ve got a spare Powerline Lite because I upgraded to the full fat Powerline .
Funnily enough I use a non-Naim power chord on my Sky Q box and it enhances the picture as well as the sound. It’s an Ecosse Big Orange and at around seventy pounds is really good value
Hi James - I had a quick listen using Blue Monday 1st pressing on my Clearaudio concept MC. The differences are subtle but there to be heard. With the MCRU, the precision of each instrument is clearer and it was easier to listen to each instrument “individually”. It was also a bit more controlled on the bottom end but there was no difference in the amount of bass. Biggest difference was the upper mid range. Vocals sounded much deader with the cheap cable and with the MCRU the vocals were more open. That was what I heard and for the vocals improvement the MCRU cable was easily worth the money.
1 Like
This topic was automatically closed 60 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.