I had a Nait 5i paired with a Rega P3 from 2001 with now a blue Elys2 connected via the phono stage of my old Arcam Alpha 9 plugged to the AV input of the amplifier.
The sound was FANTASTIC - detailed, with deep and dry bass, clear treble and beautiful voices, and a very wide, holographic soundstage.
Now, a year ago, I moved to a long awaited and desired Supernait 3 - one of the last!
Much to my surprise, using the SN3’s built-in phono stage, the sound is dull and harsh.
After much time consuming research and dozens of reuslts, sometimes contradictory, I was wondering what cartridge you would recommend - my Rega P3 is super well preserved and has been serviced - bearings and wiring are still original and in perfect condition - I do not spin many vinyls a year, but when I do, I like to get the sound I know and like - all my friends could not believe their ears when I play The Eagles’ Hell Freezes Over “Hotel California” or Phil Collins’ extended maxi version of “In the air tonight”.
It would seem that the very specific electrical set-up of the Supernait 3’s integrated phono stage is hard to deal with because of its 47kΩ resistance and 470pF capacitance values.
Any suggestions, knowing that I want to try and retain my turntable - just change the cartridge?
Please, list your devices including speakers - ONLY set-ups with a Supernait 3, please, anything else will be irrelevant.
That’s a real shame. Being a Vinyl junkie, I can see how that would really disappoint you, thinking you were getting an upgrade all round.
Instead of shopping for a cartridge, had you considered shopping for a Phono stage?
A lot easier to demo and more likely to get a quicker and more enjoyable solution.
Your system details in your profile don’t reflect any changes. Might be an idea to bring that up to date to help people to offer suggestions too.
Good luck
I used to have an ortfon black LVB paired with the SN3 and it sounded sublime. Not sure whether something like that would work with your turntable though.
Nope, but I am 99% sure it would be better than what I have now!
My disappointment lies in the cruel fact that I came to realise how much upgrading you need with the “simple” switch to a better amplifier - I underestimated the importance of the “Naim ecosystem” and need to keep elements to some compatible level.
The thing is, because the SN3 IS a great amplifier, AND it has been manufactured with a decent phono stage, I wish to use it at its best.
MAYBE first try an ND7 and possibly install the 24V upgrade kit + belt. As I said, the turntable is like new, and I would love to find out that a better cartridge matching would address the issue.
Indeed Google AI and Chat GPT give me the ND5 or 7 and Ortofon 2MR Bronze or black - I do not want to start playing with shims to accommodate other brands - BUT as you know, depending on how you formulate the question, AI gives you some information, and sometimes contradictory statements - hence why I still and always will trust and privilege the human factor
Bingo, and IMO that compatible level starts at Rega P8 & ND7 for the SN3 via the built-in phono stage (for the XS3 it’s P6 & ND5). No cartridge upgrade will fix the level below, again IMO.
I found starting at the source and then upgrading the amp to that level usually works better than this way. So (preloved) for the same money I’d then rather have a P8 with a XS3 than a P6 with a SN3, what is referred to here as “source first”, and avoiding a “mullet system”.
Same as with streaming, generally ND5-XS2 goes with the XS3, NDX2 goes with the SN3, and then there are variations from thereon upwards. Budget streamers (unless with big DAC) and turntables tend not to work as well as you will have read. I think “system balance” is key, but there are different opinions here on what that is and also YMMV of course.
Plenty of information here on the forum, but lessons I think are part of the hifi journey. There’s only so much you can read, at one point you have to create reference points for yourself through experience and work from there. Good luck on finding your right vinyl replay system!
I’ve got both 2m black and ND7, the Ortofon has a more attacking presentation than the ND7, which is very good and a big step up from previous Regas and more in common with the standard Ania (which I’ve owned).
Of course those AI suggestion have likely been collated by analysing some human suggestions elsewhere too. I will follow your progress with interest as my only planned upgrade imminent is a cartridge at reasonable cost.
Its a difficult question to answer because you have changed the phono stage as well as the amplification. If the previous tt and cartridge gave you the result you liked, I would look at demoing a different phono stage before looking at the cartridge. It may be that a friendly dealer would let you do this if he thought that you would be buying either a phono stage or a new cartridge at the end of the demo.
That could be a solution but I have a P3 with at vm95 sh with a project phono stage in to a sc/82/250. It’s not embarrassed by my P8/Hana/GNPh10/552 system. The P3 can sound well with the right set up.
Basic Lp12 (Mose Hercules PSU, Karousel, Basik+, Cirkus sub-chassis), Cambridge Audio 640p phono stage (as the LP12 is too far away from the SN3) with an AT95SH. Sounds pretty good I think and not dissimilar to the NDAC that I use for digital.
