Hi Munch,

My listening position is near field because of the room width and so my speaker to speaker distance is conditioned by this. I hope Wazza has success and manages to tune the room and speakers without too much hassle. Mind you the hassle can be worth it.

Fredrik,

Yes, I remember your soft spot for my venerable set. the most important point is that both systems play music and give enjoyment,

FF

Dear Frank,

Had it not been for the spell in Warsaw with your old set and finding the magic it could weave for me, then I would not have been so determined and sure of the way to downgrade, when it came to the crunch!

Several where the times when I had listened to music - all too briefly on each occasion - when I heard Chrome Bumper 110s, 250s and 32.5s, as well as Olive 72s, when I thought to myself, "This is more than just good enough for me," at a time when I had no intention of dropping the cultured and marvellous values of my old 52 pre-amp [with, latterly, the very fine NAP 200] and CDS2, onto SBLs.

My first move was to a Nait 5i which is a marvellous amp, and fully able to be enjoyable with a CDS2 as main source. I still am not sure which is better: Nait 5i or 72/Hi/140, as the speakers have changed from SBLs to Royd Minstrel SEs, due to space constraints, and the Royds are a much easier load on the amplifiers. And strangely completely effective in very near field listening as well.

But having a proper chance to listen to music with the Warsaw antique set made my mind up as by then I knew that the big pieces had to go in order to keep house and home together! It is a good job they were paid for, outright at the time, is all I can add on that one!

As for your Active set, it was the stuff of replay dreams even in the olden days before the 552 and 300s! I simply can only anticipate how lovely it must be now! And fear not some lovely Haydn, Bach and Beethoven will be accompanying me to let it sing when it becomes a possibility for me to visit you again - with fair luck, perhaps this year!

Of course you did have an all too brief chance to sample my little antique set earlier this year, and I am sure that you would agree that given the nigh miracle of getting any sense of musical scale at all in my microscopic room getting music was test enough, but that, possibly, the result was not unpleasant! Sitting there, the three of us in that tiny space surely was cosy! Probably between us we altered the acoustic of the space too!

I have one good very rare LP left, which I would like to bring, and some three of my very first ones, which will be thirty-seven years old this December! I had them for my tenth birthday, and it will be fascinating to see if they can be reproduced well. In spite of you opinion that they might be, I have my doubts - they are completely worn out! But worth playing one more time perhaps, just for old time's sake. At least they are clean and cared for ... they look perfect!

ATB from George

quote:

I have one good very rare LP left, which I would like to bring, and some three of my very first ones, which will be thirty-seven years old this December! I had them for my tenth birthday, and it will be fascinating to see if they can be reproduced well. In spite of you opinion that they might be, I have my doubts - they are completely worn out! But worth playing one more time perhaps

Very deffinately worth playing George, just because they are 37 years old doesn't mean there is anything wrong with them.

We listened to many lp's from the sixties over the weekend and they could have been pressed yesterday.

Just be aware you may just be hearing them properly for the very first time.

I also hope you play them more than once

Regards

PB

Dear Nigel,

The best LP set I have used some of my [now departed] vinyl on was a Linn LP12, and Quad amps driving ESL57s! People often fall into the trap of thinking I do not, nor never did, know what fine LP replay is about! I have now heard the replay of several LP12s in various settings. The best was Frank's Spanish set with Aro, Rua etc.

But at the time I ditched my vinyl, I had a much bigger fish to fry! That was the restoration of my 1780 London made double bass! Possibly the work of Simon Fendt the Elder, as his were the best basses made at that time [anywhere in the world], and it was a staggeringly fine instrument. At the end of the eighteenth century even the Italians were not making finer basses than the likes of Fendt in London, or Banks in Salisbury ... I think you will see that spending thousands on music for me, at that time, was more likely to be on an instrument than replay!

One of these days I shall get a very fine picture of the old instrument scanned and start a thread on it. The provenance of it is known for what is by now more than a century, which is rather unusual for a truly old instrument. It belonged to Gustav Holst of "The Planets" fame [who owned it from the first decade of the twentieth century], and he left it to Pates Grammar School in Cheltenham [in 1934 when he died], and from where I bought it in 1991! It was derelict, and I spent over £3000 on the restoration - well £3000 was the budget we blew, before finishing it so nicely at even greater expense! I could probably have bought a top Naim set for that in 1991!

ATB from George

quote:

Originally posted by Geoff P:

quote:

The comparison wasn't done with a standard snaic but I would imagine that this must be better with the power and cable being sperated into different cables and the 552 not having to work so hard but of course I stand to be corrected if anyone has a better opinion on this.

Bosh, PB...Peter and I did this comparison when he visited my place a wee while ago. A few others have done it as well including Gregg and concensus was that direct powering off a 552 is better than using the HiCap with a standard SNAIC.

I also can confirm as you report that using a HiLine 4/5 with the Superline powered by a HiCap is a step up from powering direct off the 552.

However I think the differences heard will depend on several factors including not only the TT setup arm & cartridge but also system resolution. For me Frank's active SBL's were clearly pin sharp as far as clarity is concerned when I heard them a couple of weeks ago.

regards
Geoff

As Geoff quoted above I found that powering my SuperLine with the 552 yielded a superior result as compared to powering it with a HiCap and standard SNAIC. The substitution with a HiLine yielded an improvement in some areas (while the 552 maintained its superiority in others) however it did not provide enough of an improvement to cause me to part with some cash. As such I have remained with the "economical" power supply solution - powering the SuperLine with my 552. In this scenario, without the need for an auxiliary power supply, the SuperLine provides an AMAZING VFM addition to my system.

Gregg

quote:

Originally posted by Geoff P:

However I think the differences heard will depend on several factors including not only the TT setup arm & cartridge but also system resolution. For me Frank's active SBL's were clearly pin sharp as far as clarity is concerned when I heard them a couple of weeks ago.

regards
Geoff

The two factors tipping the balance here Geoff were that we used the standard 4>5 with ring and casing. Frank's is tuned as per my and my customer Substation's suggestions. (He's the guy who earths his SBL metal stand assembly to great effect - unfortunately a few people didn't take his suggestion seriously, so he has prematurely retired from the Forum which is a huge shame as he's great bloke..... and he works for a power distribution company, so he really knows his stuff!)

The other thing is issues surrounding system earthing may have affected our results at your place? Personally, I would use the 552 to power the Superline unless one has a Hi-Cap + Hi-Line 4>5 or a Supercap of course.

Hope this helps.

Kind regards,

Peter

Geoff, PB, Frank and Peter - thanks for clarifying this

Andy - Looking forward to the imminent upgrades but there still a big hole to drill and a door to scale but we mustnt mention the M word here

The other upgrade is the room, following Peters suggestion- the dot/dab cavity is filled, the stud wall is now rockwooled and triple layered with green glue inbetween layers. Unfortunately when I lifted the old underlay to lay the new 11mm dreamwalk tonight, a large amount of screeding came up too

Will be worth waiting fro hopefully though

Bosh,
any pics of the work in prog.
It would be nice to see start to next upgrade
Munch

quote:

The other thing is issues surrounding system earthing may have affected our results at your place? Personally, I would use the 552 to power the Superline unless one has a Hi-Cap + Hi-Line 4>5 or a Supercap of course.

...Well whatever Peter. It didn't stop us from coming to the same conclusion at my place.

regards
Geoff

Munch

Better not post the M piccies I took (mainly to ensure I remmeber where the cable went) as Naim deem it somewhat taboo

Will post the room mod pics later if I get a chance, as I'm off on me jollies late tomorrow

Hey George,

You know what this means don't you? You've got to last well beyond 2091 to hear the Fendt the way it should have been heard with completely hundred year old wood seasoning! That's a long life my friend!

Of course you'd have to last all the way to 2201 to hear it with the 210 year old wood that you should ahve heard it with in 1991, and that's just plain silly.

ISTR that earthing the SBL chassis was a common practice in the 80s and early 90s, but that it fell out of favour after that, possibly due to variable results depending on installation.

quote:

One of these days I shall get a very fine picture of the old instrument scanned and start a thread on it.

I hope you do one day George. I shall look forward to seeing and reading about it,

Regards

PB

Hello Polarbear,

Just a quick note to say how much I enjoyed reading your report.
I loved the start and the airport aggrevation
The photos Hi fi and scenary where top notch.
I think it's interesting your comments about system tweaking on this thread and sometimes you can ring big improvements without having to upgrade.
When I was in my early 20's.I shared a flat with a mate who worked at The Cornflake shop in London.Then left to work for Roksan as there sales rep.
I was running an Lp12 Lv11 Troika 32 hicap 135's and nat o1 and kans.

We would have many evenings comparing the xerxes with the Linn.

I did settle with a xerxes but after 3 years and 3 new power supplies.I sold it.
I can relate to what you are saying.Get a very good dealer and they can work magic on system sound.

Cheers Tabbycat

I had a dream last night, no joking. Peter Had flown from the UK all the way to my house to tweak my system :P He got me an LP12 as a gift too Lol.

Peter, it looks like you are going to be the new Santa Claus

quote:

Originally posted by Tabby cat:
Hello Polarbear,

Just a quick note to say how much I enjoyed reading your report.
I loved the start and the airport aggrevation
The photos Hi fi and scenary where top notch.
I think it's interesting your comments about system tweaking on this thread and sometimes you can ring big improvements without having to upgrade.
When I was in my early 20's.I shared a flat with a mate who worked at The Cornflake shop in London.Then left to work for Roksan as there sales rep.
I was running an Lp12 Lv11 Troika 32 hicap 135's and nat o1 and kans.

We would have many evenings comparing the xerxes with the Linn.

I did settle with a xerxes but after 3 years and 3 new power supplies.I sold it.
I can relate to what you are saying.Get a very good dealer and they can work magic on system sound.

Cheers Tabbycat

Hi Tabby,

thanks for the compliments. Its nice to be able to share the friendship and experiences I get from the forum.

I think its great someone is willing to invite me to their house and let me listen to their sysytem. Frank was a great host and couldn't do enough for us. It just goes to show what a great community the Naim forum is.

As for me, I am a Roksan TMS2 owner, so having to endure not one Linn but two Linns was hard work but seriously it was a great experience.

The whole moral of the thread is the Naim forum is a great place and a good dealer is invaluble,

Regards

PB

quote:

Originally posted by Flame:
I had a dream last night, no joking. Peter Had flown from the UK all the way to my house to tweak my system :P He got me an LP12 as a gift too Lol.

Peter, it looks like you are going to be the new Santa Claus

OMG, I can see him now, ho ho ho

quote:

Originally posted by Tabby cat:

Just a quick note to say how much I enjoyed reading your report.
I loved the start and the airport aggrevation
The photos Hi fi and scenary where top notch.

You might have loved the security report!

Actually, I didn't mind too much as I was expecting it and even tried to get my hold baggage pre-checked by security, but this was not allowed, so I just booked it in accepted the fact I'd have to sit in ear-shot of the tannoy system and just await the inevitable call. In fact, if I had not been called I would have been concerned, as if you think about it..... what are security going to think when they see the insides of a Superline on the scanner? Suspicious! I'd say so.

Anyway, it allowed me to pass the time whilst awaiting the flight. The only pain was having to be searched again once I passed back through the hand baggage security etc. Hey, no point in getting stressed I said to Nigel on my return, they are just doing their job.

Anyway, here's another picture taken near the La Mesa Bar in the mountains a little before sunset:

Kind regards,

Peter

I know, awful scenery eh

Once again, sincere thanks to Frank for taking out for some fantastic sightseeing. I only wish the pictures did justice places we visited.

Anyway, you have heard of three men in a boat? How about three men in a Golf!

I'm the rather "not composed" one on the right, as I had to run back to get in shot once I set the camera's timer

If you look carefully, you may just make out the Atlas mountains across the Mediteranean in the background.

Kind regards,

Peter

Oh I don't know, that picture came out really well peter

I wonder if Franks suspension has recovered from having the bear in the back of his VW