Hi all,

I have recently upgraded two of my components as I wanted to gain balance in my system after impulsively buying a NAP300.

I'll paste a picture of my full setup below, but I have to first list the components I have and try to describe the improvement in sound I hear:

Now have:

CDS3+XPS+Hiline (from CDX2+XPS)
NAC282+NAPSC+Hicap2 (from NAC202+NAPSC+Hicap2)
NAP300
B&W805s speakers

I wrote a post a couple of months ago claiming that my then new NAP300 was making my system sound slightly 'overbright' as there wasn't really a balance. The sound now is much more beautiful - the best way I could describe this is that the instruments sound much cleaner, hearing the guitar string plucked and the vibrations beginning and ending more fully. There is also a greater projection of 3D images and the stereo distinction between each instrument is much more clearly defined!

Its difficult to explain my experience of it, but I guess things sound so much more 'real' - even sounds which are not purposefully audiophile like the out of tune radio at the start of Floyd's Wish You Were Here sound more like a de-tuned radio.

Wonderful stuff and I love it!

As you can probably see from my picture below, my setup insults the audiophile community as my system is stuck in an alcove, and my cables have to be coiled under the system stand!!! I hate this, but unfortunately my 'aesthetic' other half owns the 'other half' of my house and the other half of the house doesnt mean we've got 4 rooms each!!!

Oh well. The 555PS may be the next upgrade when pennies start rising again!!

Kind regards,

Jon

Jon,

Nice rig!

Something to try if you'd like to take realism up a notch further...remove the rubber pads stuck to the bottom of the BASE platform feet under the CDS3 head unit.

Made a world of difference with my CDS mk1 years ago.

regards,

dave

Thanks for that, Dave, I'll give that a go now!

Jon

Beautiful set up Jon, congrats!
You may need to upgrade your speakers at some point...
Hey, once you'll have the 555PS in...you'll have only one step more to go

cheers,
Edouard

I'm insulted.

Is that an Audiophile Base rack Jon? How is it?

Richard

Richard,

They are not bad but the Fraim looks better by a mile.

Audiophile base rack? Base.

Seriously: I never have had a back to back with them against a Fraim, but I recall they are somewhat dead compared to other alternatives. Did someone suggest pulling the sorbethane feet off of the shelves recently?

I liked they way they look

quote:

Originally posted by kuma: They are not bad but the Fraim looks better by a mile.

Shut up Kuma...

I believe that's a Star base unit from Audiophile Furniture. I've never heard the newer top model Star Base system but I can assure everyone the original is quite good (not a Fraim though.)

I wouldn't recommend removing the sorbothane strips strips or foot pods from the BASE shelf, however, many of us found dramatic improvements when removing the furniture protector pads under the shelf feet when used with suspended chassis devices such as Naim's CDS class players. (Tip sourced from JV years ago.) I recall removing the same pads from under the rest of the system's BASE platforms was detrimental to the sound in my all Naim rig. It made the sound quite dead (perhaps what connon experienced?)

Regardless, it's an easy and reversible tweak. Hopefully Jon will report his findings.

regards,

dave

Looks like later-period 10mm thread standard BASE (uses similar or same foot spikes as StarBASE, which had skeletized shelves).

Thanks for all your comments!

It is an Audiophile Base platform and I am using it based on my dealer's recommendation. I agree with the views shared that it doesn't look as nice as Naim's Fraim, but I suspect the Fraim costs considerably more?? The 5 levels support Im using costs about 1500.

I don't know how much different the Naim Fraim would make the system sound, but the perennial problem I have is I must stack my hifi in that alcove, so cables et al. are coiled beneath and some down the back. I'm conscious of vibrations transmitted and do try to minimise this!!

I tried removing the sorbothan strips and wasn't that comfortable afterwards as I don't believe it was the intention of the Audiophile Base company, so I put them back on!!

I'm now enjoying the system as it is and what's wonderful with Naim equipment is that the sound quality improves as it warms up!!

As a final note, thanks for your comments, Edouard. I have to claim that I aspire to YOUR system, and I am conscious that my speakers require addressing in the future so I can hear the full range of sound produced. I guess that will require extensive auditioning as speakers have to suit the room as closely as possible. The Amatis look gorgeous and I can believe all the forum reports that they sound great!!

I'll cross that bridge when I have those hard earned funds! Before then, I'll simply get absorbed in what I've got - and I'm really chuffed with the sound!!!

Regards to all,

Jon

[quoue]Hey, once you'll have the 555PS in...you'll have only one step more to go{/quote]

Jon,

Actually I was refering to the 552
of course the Amati's are...

cheers,
Edouard

Jon,

I'm talking about removing the little rubber pads stuck on the bottom of the cylindrical metal feet (not the Sorbathane pad assembly itself or the cylindrical feet.) The bits for removal are the only parts of the BASE platform that actually touch the stand shelf. They are the size and shape of a ten cent piece and are stuck on by double-faced adhesive tape.

regards,

dave

quote:

Originally posted by David Dever:
Looks like later-period 10mm thread standard BASE (uses similar or same foot spikes as StarBASE, which had skeletized shelves).

LOL..good catch young man! My eyes aren't what they used to be, I just saw the StarBASE floor spikes and completely missed the lack of skeletal shelves.

*

Dave,

Thanks for the clarification. I'll remove those rubber pads after lunch today and spend the afternoon evaluating the difference!!

Call this a naive question, but why would doing this improve the sound? Is it to do with minimising certain frequencies reaching the player??

I'll report back this afternoon!!

Jon

Jon,

The extra compliance of the Sorbathane bars suits the suspension of the naim CDS players, however, the additional springiness added by the little rubber bumpers takes it a bit to far.

best,

dave

Dave,

Ive removed the rubber bumpers and the music sounds really good. I can't say whether Im noticing a clear improvement - instrument echoes on some tracks sound more 'apparent' and the mid-range may be clearer.

Im not sure, but either way I'm leaving the pads off as I noted your technical point and I'll follow that!

Thanks.

As a side question, I have both a Hi-line and the usual RCA phono plugs connected i.e. I have the headphone amp and the Hi-line both connected, but just output through the Hi-line. Should I totally remove the RCA phono plugs to hear the best sound out of the Hi-line?

Regards,

Jon