Naim Audio has been known virtually since its inception for its advocacy of discrete power supplies to power its components. This arrangement distances delicate circuitry from all manner of interference generated by on-board supplies, not least the electromagntic radiation of the transformer along with its physical vibration, and the electrical noise produced by regulator components such as the diodes. The result is an improved portrayal of music and enhanced sound quality.
Naim has spent the last two years developing a discrete-component-voltage-regulator to deliver audibly better – and scientifically verifiable – improvements over the commercial three-terminal monolithic regulators the company has used to date. A discrete regulator similar to the new NDR (Naim Discrete Regulator) was first used in the NAP500 power amplifier.
The concept of the regulator used in the NAP500 has been refined with the inclusion of an enhanced voltage reference. This topology, says Naim’s White Paper, was benchmarked against various alternatives and refined over a two year period, has proven itself to be inherently low noise and capable of fast recovery to transient current demands. It also has the advantage that it works equally well for both positive and negative supply rails.
The paper continues: Naim Discrete Regulator is a series regulator, with a power transistor as the series regulating device. Output from the power transistor is monitored at the inverting input of a differential amplifier which is configured, like the subsequent stages, much like a Naim power amplifier. This provides the negative feedback by which the Naim Discrete Regulator exerts tight control over the output voltage. Connected to the amplifier non-inverting input is the voltage reference, which is fed, via a constant current source, from the regulator output rather than the regulator input, to ensure as stable and low noise a reference voltage as possible.
At the heart of every voltage regulator is a voltage reference that should be as clean and as constant as possible since any noise or other fluctuations in the reference will be carried through to the regulator output. Naim Discrete Regulator uses a 6.9 volt ‘subsurface’ zener diode in this role, a type which is more accurate and more stable than conventional surface zeners because the breakdown region is formed below the silicon surface and covered by a protective diffusion. This isolates it from the impurities, mechanical stresses and crystal lattice dislocations at the surface which have the effect of increasing noise and reducing long-term stability. Additional components within the zener package decrease its dynamic impedance and provide temperature compensation to ensure that it always provides a constant reference voltage.
The performance of the voltage reference is enhanced in two ways: by powering it from the ‘clean’ output of the regulator rather than the ‘dirty’ input (a technique known generally in electronics as bootstrapping) and by incorporating a two-transistor constant current source in place of the resistor more typically used. Together these features isolate the zener from the ripple and noise in the regulator input voltage, thereby keeping the reference voltage – and the regulator output voltage that depends on it – clean and stable.
The White Paper closes by observing: As in all Naim circuits, the components used in Naim Discrete Regulator were carefully selected to optimise performance in listening tests. The compensation capacitors in the amplifier stage are polystyrene types, just as used in our high-end amplifiers; the filtering capacitors are film types, not microphonic ceramics; the decoupling capacitors are tantalum electrolytics not aluminium electrolytics; and while extensive use is made of surface-mount components, the critical feedback resistor in the amplifier stage is a selected through-hole type.
Significant as it is, the Naim Discrete Regulator is just one part of a Naim power supply, so we have reviewed and optimised every aspect of the products into which it has been incorporated. Transformer mounting, wire gauge, wire routing, mechanical decoupling, internal layout and reservoir capacitors have all been scrutinised to ensure that the Naim Discrete Regulator’s benefits are fully realised. The result is a demonstrable upgrade in sound quality.
The new NDR device will initially be used in five products: the 555PS, 552PS, SuperCap, XPS and HiCap. Dealers and distributors will be able to give you price details and tell you if your particular supply is easily and cost-effectively upgradable. The factory demonstrations performed for the press suggested very strongly that the NDR supplies are a significant upgrade over their predecessors. I hope soon to have an updated XPS to play with and will report when that arrives.
Over the past weekend, I will admit to becoming a bit tired of watching Sky’s brilliant F1 coverage – too much of a good thing. So I finished a task I had started earlier that week and rebuilt and reconfigured my main hi-fi sysytem. As I have noted elsewhere this was no mere couple of hours’ work. It turned out to be an absolute labour of intense devotion…
Naim PowerLine
The easy part was removing all the electronics and suchlike from the trio of Quadraspire Sunoko Vents I use as supports… Now, said supports were considerably lighter in weight and were repositioned a foot further out into the room so that I could persuade my recalcitrant frame to pass behind them and properly attend to matters cable-dressing related. Reconfiguring the system, in order to make life as a reviewer a tad easier, involved the removal of an electronic crossover and the disposal of a CD player and its power supply: who truly needs a CD player these days? I only ever listen to a CD to decide whether I want to rip it and then it usually finds its way into the multi disc player in my car. I restrict my serious listening these days to rips, downloads and vinyl.
The crossover has been removed because my Naim DBLs are taking a rest and have been temporarily replaced by an humungous, 9-way, stand-mount, the NEAT XL10, which is being driven by two bi-amplified NAP250s through Naim NACA 4 cables. The third of my NAP250s performs bi-amp duties alongside either my NaimUniti, or the reviewing SUPERNAIT.
I still had plenty of Naim boxes left to re-position (and that is a job when a spreadsheet comes in very handy – one has to figure out what goes where and whether the cables will extend that far) including my pre-amp, 52PS psu, HDX-SSD, n-DAC, and XPS power supply, and a Hi-CAP, which connects to the SUPERNAIT. Then it was on to the third Sunoko Vent, the one that supports my vinyl front end: this is a Well Tempered Amadeus GTA turntable and uni-pivot tone-arm along with a Dynavector XX-2 moving coil. This is powered by a bespoke Naim PSU and feeds a Naim Superline phono stage and a Super-Cap PSU.
Then came the nightmare of rewiring the whole shebang and providing a mains supply to everything. Previously I had been using a hydra style confection using soldered, defused, Naim mains cables. To get arrangements back to closer to normal I spoke to Naim and David Brook at Mains Cables ‘R’ US, and arranged for a new set of Naim Standard mains cables and a modified 12-way, aluminium Brennenstuhl distribution block (switching and LED disabled) and Lapp mains cable combination. This mains ‘upgrade’ – along with scrupulous dressing of all the leads – had a dramatic effect on the performance of the system bringing clarity and focus to the presentation along with a much quieter background noise floor – not that there was much in that respect to mention before.
Overall, the weekend’s cable dressing restored the refinement and poise my system exhibited at its best. Musically, and in cosmetic terms, the system communicated with engaging fluency. All in, it’s the ideal upgrade: a bit of time and effort, and mimimal cost that delivers truly rewarding results.
This last weekend saw the Hi-Fi Wigwam “Bake-off”/Show, where members of the Hi-Fi Wigwam internet forum displayed their individual hi-fi systems to fellow enthusiasts and other members of the public. These guys, because they are predominantly male, dismantle their home hi-fi systems, package them into their cars or hired vans, and transport them to Scalford Hall, near Melton Mowbray, then reassemble them for the public to hear demonstrated in the bedrooms of the hotel. And many of these systems are anything but small and easily transported, so a great deal of effort is involved for the relatively tiny satisfaction of a few folks telling you that it sounds interesting or wonderful. (See the photo below.)
You wouldn't get these speakers in your car boot!
The show is not beyond criticism but one has to remember that it is organised and staffed totally by amateur enthusiasts and it has no commercial element to provide it with any substantial funding. There is also a great beauty to this: the message of the show is not ‘sell’ but ‘enjoy’, which is great news for the enthusiasts exhibiting and for visitors.
Ed Selley, staff writer at Hi-Fi Choice magazine was presenting his home system, which reinforced the belief that Naim electronics and Neat Acoustics’ loudspeakers are a marriage made in Heaven. He was using a ND5 XS streamer and a SUPERNAIT to drive a pair of Momentum 4i floor-standers to great effect. This was not the only such installation. The combination of Linn LP12, Naim CDS3, 252/300 powering Neat Ultimatum MF7s in the ground floor Colman room was sounding thoroughly engaging.
A sense of humour is definitely required to exhibit at this show
Elsewhere, there was an amazing variety of loudspeakers being driven by a vast range of electronics, much of which was modified or home-assembled. Some of these set-ups were good – such as the Roksan Xerxes and Quad 44/405 powered Harbeth HL-P3ES – and some were less so – the active B&W 801Fs, in my opinion, were dramatic but not especially musically communicative.
There is great variety in the way the systems are set up, which naturally affects the way in which they perform. The set-ups this year seemed better than those the last time I visited the show but cable dressing, for instance, still appears to be a lost art in these parts.
Nonetheless, the show demonstrates that there is more than one way to approach building a hi-fi system and that the enthusiasm of some people for their hobby is limitless. The Scalford Hall event is highly entertaining and heart-warming… despite the number of times one has to suffer listening to Hotel California. Long may this thoroughly enjoyable and entertaining show continue…
It has been a great month or two for loudspeakers around my place recently.
To begin, I replaced my desktop system with the Cambridge Minx X200 subwoofer and the min 10 satellites. The sats are rather special, having only a single driver per enclosure. What is unusual is that that driver is a BMR (Blanced Mode Radiator) design and has unique dispersion characteristics and a very natural sonic character. You can read my full review on TheHiFiJournal website. Suffice it to say here that the combination of the Min 10s and X200 seems like an excellent way to spend £350 on a desktop set-up especially if yours, like mine, runs off a Naim UnitiQute.
NEAT XL6
Meanwhile, my listening room played host to the magnificent, floor-standing NEAT Acoustics XL6 and the stand-mount XLS. Both are very special loudspeakers and responded impeccably to being bi-amplified with two of my Naim NAP250s. The XLS has a fine and impressive sense of scale for what is, in truth, only a small stand-mount loudspeaker but my heart really went out to the XL6 for its totally captivating and delightfully full-blooded performance. Reviews of the NEATs will be published shortly in Hi-Fi Choice – The Collection 2011, and Hi-Fi Plus.
The XL6, despite its outward simplicity, is actually a six-driver design having an isobarically loaded bass arrangement in the bottom of its Birch-plywood enclosure, and two super-HF units atop the cabinet.
People frequently ask me about the music I use to evaluate hi-fi equipment. Since the Hi-fi Journal recently asked me to prepare a list of my 100 favourite review discs/rips I now have them all written down and assemled so anyone can check them out.
The list is now on this site in electronic format, which means that if you click on the image of a CD cover you will be whisked to that disk on Amazon so you can read about it and, I hope, purchase and enjoy it.
There is all manner of rock and jazz music there, though there is only one record by each band/artist.
Tellurium Q is an odd name for a range of cables. It is an odd name for any product if I am being honest. Dig around a little and you will find that Tellurium is a brittle, mildly toxic, silver-white metalloid that looks similar to tin, and is chemically related to selenium and sulphur. It was discovered in Transylvania, of all places. One should be careful when handling it: ingestion in even small amounts causes “dreadful smelling breath” and “appalling body odour”. Thankfully the same is not true of the cables that bear the name.
Tellurium Q Green speaker cable
You will soon be able to read my full review of the cables at TheHifiJournal.com when it goes on-line in a few days time. So I will not spoil the fun other than by saying that the performance of these cables is truly outstanding. Even the least expensive – the £16/metre Blue – elicits a distinct improvement in a decent system over the vast majority of specialist leads: even many costing a great deal more. I am now using the Blue in my office system and the Ultra Black in my music room: they are that good!
USP has just delivered an M2Tech Young DAC to me for review.
M2Tech Young DAC
I am, to say the least, very excited by this prospect because the Young has, in the 7 hours it has been plugged in, sounded rather magnificent… much better than any ‘cold’ DAC has any right to. According to its makers it needs 100 hours to come fully on song, so that is only a week of being permanently played.
It is a smart little box, handling 32-bit 384kHz signals through its asynchronous USB2 input. It’s a shame there is only a miniscule amount of music around at that sampling rate. Regardless, though, the Young seems to cope admirably with the more common 24/192 and 24/96 recordings. The only feature upon which I am not very keen is the front panel display, which is a little, shall we say, obvious for my tastes. It is bright enough and large enough to make one want to wear sunglasses during evening listening sessions. In the DAC’s favour though it has a BNC (as well as RCA) S/PDIF input, which makes life simpler for me – my regular Naim DAC being BNC-equipped … and BNC is also a better-sounding option than the ubiquitous RCA connector.
Look out for my full review, which will appear soon in Hi-Fi+ magazine.
Along with my fascination for high-end hi-fi, my love of music – both live and recorded –, and my passion for fast cars, I have two more interests that I seem to share with others who enjoy great hi-fi, music and motors: I am a fan of mechanical watches and fountain pens; both items that are viewed as redundant by the majority these days.
I do not want or need a watch with the accuracy of an atomic clock. It would do me no good: I would still arrive late at meetings. Where is the benefit in knowing precisely how many milliseconds ago I should have been wherever I was supposed to be? Regardless, I do not spend vast sums on watches. In fact I spend the minimum I can get away with. I think that every tenner you spend over about £500 is not buying you a better watch in any functional respect: it is just adding bling, and I am not in the slightest bit interested in jewellery.
No, I am perfectly happy with my Seiko ‘Black Monster’ 200M Diver’s watch. It cost me around £200 a few years back and the only additional expense came when I replaced the fitted synthetic bracelet with a £10 nylon NATO Strap. The whole edifice is safe to wear in the shower – its 200 Metre appelation seems entirely honest – and has, thus far, withstood all my watch-destroying clumsiness. Even the glass is scratch-free, which is remarkable for something that never leaves my wrist.
I have just fueled my second obsession with the purchase of a TWSBI Diamond 530 fountain pen. It is an excellent concept, well executed, and appeals to both the aethete in me and the geek. It writes beautifully and easily (using ink from The Writing Desk) and its geek appeal comes from a) its transparency and b) its ability to be dismantled and maintained by the owner. Finally it costs under £40, which is considerably less than I paid for my 1930s’ vintage Mentmore and my 1950s’ Parker 51. When either of the latter need servicing it will be time to get the plastic out for some exercise but the TWSBI is a DIY job.
TWSBI Diamond 530
It even comes with instructions and a spanner to dismantle it. All that is left for me to do is find an ink that really pushes my plunger, and wait for the Taiwanese manufacturer to deliver a broader nib: the medium is the widest option available at the moment but I hear there is a broad nib expected reasonably soon.
At less than £40 there really is no excuse to keep using that scratchy old ballpoint. Get yourself a proper pen and show those with whom you communicate that you have a bit of class. I suggest you consider buying from The Writing Desk who I found to be an excellent, prompt and knowledgeable supplier.
The hi-fi and a/v industries are definitely on the slippery slope to nowhere if they honestly believe that writing vainglorious bollocks about their products will attract people to them. This is my fourth decade in this business, yet the drivel from a show brochure that follows had me wondering what on earth the message was that the copywriters were trying to convey on behalf of the companies, all of whom were “the leading specialists” in their field. One day copywriters will realise that “leading” is a completely meaningless term without any qualification.
Example 1:
This year Company X is unveiling its eagerly awaited streaming music players. Utilising over 25 years of knowledge and expertise, this new platform meets the needs of the most demanding audiophile. With its sleek body, full colour screen and two-way control, the unique user interface makes the new Company X streaming platform very special. This interface is the perfect answer for music enthusiasts and for those seeking a lifestyle solution.
Copywriters who use the word “utilising” when they mean “using” should be lined up alongside those who think that a “lifestyle solution” means anything to any sentient being and decapitated. They won’t feel a thing because their brains are no longer functioning.
Example 2:
Experience the debut of Company Y’s product . Based on the multi-award winning Product Y, this represents extreme HD realism including razor sharp transients and uncanny imaging, topped by crossover-free HF volume/dispersion adjustment. Be amazed at the incisive virtuosity of this compact standmount with tight bass down to 39Hz.
Also hear the multi-award winning Y floorstander with exemplary bass extension/weight from a full-range array. A state-of-the-art reflex loaded transmission line maximises the multi-advantageous HD resolving, true imaging philosophy.
Turned on? Excited? Reading this inane diatribe was so boring that it nearly removed my will to live. It certainly does not make me want to witness the product being demonstrated. I wonder if that was the aim the copywriter hoped to achieve?
Example 3:
The Company Z speakers are available in an almost infinite number of finishes and colour options and the custom speakers are designed and tailored to your individual taste and interior decor, so you know that when your speakers arrive they are uniquely tailored to your requirements and meet their standards of perfection.
Someone has not figured out what that key to the right of the comma is for. And again, I do not feel compelled to rush to this company’s exhibit to see whether I should be dusting off my credit cards. I feel more inclined to go to the bar and drown my sorrows…once I have caught my breath. I do not expect these people to have the fluency or turn of phrase of James Joyce but is it asking too much that they are able to write consequential, bollocks-free English? It is, after all, their first language.
These examples of functionally illiterate drivel say nothing worthwhile or enticing about the products but they say rather too much about the companies that are using them to present their wares to the public. That is not good news… Especially when you can pay someone to write or edit your copy, and present your company in a far more professional light. If you are expecting people to pay thousands for your products, the few hundred quid it costs to have your publicity material properly written/edited is neither here nor there. Is it?
A while ago I was determined to start digitising a few thousand LPs and thought I had borrowed all the gear required to do it. I had the loan of a Chord Electronics ADC/phonostage and a rather slow miniature PC but the set up (these were only pre-production prototypes) was plagued with USB noise and the whole project became impractical because my reviewing schedule ensured that I never had sufficient support space to accommodate the equipment such that its cabling could be properly dressed to avoid the ingress of more noise. After a few none-too-successful attempts at transcription I admitted defeat, sat down and prayed that the wonderful Keith Monks Ruby Record Cleaning Machine would remain forgotten about by its manufacturer for a month or two longer.
Furutech GT40
Now, however, I am all set up to take a second stab at the task, thanks to my mate, PR, Dave Denyer who has secured the loan of a Furutech GT40 ADC along with some long, high-end USB connections. The GT40 takes its phono input through RCA sockets, the same connection used on the output of my Well Tempered Amadeus GTA turntable. Eventually I located a set of RCA-RCA cables, which are quite rare in my mostly DIN and XLR home and the signal was routed successfully to the ADC. The output on that device leaves through a USB B socket, so I hooked it up to the first laptop with a 3.5m Furutech GT2 A/B cable. That proved too slow to run Audacity recording software at a 96kHz sampling rate – and why would one bother with less? So out came laptop number 2 from my eldest son’s bedroom, where it had been on unnofficial loan for a few weeks. I knew that was fast enough to cope with 24-bit/96 kHz recording because I had used it in the previous set-up.
So, all connected and ready to go, I discover that laptop #2 has acquired a few new habits while it has been on sojourn: annoying habits like freezing after the POST and eventually booting into Win 7 then powering down unexpectedly and then only re-starting in Safe Mode and refusing to detect the specialised USB Audio drivers. Fun stuff like that. Just what you need when you are minutes away from archiving a lorry-load of LPs. I think tomorrow will see it in the local repair shop for a thorough hardware MOT, a new HDD and a re-install of Win 7. I really cannot be arsed messing around inside laptops.
Then the real fun can recommence. If I manage to do 3 discs a day on average it will only take about 2 years 11 months to work through the shelves! But then, all the metadata will have to be entered by hand and many of the sleeves will need to be scanned. Perhaps, I’ll be a bit more selective and just do a few and see how it goes…
Thankfully, before I rushed off and spent loadsamoney getting laptop #2 re-fettled I found some software that recorded at 24/96 happily on laptop #1 so I purchased it for the equivalent of a very reasonable $35. It is called Spin It Again and comes from an outfit called Acoustica. Spin It Again seems to do what is says on the tin without any fuss, drama or tricky configuration… including getting metadata for some of my albums that date back to 1957. Colour me happy!
My full review of the Furutech DAC will appear in Hi-Fi Plus magazine soon.
At the heart of every voltage regulator is a voltage reference that should be as clean and as constant as possible since any noise or other fluctuations in the reference will be carried through to the regulator output. Naim Discrete Regulator uses a 6.9 volt ‘subsurface’ zener diode in this role, a type which is more accurate and more stable than conventional surface zeners because the breakdown region is formed below the silicon surface and covered by a protective diffusion. This isolates it from the impurities, mechanical stresses and crystal lattice dislocations at the surface which have the effect of increasing noise and reducing long-term stability. Additional components within the zener package decrease its dynamic impedance and provide temperature compensation to ensure that it always provides a constant reference voltage.
The White Paper closes by observing: As in all Naim circuits, the components used in Naim Discrete Regulator were carefully selected to optimise performance in listening tests. The compensation capacitors in the amplifier stage are polystyrene types, just as used in our high-end amplifiers; the filtering capacitors are film types, not microphonic ceramics; the decoupling capacitors are tantalum electrolytics not aluminium electrolytics; and while extensive use is made of surface-mount components, the critical feedback resistor in the amplifier stage is a selected through-hole type.
The hi-fi and a/v industries are definitely on the slippery slope to nowhere if they honestly believe that writing vainglorious bollocks about their products will attract people to them. This is my fourth decade in this business, yet the drivel from a show brochure that follows had me wondering what on earth the message was that the copywriters were trying to convey on behalf of the companies, all of whom were “the leading specialists” in their field. One day copywriters will realise that “leading” is a completely meaningless term without any qualification.
