New Naim Forum


Hello everyone I recently changed out of a 5 seperate system and decided I wanted a small good integrated amplifier and a new CD player. I sold of all of my gear and started down the Naim rabbit hole. Don’t get me wrong, I am very glad I made the change. I’m now listening to music almost daily again where as my old system would going unplugged for weeks. There was just no emotion. It was overly warm and slow in the uptake. I honestly believe the 13 year old Mark Levinson no.334 amp needed a refresh to keep up with the new Totem Forest Signatures.

So I kept my Oppo Universal Disc Player as it is virtually new and the Totems 3 years old. I was wanting smaller kit with a good integrated amp and a matching CD player. Less cabling to figure out, just simplify my setup.

Enter the Naim Supernait 3. Wow what a beast. I bought the Supernait 3 and had planned on the CD5si CD player. After reading to the Naim forum discussing it with my fantastic dealer I decided against it the Cd5si. I was informed Supernait 3 would out perform the cd5si as the player was a entry level and offered no digital output or power supply upgrades. What to do? I found a nice Naim NDAC.

I’m running the Naim nDAC fully refreshed with new firmware. Man!!.does it sound good. It has 4 optical inputs, 2 RCA and 2 BNC I puts as well as 2 USB ports. Lossless playback and it charges your phone. It’s a digital hub. It has the ability to except an additional outboard power doubling the performance. (See Below)

I use my Oppo as the Transport playing CD’S through the RCA digital out via a Chord Company Signature Super ARAY Digital Coax RCA > BNC to the nDAC.

The nDac also plays a 2 Terabyte External Hard Drive full of FLAC, WAV and lossless files 192 files. It is connected via HDMI from the > Oppo to a HDMI TV Monitor and I have literally thousands of tunes at my fingertips. The Oppo remote populates the files on screen alphabetically, simply point and shoot.

From the nDAC I’m using Naim Super Lumina DIN5-5 cable to the Supernait 3 CD/DIN input. (Is anyone running the Chord Sarum T between their Naim source and preamp?)

Speaker cables are NACA5 / for now but I’m looking for suggestions from this new post for replacements. Any ideas?

The NACA5 hooked to the Totem Forest Signature Speakers. 12 feet!

For now, all power Cables for now are Naim TibiaPlus12 Deep-Cryo power cables except a Voo Doo Cable low noise 10 awg Digital Power on the nDAC. I’m using a Naim Wiremold power strip except the Supernait 3 is plugged directly into the AC.

Next week I’m expecting a Teddy Pardo XPS power supply for the nDac with included Teddy Burndy and a power cable. We’ll see how that shakes things up.

I have my Totems 6 feet center toe to toe and 10 feet to the listening position.

I would really lime some feedback whether your running Naim or not. I’m looking for alternatives that can propell my Naim system.

Thanks -

N

nutty
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Hello audioguy85 -

Welcome to the forum and it’s great to meet another Naim enthusiast. I’m confident the CD5SI si and Nait 5si is a great combination. Just as there are an unlimited number of combinations within Naim’s vast ranges. I’m not discounting the CD5si’s capabilities, sincerely. My research lead me to the nDAC as being the best choice for my system if I wanted upgrade options. The nDAC is virtually a digital hub. And as you know employs the same DAC chip-set as the CD555 Player.

I’ve lived with the Supernait 3 and nDAC bare and with their outboard power supplies. Both iterations are fantastic, I can happily live with either, a super amplifier and a stellar DAC in any guise.

However the TeddyCap SE and the Teddy XPS does elevate their performance, where the music becomes more structured and easier to follow without losing any of the bare amplifier and DAC’s charm to begin with. As always the best way for me to find out was to hook up the power supplies and hear it for ones self.

I chose the Supernait 3 due to it’s full 24 Volt DR Module, larger Toroidal Transformer, Class A preamp, phono and headphone sections and of course the upgrade options. I was simply looking for more in an integrated amplifier than the Nait 5si offered.

N

I’ve made some upgraded since my last post.

Added Synergistic Research Purple fuses to my Supernait 3, nDAC, Teddy XPS power supply TeddyCap SE power supply.

Upgrade the Wiremold power strip with a Furutech F1-28 Gold plug.

Just this week I added a Shunyata Research Venom X EF power cable to the Supernait 3.

 

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You have put together a great Naim system. The Supernait 3 integrated amplifier and NDAC digital-to-analog converter make a good match and the Oppo Universal Disc Player provides versatility. Your setup also allows for room for improvement with the addition of a Teddy Pardo XPS power supply and power cable for the NDAC. As for speaker cables, it would be best to try a few different options and see which one works best for your system and personal preferences. Ultimately, the best way to determine what will propel your Naim terraria system forward is to experiment with different components and cables to see what makes the biggest improvement in sound quality for you.