LOSING CONTROL !

As I wait for the right components to come up on the used market I am finding that it's difficult to let go of some of the relative bargains that turn up. I've gone a bit crazy this past few weeks. First up I spotted a Nac52/Supercap preamp, a late 2001 model at a very generous price. At its birth back in the 1990's this was proclaimed by some as the best preamp in the world. Even by today's standards it's still reputedly pretty damm good and some say more enjoyable than the current Nac252. After the source I find the preamp defines so much of the sound and a good one can open it up and unleash musicality to the system like nothing else. So here is my new Nac52 and time will tell if it's worth keeping over the baby 32-5.

I have also been unable to resist another temptation ... going active. I have had passive SBL's twice before now in my life but I have always known from many a discussion gone before that they are a different beast when the crossovers are gone and they go to a totally different level, especially in terms of neutrality and speed and sheer sense of scale and power. So I have now picked up a second Hicap to power the active crossover and also a second NAP250 to complete the active amplification.

And here is the Crossover, a vintage Naxo2-4, a very simple box with a single power led which as stated above, must be powered by its own Hicap (or snaps or I think a flatcap will do it as well in the case of a naxo)

Some isoblue shelving seems appropriate for the Electronics and it seems to go well with the SBL's as well.

The ARO is taking some time so I have been unable to complete the LP12 and bored of waiting, I made a somewhat impulsive purchase of this recently serviced CDS2/CDPS. My first demo of a CDS back in 1995 - arguably the first truly great and analogue sounding CD player - was a very memorable one. To me it was the first time I heard a spinner that could truly live next to a decent turntable. Also as a Naim CDi owner back then, to me it was the holy grail. So I've always had a soft spot for the Naim 2 box CDS range of players and I believe that they are better musically than the CDX or CD2/CD5 range.

So how does it sound? Well intially I am just running it passive at the moment whilst I wait to get all the right interconnects and another 2 lengths of NACA5 cable. Overall its a big shock and a lot to get used to. The SBL's midrange is as fantastic as ever and they are fast, punchy and very rythmical. I am not getting much bass there though which seems to be getting sucked away in my large room. On thinner acoustic music though the sound is great if a little bright and brittle sometimes. The CDS2 seems great for the most part although I have little to compare it to. The sound is very engaging and very delicate in places. The CDS2 seems to assemble all the instruments and parts of the mix in a really musical and involving way.

The most interesting revelation for me is hearing a Nac52 for the first time. I have the vintage 32-5 still so I have been comparing and going from one to another is a massive step. The 52 brings so much ease, control and simplification to the table. The sound just goes from hifi to music. You get far far more detail and subtelties and musical intent is conveyed in way that is completely missed on the 32. To be honest they are worlds apart but then you'd expect that given that ages and prices. The 52 gives a much wider soundstage, completely blows open the sound with just bags more transparency, air and space. The 2 box amp is a much bigger and meaningful sound and tracks sound so much more simple and intelligble through it but it still has a fizz and a boogie to it. It's still a fun presentation so hasn't gone too 'grown up' and it seems to work really well with the SBLs.

COLLECTING

So here I am collecting secondhand components I see that fit the bill. A serviced 250 comes first. A serviced Hicap and a healthy Nac32-5. I was intially planning to shoot higher than the 32-5 but this one came up along with the NAP250 so it seemed the right thing to do.

I actually owned a second set of Naim SBL's back in the mid 1990's in a system based around a Naim CDi running a 72/HiCap/250. Sadly it didn't last long as I never really bonded with it and at some point or other needed the money more than a system I wasn't really using much. The SBL's have always been firm favourites though. I have always loved their speed, slightly dry lean quality, their fast unobtrusive bass and their huge ability to always rhythmically captivate and involve. I have found a lovely walnut pair of Mk2's which are pretty much mint.

The Linn LP12 you have seen already. I was initially thinking about getting a Roksan Xerxes. I remember hearing them back when they were launched and found it an exciting and very fast deck which gave a fir bit more detail than the Linn at a lower pricepoint. Even with a basic Rega RB300 the Xerxes seemed to out resolve an LP12/Ittok. I then read about issues with sagging plinths on older decks and came to realise that the backup for a Roksan isn't really the best. I did think about getting a Gyrodec but remembered that I had found these a bit boring when listening back in the days.

So although a part of me wants to do something different this time, I am sticking with the venerable fruit box and I am going to keep it to an older spec as research and friends tell me that the later cirkus bearing and trampolin mods may have changed the sound but not necessarily improved it and arguably actually removed some of the decks original high level of musicality and swing. I do plan on fitting it with an ARO though seeing as I had an Ekos before. I remember the Ekos as having a wide frequency range, a lot more detail and authority and grip than the Ittok but the Aro always had the reputation of being more about flow and romance rather than out and out detail. This is more my bag so Aro it will be.

The mana reference table also came up conveniently.  This table was all the rage back in the 80's. It changed the sound of the LP12 considerably, tightening up the bass and specifically addressing some of its shortcomings. Along with the audiotech table it was considered the golden chalice of LP12 floorstanding supports.

Naim Armageddon (NAPSA) power supply for the LP12

This is my final acquisition. This came up used at a good price and my reading tells me that the Benz cartridges are slightly warm sounding with good detail that is not over etched or too bright. The prospect of this smoother delivery sounds promising to me and at the price I can't really go wrong. I would have liked to get a retipped Troika (Expert Stylus Company in Ashtead surrey do a good job on this I'm told) but I haven't seen one for sale so far.

AND SO IT BEGINS ....

The journey has started. Acquire and assemble a series of components which will play music to a level of enjoyment and emotional engagement that matches, or better still supercedes, my last Hifi system that I owned 20 years ago as a young lad.

That system started like this in 1986. A vintage Linn LP12, Basik arm, Linn K9 cartridge, a Naim Nait 1 and a set of very bright Heybrook HB1s. Cut to summer 2010 and I figure that i'll start where I left of in familiar territory. I don't have much of an idea of what the world of Hifi has been doing all these years but I do remember really enjoying the old classic flat  earth Linn/Naim sound. The basik/nait/heybrook system eventually became Ekos/Troika/62/HiCap/140/SBL in 1991 before I sold the lot and went off to get a degree so around that sort of area seems a good staring point, maybe going one step or so better in every department just for the hell of it.