Naim 202 - HiCap, TPX1 or TeddyCap?

[bob atherton]

Teddy products and Naim products sound different.

Which is better? I think only your own ears can help you decide. Different people will have different preferences and maybe different from yours.

The same goes with the rest of teddy product.

Very good post and very good advice.

One point of fact though is the cost.

 

[positive_energy]

Hey Novak, chill yout mate. I was not launching a personal insult at you. Enjoy your system, while it lasts LOL. I am sure you will have another in a few months!

 

[positive_energy]

I keep reading this myth on the forums. Harbeths are only soft if you use them incorrectly with underpowered valve amps. Have you heard them with Naim?

I used the 202 with a dual Teddycap (and Harbeths). Perfectly good combination. Ultimately the psu cleans things up a bit, reducing noise, therefore BOTH increasing dynamics and adding smoothness, but it won't make fundamental changes like extending frequency extension and adding tonal colour.

Naim is not ideal if you want proper tonal balance as, by their own recognition they produce a fast dynamic sound. Naim mids and highs are more forward and there is a mid-bass hump. Adding fast dynamic Naim to soft and warm Harbeth is a nice combination I agree, but its not realistic is it?

 

[positive_energy]

Teddy products and Naim products sound different.

Which is better? I think only your own ears can help you decide. Different people will have different preferences and maybe different from yours.

The same goes with the rest of teddy product.

Yes, they do. Especially if you are looking at complete systems, but crucially as regards this topic PSUs do not change the basic "Naim sound". There is a greater difference between a CB Hicap and a HicapDR than between it and a TeddyCap. Not to mention the supercap. The biggest difference between CB/Olive etc. on the one hand and Teddy/HicapDR etc. on the other is the mid-bass hump and greater bass insight you get with the latter.

 

[Peter Stockwell]

What is "phat"? Do you mean noise? Plenty of drive with the TC, not notices any difference in that regards.

The naim mid bass bump, is what I meant. The differences are in any case marginal, some will exaggerate the difference, others will minimise. Over time, with Teddy psus, I became disappointed with naim (that, and the horrible naim pricing!)

 

[positive_energy]

The naim mid bass bump, is what I meant. The differences are in any case marginal, some will exaggerate the difference, others will minimise. Over time, with Teddy psus, I became disappointed with naim (that, and the horrible naim pricing!)

Yes, but the phat has gone in the HicapDr... I know what you mean about the price!

 

[Anh]

Naim is not ideal if you want proper tonal balance as, by their own recognition they produce a fast dynamic sound. Naim mids and highs are more forward and there is a mid-bass hump. Adding fast dynamic Naim to soft and warm Harbeth is a nice combination I agree, but its not realistic is it?

Funny. Good music recordings played through the Naim stuff with a lowly hicap (CB) and a hicap2 I heard sounded pretty realistic.

And I do like to listen to alot of live music.

That's the beauty of making opinions on the internet.

 

[Whaleblue]

Thanks for all the opinions.

Of course the point about listening for yourself is fundamental, and I appreciate the sentiment behind it. It is, however, always good to hear about other peoples experiences and advice. Hey, sometimes it's just good to have "chat" on these threads. In the end I've decided to go for a s/h HiCap2 with a view to having it serviced/upgraded by Mark at Witch Hat in due course. I very much liked the 42.5/tweaked HiCap combo that he used in the demo of his new power amp. I'm still considering this as a replacement for the 559 (too "industrial looking" for the wife's tastes), so I guess in the end I'm following my own ears.

I hope the 202 meets expectations here, I considered the 72 or similar, but ease of use is another big one for the rest of the household, so in part the 202 was chosen for its AV unity input, and remote integration with the n-Stream app. Not the purist approach maybe but real life for me!

Of course some of you may be comfortable doing such mods yourselves - I wouldn't, so am happy to put my trust in the specialists.

 

[positive_energy]

Nice choice Vital. Mark is very well respected and I am sure he will transform your Hicap into something amazing.

 

[Elephantears]

Naim is not ideal if you want proper tonal balance as, by their own recognition they produce a fast dynamic sound. Naim mids and highs are more forward and there is a mid-bass hump. Adding fast dynamic Naim to soft and warm Harbeth is a nice combination I agree, but its not realistic is it?

Yes, agree with the first sentence and part of the second (I don't thing the high's are more forward). But your last sentence is still characterizing Harbeths incorrectly and by stereotype. Harbeths are not intrinsically soft, unless, as I said, you use them with under-powered valve amps, which is a common mistake. I use the Unico Pre/DM, which are 160W Dual Mono mosfet/valve hybrids, and they wake the Harbeths up.

 

[naimsg]

"Softening" of the sound may be result of two effects.

First, the floor noise of the system drops and this make the sound more delicate. This reduce the hardness of the sound. This will allow a gentle whisper sound to be portray as really gentle. The lower floor noise also allow more low level details to be heard.

Second, the attack of the notes becomes slower. This may also have a softening effect on the sound.

Teddy products does both of that. One positive and one negative effect. Teddy PS is not a perfect product and there is a trade off. It all depends on what you want and the amount you are willing to pay.

 

[Elephantears]

I don't remember any slowing or softening when I used a Teddycap on a 202 and on a cd5XS. If you mean that the lowering of the noise floor helps you to perceive decay, then maybe so, but I can't see that 'slowing' the attack of notes.