Ryan Sound Lab Naim Preamp Plug-Ins Loaner Set
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RyanSoundLab
Trade: Ryan Sound Lab
Olderico,
Yes, there is still a loaner set for the EU. It's actually headed for Germany soon for another customer, so we can figure out the best sequence. Please send your shipping name and address to my email: [email protected] and we'll set it up. I assume you can use the output boards and time-aligned boards plus the set also includes MC and MM boards.
Best regards,
Kit
Yes, there is still a loaner set for the EU. It's actually headed for Germany soon for another customer, so we can figure out the best sequence. Please send your shipping name and address to my email: [email protected] and we'll set it up. I assume you can use the output boards and time-aligned boards plus the set also includes MC and MM boards.
Best regards,
Kit
Clandestino
Member
RYAN SOUND LABS - review of the the RSL boards for Naim NAC 72.
I have now had my new Ryan Audio boards in my Naim Nac 72 for couple of weeks now, so I thought it was time to give some feedback. Given that I had possession of a loaner set over over Christmas there were no great surprises but I wanted to give chance for the new boards to settle in just to check that my initial reactions were matched when I heard the set up again. Needless to say they were.
First off it would probably be useful to provide a full run down of the system they are in.
On the Analogue side I have a Cirkus/ Trampolin/ Lingo 3 Linn LP12 (circa1978) fitted with a Sole subchasis (curtesy of John Ruggles) Ittock LVll serviced by the inimitable Jonny at Audio Origami, fitted with Dynavector XX2 MC Cartridge feeding a Vivid Pulsus phono stage into a Naim NAC 72 (previously owned and fettled by JR) powered by a Custom Hi Fi Cables (CHC) Supercap with Mundorf caps ( via hicap din output) going into a Naim Snaxo 2-4 active crossover (powered through the Burndy link of the aforementioned Supercap) with 2 x Naim NAP 250s (Olive updated and serviced by Les at Avondale and featuring Avondale boards) with Naim speaker cables into my Naim IBLs Mkll obviously running actively without the passive crossovers fitted. Digital source is Naim HDX/ Naim Dac/ Teddy Pardo XPS. Interconnects are AR Lunar or Russ Andrews Kimber cable. Mains IEC are mainly CHC mains leads. None of the signal leads pass through the PSUs or share SNAIC/ Burndy Cables with Power leads. The Snaxo was updated and Modified by Les at Avondale and then more recently updated with new Mundorf Caps by the lovely Sean at Custom Hifi Cables.
I approached Kit at Ryan Sound Labs in early December 2017 and although he is based in the US he could not have been nicer or more efficient in lining me up with the loaner Kit circulating the UK. Needless to say a box arrived within four days containing the full custom kit of Boards for the Nac 72 including replacement NA321 boards (the main output boards) the time align board that replace Naim’s NA729 board and feature Kits own remote control for the sound level plus jumper boards to replace the Cd output boards which Naim designed to tame the output of the early CD players but are now generally not needed with modern digital devices. The specifications of all his boards are now well documented and can be found on Ryan Lab’s own web site so there is no need to go into them here. Suffice to say the whole thing was a doddle to fit thanks to Kit's great design and Naim’s brilliant preamp lay out, and within in half an hour I had the system powered up and running and it only took that long because I went to make a cup of tea after I had done it to allow the new set up a few minutes to warm up. Now Kit warns his boards take at least two weeks to be running at their best but as the loaner boards were well run in it only took about an hour to get them running properly from cold and after that I noticed no appreciable improvement.
However the changes to my own system that the boards brought were not subtle or marginal, they were drastic. I would almost say game changing. Presence and detail was so much improved that it was jaw dropping. Vocalists were now in the room with me and I could hear fingering on different chords, breath intonations of wind instruments and even the different harmonies in massed choirs. Not only that, there was more energy in the playing and more attack in the individual notes of the piano or guitar and more snap in the sound of the snare. Bass not only tightened up but also seemed to go deeper and the separation of bass notes was much more noticeable. Musicians seemed to be playing together better and inhabiting their own physical space. everything just sounded more together.
I have to say I was not expecting this kind of improvement. It was there in both digital and analogues sources and though perhaps the change was more pronounced from vinyl rather than digital files the improvement was very much across the board. I did try swapping my various power supplies round a bit and it certainly sounded a little better when the CHC Supercap was running both the Snaxo and the Nac 72 - something Sean at CHC assures me it was designed to do- but this set up was closely followed by the set up where the Snaxo was being powered by the Supercap and the 72 was being powered by the TPX1.
Unfortunately for me I had to send the loaner kit off to a new prospective customer in January and it took nearly another four weeks for the new boards to arrive all the way from the States. Fitting the boards new a couple of weeks ago I noticed the sound took a drastic dip. It became cold and lifeless and not very well defined, however within a day, major improvements started to show and now two weeks in the system is nearly back to where we were with the loaner kit. I should add that while waiting the arrival of the RSL kit in between sending back the loaner kit and the new boards arriving, I reverted to my original boards for a while and immediately I noticed how the system now sounded a little veiled and perhaps recessed. Music lost a bit of life and the vocals went back into the mix. It was such a relief to get the RSL boards back in place and working at the top of their game. Obviously I would not be able to say that the improvements I heard would be repeated in all settings. I did substitute my IBLs with my other active speakers, Linn Saras, and though the changes were noticeable they were not as profound. Substituting the Supercap on the SNAXO with the Avondale Audio TPX 1 also reduced the impact of the changes (but then the Supercap cost three times as much). It has been commented by a few people that the NAC 72 may be a bit of a bottle neck in my system given the rest of my set up, so that changes and improvements to the 72 may actually be a very important factor in allowing more information through. I can’t comment of course as have never heard a better pre amp than the NAC 72 … and I do like the NAC 72 and always have. I also love what the RSL boards do to it as well.
Juts one final comment and an experience that somewhat interfered with my otherwise fantastic experience in buying these boards. The full custom set up cost me £411.00 (after the exchange rate). A real bargain. Kit dispatched it the same day I ordered by priority mail. It was in the UK within a week … it then got held up at British Customs, actually by Parcel Force, for nearly three weeks while they contacted me (by mail) to charge me an additional £114.00 (the VAT and Customs charge) I don't grudge paying the tax of course as that is the law - I just wish it could be done more speedily. Kit assures me that parcels are only intercepted in a minority of cases (something like 1 in 3) and that if they are not intercepted you don’t have to pay the duties. It is probably worth just noting for any European prospective purchasers that when ordering you may need to factor in another 20% or so on the price when you order as well as an extra three weeks ! just in case!
One last word of thanks has to go to Kit Ryan at RSL, he is one of the best communicators I have ever dealt with and he really cares about and is interested in the experience of his customers as well as the quality of his products.
I have now had my new Ryan Audio boards in my Naim Nac 72 for couple of weeks now, so I thought it was time to give some feedback. Given that I had possession of a loaner set over over Christmas there were no great surprises but I wanted to give chance for the new boards to settle in just to check that my initial reactions were matched when I heard the set up again. Needless to say they were.
First off it would probably be useful to provide a full run down of the system they are in.
On the Analogue side I have a Cirkus/ Trampolin/ Lingo 3 Linn LP12 (circa1978) fitted with a Sole subchasis (curtesy of John Ruggles) Ittock LVll serviced by the inimitable Jonny at Audio Origami, fitted with Dynavector XX2 MC Cartridge feeding a Vivid Pulsus phono stage into a Naim NAC 72 (previously owned and fettled by JR) powered by a Custom Hi Fi Cables (CHC) Supercap with Mundorf caps ( via hicap din output) going into a Naim Snaxo 2-4 active crossover (powered through the Burndy link of the aforementioned Supercap) with 2 x Naim NAP 250s (Olive updated and serviced by Les at Avondale and featuring Avondale boards) with Naim speaker cables into my Naim IBLs Mkll obviously running actively without the passive crossovers fitted. Digital source is Naim HDX/ Naim Dac/ Teddy Pardo XPS. Interconnects are AR Lunar or Russ Andrews Kimber cable. Mains IEC are mainly CHC mains leads. None of the signal leads pass through the PSUs or share SNAIC/ Burndy Cables with Power leads. The Snaxo was updated and Modified by Les at Avondale and then more recently updated with new Mundorf Caps by the lovely Sean at Custom Hifi Cables.
I approached Kit at Ryan Sound Labs in early December 2017 and although he is based in the US he could not have been nicer or more efficient in lining me up with the loaner Kit circulating the UK. Needless to say a box arrived within four days containing the full custom kit of Boards for the Nac 72 including replacement NA321 boards (the main output boards) the time align board that replace Naim’s NA729 board and feature Kits own remote control for the sound level plus jumper boards to replace the Cd output boards which Naim designed to tame the output of the early CD players but are now generally not needed with modern digital devices. The specifications of all his boards are now well documented and can be found on Ryan Lab’s own web site so there is no need to go into them here. Suffice to say the whole thing was a doddle to fit thanks to Kit's great design and Naim’s brilliant preamp lay out, and within in half an hour I had the system powered up and running and it only took that long because I went to make a cup of tea after I had done it to allow the new set up a few minutes to warm up. Now Kit warns his boards take at least two weeks to be running at their best but as the loaner boards were well run in it only took about an hour to get them running properly from cold and after that I noticed no appreciable improvement.
However the changes to my own system that the boards brought were not subtle or marginal, they were drastic. I would almost say game changing. Presence and detail was so much improved that it was jaw dropping. Vocalists were now in the room with me and I could hear fingering on different chords, breath intonations of wind instruments and even the different harmonies in massed choirs. Not only that, there was more energy in the playing and more attack in the individual notes of the piano or guitar and more snap in the sound of the snare. Bass not only tightened up but also seemed to go deeper and the separation of bass notes was much more noticeable. Musicians seemed to be playing together better and inhabiting their own physical space. everything just sounded more together.
I have to say I was not expecting this kind of improvement. It was there in both digital and analogues sources and though perhaps the change was more pronounced from vinyl rather than digital files the improvement was very much across the board. I did try swapping my various power supplies round a bit and it certainly sounded a little better when the CHC Supercap was running both the Snaxo and the Nac 72 - something Sean at CHC assures me it was designed to do- but this set up was closely followed by the set up where the Snaxo was being powered by the Supercap and the 72 was being powered by the TPX1.
Unfortunately for me I had to send the loaner kit off to a new prospective customer in January and it took nearly another four weeks for the new boards to arrive all the way from the States. Fitting the boards new a couple of weeks ago I noticed the sound took a drastic dip. It became cold and lifeless and not very well defined, however within a day, major improvements started to show and now two weeks in the system is nearly back to where we were with the loaner kit. I should add that while waiting the arrival of the RSL kit in between sending back the loaner kit and the new boards arriving, I reverted to my original boards for a while and immediately I noticed how the system now sounded a little veiled and perhaps recessed. Music lost a bit of life and the vocals went back into the mix. It was such a relief to get the RSL boards back in place and working at the top of their game. Obviously I would not be able to say that the improvements I heard would be repeated in all settings. I did substitute my IBLs with my other active speakers, Linn Saras, and though the changes were noticeable they were not as profound. Substituting the Supercap on the SNAXO with the Avondale Audio TPX 1 also reduced the impact of the changes (but then the Supercap cost three times as much). It has been commented by a few people that the NAC 72 may be a bit of a bottle neck in my system given the rest of my set up, so that changes and improvements to the 72 may actually be a very important factor in allowing more information through. I can’t comment of course as have never heard a better pre amp than the NAC 72 … and I do like the NAC 72 and always have. I also love what the RSL boards do to it as well.
Juts one final comment and an experience that somewhat interfered with my otherwise fantastic experience in buying these boards. The full custom set up cost me £411.00 (after the exchange rate). A real bargain. Kit dispatched it the same day I ordered by priority mail. It was in the UK within a week … it then got held up at British Customs, actually by Parcel Force, for nearly three weeks while they contacted me (by mail) to charge me an additional £114.00 (the VAT and Customs charge) I don't grudge paying the tax of course as that is the law - I just wish it could be done more speedily. Kit assures me that parcels are only intercepted in a minority of cases (something like 1 in 3) and that if they are not intercepted you don’t have to pay the duties. It is probably worth just noting for any European prospective purchasers that when ordering you may need to factor in another 20% or so on the price when you order as well as an extra three weeks ! just in case!
One last word of thanks has to go to Kit Ryan at RSL, he is one of the best communicators I have ever dealt with and he really cares about and is interested in the experience of his customers as well as the quality of his products.