Witch Hat Naim NAC82 "Superlink" Upgrade
- Thread starter Mu5icman
- Start date
puddlesplasher
pfm Member
If you get this upgrade on the 82 pre do you still need the napscu
MJS
Technical Tinkerer
Yes. We designed this upgrade to be backwards compatible with previous methods of powering so it wouldn't definitely need the supercap from day one. We wanted to keep the wiring safe and unambiguous though so it is impossible to incorrectly power the 82 with our upgrade.
I have seen the Naim SLIC cable used to power the front panel from the supercap digital supply however but do not know if this is recommended by Naim.
MJS
Technical Tinkerer
Relay card aside it sounds like you're using only 4 cards, so only 4 rails would be needed. I think the law of diminishing returns would kick in here.
Further to indroducing the Opening Thread regarding the Witch Hat Audio Upgrade to the Naim NAC82 I had hoped/expected some review input from those who have had the upgrade work done. To date no one has posted their findings - I understand because should I be asked to "review" something I'm not sure that I would know where to start - I am therefore making a request to WHT audio to give us an insight into their findings.
To review audio kit I use the following Jennifer Warnes " The Well " track 1 ..... Perry Como "The Scene Changes" track 2 ...... Bonnie Raitt " Slipstream" tracks 6 and 7. ..... not a lot of tracks but sufficient ....... hopefully WHA may have access to them.
What I would like to know is the impression of these tracks from the Naim NAC82/Supercap in standard configuration ...... then using the same tracks what sonic "improvements" when listening with the "superlink" upgrade and then the changes heard when using the "superlink" upgrade with a TPRed Supercap.
When I see the statement that the "superlink" upgrade gets the NAC82 to within 80% of a NAC52 it does not mean a lot to me because I have not owned - nor may not have heard - the Naim NAC52 ......... I know that it's a wee bit unfair to ask the folks at WHT to review their own product but thay may be the only ones with access to the various stages ......... and I believe that they would not have published the upgrade if they were not convinced of the improvement to be had.
I do hope that you may indulge this request.
Thank You
To review audio kit I use the following Jennifer Warnes " The Well " track 1 ..... Perry Como "The Scene Changes" track 2 ...... Bonnie Raitt " Slipstream" tracks 6 and 7. ..... not a lot of tracks but sufficient ....... hopefully WHA may have access to them.
What I would like to know is the impression of these tracks from the Naim NAC82/Supercap in standard configuration ...... then using the same tracks what sonic "improvements" when listening with the "superlink" upgrade and then the changes heard when using the "superlink" upgrade with a TPRed Supercap.
When I see the statement that the "superlink" upgrade gets the NAC82 to within 80% of a NAC52 it does not mean a lot to me because I have not owned - nor may not have heard - the Naim NAC52 ......... I know that it's a wee bit unfair to ask the folks at WHT to review their own product but thay may be the only ones with access to the various stages ......... and I believe that they would not have published the upgrade if they were not convinced of the improvement to be had.
I do hope that you may indulge this request.
Thank You
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I do hope that Mark and Co are able to help with the requested A - B, B -C review as I for one would like to have an understanding of what the "superlink" upgrade does.
I am familiar with the Jennifer Warnes & Bonnie Raitt tracks but the Perry Como one I heard at a friend's house over the weekend - he let me hear it on Vinyl and CD. Recorded in Nashville in 1965 at the RCA studio and produced by Chet Atkins I could not believe the quality of the sound I was hearing and did not appreciate that such a sound was available on recordings of this era. Sorry if I am going on about something well known to those in the PFM community.
Anyway here's a bump & a hope that MJS may be able to provide a review.
I am familiar with the Jennifer Warnes & Bonnie Raitt tracks but the Perry Como one I heard at a friend's house over the weekend - he let me hear it on Vinyl and CD. Recorded in Nashville in 1965 at the RCA studio and produced by Chet Atkins I could not believe the quality of the sound I was hearing and did not appreciate that such a sound was available on recordings of this era. Sorry if I am going on about something well known to those in the PFM community.
Anyway here's a bump & a hope that MJS may be able to provide a review.
MJS
Technical Tinkerer
If someone sends in a pair of NAC82s and has one upgraded I will gladly do an A-B comparison for them. As the benchmark for this conversion was the NAC52 and Supercap and other NAC82 modifications on the market we did most of the testing with those. This upgrade was designed for people who aspire to a 52 and don't necessarily want to invest heavily in one when we believe a NAC82 can get you most of the way there. We were basing this on the assumption that many people had heard a NAC52 or know someone who has. We also thought that most owners of the NAC82 have started with a single hicap and the upgraded to dual hicaps or a single supercap and heard the difference. The benefits of multiple rail operation such as better definition and lower noise and are carried through and our upgrade builds on that.
I appreciate that with the big leaps from Naim upgrades unless you've heard one to aspire to you can't make your own comparisons. Just look at the recent NAP300 thread..
I could get the tracks to listen to but would it be valid if I don't have the same pressing, source media, deck, cartridge, tonearm, cd player, cables or speaker, for example?
As ever with any of our upgrades we will happily reverse any mods we do and this NAC82 upgrade was designed to be fully reversible should a: you not like it (that hasn't happened yet) or b: you'd like to resell the amp in its original condition (no-one has asked us to do this yet either).
I appreciate that with the big leaps from Naim upgrades unless you've heard one to aspire to you can't make your own comparisons. Just look at the recent NAP300 thread..
I could get the tracks to listen to but would it be valid if I don't have the same pressing, source media, deck, cartridge, tonearm, cd player, cables or speaker, for example?
As ever with any of our upgrades we will happily reverse any mods we do and this NAC82 upgrade was designed to be fully reversible should a: you not like it (that hasn't happened yet) or b: you'd like to resell the amp in its original condition (no-one has asked us to do this yet either).
The first three questions have already been addressed and answered by MJS ..... a quick review of the postings & a look on the the Witch Hat Audio website will reveall all ....... with the exception of timescale. the longest part of the process is, I believe, the making of the special cable when linking to a SuperCap ..... but a bit of forward planning and communication with Witch Hat Audio will resolve and answer this.
What "argument" is going on? MJS is a respected member of PFM and the Audio community with a number of years of experience working with Naim equipment ....... all I would like to know, from any of the people who have had the NAC82 modification done, is "what does to sound like".
Whilst I have "little" doubt that this modification for around £900 ( NAC82 modification, service to 82 & SuperCap ) will bring great improvements to the SQ of the NAC82 ....... at this time it's a bit like the afterlife - we would like to know it exists but to date there has been no confirmation.
What "argument" is going on? MJS is a respected member of PFM and the Audio community with a number of years of experience working with Naim equipment ....... all I would like to know, from any of the people who have had the NAC82 modification done, is "what does to sound like".
Whilst I have "little" doubt that this modification for around £900 ( NAC82 modification, service to 82 & SuperCap ) will bring great improvements to the SQ of the NAC82 ....... at this time it's a bit like the afterlife - we would like to know it exists but to date there has been no confirmation.
MJS
Technical Tinkerer
It'd take a couple of weeks.
We will undo any of our work if asked. No-one has asked us to.
The price is £600 for a service, conversion and the cabling and link link plugs. It's £450 without a service.
There are a couple out in the field whose owners may or may not be on here to comment yet and I have the 282 in now which I will be pleased to report on shortly.
We designed this upgrade to be backwards compatible with any form of power supply and for it to be reversible back to factory specification if you require.
Just to re-iterate after this you can power your NAC82/282 from a 4 pin amp like a NAP140, a SNAPS, a Hicap, 2 Hicaps, a Supercap or a 52PS. All the cabling is in the box so you don't need a Supercap straight away.
Jonn
Tons of Trouble
I've had the Superlink mod done on my 282 and had it back for four days now so can give my views.
Externally there is very little change. The link2 DIN socket is replaced by a small Burndy type socket and that's it. Internally the amp has been rewired so that it can benefit from ten rails from a Supercap rather than just 4. A couple of link plugs are supplied so the amp can still be powered by a Hicap for example or direct connection to Nap 250 as before, so no change in connectivity.
Using the Superlink supplied Burndy cable with a Supercap, the amp still retains the liveliness and energy of the 282. It doesn't make it sound like a 252 which I wouldn't want in any case. What you do get is a significant improvement in clarity and differentiation. For example, vocal inflections are more evident and it is much easier to distinguish between singers in a group. Words in a song that had previously been difficult to discern are now much clearer. The different components of a drum kit (bass,snare,toms) are much more evident. Overall you can hear "deeper into the mix" and the sound remains very engaging.
So a worthwhile upgrade in my view at reasonable cost. Communication with Witch Hat was excellent.
Externally there is very little change. The link2 DIN socket is replaced by a small Burndy type socket and that's it. Internally the amp has been rewired so that it can benefit from ten rails from a Supercap rather than just 4. A couple of link plugs are supplied so the amp can still be powered by a Hicap for example or direct connection to Nap 250 as before, so no change in connectivity.
Using the Superlink supplied Burndy cable with a Supercap, the amp still retains the liveliness and energy of the 282. It doesn't make it sound like a 252 which I wouldn't want in any case. What you do get is a significant improvement in clarity and differentiation. For example, vocal inflections are more evident and it is much easier to distinguish between singers in a group. Words in a song that had previously been difficult to discern are now much clearer. The different components of a drum kit (bass,snare,toms) are much more evident. Overall you can hear "deeper into the mix" and the sound remains very engaging.
So a worthwhile upgrade in my view at reasonable cost. Communication with Witch Hat was excellent.
cromodora
foshfishfie
If I am not mistaken each RSL board has onboard voltage regulation.
That’s even better than multiple rails from a separate box feeding stock Naim cards.
MJS
Technical Tinkerer
But the 82/282/102 etc don't have plug in cards like the 32/72 do and the owners of these other pre-amps often have a Supercap that isn't being used to its full potential when it could be.
cromodora
foshfishfie
Great to hear the possiitve feedback from the owner of the Naim NAC282 describing the SQ improvements made by having the WHA "Superlink" modification completed and confirmation that it was, as I expected, value for money.
Whilst we have had A good report from the owner of the NAC282 it would appear that the two, or so, owners of the NAC82 that have undergone the "Superlink" modification have not as yet given their input ...... although they may not be PFMers ...... and it would appear that no one has yet provided WHA with two Naim NAC82s plus a Naim Supercap in order to allow MJS to provide a review.
It would be helpful for the NAC "Superlink" 82 owners to provide an input. Hopefully the flood gates will open and WHA will have a full order book for this modification as we go into 2018.
- the stage is set for WHA review input?
Whilst we have had A good report from the owner of the NAC282 it would appear that the two, or so, owners of the NAC82 that have undergone the "Superlink" modification have not as yet given their input ...... although they may not be PFMers ...... and it would appear that no one has yet provided WHA with two Naim NAC82s plus a Naim Supercap in order to allow MJS to provide a review.
It would be helpful for the NAC "Superlink" 82 owners to provide an input. Hopefully the flood gates will open and WHA will have a full order book for this modification as we go into 2018.
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Jonn
Tons of Trouble
What's your interest in this Mu5icman? If you are planning to send an 82 to WHA then you can hear for yourself what difference it makes.
I doubt that WHA can make a meaningful comment on the difference it made to the sound of my 282 since it was day three before it came on song, sounding a bit bright and forward at first.
I doubt that WHA can make a meaningful comment on the difference it made to the sound of my 282 since it was day three before it came on song, sounding a bit bright and forward at first.