End Game System

We ran NDS, non DR 552 and 300 for some time and loved it. Very room/speaker/ears/taste dependent but IMO well worth auditioning. It was our intended end system also. As luck would have it we squeezed in a 500 later on, Would have lived happily with the 300 otherwise.

Gus,

End game should start with a 552,imo.Will work like a champ with your 300

Even non-DR should really give you a nice surprise!

Good Luck!

ATB,

Mark

I can see this escalating Harry :-)   The 300 is so much better than the 200 boy in a similar voice if you know what I mean, like turbo charged.

Yeah I figured 552 but it goes against the source first philosophy I lived with since HiFi Answers in the 80's

Gus,

Oh, I think I misunderstood- I thought you were planning on getting the NDS and a 552!

ATB,

Mark

I am but 1 at a time

End game indeed involves the 552, 300 might be very fine for you considering the 300 upgrade. With that backend the front end would need to be also at a good level, NDS / 555PS is such a level. your speakers is more difficult as there are many good choices and it very much depends on preferences and room etc. So I would suggest you to get the electronics you want and warm them up and then look for the right speakers. 

Your suggested kef kef blades can be a good try, new b&w 800 series, verity audio, .....

the NDAC with PSU is a fine source, the next immediate upgrade should be a 552.

I have compared 282 to 552 side by side into a NAP 500, and it is quite a huge jump.

Even driven off a HDX, the 552 is able to extract musical nuances and detail that the 282 is not able to.

So I would upgrade first to 552, and then, subject to audition, maybe NDS.

I tend  to adhere to the source first philosophy because down the years this has always given me the results I preferred. But no "rule" is hard and fast. In the past 5-6 years I have considered the pre as one of the source components. Although its primary sonic function is to disappear, they all seem to disappear differently and the 552 shows how to do it properly.

Yeahbut: the 300 really is a peach. Pay more get more but at 300 level and above you won't get better at a given price point (IMO).

As you know where you want to be, and will be doing it over a relatively short timescale, I wouldn't get too hung up on the 'right' order. You need to grab a bargain if and when it shows up. I once owned the previous incarnation of your target setup, CDS3/555PS, 552 and 300 and very good it was. The challenge for you is choosing speakers, which is infinitely more tricky than choosing the electronics. There are a lot of threads on speakers for the sort of system you are aiming at, which may be helpful. 

Yes agree with NDS/555dr and 552. If resources allow max out on super lumina interconnect and speaker cable. Tellerium q black as alternative speaker cable

My end game is around the corner. Already have NDS with 2x 555PS DR and 552 with DR. The new 500DR would be coming in a few weeks replacing 300 to serve a pair of Magico Q3.

diamondblack- looks like you will have a smashing set-up-  great speakers!

What speakers came before the Magico's? Does the 300 have enough grunt for the Q3's? Hope you don't mind me asking, I'm just interested in your opinion.

ATB,

Mark

"Even driven off a HDX, the 552 is able to extract musical nuances and detail that the 282 is not able to.

 So I would upgrade first to 552, and then, subject to audition, maybe NDS."

552 first no question for me! Even with a ND5xs/Dac the 552 will be an earthquake in your system, not an upgrade but a revolution 

As for the speakers, I have 3 different pairs of Sonus Faber

...and no intention to look anywhere else!

Regards,

Edouard

sorry but i think this suggestion is not ok... ideal is to buy the whole setup at once! ok, if this is not possible, or smaller steps to a destination is required, then buy the speakers asthey are the most important contributors to the final sound...

but as the OP says that he will change house, and listening room, my suggestion is to postpone upgrade bug for awhile... look for speakers after moving in new home and listening room, and then... who knows, maybe for those particular speakers he won't even need upgrade of the electronics...

as for this, from the brands mentioned, except for Naim speakers, and Neats (if we talk Ultimatum series) i think all other ones are the exact example of mismatch for Naim electronics... just because they are also british, doesn't mean they go well with Naim... surprisingly or not, there are quite a few american speakers that favour Naim electronics, Martin Logan and Revel being two of them.

proac and BW + naim - to me complete mismatch... Kudos, well, not quite so, but i couldn't tell that i really hear what Naim is capable of trough those speakers...

please OP don't take it personally, those are my suggestions based on what i know and like... some may advice you just the opposite. i think that experience and prefference plays the highest role.

I think I will wait for the room to be finished before getting new speakers, you're right about the 552/NDS I'll grab as and when they come up at a decent price.   Do you know if Naim publish the DR upgrade prices for them, I know the 300 will be £1.5K.

No problem any advice is welcome.   Martin Logan are on the shortlist, the Focal speakers i have heard I haven't like, likewise a popular make on here Totem, just not for me, I know Kef are not usually used with Naim but I like what they do together in my current room.

May I suggest that it is you who is giving the bad advice here. Bert is entirely correct - get the electronics sorted and then find speakers to match the room and personal preferences. It is never (or virtually never) a good idea to buy speakers - particularly expensive ones - and then find electronics to match. 

I'd suggest getting the right speakers for the room, then the amps to drive them, and cheap out on the digital front end for now.   Tech is moving so fast on streamers and DACs right now that you will get much more bang for your buck in a few years time. 

My approach is speakers last. Although what I've always considered as my final system has turned out to be a revolving door, even if revolving slowly. We built our present system speakers last. Then changed the power amp. Then upgraded the source.

Harry, that sounds suspiciously like speakers first - am I missing something?

No no. We were definitely going to do the speakers last. And we did. 

Until we changed the power amp.  And (now I come to think about it) upgraded the source. And the preamp. And the source again. And the cables. And will get the power amp DR'd in a few months. 

But it certainly was speakers last when we bought the speakers. It took us a year of auditioning candidates and it was the last thing we were ever going to do apart from sit back and grow old listening to music.

Oh the naive optimism.......

If ever there was a forum thread that justified the philosophy of finding & trusting a good Naim dealer, while ignoring forum advice, then this is it.

I can't remember the last time that I read such a confusing and polarised set of "advice" from Naim forum members.

Gus, if you buy your Naim equipment from a dealer rather than any well known auction sites, and you trust that dealer, then stick with their advice and what your ears tell you.

Best regards from a well intended FT

… I would definitely jettison the Gyrodec SE first