Superuniti Upgrade

Posted by: Ryder35 on 23 October 2015

Hi All,

After hearing a range of Naim gear at the Audio T statement demo in Brighton it got me thinking about my upgrade options from my current system (SU, Rega RP6 PMC 20.24s) into separates. The demo started with a 272 and 250 (non DR) then they put the DR on and I could tell a clear difference even in a hotel environment.

So I am looking at spending 7k (5K plus the trade in my dealer is giving me on the SU)

I am auditioning the 272 and 250 DR at home this weekend and suspect that may be the end of my search from what I have read here.

However looking at all the options I am tempted to look at on HDX 282 200 or 250 as an eventual end point. Cost wise I would have to do this in stages and the first stage would need to be pre and power amp. With that in mind is there any way I could use the SU as a temporary source for the 282. Looking at the outputs there is a sub output and a pre amp out. Would either of these work to any satisfaction? Otherwise I could go 202/200 and HDX and upgrade to 282 later.

So confusing!

Posted on: 23 October 2015 by ChrisSU

The easiest way to do this upgrade is power amp first, as you can run a 200 or 250 off the SU and get a nice lift in performance. If you go for a 272, stage two is simple, sell the SU and replace with the 272. Later, add an XPS if you want, it improves the 272 significantly.
If you decide on an NDX instead, stage two would be to add a 202 or 282. If you get a 200, this can power the preamp, but if you get a 250, it can't, so you'd need a Hicap as well. Finally, sell the SU when you get the NDX.
I chose NDX/282/200 as I preferred it to 272/XPS/250, but either way you'll end up with a very nice sounding system.

Posted on: 23 October 2015 by Ryder35

Thanks for the reply. I was reading about your auditions and that was what got me thinking. Can you confirm I can use the Superuniti as a source for the 282 and if so how I would connect it up?

Posted on: 24 October 2015 by Ryder35

Sorry to bump, but does anyone know if I can connect my superuniti to use as a source into a 282 as a stop-gap until I can afford an NDX? If so how?

Thanks all

Posted on: 24 October 2015 by Olek_K

SU has no line-out. But you can use pre-out or sub out. In both cases you will end up with 2 pre amps effectively. Not optimal but possible

Posted on: 24 October 2015 by Ryder35

Thanks Olek,

Just reading about the unity gain input. Looks like connecting the pre out of the SU to a unity gain input of the 282 would be the best way to go? I plan to upgrade to an ndx asap if I go down the 282 route.

Posted on: 24 October 2015 by hungryhalibut

How many boxes do you ultimately want? A maxed out NDX/282 setup will be better than a 272 based system, but do you really want six boxes when three will be very nearly as good. The 272/250DR is so far ahead of the SU that you may not feel the need for the NDX etc. An XPS will transform the 272 and move it to a higher level altogether. Two mains leads instead of four, no hiline required....

Posted on: 24 October 2015 by Ryder35

All this is your fault in the first place starting the "best 10K 3 box system" thread

My gut feeling is you are right about the step up from SU. I am home demoing a 272 250dr setup over the weekend so we will see. Don't want to jump in without considering the alternatives though. Currently reading the massive SN2 thread and thinking about that with an NDX as well!

Posted on: 24 October 2015 by hungryhalibut

With those 24s I wouldn't even consider the 200. The 250DR is stunningly good and miles better than the 250.2. If I wanted to ultimately go the NDX, 282 and 250 in stages, I would add the 250 first, then the NDX, using the SU as a preamp, then finally swap the SU for a 282 and hicap. Then I'd add an XPS. Bear in mind though that this setup costs over £5k more than the 272/XPS/250, and that's before adding Powerlines, a hiline and the extra shelves required to hold the extra boxes. If you know where you want to end up, it makes the decisions far more straightforward.

Posted on: 24 October 2015 by ChrisSU

Originally Posted by Ryder35:

Sorry to bump, but does anyone know if I can connect my superuniti to use as a source into a 282 as a stop-gap until I can afford an NDX? If so how?

Thanks all

I had assumed that it's possible to go from the DIN pre out on the SU to an input on the 282, even though the signal would go through two preamps. This would reqiure a 4 pin DIN to 5 pin DIN lead. Given that this is just a temporary setup, I wonder if it could be done with a cheap phono lead from the SU sub out to one of the 282 phono inputs. My dealer is going to talk to Naim about it next week, so I'll let you know if they come up with any further advice.

Posted on: 24 October 2015 by Ryder35

Very interesting and helpful thanks HH. The good thing is I can try the 250 with the SU and the 272 for comparison this weekend. I do wonder if, since there has been no real upgrade to the analog pre amps for a while whether Naim have decided pre/streamers are the way to go and we may see a 282 level pre/streamer down the line.

If the 250dr on my SU is a significant upgrade I may just stick with that for a while. As with all these things it is just idle speculation until I get to hear them all.

Posted on: 24 October 2015 by Mike-B

Originally Posted by Ryder35:

............ Naim have decided pre/streamers are the way to go and we may see a 282 level pre/streamer down the line.

I've always assumed the 272 has a 282 level pre. ????

Posted on: 24 October 2015 by ChrisSU

Originally Posted by Ryder35:

If the 250dr on my SU is a significant upgrade I may just stick with that for a while. As with all these things it is just idle speculation until I get to hear them all.

I don't think there's any doubt that a 250 will improve your SU quite a lot.
As HH says, if you then decide on NDX/282, it's probably best to get the NDX first and use that into the SU, then add the 282 last. The only reason I'm thinking of doing it the other way round is that my dealer has an ex-dem 282 coming up shortly with a decent discount.

Posted on: 24 October 2015 by Ryder35

Originally Posted by Mike-B:

Originally Posted by Ryder35:

............ Naim have decided pre/streamers are the way to go and we may see a 282 level pre/streamer down the line.

I've always assumed the 272 has a 282 level pre. ????

Reading what people are saying that might be the case! But I can't believe it is meant to be looking at the relative prices of the 2