Naim, give us a preamp refresh!

No it shouldn't. Not now that I have bought a DR one 

S1, DR, 272.....Something happened.....

I meant the 'Head Unit' this time rather than the DR 552 supply.

But I'm also happy if it never gets changed either!

DB.

Well people of obsession is discourteous to those that suffer from OCD.. However this is silly as the logical conclusion to this is that we will end up avoiding all personal adjectives for fear upsetting or offending someone, and instead hide behind some vague obviscating Orwellian double speak and thought control.. and then the plain English brigade will be offended..

In a democracy one needs to keep a sense of perspective. There are a few vague lines which most respect and don't cross unconsciously .. Which is what taboo is all about.. But surely almost by definition this can only refer to a tiny minority of instances of the human condition. We need to be able to take offence, sure I don't have to like it.. But in a democracy I can chose to ignore it, but I, just like my ancestors did, would strongly defend the right for people to be able to speak openly and possibly offend.. in fact I find political correctness offensive.. There is a paradox

Now back to listening to my 252...

Back to the OP I completely agree and I think we've agreed before. I'd love a 282 on SQ grounds but DR update or not I can't Invest this sort of money (even sh) while it has the current limited range volume control, source button labels which don't match any of my sources and a bank of redundant (for me) record selectors. Surely a 272 style volume control and configurable input selection would be a great refresh even if the fundamental audio internals remain unchanged?

I've recently acquired a bargain 2008 model nac202 to keep me going - it obviously suffers some of the above but at least I find the frill free look more appealing and sounds great with a hicap and napsc.    

To my mind, a 282 with all those buttons, inputs and outputs makes no sense. All I need is a couple of inputs for digital devices, and I'm sorted. Then I listened to one. Then I ordered one. I have no idea why a preamp made so much difference to the system I was listening to, but it did, and on sound quality alone, I had to have it.  

I've been having this gut feeling that a preamp refresh is coming very soon, with improved components and board layout and of course, the volume control upgrade. If it does come it will be very, very bad for our pockets.

It is one of those things. If there is an update, there won't be a whisper until it happens (which is correct in my opinion). So you could hold off getting a new preamp only for the current models to stay current for another decade. Or they might change tomorrow.

Though it is important to note that a 252 will be just as good tomorrow as it is today.

The current 282, 252 range are some of the longest ever serving Naim models. Though the NDX has also been around a long time compared to previous CD players bar the 555. And the tech in the NDX, while old, still delivers the goods and a lot was used in the 272. What I am trying to say is, we could speculate until the cows come home.

You're either a new poster, or, you've changed your forum ID. In either event you have completely misjudged the general character of the members of the forum. I'm sure your comment was well intentioned but it did come across as a little over zealous. "Crazy" has been in common usage for many years completely outside the context of labelling people with mental illness.

That aside, welcome to the forum.

Naim will not bring another range of preamps until it can make them better.

and Naim just did, through the DR power supplies.

we just got the DR upgrades for the power amps.

Seems to be a pretty good product line to me.

The Naits got a pretty good refresh a while ago.

Naim now has Something for all budget levels (UQ2), convenience levels (272) and then sound quality maximization 282/252/552.

Personally if starting from zero the 272/250DR seems very compelling to me

The only thing missing is a statement level source, which I am certain is being worked on nowadays.

And yes maybe a return to the days of traditional speakers like Intro, Credo, Allaes... 

But anyway the Naim sound has remained fundamentally the same from 40 years ago to now, isn't that what it is all about anyway?

Enjoy the music

What a wacky thread.

When I googled "wacky" it returned this definition "odd or irrational; crazy"

I like to buy my bread sliced and am really looking forward to the day someone finds a better way to slice it, even though I'm not exactly sure how they now slice it or what improvements could be made to the process. I'm certain it will taste better and wonder what they will call it. Most of all, I hope it comes without crumbs. Very annoying to clean. In the mean time I'll suffer along with my current sliced bread and make my sandwiches all the same.

Jude exactly. I am not knocking the new combined digital products.. They are a great way to access the Naim world, and for many provide all that is required. But for others that want to go further and take advantage of Naim digital/analogue isolation and powersupply isolation the analogue preamps provide the next level of audio performance that often seems to provide a marked difference.

personally I find digital electronics in audio so often a curse on great analogue performance.. and I decouple as much as possible. I use four inputs and occasionally the monitor output on my 252.. A really useful and fantastic feature.. Bravo Naim. Yes it would be nice to have display configurable buttons, but I can live without it and digital noise pollution of such a feature may be unacceptable... and through automation my NDX display shows the NAC input in big green assignable letters...

An observation for all those just using a single digital input on thier NAC, do ensure its ground is connected to Mains earth.. Naim have a little switch for this on many of thier sources.

I feel the same about my 282 which is 18 months old now. But now my dealer is whispering in my ear about a 252 since I already have an SCdr and the age of the 252 in the line up is what is giving me second thoughts. 

Have a feeling he will twist my arm to go to a 252 at the same time the 250.2 goes in for a DR fit.

Ahh those dealers.. They are a real menace 

PS Do audition the 252 first.. mine was  a very clear improvement over the 282 from the start, good though the 282 is. However it was only after several days of home audition it occurred to that I was appreciating my music in a way I had never been able to do before.. It was a strange tingling moment.. It was if many of my recordings suddenly made sense.. It is hard to describe..  it was then I felt this is the NAC for me, and haven't upgraded since.

Simon

LOL funny "twist my arm"

I think it more being seduced by the musical charms of the 252 than any dealer twisting your arm.

anyway I think in the end once you get the 252 you will thank the dealer  (well if the deal is sweet enough financially)

your SCDR has 14 outputs, and the 282 can only utilize 4 of them.

sad isn't it?

I may not get the chance. Not being near a dealer of any sort or any trips scheduled to my dealer. All I have is my memories of the 52 which is some time back. But I remember the 52 being in a different league to the 82. Not a good way to make a decision I know but it may be all I have.

We shall see.

Always until the end of the universe, or just a day before that? technology change and Naim changes with technology. I see no reason why there will not be a 372 or 472 sometime in the future, or maybe an upgraded dac that can be used as a preamp. We want everything from Naim at the same time, but choices has to be made to determine what to spend Development resources on.

In one or two years  we will see what road Naim has chosen on the middel systems in the 252 quality range.

Claus

Claus, 

I see you are with Don on your thoughts of Naim's 'mid-range' models. But please have a care. The proletariat are revolting   ;-)

Chris

As the 252 is the king of the Classic range - perhaps when Naim retire the Classic series - that is when we will see new NAPs and NACs

The NACs were DR'd then the NAPs were DR'd so next stop possibly series change and possibly goodbye to the black boxes

Simon

given that we just got the 250/300 and 500 DR in 2015, it could be a long long while before good bye to black boxes?

in the meantimes, the "naim" musicality has fundamentally remained the same from the first NAP 120 to the current ones...

The "naim formula" just works fine, and just keeps on playing the tunes.

A new range will be along in due course. But in the mean time we're not any of us slumming it are we? The DR upgrades to the PSs which power (or can power in some cases) preamps was no small improvement and in the best of Naim tradition was retro fit and not a cosmetic overhaul just for the sake of it. That's a proper upgrade - for the sake of the user base and not just PR.

I wouldn't mind a 552 level pre/streamer with a full range volume control in the visual and tactile style of the knob on the Mu-So and S1. It would have to sound bloody good though. Which is something else we can be confident of.

I bought my 552 and my 252 before based on what it could do musically. In my view both were peerless and compelling at their price points. That won't change. Things may move on but the enjoyment I have had in the interim for the outlay will not vanish or be devalued. With stuff of this calibre already on sale you might argue that an overhaul of the range is not necessary. But one will be along in due course. Guess we'll just have to suffer until then!