Have SN2, getting the NDX or go for the 272/250DR?

Thanks Chris, I am leaning towards the NDX. One reason is if Naim does update their nDAC, I can upgrade the NDX with it. Can't do that with the 272.

Still haven't auditioned 272 + 250.2 DR at home, will do so soon. But I've asked for an offer to switch from my current setup (DC1 digital cable - nDAC - SN2 + HCDR) and the amount of cash you have to throw in for the switch is so big that it really should outperform nDAC + SN by a huge margin to justify the change. I have some doubts it'll be that much better but you can only tell by comparing the two setups. I know my speakers would benefit from some extra power but then again I'm not sure if 272 betters Naim DAC as a source. 

Precisely. The nDAC with its current FW and without external PSU is superior to the DAC in the 272, IMHO. Also the the SN2 preamp and the 272 preamp are pretty much equivalent.

I ran an NDX & Supernait (1) along with a 272 & 250 (non DR) on home demo for a week (side by side). I went for the 272 with a 250DR as I felt the 272 had a wider sound stage than the NDX and the 250 (especially the DR that I bought) had more control over my Spendor A9s. 

I'm trying out an XPS on the 272 currently, and it does a nice job but it hasn't left me feeling that the bare 272 is lacking for now. 

I have no experience of the nDac so can't comment on what that does for the NDX and as you point out, it is not applicable to the 272 (which will be a draw back for some).

I was hesitant to go for a pre amp and source in the same box, but in the end I let my ears make the decision and 2 months in I am very happy the 250DR just seems to get better and better.

Hi Patu, have you heard the big difference for yourself between the SN1 & 2 - I only ask as I never heard the SN2 - my dealer advised the difference between SN1 & 2 was not worth the money it would have cost to change to the updated SN. 

Yes, I come from SN1. It was my first touch to Naim and I used to run it as a one box solution. First I upgraded it with HiCap, then with Naim DAC, then changed HiCap to HiCap DR and the latest update was SN1 to SN2 right after the SN2 was released. It really is completely different amplifier. Out of those updates I've made, SN1 to SN2 is easily the biggest one. The difference was even bigger than changing from SN1's integrated DAC to Naim DAC. SN1 sounds muffled, slow and generally lesser amp compared to SN2 which has way better grip, more authority and better resolution compared to SN1. 

Why wouldn't you need good interconnect cable with 272 + 250.2 DR just as much as you do with NDX + SN2? 

I agree,  not worth the price of an exchange.  Yes its a really good amp,  but so is the SN(1).

I found the difference is marginally better with the SN2 in some respects,  but in some areas I preferred the SN(1)  

The other things for me is the lose of the buffered record button bank which I use to drive my 2nd system,  & although not the best,  I use the DAC for AV input.  

My next move (if I was changing the amp) would be 282/250 & keep the NDX - I preferred that combo over 272/250,  but so it should be if you take the cost as an SQ guideline,  but it did tell me the 272 is damn good VFM

Thanks Patu, that's very interesting. I found a big jump in SQ when I put a Hicap on my SN 1 - I enjoyed it very much for 6 or 7 years with a bare CDX2.

Yes, HiCap was a clear step up with SN1. I'm not even sure how big of a step up it is with SN2 since I've had it plugged in since I bought SN2 and never auditioned it without HCDR. Many have said that it's not as obvious step up as it was with SN1.

But as you can see, opinions differ. I respect Mike-B's but to me it really is the best upgrade and biggest performance jump I've made with Naim. By no means is the difference small between SN1 and SN2. Definitely worth auditioning the SN2 by yourself. 

  I expect we need to take speaker load into consideration as we are not comparing apples & apples. I've designed my speakers to be a relatively easy load with some impedance compensation. However they go down to 2.7 ohms in the bass resonance region & is between 3 & 5 ohms from 10kHz to 20k & it was in the treble region I was not happy with SN2.   

When I made the change, I used PMC GB1i. Later I changed them to PMC Twenty.23 and now I drive ATC SCM40Mk2 with the SN2. ATC's are clearly more difficult load for the amp than PMC was but it still does good job with them. 

Treble region is more lively and up front with SN2. When I first fired up my new SN2, I first thought that this is not what I want. First it sounded edgy and the treble was way too hot for my taste. SN1 had been so easy to listen to and somewhat soft with its presentation that SN2 was quite a shock. But this, like many other aspects in the sound, changed a lot during the burn in period. Later on the treble has never been a problem, not even with my most notorious treble/sibilance test tracks. 

OK Patu,  I think we need to drop this as its drifting off the thread subject

Yes, sorry for going offtopic. 

Mike, you had me at "impedance compensation" 

Jan, did you ever get around reviewing the 272? If so, is there a link to it somewhere?

MTIA

tp

Hi TP,

Yes. Summarized in bits here :

https://forums.naimaudio.com/to...-or-linn-akurate-dsm

Jan

Thanks for your reply Jan - good read. I think I will hold on to the nDAC for now, especially with the new update available, which will hopefully give it yet another nudge up the scale.

Best

tp

Got the NDX last night. Hooked it up and the first impression is very positive. I think I got the Naim sound signature back but will do more listening when the unit warmed up somemore.

Updated to 4.4 and tried Tidal. I have to give it to Naim for the Tidal integration. UI is very smooth and slick. 

I have used the following before getting the NDX:

Moon Streamer 180D

Chord 2 Qute dac

MF V90 dac

Tidal is delivered through Bubbleupnp before.

Now I like the Naim apps with NDX.