555PS on NDX

Glad it's gone well for you Eagle. Hugo is a magical piece of kit, and if it enhances the experience from your Naim stuff, saves a ton of money, and a few extra boxes then why the hell not? 

Glad it worked out for you.  I know many don't want to believe but the Hugo really is a fantastic piece of kit for the price and seems to improve almost anything you connect it to.  Very exciting to see where dac technology goes in the future if other manufacturers rise to the challenge and if Chord continue to improve on what the currently have.  

Don't want to spoil anyone's enjoyment but before this thread reaches a crescendo of adulation for the 'H', it's worth noting that there have been one or two previous 'H' converts on here who have gone back to the nDAC, which of course has been given a significant and free performance upgrade with the firmware update. Just saying..... 

This is what in movies is called a 'dramatic turn of events' just to keep the suspense...

I'm just trying to figure out where to stick my nDac for tests on the 2nd system (I've ran out of rack space) just to hook it up to NDX nad 555PS.

Adam Zielinski posted:

I'm just trying to figure out where to stick my nDac.......

 

Must resist temptation..... 

It was only a matter of time, MDS. And the progress benefits us all. Well, not me because I'm going for blissful ignorance!

I agree Dayjay - we can only all be winners. I wonder if technology will reach a point where the rest of the gear will miniaturise; where an alternative is found to the toroidal transformer. Beyond my ken; but I wonder whether 'discrete' and 'small is beautiful' will creep into even the upper echelons of hifi/Naim. My system is mostly hidden from view with the exception of 252, t/t, H, P75 & Vortexbox and I'm working on hiding some of these, too. Revolutionary Fraim wooden low- level sideboard arrangement with doors.  Obviously all cables dangle at the correct angle and are isolated from each other by Bacofoil.

A short update - swapped 555PSDR for XPS DR tonight (NDX into 282 / SCDR / 250DR) - what a relief ))

We've sat down with my wife and listned to some tracks toghether (started with 555PS, then took it off, and added XPSDR as the end). Whilst 555PS digs out additional levels of details it also magnifies some not so pleasant parts - the music became almost too intense, overpowering at times.

Taking the 555PS off and reverting to NDX was an obvious step back. However music regained some of the ballance. But some of the fun was gone.

Once the XPSDR was put on, we were in aural heaven - suddenly everything just snapped into place. 
Perhaps there is some synergy between components

Adam

MDS posted:

Don't want to spoil anyone's enjoyment but before this thread reaches a crescendo of adulation for the 'H', it's worth noting that there have been one or two previous 'H' converts on here who have gone back to the nDAC, which of course has been given a significant and free performance upgrade with the firmware update. Just saying..... 

G

Adam Zielinski posted:

We've sat down with my wife and.......

Are you a football manager in the Premier League?!  ;-))

Best,

Chris

Christopher_M posted:

Adam Zielinski posted:

We've sat down with my wife and.......

Are you a football manager in the Premier League?!  ;-))

Best,

Chris

English is a difficult....

should have written: My wife and I sat down to listen to some tracks....

I'm sorry Adam, I've been a bit of a dickhead.

Hope your music is good.

Cheers, C.

No stress - the sentence was incorrect from a grammar point of view. And it did make me sound like a footbal manager 

Not as good as the good old Murray Walker's classic though 'And he's gaining on himself' - I think it was Damon Hill chasing Michael Schumacher in the early 90's...

Thanks Adam. That leaves me even happier I didn't pursue the 555 route. That 'intense' thing is what I'm feeling just now. The 252 with and without H is etching higher frequency vocals and piano e.g. Is much less less warm and harder. I'm finding it pacey, exciting an involving but not relaxing. I've read similar elsewhere and wonder if it's just the trade-off for digging out the extra detail. Can anyone tell me if this will soften at all with playing? The 250dr did the same thing with the 282 until about 80hrs - when that harshness all but vanished. (It wasn't my ears acclimatising!) If it's the natural way for 252 to present then I'm going to put the 282 back on with H and see how it is. I expect less detail but more than pre-H and a less controlled base but a warmer, less tiring listen.

..P'raps I better make a new post as I'm now well off topic..

eagle3333 posted:

Thanks Adam. That leaves me even happier I didn't pursue the 555 route. That 'intense' thing is what I'm feeling just now. The 252 with and without H is etching higher frequency vocals and piano e.g. Is much less less warm and harder. I'm finding it pacey, exciting an involving but not relaxing. I've read similar elsewhere and wonder if it's just the trade-off for digging out the extra detail. Can anyone tell me if this will soften at all with playing? The 250dr did the same thing with the 282 until about 80hrs - when that harshness all but vanished. (It wasn't my ears acclimatising!) If it's the natural way for 252 to present then I'm going to put the 282 back on with H and see how it is. I expect less detail but more than pre-H and a less controlled base but a warmer, less tiring listen.

That is odd - I spoke to my friend who used to run all pre-amps (he is now on 552) - 252 should give you softer, mellower sound not harsher (compared to 282). 250DR takes up to 2 months to settle down and can have patchy moments.

Another dealer did kind of warn me of this, Adam. I described my brightness issues with the new 250 on 282 and asked if I bought his 252 would it solve it. As well as telling me to await the 250's burn-in he also said that the 282 was considered the warmer of the two. I've read other posters telling of how going from 282 to 252 initially left them thinking 'where's the bass gone' before finding that it's still there, in spades; it's just so tight it doesn't waft around as with 282. That must also contribute to the less warm sensibility of 252. My 250 settled down very happily with the 282, so the only thing that's making, e.g. Florence Machines' voice pierce at the top end, is the 252. New thread time.