Tiring 252 and burn-in?

Perhaps it is run-in because I thought the general concensus was that the 252 was a a more mature (warmer?) sound than the 282?

Regards,

Lindsay 

Is it the same with all sources? 

Are you running the Burndy from Supercap to 252 and its attendant Snaic cable close together ? They need to be. 

Thanks all; yes same with vinyl and Burndy/Snaic running alongside each other. It is more mature; more refined; especially in the bass. And more vivd. I see the word 'etched' about the place and it just fits with what I'm hearing. To quote the dealer to whom I wrote telling of hardness in my system when thinking of buying his 252 :

'Most people consider the NAC 282 to be warmer sounding than the NAC 252, so it may actually accentuate any brightness you are hearing from the NAP 250 DR or another part of the system.' 

He was right in that it was the 250 and everything settled down nicely.. 

Yes the 252 bass is far deeper, tighter and sounds like bass does at at a concert, whereas the 282 bass sounds like a hifi thump. People not accustomed to real music can sometimes prefer the 282 hifi.

I would never describe the 252 as hard etched or less warm, it's the complete opposite. 35hrs is not enough for it to warm up from being switched off. It needs to be left on constantly for at least 4 days to start sounding optimum. 

Thanks Count. I agree completely re: bass.

It's actually been powered on for about 5 days - I don't power it down. But it's only played music for about 35hrs. I'm leaving it playing radio all day, every day this week, whilst at work. The burndy/snaic run together but do rest on the ground amidst other cables owing to the nature of the support system; so I'd better get them off the ground, too.

The 252 (well my old 252) is relaxed, poised, times beautifully and possesses a treble that soars smoothly to apparent infinity without hardness or strain.

I'd give it a month to run in and if it still sounds awful to you, contact your dealer. 

Thanks Harry. I will do just that. I'm otherwise over the moon with its impact on my system and will be content to sit here for the foreseeable. 

Yeah. It's good innit?

I never "got" the 282 or the 250. I thought they could be bettered for less outlay, but I really "got" the 282 and 300. They, to my ears at least, were miles above the bump and grind of their siblings and into the realms of music without HiFi.

Have fun.

I'm trying not to think about the 300, Harry, having already spent a small fortune recently. But I confess it's the last remaining itch..  Did you mean to say you 'really got the 252/300'? What did it bring that the 250 didn't? And are you talking pre DR? 

As said above it sounds like warm-up/run in or even perhaps a stressed interconnect or burndy somewhere. Do ask your dealer to show how to connect the burndy by holding the cable then twisting the plug lock, rather than connecting by directly holding the plug.... Over a period of time an incorrectly connected burndy should sort it self out - but this can speed things up.

Other than that you should have a smooth detailed and insightful performance with an even non exaggerated pace and drive... you should enjoy when run in.

Simon

Eagle, is the 252 brand new? How old is the 250dr?

Thanks Simon, will do and will re-do connection tonight.

Yes, pretty much, Count. It's had three plays at a show, apparently; so only just 'ex-demo'.  I took delivery last Thursday. The 250dr is coming up to 2mths. 

I was referring to the non DR 300 and the non DR 250. The latter seemed too crash bang and wallop to me. And rather mechanical and contrived. The transformation brought about by the 300 is not a serial upgrade, not the same but better. 

It sounds like the 250 has benefited in no small measure by DR, although Naim aren't fick and they will not turn their back on such a big and loyal 250 fan base any more than they would piss off a load of 300 owners. They are good at this kind of price point differentiation.  I expect the 250-DR and 300-DR are as poles apart as they ever were but both better in their own rights. I have not yet heard either. I expect I will at some point and it's more likely to be the 250-DR, which might change my long standing opinion of it.

I replaced 250 with 250dr but didn't have a chance to side-by-side them. I remember hard edge which I now know to have been newness and which went away. Today, with this 252 and Hugo, it's hard enough to conceive of anything much more detailed to the extent that I feel no need to upgrade anything. Though I am curious to know what a 300r would do. or even a non-dr 300 for that matter. 

If the 252 is brand new then, it'll take a couple of months to sweeten. I wouldn't bother analysing the sound too much atm.

Thanks Count.

count.d posted:

People not accustomed to real music can sometimes prefer the 282 hifi.

That made me chuckle 

I think you need to allow yourself for more run in time. While I never found the 252 sounding harsh, so that's a bit odd in your description. Like others have said give it another month and if you haven't yet gotten to a much more acceptable sound, you should contact your dealer as something might be wrong in cabling or something else. 

As a p.s. my 252 sounded already quite good to my ears from the beginning, with weaker phases. The full aha moment took almost 6 months to settle in.