272 lite?

Whilst I take the point about a Hicap, although perhaps Naim tested that idea and found an internal PSU preferable for the 272 at its price, I suggest your alternative rather goes against the Naim grain. The clear upgrade path with external PSUs is surely central and well- established with Naim. The logical conclusion would be that all their pre-amps would come with no internal power supply at all, which would seemingly mean greater expense for customers, particularly first time buyers. 

All their preamps do come with no internal PS, it's the hybrids that have them.

Point taken, but the 252 comes with the Napsc as part of the price, and the 282 cannot work without the SC, not part of the price.

Someone owns a SuperUniti. They upgrade it with a 250DR. Then they get the 272 Lite, having saved £300 in the process. What's that? It won't work without a power supply? They've got to spend an extra £3,000? Er, why not make the 272 self powered? Good idea. 

Belfast Taxman posted:

Point taken, but the 252 comes with the Napsc as part of the price, and the 282 cannot work without the SC, not part of the price.

i think you have that the wrong way round - 282 usually comes with the NAPSC (unless you ask Naim for a special) and the 252 is designed to be powered by the  the large bundy on the SC - but is not part of it

well the 272 still is available, but 272 lite is for those who already have an XPS, or who will buy one at the same time.

Anyway just a thought I guess Naim thought this all out anyway, and maybe the 272 is perfect the way it is. after all one may decide to sell the XPS, but the 272 will still work without one.

maybe the 272 lite is actually the 372 (with better DAC chip, and better analog preamp) that lot of people seem to be interested in

Simon - thank you for pointing out my error. It must be the very unseasonable heat here inNorthern Ireland today

Nah, there is too much choice already. Next you'll be suggesting an NDX Lite, or a CDX2 Lite. How about the option to get £50 off a CD player for those who already have a wire? 

fair enough, agreed.

Isn't the 172 the 272 lite?

Not really. I guess the 172 lite would be the 272 lite lite then. 

The 272 perhaps is more a SuperUniti without power stage than a proper 'classic' preamp. If it was, it should not have an internal power supply. It's something like an NDX with input selector and volume control, but cheaper and without power stage. Some say that it sounds as good as 282, which is 1.5 more expensive, and has no power supply. Either Naim has started giving away quality, or reducing prices, or the 272 is not actually what it seems. Sorry, just a thought of mine.

Naim do recommend that 272 can  be paired with such revealing amp like 250 DR and 300 DR.

That cannot be said of 202., I tried 202/HCDR/250DR and the bass was just too much, not a good combo to my ears.

yet Superuniti with 250 DR sounds good to me. 272/250 DR also sounds excellent to me.

quite confusing all this electronic lego sometimes.

For me, the 272 gives for £3,400 most of what an NDX/282 gives for £8,000. The latter is ultimately a bit better, and is more upgradeable. Remember that a big part of the cost of a Naim unit is the case, the front panel, the box, the shipping so you'd expect two boxes in one to be cheaper, so you do get more for your money. 

I think the world is changing and that many people don't want loads of boxes any more. I would also not be surprised if Naim move much more to streaming preamps and that the 272 and its future brethren will be the norm rather than the exception. 

As to whether Naim are giving away more value, look at the DR amps: the 250DR, for example, is widely acknowledged to be a massive step forward from the 250.2 and yet it only costs £100 more. If that isn't giving away more value, I don't know what it is. 

What I do know is that the 272/250DR, with an XPSDR powering the former, is bloody brilliant, and at the end of the day that's what matters. 

If you have an option of ordering it with the module, do so. I listen quite a lot to the radio - my NDX has a built in tuner. DAB, with a strong signal, is very hard to beat when it comes to radio broadcasts.

Adam Zielinski posted:

DAB, with a strong signal, is very hard to beat when it comes to radio broadcasts.

................     with DAB+ in Poland.  !!!!    

Mike-B posted:

Adam Zielinski posted:

DAB, with a strong signal, is very hard to beat when it comes to radio broadcasts.

................     with DAB+ in Poland.  !!!!    

Indeed. Only large conurbations for now, being gradually rolled out accross Poland.

Adam Zielinski posted:        Indeed. Only large conurbations for now, being gradually rolled out accross Poland.

Unfortunately,  in this backwater its going to a be a while .........  UK government has ruled out any national transition from DAB to DAB+ for the foreseeable future & that was backed by the radio industry. However DAB+ is slowly creeping in; BBC are running regional trails & in Feb 2016 a new national DAB multiplex was launched with 18 new DAB services & that included 3 using DAB+.