NAP 250DR vs. 300DR: How much better?
Posted by: feeling_zen on 05 May 2016
The first and obvious answer to this question is, Go and have a listen for yourself. Which of course is going to happen but that's not really the point of the thread.
Searching the forum I find there are threds wighing an upgrade of a 300DR against other upgrades of the same cost and there are even nice threads discussing the changes felt after upgrading a stack of 300s for 300DRs. But what is interesting is that much of the 250 to 300 comparisons are all pre DR.
Given that DR seems to be nearly universally lauded as a step forward over the predecessors (I am trying to avoid dropping in all the hyporbole surrounding the gushing from everyone who has upgraded to DR), I think it would be interesting to see how close or wide people feel the gap is between 250DR and 300DR directly. The fact that so little has been written about this but so much about the previous non DR comparison leads me suspect maybe there has not been much comparison of late.
Recent revews of the 250DR have pitted it against the 500DR with very favourable results but a review is just a review. Our own ears or something else enitrely. Since the forum is a great place for (usually) intelligent and diverse differences of opinion, I would be very interested in the experiences of anyone who has made the direct comparison and taken the changes into account with the not insignificnt price difference.
And where is this coming from? Well, I have a spare shelf on the rack, and Naim have absolutely no idea when my 250.2 serial number will come up for it's DR upgrade slot. One does ponder such things 
Posted on: 05 May 2016 by analogmusic
I haven't heard 300 DR, but I doubt very much you would be unhappy if you bought one 
Posted on: 05 May 2016 by Hutch
I too am looking forward to responses to this one, also have a 250.2 and next upgrade is DR or new 300DR.
Posted on: 05 May 2016 by AlanJ
I hav'nt heard the 300 but impatience led me, recently, to part-ex my 250.2 for a 250DR. Hav'nt regretted it one bit.
Posted on: 05 May 2016 by AlanJ
Posted on: 05 May 2016 by Finkfan
I heard the 250dr vs 300dr at the Naim demo at the Bristol show this year. These were also demoed against their older, non dr versions. The 250dr over the non dr was a big improvement. That cleaner power supply really does make a difference. The 300dr is just awesome and a big step up over the 250dr. More of everything. So much control, power, detail, PRaT. It completely blew me away. If I had my way that's what I'd be aiming for and that's where I'd stop. The difference between that and the 500dr was tiny to my ears and the price jump, huge. The separate power supply for the 300 once again shows why Naim do things this way. A big leap in performance and worth every penny over the 250.
Posted on: 05 May 2016 by Finkfan
Forgot to add the huge soundstage the 300dr creates. It was like I was sat in the middle of the music. A sensational amp
Posted on: 05 May 2016 by christoph
Forgot to add the huge soundstage the 300dr creates. It was like I was sat in the middle of the music. A sensational amp
And the 300 non-dr is not so bad too and one can buy it relatively "cheap" at the moment...
Posted on: 05 May 2016 by Finkfan
Posted on: 05 May 2016 by Finkfan
Must admit, I'd love a 250dr on the journey to a 300dr
Posted on: 05 May 2016 by Chag...
Am high on the list of 300 DR update but it seems that Salisbury is delayed every time I call for an.. update.
Have any of you read the article of Martin Colloms on 300 DR in the first quarter's issue of Hi-Fi Critic?
Chag -
Posted on: 06 May 2016 by Finkfan
Yeah he really liked it if I remember rightly
Posted on: 06 May 2016 by joerand
I haven't heard 300 DR, but I doubt very much you would be unhappy if you bought one
I hav'nt heard the 300 but impatience led me, recently, to part-ex my 250.2 for a 250DR. Hav'nt regretted it one bit.
I too haven't heard the 300 DR or the 300, so I'll recuse myself of any speculation on the topic.
Posted on: 06 May 2016 by analogmusic
"as one of its greatest strengths lies in its unobtrusive ability to combine
all the above attributes and present a cohesive performance with a variety of different music. e original 300 was good at this, but the 300 DR is much better, sounding unshackled when compared to its predecessor."
Posted on: 06 May 2016 by analogmusic
Joerand, I understand your lack of enthusiasm for the new DR amps, since you actually do not own one, or even for that matter a Hicap DR.
Isn't there a Naim dealer where you live? Don't take your credit card with you though if finances are an issue, because once you hear either, you will buy either or both !
Posted on: 06 May 2016 by AlanJ
My point, not entirely irrelevant to the original post, was that I was in a similar position to the OP and waiting for your 250 to he called for upgrade isnt neccessarily the only option.
Posted on: 06 May 2016 by IanG
I upgraded my "old" 300 for a brand new 300 DR back in October. The deal I was given meant the cost to change wasn't much more than the cost of the upgrade.
The upgrade is well worth it. I'm completely happy and haven't had any urge to change anything since although I added the SL interconnect at around the same time.
Posted on: 06 May 2016 by dayjay
I heard the 250, 250dr, 300 and 300dr back to back on the same system some time ago. My view at the time was that the dr amps were very considerably better than the non dr but that the 250dr was the star of the show. At the time I felt that the 250dr gave most of what the 300dr gave for a lot less money. Now this was with unfamiliar music in a dealers room and set up so I am sure that in another environment the 300dr would outshine its smaller sibling but I would want to have a good listen first to be sure. The 250dr was very impressive into the Sopras that were used
Posted on: 06 May 2016 by joerand
Joerand, I understand your lack of enthusiasm for the new DR amps, since you actually do not own one, or even for that matter a Hicap DR.
Isn't there a Naim dealer where you live? Don't take your credit card with you though if finances are an issue, because once you hear either, you will buy either or both !
AM,
Apologies for not updating my profile, but I have been listening to a HCDR (that I own) on my SN2 for the past few weeks. I posted recently on it with the finding of being rather underwhelmed, given all the "no brainer" hype surrounding the combo. Link here: https://forums.naimaudio.com/to...52#55912706919502152
As I stated in that post, the proof will be when I take the HCDR off of my SN2 and try it on my Stageline and CD5X and see where its value is best served, notwithstanding the option that I sell it.
Posted on: 06 May 2016 by hungryhalibut
Be careful with a Hicap on a CD5x. I tried it once and it sounded turbocharged and totally OTT. Awful.
Posted on: 06 May 2016 by joerand
Indeed Nigel. My experience with a FCXS on the 5x led me to the same conclusion, especially with HDCDs. But hey, I've got the ICs and maybe the DR technology will present something unexpected. Worth a trial and I'd be remiss not to give it a go.
Posted on: 06 May 2016 by hungryhalibut
That's odd, as I really liked the effect of a FC2x on the CD5x. Maybe it's the XS that provided the excess.
Posted on: 06 May 2016 by joerand
I think HDCDs were the breaker. I've got a whole lot of them that I listen to often. They sounded over-plumped. Redbooks were good with the FCXS.
Posted on: 06 May 2016 by Finkfan
Joerand, I understand your lack of enthusiasm for the new DR amps, since you actually do not own one, or even for that matter a Hicap DR.
Isn't there a Naim dealer where you live? Don't take your credit card with you though if finances are an issue, because once you hear either, you will buy either or both !
AM,
Apologies for not updating my profile, but I have been listening to a HCDR (that I own) on my SN2 for the past few weeks. I posted recently on it with the finding of being rather underwhelmed, given all the "no brainer" hype surrounding the combo. Link here: https://forums.naimaudio.com/to...52#55912706919502152
As I stated in that post, the proof will be when I take the HCDR off of my SN2 and try it on my Stageline and CD5X and see where its value is best served, notwithstanding the option that I sell it.
I guess the difference adding the HCDR to your SN2 would be smaller as you already have a nicely DR'd preamp inside. Looking forward to trying one on my SN1 at some point
Posted on: 06 May 2016 by joerand
I guess the difference adding the HCDR to your SN2 would be smaller as you already have a nicely DR'd preamp inside. Looking forward to trying one on my SN1 at some point
My thought as well. Years back I had a demo of the Stageline N powered via Aux2 then by the HCDR. I was quite smitten with the HCDR on the Stageline at that point and suspect that's where it's ultimately headed in my system.
I'd be interested to hear what you find adding DR to the original SN.
Best to get back on topic here .....
Posted on: 06 May 2016 by feeling_zen
My point, not entirely irrelevant to the original post, was that I was in a similar position to the OP and waiting for your 250 to he called for upgrade isnt neccessarily the only option.
I'm sure we're not quite in the same boat. My speakers are still Twenty.23s. Given they are already fronted by nearly GBP12K of amplification, if I swap up to a 300DR I need to question whether that is a monkfish worth eating. Just because I can doesn't mean I should.
