NAPSC vanishes from naim.com and 202 upgrade path
Posted by: feeling_zen on 20 May 2016
I noticed this while commenting on another post. But it appears the NAPSC is really gone from naim.com and all mention of this as an upgrade to the 202 have been removed. Cue wild speculation and rumor. Not very productive but we all do it.
Implications for future of the Headline and current preamp lineup?
Many have said that the current range of preamps was refreshed with the DR upgrade on the power supplies. I don't buy that for a second. I have actually for a while now put all intentions of a 252 on hold despite my dealers sweet nothings in my ear and pulled my 282 off the market some time ago deciding that it's replacement will be whatever replaces the 252. Ine 1 year or 3, such a change is sure to come.
Of course we need see if we like that product too 
nigelb posted:Hungryhalibut posted:Yes, that's true. When I wanted something better than the SU, I was thinking of Linn, but then Naim bought out the 272. It would have been a shame to leave Naim after 33 years, but I wasn't willing to accept a plethora of boxes to get a decent sound. I see no reason whatsoever that Naim cannot upscale the streaming preamp. It may not have every ounce of the performance of a NDS/252, but if it's half the price and half the size, people will buy it in droves.
Even if the imaginary 373 were half the size, two thirds of the cost and two thirds of the SQ (?) of the 252/NDS combo, it might still be an attractive proposition, particularly to those who want to limit their spend and limit the amount of black boxes in their living room.
It's called Mu-So not 373, I believe.
It's all you need...
Hungryhalibut posted:It's all you need...
Nigel, any chance of a closeup? Of the MasterCard and, if at all possible, those three digits at the back? 
Yes, yes, yes....
Don't worry, it won't help, what with everything we've been spending on the new kitchen. Perhaps it would have been better to tidy up first.
HH is that Jeremy Vine your listening to on the Qb ?
These new/upgraded/pre-amp/streamers are creating as much speculation as a certain soccer managerial appointment.
Hungryhalibut posted:I see no reason whatsoever that Naim cannot upscale the streaming preamp. It may not have every ounce of the performance of a NDS/252, but if it's half the price and half the size, people will buy it in droves.
If they move production east, it would have ALL the performance of a NDS/252 and more than likely be half the price, and people would buy it in droves!
Look at the success of the Chinese made Mu So products for example.
Maybe Naim go higher with integrated streaming preamps and maybe they don't. But I'd put my money on dedicated analog preamps being core to Naim's lineup in the future too. The S1 pre was literally a "Statement" of that.
To consoldate into one box is (despite what some wish to believe) a compromise that goes against the reasons for keeping delicate analog pre amplified signals isolated. The rule book hasn't changed on that.
Plus, it goes against the concept of seperates that give users free choice, flexibility, and upgrade options.
I came to Naim for sound quality but I left Linn because of the road they went down. Linn now make arguably the best lifestyle hifi systems on the planet. But they are absolutely not a seperates hifi manufacturer anymore.
Having some integrated devices like *72 or the range of Uniti "receivers" is a good way of stopping customers bleeding to Linn but is not the shape of their no compromise audio first focus.
That said, come Monday morning Naim may see the thread and just say the NAPSC was gone due to an error as some suggested :-)
Let's say that the 202/282/252/552 are replaced with NAC N 212/272/242/542 doesn't that leave the NDX/NDS redundant?
Nope - N272 is still being left behind by 282 and NDX, let alone NDS
Well that's what I think Adam but............
I was suggesting that there might be an extension to the 272 concept AND a refresh of the Classic pre amp line. I don't believe Naim would ever abandon the superior SQ inherent with the separates approach for their Classic ranges.
Pcd posted:HH is that Jeremy Vine your listening to on the Qb ?
Well...I thought that was good!
G
badlands posted:Hungryhalibut posted:I see no reason whatsoever that Naim cannot upscale the streaming preamp. It may not have every ounce of the performance of a NDS/252, but if it's half the price and half the size, people will buy it in droves.
If they move production east, it would have ALL the performance of a NDS/252 and more than likely be half the price, and people would buy it in droves!
Look at the success of the Chinese made Mu So products for example.
I'm not so sure about that. I would pay a premium for a Naim NAC252, Supercap and 300 DR that was made in Salisbury. That is the Naim Head office, and moving the production of these level of products anywhere else, well I would look for Naim products made in Salisbury personally.
So we have gone from a disappearing Napsc to Naim Audio moving production to China!
Bob the Builder posted:So we have gone from a disappearing Napsc to Naim Audio moving production to China!
I know! It might be an idle speculation thread but some of the speculation is just bonkers. Either that or taking the piss.
Salisbury and China are obvious Naim production bases, but let's not rule out Saint-Étienne. Pierre or Cecile could be faithfully soldering parts into the 372.
Hmm, I would hope if so that Cecile or Pierre are operating a solder machine for most of the production... I guess because of the relative modularity of many of the designs, certain components like DR regulator boards and streamer boards could be manufactured off shore... and assembly, audio path construction and testing be in the UK.
Hmmm, so what do we know?
- The Napsc has disappeared from the website;
- The pre-Amps have not had a price increase this year;
- The 272 has been a hit and makes the 282 seem poor value if you don't already have an NDX or NDS (or a CD player);
- The power supplies for the pre-amps have been upgraded relatively recently;
- Naim would like to get away from the green logo and follow the Statement look (they even refuse to do black and green on the app).
What can we conclude from this? A pre-amp re-vamp seems highly likely. A 372 without a built in power supply seems likely, as does an NDS555 (connected to the Statement via Super Lumina). The 282 is likely to be improved or dropped. A change in the look of the boxes will discourage upgrading for those of us with racks of black boxes, unless the new look can be made to look cool with the existing stuff.
Did I miss anything?
Keith
KRM posted:Hmmm, so what do we know?
- The Napsc has disappeared from the website;
- The pre-Amps have not had a price increase this year;
- The 272 has been a hit and makes the 282 seem poor value if you don't already have an NDX or NDS (or a CD player);
- The power supplies for the pre-amps have been upgraded relatively recently;
- Naim would like to get away from the green logo and follow the Statement look (they even refuse to do black and green on the app).
What can we conclude from this?
Almost nothing.
And very few find a 272 close to 282 with a HC or greater in terms of pre amp quality.
Especially those who own a 282, who seem to find the 272 somehow threatening, or at least that's what some of their more defensive posts imply. Could it really be that something half the price is virtually as good?
Just to clarify, I didn't say the 282 wasn't better than the 272. I owned one and loved it. It's just that the 272 is surprisingly close given that the 282 costs £1k more, needs a power supply, doesn't have a DAC, can't stream and doesn't need (an expensive) interconnect.
Still, let's not turn this into a 282 verses 272 thread.
feeling_zen posted:And very few find a 272 close to 282 with a HC or greater in terms of pre amp quality.
....... I've not been paying attention, are any of them not 272 owners?