NAP300 DR Upgrade?

I've experienced two DR'd 300's in friends' systems and can report that as a bang for the buck upgrade, it's hard to beat. It's difficult to put into words just how much the 500 and 300 are transformed by the DR upgrade - the 300 being particularly good value.

Good luck.

John.

I had ndac/NDX/555(non DR) 252/Supercap 300 - I had my 300dr'd and indeed it was a good bang for buck upgrade, hard to put into words other than more Naim goodness....

However,  I recently changed my digital front end to an NDS and that was a bigger jump in terms of performance. 

If you can find a used NDS and trade in your NDX that would be the way to go. 

Regards

Gary

A 300DR convert here and it is easily the best VFM change I have made. Recent changes also included a 552 for a 52 and SL speaker cables plus PLs all round. I would judge all the 3 changes as being of roughly equal sonic merit.

As JN said it's a very hard upgrade to beat.

I had my 300 upgraded to DR in June and can confirm it is a fantastic upgrade. But I would equally suggest to upgrade your source to nDAC or even NDS level. The sophisticated 252/300 combo needs it to give their best.

Chag -

I have no direct experience of the NAP300 (DR or non) other than at dealer demos and Hifi shows. But I have gone from NDX to NDS (on a 252/SCDR/NAP250.2 & later NAP 250DR) and the difference was huge in all the important areas. Looks like you need to home demo both the NDS and 300DR and decide what gives the biggest bang for your buck. Clearly you will need to spend more on an NDS (unless you go pre loved) than you will on DRing your NAP300.

Also don't underestimate the part Super Lumina cables play in all of this. Sorry to complicate the picture but you did ask!

Firstly, I agree with most of the advice given above an I`m another happy 300DR owner.

I think it worth bearing in mind the age of your 300, if its due a service in the near future then it would make more sense to me to put funds towards getting the service and DR upgrade done at the same time and makes it a bit of a no brainer.

One thing I will mention (sorry Nick) I feel the improvement the DR brings to the 300 is far greater than when adding powerlines to the system, all personal opinion and you may think otherwise. I own powerlines having said all that and would recommend using them when funds permit, I just dont feel they add as much of sonic upgrade as the DR brings to the party. To me the DT techt is quite special and hard to put into words as others have said just what it does.

As always....if at all possible, go listen and let your ears be the judge, good luck with your quest and let us know what you end up doing.

ATB

Thanks for all your replies.  I've decided to go for the DR upgrade and will keep you posted on the results. 

The door is still open for an NDX to NDS upgrade down the road when I can scrape together the necessary cash.  No Christmas presents for the kids this year...

Noogle

I don't think the DR upgrade will disappoint, get it done now so all back in place for those Autumn nights! 

Enjoy

Gary

Rob T posted:

Firstly, I agree with most of the advice given above an I`m another happy 300DR owner.

One thing I will mention (sorry Nick) I feel the improvement the DR brings to the 300 is far greater than when adding powerlines to the system, all personal opinion and you may think otherwise. I own powerlines having said all that and would recommend using them when funds permit, I just dont feel they add as much of sonic upgrade as the DR brings to the party. To me the DT techt is quite special and hard to put into words as others have said just what it does.

As always....if at all possible, go listen and let your ears be the judge, good luck with your quest and let us know what you end up doing.

ATB

In fairness, Rob, I changed my Nordost power and speaker cables for PLs and SL speaker cables. It was that total change that we felt was somewhere near either the DR upgrade or the 552 bit. But the cable loom was a tad more expensive than the DR bit, hence not as good VFM. And, as always, it was my system on the day and hence may not apply to anyone else or their system.

What is the concesus on SL upgrade of XLR interconnects on 300/300DR? İt is same investment as DRing right?

Emre posted:

What is the concesus on SL upgrade of XLR interconnects on 300/300DR? İt is same investment as DRing right?

Whilst the SL Din / XLR cables are a significant upgrade on the stock ones, the cost is almost twice the cost of the DR upgrade for the 300, as one requires two cables at £1500 each, though there was recently a discount to be had at selected dealers. 

DR upgrade on 300 before SL XLR IMHO ! It is true that I haven't listened to them but I listen to 300 DR every night. Never heard a piano playing so real. 

Chag -

Emre posted:

What is the concesus on SL upgrade of XLR interconnects on 300/300DR? İt is same investment as DRing right?

I'd put a power supply for the 272 before either. 

Another for a power supply on a 272 totally transforms the 272

Noogle,

Do what we had to do before forums, go to your dealer listen to all the alternatives available for £1495 and make your own mind up.

Iron Cobra posted:

Noogle,

Do what we had to do before forums, go to your dealer listen to all the alternatives available for £1495 and make your own mind up.

I don't have a dealer - I live in the post-apocalyptic hinterland that is buying and selling online.  Also, I have a hunch that the group intelligence of the forum is a pretty powerful thing.

I could swear that I've seen Naim dealers in south west England, but may have been hallucinating. For what it's worth, I'd just go for the DR upgrade. 

Noogle posted:

....I have a hunch that the group intelligence of the forum is a pretty powerful thing.

Groupthink always worth questioning imo.

Chris

Hungryhalibut posted:

I could swear that I've seen Naim dealers in south west England, but may have been hallucinating. For what it's worth, I'd just go for the DR upgrade. 

I can confirm there are Naim dealers in the south west. Unless I am hallucinating too but I have a 300dr and it appeared in my house one day after a trip to Exeter. Found it in the back of my car and it wasn't there before I drove to Exeter.

I was already at the NDS/555PS level with a 552, but I have to say that the 300-300DR change had a much bigger impact than DR'ing the source or pre power supplies. DR on the power amps lifts them to an entirely different league. Well worth the investment.

Nick from Suffolk posted:

Rob T posted:

Firstly, I agree with most of the advice given above an I`m another happy 300DR owner.

One thing I will mention (sorry Nick) I feel the improvement the DR brings to the 300 is far greater than when adding powerlines to the system, all personal opinion and you may think otherwise. I own powerlines having said all that and would recommend using them when funds permit, I just dont feel they add as much of sonic upgrade as the DR brings to the party. To me the DT techt is quite special and hard to put into words as others have said just what it does.

As always....if at all possible, go listen and let your ears be the judge, good luck with your quest and let us know what you end up doing.

ATB

In fairness, Rob, I changed my Nordost power and speaker cables for PLs and SL speaker cables. It was that total change that we felt was somewhere near either the DR upgrade or the 552 bit. But the cable loom was a tad more expensive than the DR bit, hence not as good VFM. And, as always, it was my system on the day and hence may not apply to anyone else or their system.

Fair play, Nick, I get where your coming from with a total loom change, quite a step change.

"Also, I have a hunch that the group intelligence of the forum is a pretty powerful thing."

Judging by other threads recently "group intelligence" may not be a good thing. Also, no where near as good as your own hearing at deciding which is better.

Hungryhalibut posted:

Emre posted:

What is the concesus on SL upgrade of XLR interconnects on 300/300DR? İt is same investment as DRing right?

I'd put a power supply for the 272 before either. 

Not sure where the rumour about me having a 272 came from?  However, I do have a 252.

That was me replying to Emre, who does have one. Or so their profile says. 

dave marshall posted:

Emre posted:

What is the concesus on SL upgrade of XLR interconnects on 300/300DR? İt is same investment as DRing right?

Whilst the SL Din / XLR cables are a significant upgrade on the stock ones, the cost is almost twice the cost of the DR upgrade for the 300, as one requires two cables at £1500 each, though there was recently a discount to be had at selected dealers. 

Yes, I agree, Dave.  The twin cable SL XLR is quite an investment and one that probably only makes sense if you've already invested in the rest of the SL cables i.e. interconnect and speakers cables, and so can complete the 'full loom'.

Mike