Fantastic pre into average power... thoughts.

The 272 is a very accomplished performer - buy one !   You'll hear what a good pre can do with your NAP150 - if you're not truly amazed, SJW, then head off to the pharmacy and get yourself some earwax remover      

(I'm kinda assuming your speakers are a good match ??) 

It'll be fine, and much better than a 172/200. If you go for the 272 you can easily upgrade the power amp later if you feel the need. The 150x is a super little thing. 

My thought is that if your Naim source is good enough, you don't need that much of an amplifier to enjoy good music at home. So yes.

C.

That said, those Discoverys (or is it Discoveries) really do want something like a 300. Are you fixed on them? I cannot imagine a 150x being a happy bunny with them. 

Hi SJW,
I've run a 52/Supercap and a NAP140 as the main amp and it sounded quite astoundingly good.

Hence no need to worry about upgrading the pre-amp.  HH is as ever on the money about the 150X driving WB Discoveries though.

Best regards, FT

If your power amp has enough juice to properly drive your speakers then 272 would be a good option 

Contrary view . . . I have a 172/200 and it's very good indeed. They seem like a happy match. I haven't heard a 150x so I can't make a comparison, but if you have hard to drive speakers then a 200 might be better than a 150x? Anyway, don't rule out the 172/200.

I had a 282 Hicap 200 for a while, and enjoyed it very much.  Of course, I later traded up.  But the 150 is a nice amp.

sjw98 posted:

Weird question, perhaps, but I have a nap150x and wondered whether anyone had heard a 272 (or equivalently good pre-amp) through a less good power? Will it completely mess up the 272?

As ever this is all second hand - hard to dem so just interested in people's opinions. 

Obviously I could dump the idea of a 272 and sell the 150x and go 172/200 perhaps... but I love the idea of a 272 and it's upgrade potential. 

I ran a NAP100 with a 272 initially and it was brilliant. I could not swing the more expensive amp at the time. I will say the 100 is actually a shockingly good amp, the PRE matters more, the improvement of going 272 was much more dramatic than going from 100 to 200.. The 200 was better, but what the 272 showed me is that all of NAIM's amps are really solid and if you have efficient enough speakers even the NAP100 can really be stellar. It will not mess anything up, contrary what the larger amps give is more of the same very solid performance. You may find that depending on the efficiency of your speakers that you don't need anything more than a 150x,  I got top flight performance out of the 100 with very little to criticize.

My first Naim pre was a 282 which I ran off a flatcap 2x, which was shared with a CD5x, and into a Rega Maia power amp, which was the rival to the 150x when I bought it. The speakers were Thiel CS1.6. The 282 replaced a Rega Cursa. This system lasted a couple of years until I bought a Hicap and a year later a 250. I went to buy a Hicap three times, the first time leaving with an exdem superline and the second an Aro before I finally got the hicap on the third attempt. I have no regrets about delaying the 250 as long as I did. Just keep the volume down if your speakers are a bit demanding, I could run the Maia at satisfying loud volumes though I did find the limits with the demo pair of Thiels with Rattle's recording of the performing version Mahler's 10th. There is a sustained crescendo where the treble seemed to sparkle and jump forward from the speakers as a Maia ran out of power supply but this was at rediculously loud levels and it didn't stop me ordering a pair, it did stop me buying the demo pair after such abuse however though I couldn't hear any adverse effects. 

Some good experiences here which make sense. I do not have experience with the 172 or 272 but assuming the 272 is very similar to the 282, all I want to add is the 272 is all that you may ever need without thinking about the 252 or 552. The 282 when matched with a good source is high quality, and to me is all that you will ever need. Whether it's the NAP 100, 150, 200 or 250 DR, the costlier or more powerful amp will obviously sound "better" irrespective of whether the speakers are easy or difficult speakers.

If given a choice between the 172/200 and 272/150x, I will take the latter.

As a side note, I just inserted the Dali Mentor Menuet into the main system based on the Harbeth SHL5plus. The Dalis sound fantastic at the end of the 282/250DR and a good source. I did not expect this sort of quality from the Dalis as they sound mediocre with the 202/200 (a disclaimer is an inferior source is used with the 202/200). This experience just shows that the performance of cheap and modest loudspeakers can be transformed to a high level of performance with better quality gear although the price ratio between the speaker and equipment may be a mismatch (say the amplifiers and source costing 20 times more the cost of the speakers)

To reiterate, the 272 (assuming that it's very similar to the NAC 282) is all that you will ever need for high fidelity sound reproduction. In my opinion, it's the minimum entry to the high quality "Naim sound". There will be people who will disagree and it's fine. I still own the NAC 202 and NAP 200 and as good as the NAC 202 can be, it does not have the delicacy and poise of the NAC 282.

Good though the 272 most tell me who are very familiar with both that the 272 is not really the same sort of performance of a 282. To get the 282 type of performance  you need to really go seperates. There is currently only so much you can do when you combine everything in a single box (digital, data processing and preamp) .. having said that the N272 is very popular and capable performer with upgrade potential.

The N172, which I have been pleasantly surprised with, is also a very capable performer but with limited upgrade potential. The N172 into the 300 sounds incredible... a real synergy.. a fantastic introduction to the Naim higher end sound..

So audition and get the N272 if it looks interesting, perhaps save seperates for another time, you could later trade in the N272 and get a 282 and source if that is where your musical journey takes you.

I am with you Ryder,when I first demoed the N272/250 dr combo,I also had the Xp5xs power supply on the 272 and I tried 4 different speakers with this combo.What really surprised me the most was just how good my Neat Iota's and Dynaudio Excite 12's sounded with electronics about 20 times the value of the speakers,stunning really,I suspect most people will never know  what cheaper (cost wise) speakers are truly capable of,most will upgrade speakers as they upgrade electronics to "keep the balance",but it may not even be necessary.

No quarter posted:

I am with you Ryder,when I first demoed the N272/250 dr combo,I also had the Xp5xs power supply on the 272 and I tried 4 different speakers with this combo.What really surprised me the most was just how good my Neat Iota's and Dynaudio Excite 12's sounded with electronics about 20 times the value of the speakers,stunning really,I suspect most people will never know  what cheaper (cost wise) speakers are truly capable of,most will upgrade speakers as they upgrade electronics to "keep the balance",but it may not even be necessary.

Good point. I have a tiny pair of Denon (made by Mission) speakers that came with a micro-system I had as a student. I once played them through a CDX 72 135's. Huge fun!

G

I've used a NAP 110 with a NAC 552 / 552PS DR and I thought that it was very good indeed 

No quarter posted:

I am with you Ryder,when I first demoed the N272/250 dr combo,I also had the Xp5xs power supply on the 272 and I tried 4 different speakers with this combo.What really surprised me the most was just how good my Neat Iota's and Dynaudio Excite 12's sounded with electronics about 20 times the value of the speakers,stunning really,I suspect most people will never know  what cheaper (cost wise) speakers are truly capable of,most will upgrade speakers as they upgrade electronics to "keep the balance",but it may not even be necessary.

The Neat Iotas are interesting, especially with their ribbon tweeters. They seems very natural sounding, but seem to filter some nuance, but in a way that doesn't detract from the overall natural sound and therefore sound good on cheap or exotic electronics. I heard the Neat  Iota Alphas on a Statement last weekend and thought the mids and highs were very good.

Actually Simon,when I had the Iota's hooked up they sounded great,but obviously lacked some bottom end,so I brought one of my JL Audio Fathom 112's up to the 2 channel room from it's normal place in home theatre.I hooked it up to the system,and WOW,I could of lived with that combo...so even though I have not heard the Neat Alpha's,I kind of took it one step further,really good indeed.

At least one forum member I know has a 272 paired with a NAP 100 and it sounds very good. 

Regards,

Lindsay

I'm sure all these things are true, but a 100 with WB Discovery? I don't think so. 

I don't think the discoverys are particularly hard to drive are they HH? Not that I've ever tried with anything particularly low powered.

That said my friend has discos driven by his old 92/90 and in my opinion it's way too under powered to get the best. 

They won't give their best with a 150x (no impedence or phase curve available on a quick search) but minimum impedence of 4 Ohms so there are 75 Watts avalable, probably enough not to damage them with clipping if the volume control isn't abused. £15 k speakers on the end of a £500 or whatever poweramp isn't exactly a balanced system but if they're already in place...

The trouble is that if the speakers are as revealing as their price suggests a lot will be revealed about the compromises in the components upstream. I think they'll drive a lot of upgrading and even a psed 272 with whatever power amp may not be enough.

The Strat (Fender) posted:

At least one forum member I know has a 272 paired with a NAP 100 and it sounds very good. 

Regards,

Lindsay

I had this combo for awhile as well and it sounded great. The 100 is a really well engineered amp and punches above it's weight. The upgrade to a 200 was certainly an improvement, but no one would have ever said the 100/272 combo didn't sound stunning.

I've just taken delivery of a 272 today to go with my NAP100, first thoughts very impressive I will report back in a few days after initial run in.

Previous pre I used was a UQ into the 100.

Hifiman, Appreciated!