Naim 250

In summary, the OP joined this Forum, then after 2 days posted that he was unhappy with his Naim 250. He is still unhappy. AFAIK, its still unclear what Pre he has been using. Think its safe to assume its not a Naim pre. OP does not seem to be interested in any suggestions.

Why post in the first place....? This is the Internet......

Should any other Forum members have any Naim 250's they don't like, please - I will take them off you. No charge.... Wouldn't want people to be unhappy......

He clearly stated having a NAC-n 272. 

Craig,  be aware of the reverse speaker-connectors on naim amps! Maybe you connected your speakers out of phase (has hapend to me before )

Jumping Jack posted:

He clearly stated having a NAC-n 272. 

Craig,  be aware of the reverse speaker-connectors on naim amps! Maybe you connected your speakers out of phase (has hapend to me before )

Connecting one speaker out of phase gives less bass normally, I have found......

Jumping Jack posted:

He clearly stated having a NAC-n 272. 

Craig,  be aware of the reverse speaker-connectors on naim amps! Maybe you connected your speakers out of phase (has hapend to me before )

Thank you JJ. I couldn't find it for some reason. Maybe thanks to mini iPad browsing and my aging eyes... 

craig's posted:

Does anyone actually have experience of using a naim 250 with B&W cm10s? My system is very simple - naim 250, naim 272 streamer and b&w cm10s. Dealer supplied speaker cable. 

 

For Richard...

Thanks Loki. It must be a form of snowblindness.. 

blythe posted:

No murky non-DR'd 250's in my house!

Same here.  Open, controlled and detailed whilst being driven by what is probably Naim's least loved product, the 172.......

Craig,

Have you now paired the 272 with a Chord power amp?

Regards,

Lindsay

I think he's gone. 

Glad he's found an amp he likes with his speakers. 

if he likes his chord amp, whatever makes him happy. His ears his amp his money. 

happy new year.

my naim 250 dr amp is awesome.....��

This is a peculiar and in some ways very unfortunate Thread.

The OP was unforthcoming, which resulted in a number of exaggerated speculations about 'provocation' etc. While these may have been baseless, it seems possible that there is some big difference between the setup in his listening room at home, and the one at the Dealer's in which he extensively listened to chosen music through the Naim Streamer & Naim Amp he bought.

Given that he was using speaker cable recommended or provided by the Dealer, I find it difficult to account for such a wide difference of experience by anything other than listening-room characteristics. There may or may not be an issue with the characteristics of his speakers, but the evidence is inconclusive.

I have a rebuilt/serviced CB 250 - the second I've owned over the years. It is a formidable Amp, which handles pretty much anything & everything with ease. However, compared to Nap-160's, which I find fluent and lighter touch. or to Nap-135's (with asymmetric XLR cables) which are monumental - the Nap-250 is definitely not impeccable, and sometimes does come across as 'a bit muddled'.

I found the OP's last two Posts very interesting, because for the past two years I have been experimenting with pairing Naim Pre-Amps with Chord Power Amps. I find that in many respects the outstanding qualities of Naim Pre-Amps synergise with the transparancy and speed of Chord PA's.

Let me add that I do NOT have hands-on experience with the latest Naim Power Amps - including the Nap-250DR which the OP peremptorily {perhaps unfairly) decided was the cause of his displeasure.

Skyebridge 

^^^   Very fair post.

C.

I thought some of the posts were very uncharitable. The OP was new to the forum and unlike most hifi related BBS, we are generally a more active group which probably is a bit cliqueish to outsiders.

Although there are con men out there, my first assumption would be that his dealer did know how to take proper care of his customer. There's evidence of home demos and willing exchange. 

Yet again I would say to give the benefit of the doubt and hope we've not scared him off.

Spent this hour of my life going through the thread, my first impression is that ALL the folks here at the Forum deserve  the "sainthood" medal!!! The initial post is definitely a ruse, follow-ups given to keep it going,... just my humble opinion.  When my 250-ies got stuck for almost a year at AVOptions for recap I bought BAT VK-75se to drive my SBLs. Totally hated every single moment of those months, except for when "classical" LPs been played. Did I post my grudges at BAT website? Why would I? I am in Love with Naim sound, my wife loves her B&O Beosound, my son argues that his iPhone sounds better than my all-Naim rig... I would love to see some answers from the thread-starter simply because such negative opinions give an extra dinension or room for thought for the "converted". 

My point: shopping for hi-rez portable player I started with negative reviews on $2,000+ A&K and realized that for my 1TB music collection it might be a bad choice. From this initial post I got no useful information, someone does not like NAP250, so what?

it is good to be open minded about hi-fi. I have switched from Naim to Chord Hugo for my digital source, very good it is too.

But I am motivated based on this thread to go listen to a chord or other power amp.... ?

No, not really at the moment, I am happy with my NAP 250DR, and thinking of going active with another 250, or maybe passive with an upgrade eventually to a 552/500 DR someday when funds allow.

Anyway Chord will be releasing a digital power amp to match with their flagship Dave DAC/Preamp, but.... my 282/HCDR/250 is doing a stellar job, and I am happy with it (now). I had some concerns when I changed my speakers to Dynaudio Focus 260, but the addition of a powerline on HCDR has addressed those concerns.

I recall reading a thread on a certain pink forum that compared a Naim NAP 250 with a Chord poweramp, and well the chord sounded very good, but somewhat a very tiny bit less rhythmic than NAP 250. Oh well. Ho Hum. Depends on perspective, but whatever.

I need more rhythmic, and that is what I found when I upgraded from NAP 200 to NAP 250DR.

As far as amplifiers go, and I have now heard quite a few, never heard anything that sounded better (for what I value) than Naim in terms of the ability to render the rhythm in all music.

Naim from the very first amplifier till today have used single transistors, unlike many companies that uses parallel output transistors, and musically, Naim's approach works for me.

Of course your ears, money, mileage and taste may vary.