Upgrade - dealer demo day

Posted by: Timmo1341 on 30 March 2017

Just spent 7 hours at Cornwall's finest Naim dealer, where I've been treated to a stunning lineup of Naim and ProAc! Starting with a 4 box (max) requirement, I've listened to a NAC N272 (powered by XPSDR, then 555PS) feeding NAP 250DR then NAP 300DR. Speakers were ProAc D48s and K6. Speaker cables were Superlumina and Chord Epic Reference, interconnects were Chord Saruman and Superlumina.

Final choice for home demo: N272 (obviously!), 555PS,  NAP 300DR, ProAc K6. First preference is for the Chord Epic Reference, but will try the SL as well. Interconnects will be Superlumina (Sarum nice but not nice enough to justify cost).

The grip and control provided by the 300DR was stunning. The 250DR was good, but ultimately no contest. The XPSDR made a significant difference to the 272's performance, but the 555 just took it to a higher level. The K6s are just simply stunning. I've thoroughly enjoyed my D20Rs for two years, but these really are something else - bass extension quite astounding, incredibly accurate imaging, a mid range to make angels weep (with pleasure!). Almost every track played revealed detail I had never heard before. To cap it all they are, to me, aesthetically satisfying, oozing quality - a nice bonus when added to exquisite sound.

Roll on the home demo - I could be significantly poorer, but for sound like I heard today I'd happily consider selling the furniture!!

Posted on: 20 April 2017 by nigelb
Timmo1341 posted:

I'm truly confused! Surely a DIN to XLR lead is an 'interconnect'? 

As for not mixing leads and cables from seperate manufacturers, I beg to differ. The Superlumina DIN to XLR worked beautifully with Chord Epic Reference speaker cable in my lounge for my demo. When I replaced the Epic Reference with Superlumina the sound lost all its attack, and reminded me of a cup of silky smooth hot chocolate compared to a strong, powerful, edgy espresso. When the Epic Reference went back on and the SL interconnect was substituted by Chord Sarum Super ARAY, things took a turn for the worse - good, but not as good, to my ears which are all that matters when it comes to my system!

So, I'm sure that to others this quoted synergy between all things Naim surely exists, but I'll stick to my Naim and Chord mix.

A DIN/XLR lead is I suppose an interconnect, but the usual reference to an interconnect on here is the lead that connects a source to a preamp - obviously not needed with a 272. Sorry if I have confused you.

I found replacing my NACA5 with SL speaker cables brought more attack, making the NACA5 sound a little thick. I believed I described the SL speaker cables as incisive in comparison. I realise we are comparing different speaker cables to the SL, but I find your description of them baffling.

There a differing views on cables, particularly on here. Which is why I usually conclude my posts on such subjects with a strong recommendation for home demos as views on cables are often system and listener dependent. Reading my above posts it looks like I am true to form. Much better than pushing a blinkered view I feel.