Supernait 2 pre amp

The logical pre is the 282. But.... your CD player is not really up to it. It may be best to deal with that first, swapping the 5x and Hicap for a CDX2. 

282 (for example) + SN2's  power amp section is so much better than SN2's pre + 250 imho.

I used to have SN2+HC then upgraded it by adding 250 (which was side step of course imho) and finally added a 282. Power amp module of SN2 is the best part of that integrated amp.  A good preamp is vital in any system.

Thanks for the replies.  

What about the other option being the Nac272? 

It seems cost effective against the 282 and adds flexibility on the digital front?

cheeselet posted:

Thanks for the replies.  

What about the other option being the Nac272? 

It seems cost effective against the 282 and adds flexibility on the digital front?

Ime of owning your system and upgrade options yes to 272 - that's a very good option.

G

You need to listen to the options and decide. If you got the 272 it comes with internet radio and gives the potential to rip your CDs to a Nas and getting rid of the CD player - something you may or may not be interested in. 

It's nice to have future options, especially considering the outlay involved.

A listen would be nice but not so many dealers about these days. My nearest dealer will order Naim kit but auditioning is not on the menu as they don't wish to get stuck with it.

That could be why I'm searching for clues on the forum.

I don't know where you live, but I would suggest that it's well worthwhile travelling to a dealer who will give you some proper service. One of the reasons Naim gear is expensive is that dealers make big enough margins to cover the cost of supporting you. That means a lot more than just letting you listen to an item before you buy it, and can include home demos, system building advice, after sales service, system setup etc. So if you're buying from a dealer and not getting this, one could argue that you're being ripped off. 

While there are a lot of very experienced Naim owners on this forum, I really don't think buying on the basis of online recommendations is any substitute for choosing with your own ears. 

If you decide to abandon CD playback at some stage than N272 is a good choice. It will make your HiCap redundant though in this setup (N272 works on its own or can be upgraded with XPS DR for example). 

Home audition is an absolute must at this level of equipment. 

It may not of course be possible in Cheeselet land, wherever that might be. I bought my 272/250 without hearing it, but then I never bother to test drive cars either. 

Hungryhalibut posted:

It may not of course be possible in Cheeselet land, wherever that might be. I bought my 272/250 without hearing it, but then I never bother to test drive cars either. 

I bought my current Rega set up without a demo - sometimes it's satisfying to just go with a gut instinct rather than anguishing over every minute detail.

Ray

Hungryhalibut posted:

It may not of course be possible in Cheeselet land, wherever that might be. I bought my 272/250 without hearing it, but then I never bother to test drive cars either. 

Same here! 

There is no proper Naim dealer in Norwich.

This situation makes me think of the car dealer who would only let me test drive  a car  if I was going to buy it.

It happened.  Honest! 

cheeselet posted:

There is no proper Naim dealer in Norwich. 

What about Basically Sound ? - i used to use them years ago when i was at UEA and they still stock Naim. Travel a bit further and you have Signals which by the feedback on this forum are very good. 

From the way Cheeslet was writing, I imagined that Cheeselet land was somewhere in the Australian outback, though East Anglia has similarities I suppose. It's 45 miles from Norwich to Ipswich, where the excellent Signals is based: there or thereabouts anyway. 

Hungryhalibut posted:

From the way Cheeslet was writing, I imagined that Cheeselet land was somewhere in the Australian outback, though East Anglia has similarities I suppose. It's 45 miles from Norwich to Ipswich, where the excellent Signals is based: there or thereabouts anyway. 

He'll have to be prepared to go through the Norfolk - Suffolk border (they've tightened security nowadays; total body search now) but Signals is the place to go. They're just in the process of relocating to spiffing new premises near Felixtowe.

tonym posted:

Hungryhalibut posted:

From the way Cheeslet was writing, I imagined that Cheeselet land was somewhere in the Australian outback, though East Anglia has similarities I suppose. It's 45 miles from Norwich to Ipswich, where the excellent Signals is based: there or thereabouts anyway. 

He'll have to be prepared to go through the Norfolk - Suffolk border (they've tightened security nowadays; total body search now) but Signals is the place to go. They're just in the process of relocating to spiffing new premises near Felixtowe.

A similar car journey brings you to Criterion Audio in Cambridge -- also a great Naim dealer (ask for James!). And you would combine this trip with a nice stroll in Cambridge. It's such a pretty city, though personally I much prefer the other place...  

By the way, "searching for clues" here in the Forum might take longer than the time you would spend in the car to hear the options you have in mind. A much safer bet -- unless of course you don't trust your own ears...

I'm not averse to auditioning and have had many an interesting time listening to kit at Signals (in his pre Naim days)

These days I don't travel around so much due to change of job, so not so easy to get there.

Ive enjoyed the Naim kit that I've had over the years and would trust what reviewers and bloggers have to say on the equipment. If for example I decided to go for the Nac 272 on spec i doubt I'd be disappointed. (doh I should not have said that)

i can't blame the local dealers either. No one is having an easy time on the High Street these days and you can't dem a component without a fully dedicated system, which they don't have.

cheeselet posted:

I'm not averse to auditioning and have had many an interesting time listening to kit at Signals (in his pre Naim days)

These days I don't travel around so much due to change of job, so not so easy to get there.

Ive enjoyed the Naim kit that I've had over the years and would trust what reviewers and bloggers have to say on the equipment. If for example I decided to go for the Nac 272 on spec i doubt I'd be disappointed. (doh I should not have said that)

i can't blame the local dealers either. No one is having an easy time on the High Street these days and you can't dem a component without a fully dedicated system, which they don't have.

Easy to see why we lost the empire. 

thebigfredc posted:

cheeselet posted:

I'm not averse to auditioning and have had many an interesting time listening to kit at Signals (in his pre Naim days)

These days I don't travel around so much due to change of job, so not so easy to get there.

Ive enjoyed the Naim kit that I've had over the years and would trust what reviewers and bloggers have to say on the equipment. If for example I decided to go for the Nac 272 on spec i doubt I'd be disappointed. (doh I should not have said that)

i can't blame the local dealers either. No one is having an easy time on the High Street these days and you can't dem a component without a fully dedicated system, which they don't have.

Easy to see why we lost the empire. 

Did we! When was that?

Or ...

Getting back to the original question. Which Naim dedicated  pre amp is the closest in quality to the SN2 pre amp?

The state of Hifi shops and the empire is a bit beyond my remit presently.

282 is the preamp to go for. 

Forget about the amplifier. CDX2 instead. If that's not enough add an XPS.

Then NAC282.

C.

Many points to be taken there so many thanks for that. 

I'm  still curious as to how the SN2 compares to an equivalent standalone pre ...  like a 102,112 or 202 possibly?

I'd be surprised if many knew, especially on the first two.

C.

What Chritopher_M said.

+forget about the 112, the SN2 is in another league. The 102 will sound quite different but IMO isn't as bad as some people on this forum like to make out. The 202 might be comparable but different again, kind of sideways. But that's all irrelevant. All of those preamps will be lagging behind the 250.2 which will certainly come alive with a 282 and I suspect the same would be true of the SN2 pre section. I used a 202/250.2 and can testify to that. It was ok but the sensible thing would have been 282/200 which would have been better.