Blimey, the 272 is even better than I thought it was...

fathings cat posted:

Parlee-king posted:

HH is at minimum partly responsible for me having (sorry enjoying) a N272.  initially without a external PSU but more recently with a 555.  That certainly raised the bar.
I looked at a 300DR with ATC SCM40 (passives) but ended up with the active version, so the temptation of power amps has been removed, plus no SL loom to worry about.

HH is also partly to thank (blame?) for having a Quadraspire rack in my case a X-reference which made a huge difference (same SVT shelves).  Fraim was purchased but her ladyship wasn't keen on the looks.
I still need to srt out the dedicated mains then I can hopefully sit back and enjoy .... until the N373/572 or whatever is released.

Great hear that HH is enjoying life and appears to have a positive outlook on life ...not the easiest place to get too. Music helps transcend the problems of life...with a glass of something of course

 

How do those active ATC’s sound v non active and 300dr?

regards

Gary

+1, curious.

How did you connect the 272 to the active's there no XLR output on a 272?

My own experience of DAC V1 and Hugo into Dynaudio actives was that I had to go back to a passive full Naim amplifier. 

analogmusic posted:

fathings cat posted:

Parlee-king posted:

HH is at minimum partly responsible for me having (sorry enjoying) a N272.  initially without a external PSU but more recently with a 555.  That certainly raised the bar.
I looked at a 300DR with ATC SCM40 (passives) but ended up with the active version, so the temptation of power amps has been removed, plus no SL loom to worry about.

HH is also partly to thank (blame?) for having a Quadraspire rack in my case a X-reference which made a huge difference (same SVT shelves).  Fraim was purchased but her ladyship wasn't keen on the looks.
I still need to srt out the dedicated mains then I can hopefully sit back and enjoy .... until the N373/572 or whatever is released.

Great hear that HH is enjoying life and appears to have a positive outlook on life ...not the easiest place to get too. Music helps transcend the problems of life...with a glass of something of course

 

How do those active ATC’s sound v non active and 300dr?

regards

Gary

+1, curious.

How did you connect the 272 to the active's there no XLR output on a 272?

My own experience of DAC V1 and Hugo into Dynaudio actives was that I had to go back to a passive full Naim amplifier. 

N272 to ATC Actives is via some cables made up by ATC when I ordered the speakers.  so (single) DIN to XLR (twin) 4m pair was included in the deal but I believe around £150.
Remember N272 s a pre-amp, DAC V1 & Hugo are not.  I have tried a Hugo (not TT) direct into them briefly but that just sounded flat, HUGO via the N272 was very good, and I have tried my MOJO.    Clearly the Pre-amp is shaping the sound.

Worth noting that the ATC input whilst being XLR is not actually balanced, Its Single ended.... I have read that the RCA output to XLR may have the edge.

So suspect once I get the listening room sorted (dedicated power, LAN & re-decoration) some longer inter-connects will raise the bar again.  TBH I'm enjoying it so much now.

Reply to fathings cat Question

How do those active ATC’s sound v non active and 300dr?

.... in a word 'right'.  difficult to put a finger on the differences but basically an increase of everything especially bass, timing and space.   Like many have said active just sounds right. 


Clearly not having a two box power amp, saves on shelves, cables and therefore dusting & dressing.  



so whats next.  Bring on the N372/572 as I feel NDS seems a blind alley to my ideal of fewer not more boxes .... NDS would mean pre-amp another PSU or two and more cables, i would start to look at Linn KDS ..one box solution.

Thanks PK, one last question do the ATC’s need to be “out in the open”  or can they get reasonably close to a back wall? 

Cheers 

Gary

 

 

 

 

...Bring on the N372/572 as I feel NDS seems a blind alley to my ideal of fewer not more boxes .... NDS would mean pre-amp another PSU or two and more cables, i would start to look at Linn KDS ..one box solution.

Is it a stretch to consider the 272+XPSDR a 372 & 272+555PS a 572? 

Thought so.

G

analogmusic posted:

fathings cat posted:

Parlee-king posted:

HH is at minimum partly responsible for me having (sorry enjoying) a N272.  initially without a external PSU but more recently with a 555.  That certainly raised the bar.
I looked at a 300DR with ATC SCM40 (passives) but ended up with the active version, so the temptation of power amps has been removed, plus no SL loom to worry about.

HH is also partly to thank (blame?) for having a Quadraspire rack in my case a X-reference which made a huge difference (same SVT shelves).  Fraim was purchased but her ladyship wasn't keen on the looks.
I still need to srt out the dedicated mains then I can hopefully sit back and enjoy .... until the N373/572 or whatever is released.

Great hear that HH is enjoying life and appears to have a positive outlook on life ...not the easiest place to get too. Music helps transcend the problems of life...with a glass of something of course

 

How do those active ATC’s sound v non active and 300dr?

regards

Gary

+1, curious.

How did you connect the 272 to the active's there no XLR output on a 272?

My own experience of DAC V1 and Hugo into Dynaudio actives was that I had to go back to a passive full Naim amplifier. 

Analog

i am curious what where the active Dynaudio’s you used with the V1 and Hugo?My active XD 600s work superbly with the 272 digital out.I tried sticking a Hugo 1 in the chain last year,between the 272 and speaker,and I did not like it,272 directly into the XDs was much better.This might be due to the fact that the XDs keep the signal digital right up to the driver,so going digital to analog(Hugo) and back to digital messes things up.ATCs are different than XDs,in that they use an analog input only,the XDs have both options,but digital is preferable.

fathings cat posted:

Thanks PK, one last question do the ATC’s need to be “out in the open”  or can they get reasonably close to a back wall? 

Cheers 

Gary

I've got mine within 3 inches of the back wall, slightly toe-in.  They are more open when 6 -9 inch but they are very unfussy to position..too heavy to move about too much.

No quarter posted:

analogmusic posted:

fathings cat posted:

Parlee-king posted:

HH is at minimum partly responsible for me having (sorry enjoying) a N272.  initially without a external PSU but more recently with a 555.  That certainly raised the bar.
I looked at a 300DR with ATC SCM40 (passives) but ended up with the active version, so the temptation of power amps has been removed, plus no SL loom to worry about.

HH is also partly to thank (blame?) for having a Quadraspire rack in my case a X-reference which made a huge difference (same SVT shelves).  Fraim was purchased but her ladyship wasn't keen on the looks.
I still need to srt out the dedicated mains then I can hopefully sit back and enjoy .... until the N373/572 or whatever is released.

Great hear that HH is enjoying life and appears to have a positive outlook on life ...not the easiest place to get too. Music helps transcend the problems of life...with a glass of something of course

 

How do those active ATC’s sound v non active and 300dr?

regards

Gary

+1, curious.

How did you connect the 272 to the active's there no XLR output on a 272?

My own experience of DAC V1 and Hugo into Dynaudio actives was that I had to go back to a passive full Naim amplifier. 

Analog

i am curious what where the active Dynaudio’s you used with the V1 and Hugo?My active XD 600s work superbly with the 272 digital out.I tried sticking a Hugo 1 in the chain last year,between the 272 and speaker,and I did not like it,272 directly into the XDs was much better.This might be due to the fact that the XDs keep the signal digital right up to the driver,so going digital to analog(Hugo) and back to digital messes things up.ATCs are different than XDs,in that they use an analog input only,the XDs have both options,but digital is preferable.

it was the focus 110 actives.

But maybe the reason was due me  using some pretty basic and cheap interconnects, could have been different outcome had I used some Vertere or Naim interconnects.

I returned the focus 110A for Excite X32 which is a pretty awesome speaker though, and later sold those and bought my current Focus 260.

Could have lived with the X32, superb speaker 

I have not heard the 110 A Speakers,they are an older technology than mine (XD) and are analog inputs only,the XD models use what they call power DACs,made by Texas Instruments,and are excellent.Enough highjacking HH s thread though,the 272/555 is of more concern to me right now.

agreed the XD600 is the very first Dynaudio I heard, and I was hooked on the sound right there.

No quarter posted:

I have not heard the 110 A Speakers,they are an older technology than mine (XD) and are analog inputs only,the XD models use what they call power DACs,made by Texas Instruments,and are excellent.Enough highjacking HH s thread though,the 272/555 is of more concern to me right now.

Yes, if we ignore the diversions onto Dynaudio speakers and focus on the 555, it’s pretty astonishing. It’s not an impressive hifi change, but it’s just so musical, just lovely. Going back to where I started, I’m astonished how good the humble 272 can be. It’s still running in of course, and being used with the bog standard din to XLR, do there is a lot more to come. With the 300 and new wires, the SL2s will be fed a much better diet and I’m pretty sure it’s going to step up a whole level. I’m incredibly fortunate to be able to have such a wonderful system, which after the various ups and downs I never expected to have. 

Parlee-king posted:

Worth noting that the ATC input whilst being XLR is not actually balanced, Its Single ended.... I have read that the RCA output to XLR may have the edge.

So suspect once I get the listening room sorted (dedicated power, LAN & re-decoration) some longer inter-connects will raise the bar again.  TBH I'm enjoying it so much now.

If you get round to trying RCA to XLR cables, please report back.  I am considering at SCM 19A or 40A with 272/XPS, so I would be very interested in your findings.

Roger

PS  Sorry for hijacking the thread.

Hungryhalibut posted:

No quarter posted:

I have not heard the 110 A Speakers,they are an older technology than mine (XD) and are analog inputs only,the XD models use what they call power DACs,made by Texas Instruments,and are excellent.Enough highjacking HH s thread though,the 272/555 is of more concern to me right now.

Yes, if we ignore the diversions onto Dynaudio speakers and focus on the 555, it’s pretty astonishing. It’s not an impressive hifi change, but it’s just so musical, just lovely. Going back to where I started, I’m astonished how good the humble 272 can be. It’s still running in of course, and being used with the bog standard din to XLR, do there is a lot more to come. With the 300 and new wires, the SL2s will be fed a much better diet and I’m pretty sure it’s going to step up a whole level. I’m incredibly fortunate to be able to have such a wonderful system, which after the various ups and downs I never expected to have. 

I think you'll really like the 272/555DR & 300DR combination:  It's another "not an impressive hifi change, but it’s just so musical",

I've just described the 300DR on another thread...   "The 300DR is a beast of remarkable subtlety, delicacy and insight...  It doesn't force you to listen, it just draws you into the music as though there was no other choice you could actually make."  It's amazing how it keeps involvement in the music even at low levels.

Thanks Huge, that’s really positive. Can I ask one thing? How do you have your boxes arranged? I’m only using one rack, and two isn’t an option. So the 300 head unit will be above the 555PS. There will only be 9cm between them and so I’m wondering whether to get another shelf with 100mm columns to go between them. That would increase the gap to about 200mm. I know from the past that having a Nat05 beneath it affected the 300, and the transformer in the 555 is about fifty tines the size of that in the 05. The only issue with another shelf is that everything is going to get a bit large and woody, whereas as the moment it is still neat and relatively compact. 

Peakman posted:

Parlee-king posted:

Worth noting that the ATC input whilst being XLR is not actually balanced, Its Single ended.... I have read that the RCA output to XLR may have the edge.

So suspect once I get the listening room sorted (dedicated power, LAN & re-decoration) some longer inter-connects will raise the bar again.  TBH I'm enjoying it so much now.

If you get round to trying RCA to XLR cables, please report back.  I am considering at SCM 19A or 40A with 272/XPS, so I would be very interested in your findings.

Roger

PS  Sorry for hijacking the thread.

Apologies for the hijack but I may be able to help answer this. With Naim amps I've always read din is the preferred option.

The RCA to XLR for SCM40A may well have come from myself after a conversation with Rob Watts who recommended that I use the RCA outputs of my Hugo TT over the XLR outputs for improved transparency (it avoids converting unbalanced signal to balanced).

With Naim I suspect Din to XLR would offer the best method.

Hi Nigel,

My order is...

272

300DR

555PSDR

300PS

with 175mm pitch between shelves, not ideal I know, but I'm quite space / layout limited.

I've not actually tried any other order as with the location of my rack, moving boxes is a convoluted, long winded process; and now with the 555, when combined with not having much strength in my arms, it is, shall we say, 'quite challenging'!

Thanks Huge. That’s the order I’m going to use. I’ll try it with the shelves as they are and can always experiment. I’ve spent quite enough already!

Hungryhalibut posted:

Thanks Huge, that’s really positive. Can I ask one thing? How do you have your boxes arranged? I’m only using one rack, and two isn’t an option. So the 300 head unit will be above the 555PS. There will only be 9cm between them and so I’m wondering whether to get another shelf with 100mm columns to go between them. That would increase the gap to about 200mm. I know from the past that having a Nat05 beneath it affected the 300, and the transformer in the 555 is about fifty tines the size of that in the 05. The only issue with another shelf is that everything is going to get a bit large and woody, whereas as the moment it is still neat and relatively compact. 

Nigel

you haven't allowed space for the 2nd 300, active crossover and Supercap.

Silly boy. 

Huge posted:

Hi Nigel,

My order is...

272

300DR

555PSDR

300PS

with 175mm pitch between shelves, not ideal I know, but I'm quite space / layout limited.

I've not actually tried any other order as with the location of my rack, moving boxes is a convoluted, long winded process; and now with the 555, when combined with not having much strength in my arms, it is, shall we say, 'quite challenging'!

That was the arrangement I used in a single stack. I think it looks very neat.

Before I split brains and brawn, which I think is less visually attractive but does sound better.

Standard size fraim shelves throughout. Space empty shelf below the 272 helps, but we are talking marginal gains.

Stock interconnect and TQB next on the list.

intothevoid posted:

That was the arrangement I used in a single stack. I think it looks very neat.

 

Before I split brains and brawn, which I think is less visually attractive but does sound better.

 

 

Standard size fraim shelves throughout. Space empty shelf below the 272 helps, but we are talking marginal gains.

Stock interconnect and TQB next on the list.

Is there any audio improvement when the bass drivers are pointed away from the equipment, as in the first photograph?

With the drivers facining each other the bass was tighter but the soundstage narrower. When I replaced the 300 with a 300DR I thought I’d try swapping the speakers, and I prefer the wider soundstage and control the 300DR brings.

Silence reigns here at the moment, if you exclude the Qbs, as the 250 went off with its new owner earlier today. The 300 is made and was sitting in its boxes in Salisbury earlier this afternoon, but a major gas leak in Southampton Road meant the couriers were unable to get to the factory. If they managed before ‘closing time’ I should get it tomorrow, otherwise I’ll have to wait a bit longer. And all the new SL wires will have to run in again. Ah well, at least I know what to expect this time. And as I’m busy decorating there’s not much time for serious listening anyway. 

Hungryhalibut posted:

Silence reigns here at the moment, if you exclude the Qbs, as the 250 went off with its new owner earlier today. The 300 is made and was sitting in its boxes in Salisbury earlier this afternoon, but a major gas leak in Southampton Road meant the couriers were unable to get to the factory. If they managed before ‘closing time’ I should get it tomorrow, otherwise I’ll have to wait a bit longer. And all the new SL wires will have to run in again. Ah well, at least I know what to expect this time. And as I’m busy decorating there’s not much time for serious listening anyway. 

HH, exciting times.

Looking forward to your reports on here when it is all together and has settled down. Particularly interested on your thoughts on the comparison between the 250DR and 300DR.

Hope the 300DR arrives soon.

If I were Mrs H I wouldn’t authorise the unpacking of said NAP 300 DR until she had signed-off the decorating.    

The Strat (Fender) posted:

If I were Mrs H I wouldn’t authorise the unpacking of said NAP 300 DR until she had signed-off the decorating.    

That's harsh!