250.2 to 250DR? Surprisingly, not for me, thanks.
Posted by: Dave***t on 16 November 2017
Thought I'd mention this as it's quite unusual, going by the vast majority of comments here. And it shows, once again, the importance of listening for yourself and system balance.
I borrowed a 250DR from a dealer for a few days, essentially just to double check that I wanted to upgrade my 250.2. A formality, of course, given that everyone knows the 250DR is far better. I'm just picky and like to check things out.
When I first plugged the new amp in, things went roughly according to plan - the DR is clearly better. Deeper bass extension giving a feeling of more authority, greater scale, a wider and more open sound stage, greater detail bringing out things I hadn't noticed before in well known recordings. Lovely, I thought, I could call the dealer now and cut the home audition short.
But as I continued to listen over a couple of days, I noticed that some recordings sounded a bit harsh. Now this I didn't expect. Some descriptions of the 250DR versus the 250.2 mention that it seems less bloated or faster, which could indicate brighter, but then others also mention the newer amp's smoothness and how effortless it sounds. But once I'd noticed it, it because less and less possible to ignore. I realised that initially I'd (unintentionally?) picked pieces of music which would flatter the new amp by playing to its strengths. This meant that I'd avoided songs which risked being marred by any extra brightness/forwardness in my system, so I started to consciously play those. This wasn't an attempt to accentuate the negative - many of the songs in question are the kinds of personal favourites that any system of mine simply has to be able to sound good with. It was more a test of live-with-ability.
And in the end I had to admit that, although the 250DR is clearly better, the slightly softer presentation of the 250.2 makes more sense for me in the context of the rest of my gear. Better to have music sounding slightly less good in some respects, but to still be drawn to listen to it, than to be amazed by certain aspects but find the overall experience offputting.
When I dropped the demo unit off back at the dealer, somewhat dejected, we spoke about it. Although neither of us thought of it in advance, he agreed that in the context of a system with SBLs, maybe the 250.2 could be a better match.
So, maybe one day, probably after I change the speakers for something a bit softer, if I ever do. But in the meantime I think I'll take a longer view towards a power supply for the 272. I'm a bit too cautious to hope for any cuddly toys for christmas, so that power supply might be a long way ahead. But I'll be happier in the meantime with my 'rubbish/broken/superseded' 250.2.
It's interesting and sort of reassuring to find that some people had a similar impression of the 250DR, as it's not an opinion that usually seems very common. A dissident cabal 
It's also particularly interesting to hear that some have had similar experiences using DR power supplies. Perhaps a non-DR power supply for my 272 would be better when the time comes. Again, an audition will decide.
I'd love to try a 300/300DR, but for the time being I've gone back to university, and a 300 is too expensive to consider. I'd budgeted for the £1k DR upgrade, but anything more will probably have to wait until I graduate/have a proper job again. Still, it's nice to have long term aspirations.
However, this begs a question - I've read a number of people saying that in comparison with the 250.2, the 250DR sounds more like the old 300. So does that mean that a non-DR 300 would bring similar results, possibly even compunded by a 300DR? Something to test out in due course, I suppose.
Blackmorec posted:The more resolving your system, the more important system set-up becomes in order to preserve an increasing complex and delicate signal. Adding a more resolving component that results in increased harshness is usually a sign that your system is losing that resolution by combining it with other parts of the musical signal to create a form of distortion.
Something along these lines is certainly plausible in this case. I've done my best, but it's not as if I have an immaculately dressed setup on a fancy rack. Another item for the long term list, to be preceded by getting a room which can actually accommodate a rack!