Nac 282 with 250dr or 300dr???

The 282 will work well with both. I used one with a SCDR and a 300DR for a while and it was easily capable of justifying the 300.  As for difference between the 250 and 300, I found it was quite a big one.  The 300 makes you think you've got a bigger pair of speakers.

I used a 250dr in my system for over a year and changed to a 300dr which I have been using for nearly a year the 250dr is good but the 300dr so much better the best upgrade I’ve ever made it is a simply a stunning power amplifier As MDS said it is like having a bigger pair of speakers.

Matthew,

The 282 works exceptionally well with either but if I were you I’d probably go for a Supercap on the 282 and go with the 250 as opposed to 282/HC/300 configuration.   But if your intent is to get a SC eventually then go for the 300.  

Regards,

Lindsay

I would second Lindsay's advice.

I found my 282/HCDR/250.2 very entertaining and rewarding, but when I had the 250 DR'd my system became "shouty".

Initially I thought it was just running in, but after 6 months I had to admit defeat.

Replacing the HCDR with a Supercap DR restored the balance and allowed me to enjoy the benefits of the 250DR.

I recall when I was looking to upgrade my 202/200 the forum stance was 282/200 good, 202/250.2 bad, as the better power amp would mercilessly reveal the shortcomings of the upstream units.

I can vouch for the pleasure found in listening to a 282/SCDR/250DR, but I suspect a 282/HCDR/300DR may sound a little fishy (mullet)

Paul

Decide if you can really afford the 300 and if you can then demo the two amps. Otherwise leave the 300 out of it.

You also need to consider your room, you may find as some have experienced that a 300dr is to much for your room but the 250dr works perfectly..... the only way to find out is demo both.

As others haxe said, your room will probably dictate whether you should go for the 250DR or the 300DR so a home demo is the way to go.

Whichever amp you decide upon, your Kudos S20s will thank you for it.

Thanks guys good advice as ever a lot to think over 

Expect will probably get a preloved supercap at some point but reckon would probably look to sort source next after amp (got eye on the ndx2) 

A late curve ball from me....

I seem to be in a minority of prefering my 282 with a single HiCap DR. I found, that in my room, SuperCap Dr was just making the whole set loose its pace and made it sluggish. So SuperCap powers a SuperLine

As to 250DR vs 300DR - if you can afford the outlay just go for it. I love it’s fluidity and effortless presentation and insight into music.

I think the general rule of thumb for the 282 should be, that anything you would conceivably pair with a 252 you can pair with a 282. That applies for both power amps and sources.

Once you get to the level of preamp the 282 is, the discussion should stop being "is the 282 good enough to pair with X?" and instead be, "Is X good enough to pair with a 282?". 

I don't think powering it with a HC or SC really changes that rule in my opinion. There are plenty that will say if you use X (in this case a 300), you really must have a 252 or better to get the full benefit of it. Which I think is sort of rubbish because the same could be said of absolutely any component in a system. Better components, if matched well, make a system sound better - that's not a huge secret.

So if it easier for you to go to a 300dr than it is to go to a 252/250dr, I'd say go for it regardless of whether the 282 is you end game preamp or not. While I do not dispute the room size argument, I think it is far less likely to be an issue than having the wrong speakers for the room. 

I would improve on Naca 5 before even thinking about supercap or 300....

analogmusic posted:

I would improve on Naca 5 before even thinking about supercap or 300....

Really? I mean, yes there are better things than A5, but A5 was all there was for years when the 500 series was around and Statement was not even on a drawing board yet. Why would it have been good enough for a NAP500 for over a decade and suddenly not good enough for a 300?

feeling_zen posted:

analogmusic posted:

I would improve on Naca 5 before even thinking about supercap or 300....

Really? I mean, yes there are better things than A5, but A5 was all there was for years when the 500 series was around and Statement was not even on a drawing board yet. Why would it have been good enough for a NAP500 for over a decade and suddenly not good enough for a 300?

Totally agree. That has always been my thought process when considering speaker cable change from NACA5, which was the cable used to develop and voice the 300.

I have a 282/300 non DR after owning 282/200 and 282/250-2 all non DR and the 282/300 is the better amp.

Stick with Naca5 it's a great cable and as stated above was used to develop the 300. I still had Tellurium Q Black when I first got my 300 but there where major improvements when I switched back to Naca5. 

analogmusic posted:

I would improve on Naca 5 before even thinking about supercap or 300....

I’d say speaker cables are the last thing to be done in this context. Whilst of course NACA5 can be bettered it’s not going to hold the system back as it’s a perfect match for the Naim power amps.

well now that Superlumina is available.....  

try it and see 

I think NACA5 holds back the performance quite a bit to my ears.

I have a 282 in my system with single HCDR,  purchased 300 non DR in the summer last year, the 282 works really well with 300

just upgraded the 300 to DR, it's been in for just over a week know - superb together , I am thinking about adding in a SCDR in place of the HCDR but I am in no hurry

detail focus image great match

anyway check OP system. He isn't a stranger to hi-end cables, so he seems sorted there

yes well of course the 300 DR I heard is better than a 250DR... it costs 3500 GBP more so should be?

I ran the Kudos Super 20s for several years with the nap300(Non-DR). Tried running it with 250DR and always felt it was a step down and reverted back.

Happy with the 500DR - but now itch for a speaker upgrade.

One thing so often leads to another Mango.   The S20s are very room friendly and perform above their station.  Your challenge will be finding a speaker that integrates as well with your room.    

Apolgies for diverting the thread.  

Thats what I love about this hobby so many permutations and always that temptation of well I could just add that extra little bit.............  

happy with current cables at present as spent enough on those at the minute  

Will try and demo both amps then depending on when/if ndx2 lands in May this could influence which amp I could afford  

I would suggest that it depends on which path you would like to head down in the future. The 282 expresses the music in a 'lively' and 'energetic' manner which could be considered particularly engaging to some ears. The addition of a SC 'energises' the performance to another 'level'.

A possible upgrade path is to demo both the 250-1 and 250-2. It is possible that you may prefer the more 'organic' presentation of the 250-1 in comparison to the more 'clinical' presentation of the 250-2.

The move to 300 could make more sense for someone that would consider the 252 as part of their upgrade path, but you may find that the 252 'dilutes' some of the 'magic'.

feeling_zen posted:

I think the general rule of thumb for the 282 should be, that anything you would conceivably pair with a 252 you can pair with a 282. That applies for both power amps and sources.

Once you get to the level of preamp the 282 is, the discussion should stop being "is the 282 good enough to pair with X?" and instead be, "Is X good enough to pair with a 282?". 

I don't think powering it with a HC or SC really changes that rule in my opinion. There are plenty that will say if you use X (in this case a 300), you really must have a 252 or better to get the full benefit of it. Which I think is sort of rubbish because the same could be said of absolutely any component in a system. Better components, if matched well, make a system sound better - that's not a huge secret.

So if it easier for you to go to a 300dr than it is to go to a 252/250dr, I'd say go for it regardless of whether the 282 is you end game preamp or not. While I do not dispute the room size argument, I think it is far less likely to be an issue than having the wrong speakers for the room. 

Feeling Zen, I agree. I have a 282/SCDR + 300DR. The big improvement was going to the PS555DR from the XPSDR on the nDAC. One retains all the wonderful benefits of the 282, which for me exceed the 8 day demo of the 252 that I abandoned because the 252 just wasn’t sounding as good. Maybe with more time the 252 would have shone (it is 8 months old with 3 months at an owner) as it does for instance make classical sound better. My next step will probably be 552DR. 

Phil

252 losing some of the magic

blimey that's a 10,000 GBP preamp with the Supercap.

Yep - 10k is a lot of cash - some people just don't like the 252.