Superuniti Next Upgrade

Posted by: dalmatian on 07 May 2018

I have a Superuniti playing through Naim Allaes and I am very happy with it, however the usual thoughts of upgrades are never far away!

I love the sound of the Superuniti but want more of the Naim sound that the next upgrade step will give me, I looking to buy pre owned.

I was thinking of a Supernait 2 and ND5  XS or a N272 and NAP 250.2 obviously there is a price difference but how much bang-for-buck would I get with either system. Because I’m buying used I can’t really go to my dealer and ask for a demo as I can’t afford to buy new.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts/opinions,

 

Nick

Posted on: 07 May 2018 by Kiwi cat

Hi Nick

I added a new 250DR to my Superuniti and it was a fantastic upgrade, improving timing and engagement of music . The music was much more "sprightly" for want of a better word. After a year I got a 272 and it gave extra finesse , but overall it was not much better than the SU/250DR  combination. So I would highly recommend a 2nd hand 250DR. It may be all you ever need. 

 

Hugh

Posted on: 07 May 2018 by Huge

Sorry to add confusion, but whether or not it's better to add a power-amp to an SU or to upgrade depends on how difficult the speaker are to drive and how you listen to music (i.e. what characteristics are important to you, and what sonic faults irritate you most).

Posted on: 07 May 2018 by SongStream

I would suggest if you went for an NDX + SN2 rather than the ND5 XS, it would bring the performance if these two systems pretty damn close, and would probably make the cost almost the same too.  Of the two options as you've suggested, I would expect N272 and NAP250.2 (unless there is some engineered synergy between N272 and 250DR maybe) to perform best of the two logically speaking.   However, I only have experience of the SN2, which I've owned for three years now, and even fronted with DAC-V1 it is superb IMV.  So, if you'd prefer to save a few quid and still have something that seriously kicks some a.., I think the ND5 XS and SN2 combo is likely to impress you.  Others will have to comment the performance difference vs cost of the more expensive solution(s).   Good luck.

Posted on: 07 May 2018 by ChrisSU

My vote would be for NDX/Supernait. If your speakers are hard to drive, that might swing it in favour of 272/250DR, as Huge mentioned above. 

Posted on: 07 May 2018 by Adam Zielinski

ND5XS with SuperNait2 - not an ideal combination. NDX would be a good choice here - should be some coming up on a secondary market.

 

Posted on: 07 May 2018 by seakayaker

Another vote for the NDX/SuperNait2 since that is what I have experience with and find it to be a fantastic system. .....and FWIW, I did run with ND5XS/NAIT XS 2 (70W) and was quite pleased with the performance as well!

Good luck with your decision!

Posted on: 07 May 2018 by Drewy
Kiwi cat posted:

Hi Nick

I added a new 250DR to my Superuniti and it was a fantastic upgrade, improving timing and engagement of music . The music was much more "sprightly" for want of a better word. After a year I got a 272 and it gave extra finesse , but overall it was not much better than the SU/250DR  combination. So I would highly recommend a 2nd hand 250DR. It may be all you ever need. 

 

Hugh

I’ve experience of this aswell and that’s the path I would choose.

Posted on: 08 May 2018 by JedT

 A 250 made a difference with my SU and I don't think it is just about driving more demanding speakers. I suspect that removing the power amp duties from the SU transformer and power supplies helps with the source / preamp performance.

Posted on: 11 May 2018 by Pyrrhon

The question is : did you update to 4.6 firmware ? My system improved by leaps with 4.6 (superuniti proac)

Posted on: 22 May 2018 by dalmatian

Yes, I have recently upgraded to 4.6 firmware and it has been a nice upgrade and is giving me more of what I’m looking for.

Nick