200/202 to 250/252

Why do you discount 282?

To answer your question: 252 requires a SuperCap to work. And it exposes weaker sources quite ruthlesesly...

(Just a question) Is the CD5XS + DAC “weak” in this company (250/252) ?

I don’t care for the sound of the 282 as explained in other posts so it will be stick with 202 or go 252

CD5XS makes for a good transport into a fine DAC. When I write ‘fine’ I assume nDAC level or similar offering from other fine manufacturers.

I think you should audition 252 and 282 and see which one you like, rathe than dismissing either based on forum entries.
I actually own both 282 and 252 and use both on regular basis. And I like them both

totaly agree with Adam on this I have owned 202,282,252 and unless the 252 and is part of a balanced system it does not produce the best results,

I would always recommend source first, so as you say this is "set in stone" i would want a system to so that off to the full, so why not look at 282/300????

the 252 is the next step in the Pre's but a balance to the system IMO is always the best option so if you are prepared to spent the £££ on 252/SC/250 either non DR or DR I would want the £££ to dealiver the best sound for budget

Antony D makes a good suggestion. I’d also recommend you try them 282/300 against the 252/250

Adam Zielinski posted:

Why do you discount 282?

To answer your question: 252....exposes weaker sources quite ruthlesesly...

I completely disagree here for what it’s worth. I found the 252 was the first NAC in the hierarchy that allowed the source to shine irrespective of it shortcomings... it was an absolute delight. You could hear wwhat different sources brought to the party without the pre drawing unwanted attention to its shortcomings. In fact the 252 probably bests the 552 in this regard too.

However with the 282 I found it was completely uncharitable to lesser sources or sources with certain strong traits. For example my CDX2 I felt never totally gelled with my 282 without having to load PSUs on the CDX2.. with my 252 my CDX2 sounded wonderful barefoot.

i enjoyed my 282, but it could over egg the sound sometimes on revealing speakers... all in my opinion of course.

Simon-in-Suffolk posted:

Adam Zielinski posted:

Why do you discount 282?

To answer your question: 252....exposes weaker sources quite ruthlesesly...

I completely disagree here for what it’s worth. I found the 252 was the first NAC in the hierarchy that allowed the source to shine irrespective of it shortcomings... it was an absolute delight. You could hear wwhat different sources brought to the party without the pre drawing unwanted attention to its shortcomings. In fact the 252 probably bests the 552 in this regard too.

However with the 282 I found it was completely uncharitable to lesser sources or sources with certain strong traits. For example my CDX2 I felt never totally gelled with my 282 without having to load PSUs on the CDX2.. with my 252 my CDX2 sounded wonderful barefoot.

i enjoyed my 282, but it could over egg the sound sometimes on revealing speakers... all in my opinion of course.

Caught your last paragraph mate, I came away from a 202/282 side by side demo and preferred the 202 sound so I would go 202 to 252, surely my source is good enough?

i think it will be - the 252 will allow you to appreciate the style your  CD5XS brings to the party

Simon-in-Suffolk posted:

i think it will be - the 252 will allow you to appreciate the style your  CD5XS brings to the party

Thank god for that, £ 4.5k for a bloody CD player must be enough a front end 

I agree with Adam - I thought the 282 was kinder to sources. I ran it with a cd5xs, 200 for a while and liked it a lot. The 252 was much fussier.

Ray

Calum Ferguson posted:

Simon-in-Suffolk posted:

i think it will be - the 252 will allow you to appreciate the style your  CD5XS brings to the party

Thank god for that, £ 4.5k for a bloody CD player must be enough a front end 

Exactly, ????. the 252 is one of the unfussiest NACs regarding sources Naim do... but it makes up for it on the degree of fussiness on setup, ie support and cable dressing.

I love the 252 having owned an 82 before. Can you try one at home to check it works with your source to your satisfaction? I use a CDS3 and LP12 for mine which I find acceptable.

Stu

It would be interesting to try a CDS3/psu against OP's cd5xs/dac in a 252 based setup, my dream preamp

All down to personal choice but I much preferred the 252 over the 282 in a back to back demo a couple of years ago.The 282 was used with a Supercap during the demo.

System being used and purchased was a NDX,XPS dr,252,Supercap dr,250dr and Spendor D7 speakers. I was already using the NDX in an Olive based system.

The 252 has responded well to upgrades 300dr replacing the 250dr and a full S/L loom these have been great upgrades.

Sorry to bring the thread off life support but if you do 250/252 and the mandatory SuperCap what happens with the HCDR in my current set-up ? If that becomes surplus so much the better for the box count and spend. I think my ELAC’s would love the extra juice of the 250, they would be fine with the 500 in fact 

Calum Ferguson posted:

Sorry to bring the thread off life support but if you do 250/252 and the mandatory SuperCap what happens with the HCDR in my current set-up ? If that becomes surplus so much the better for the box count and spend. I think my ELAC’s would love the extra juice of the 250, they would be fine with the 500 in fact 

The Hicap would become redundant, so you can flog it! Unless you keep it to power another device, such as a Stageline for example. 

Thanks, good answer.