NAC 202 / NAP 200 (non-DR)

I had the same system and went for the 250DR as my first step.

The 202/250DR had a great sound; the 202 was powered by a nonDR hicap.

Subsequently I've replaced the 202/Hicap with 252/SupercapDR.

Thinking back, and  very subjectively, IMHO the 250DR I think gave me a bigger uplift buzz than the 252 so I'd be tempted to go power amp first. This will also bring out more from the 202 (assuming you have speakers that can show this). The 202/250DR was certainly a system I lived with very happily.

Hope this helps a little,

Allan

Assuming you haven't got a Hicap then the 200 will power a 282 but not a 252 AFAIU.  Advice given to me when I asked a similar question was to go 82 or 282 to replace my 102?hicap/140 and then get the 250.  This I did and ended up the an 82 POTS8 and then got a CB 250 to replace the 140.  The Pre is the heart of the system and will give great musical improvements with an upgrade.

It’s not clear if you have a Hicap: if not, this should be your first step, unless you intend to get a 252, in which case you should get a Supercap first. That will ready you for a 282 or 252 respectively. As a matter of principle you should get the better preamp first. The 202 is not a happy combination with a 250 and is not really appropriate with a 300. 

HiCap DR and NAPSC

I went from 202/200 to 282/200 which irrespective of a Hicap is the most prudent move although these upgrades can depending on your source, your speakers and your room  be quite subtle and may not provide the slack jaw moments some have reported. 

I would go 282 first then add a HC or SC.  

Bwst Regards,

Lindsay

I find it’s best to work out what your endgame is, and you can only do this by listening, which is where a good dealer becomes invaluable. If, say, the limit of your budget is 252/300, you can then work out how to get there in the fewest steps to make it more affordable. Don’t waste money on a Hicap which will soon become redundant. But suppose you then find that you prefer 282 to 252, as some people do. You may then decide you want the Supercap anyway, or you may be one of those who feel a Hicap is enough. 

Or you can buy on the used market to save money, but be prepared to accept that you might make some expensive mistakes along the way. 

Buy a used 272....

ChrisSU posted:

I find it’s best to work out what your endgame is, and you can only do this by listening, which is where a good dealer becomes invaluable. If, say, the limit of your budget is 252/300, you can then work out how to get there in the fewest steps to make it more affordable. Don’t waste money on a Hicap which will soon become redundant. But suppose you then find that you prefer 282 to 252, as some people do. You may then decide you want the Supercap anyway, or you may be one of those who feel a Hicap is enough. 

Or you can buy on the used market to save money, but be prepared to accept that you might make some expensive mistakes along the way. 

I'm not sure it follows as a matter of causality that a second hadn't purchase automatically presages poor choices which cost more money. Prudence is a transferable skill

With a 202/200 I would upgrade to a 282 first. I had a 202/250, but it's when I went to a 282 that was a complete game changer. Huge improvement in sound. Far more open, transparent and revealing.

Also, if you upgrade from 200 to 250, you will need to add a PSU for the 202 since the 250 won't provide it like the 200 does.

My advice would be simular to the views above. Depending on the power am you lust after, two scenarios make sense to me

If your end game is a NAP300, then go Supercap -> NAC252 -> NAP300. A NAP250 would also make fit in well here.

If your end game is a less ambitious, and a NAP250 is as far as you think you will go, then go NAC282 -> Power supply (whatever you can afford/justify) -> NAP250 also works. You might find a 282/200 combo is perfectly fine too.

This is the order I would do it, but as suggested earlier, if a second hand item fell in your lap then why not grab it. You can always get a second hand power supply of some sort to get you by , (and resell it later), if required. The beauty of Naim is that the second hand market is pretty strong.

This is predicated on thinking that a reasonable budget is available and you can get there without too much time passing. Who knows what's on the horizon. Given the product life of the 282 and 252, maybe these are due for an update. Or not.

Personally, I think that given the close price between a 252 and 282, disregarding power supplies, ditching both and offering just one pre amp that works on all power supplies is logical. If the new one had less complex switching for tape monitor etc, and was priced midway between the two current ones, (and probably being at 252 level or above), perhaps? This would make sense to me. But I'm not the engineering or marketing department.