newbie is lost on what to buy .......

Yes 300 comes with its own excellent power supply

No the 282 has no power ...and needs one to make it work ... anything from a flat cap to a Supercap ...your wallet you decision

hello and welcome to the mad house.

Knowing where i have been and knowing where you are now - there is only one place to go:

282.

A humble 200 will power it to give your Cd and vinyl a huge lift:

enjoy.

I speak from experience:

cd5i, nait 5i, nsats, cd5xs, nait xs, 282, 200, ndx, cdx2, ndx again, unitiserve, hicap, supercap, 252, 250 fraim, hiline, powerline.

the 282 is where its at.

Ray

If using a 250 power amp the 282 needs a either a hicap or a supercap or at a pinch a flatcap. The NAPSC that comes with it only powers the logic circuits. Alternatively a 282 can be powered from a 200 power amp. A 252 needs a supercap and a 552 comes with its own power supply. A 250 powers itself and the 300 and 500s come with outboard power supplies in the package. None of these can power a preamp but a 200 can power a 202 or 282. Get the best pre you can and you’ll need a phonostage, Naim ones can be powered from the preamp and a superline is excellent but too much for a p6 I suspect and can only be used with a low output cartridge, a stageline has more competition but comes in low and high gain varieties.

282/hi /250 is a good entry point 282/200 will save you a bit.

Ah, I see so the 252 can't be powered from the 300DR. I was thinking the jump from 282/250 to 252/300 was not that big when you Bring power supplies in but as usual I was wrong ! thanks for help, sounds like 282/200 is the place to go if I like the sound. Thanks for quick feedback !

If not a hifi “buff” then have a listen to a SuperNait 2 as well while demoing. It may save you a ton of cash and will happily play enjoyable tunes with your existing sources. 

All this talk of amp upgrades is great, but that CD5 is nowhere near good enough to make a balanced system, so you should divert some of your funds toward a source upgrade. 

Considering the RP6 and CD5 (X,XS), per your post as sources, it may make more sense to get a Nait XS2 and Flatcap XS and spend the rest on music. NAC 282/HicapDR/250 DR is fantastic- but may expose the sources.

If you have to spend your $$, trading it all in for a RP8 or RP10/NDX2/Supernait2 would make sense as well

The 282 (as new) includes the napsc,but still requires an additional power supply, the "standard option" is a hi-cap, two can be used or a super-cap - dr or non-dr. the jump to 252 requires a super-cap. If you plan to continually upgrade, then a 282 already with a su;percap may be one route. The 282 with a hi-cap is/was considered a sweet spot and does sound quite good. aiming for a 250 dr seems a good match for the 282. In truth, I currently run 282 hc/dr,250dr into harbeth m30.1 w/mid/hi-level spec linn lp12,and cd5 - all well balanced and sounding fine.

RE: Michael's suggestion I went from cd5xs/Nait xs2 to cd5xs/282/200 and the jump was huge. Plus your vinyl will get a big lift too.

Many thanks all. Yes I am looking to upgrade my sources next year. Only so much funds at the mo so I don't want to do too many steps as will cost in the long run so my plan was the amp side this year and rest next. 282/200 sounds like a good idea to me so will use that as a base to listen to when I test out. One more thing ... (isn't there always...) CHRISSU says the CD5 is nowhere near good enough, but I only see one CD player on the NAIM website. Am I missing something ?

A CD5x into a 282 was very enjoyable and good enough to be going on with if not the primary source, in fact it highlighted how grey my turntable was sounding and prompted me to upgrade it and the phonostage. When I eventually tried a CDX2 my initial impression wasn’t very favourable and it was only an overall improvement once I’d swapped my steel and MDF rack for Fraim Lite (Naim’s “budget” rack), spending that much on a set of shelves wasn’t an easy decision, especially as it’s not easy to get a demo on racks but it was a great improvement and I later regretted not going for full Fraim.

Biddler66 posted:

Many thanks all. Yes I am looking to upgrade my sources next year. Only so much funds at the mo so I don't want to do too many steps as will cost in the long run so my plan was the amp side this year and rest next. 282/200 sounds like a good idea to me so will use that as a base to listen to when I test out. One more thing ... (isn't there always...) CHRISSU says the CD5 is nowhere near good enough, but I only see one CD player on the NAIM website. Am I missing something ?

Naim have discontinued their CD players because they aren't selling, so you would either need to replace it with a streamer, or look for a used higher spec CD player such as a CDX2.

Biddler66 posted:

Many thanks all. Yes I am looking to upgrade my sources next year. Only so much funds at the mo so I don't want to do too many steps as will cost in the long run so my plan was the amp side this year and rest next. 282/200 sounds like a good idea to me so will use that as a base to listen to when I test out. One more thing ... (isn't there always...) CHRISSU says the CD5 is nowhere near good enough, but I only see one CD player on the NAIM website. Am I missing something ?

Or if you insist on a new cd player try to demo the YBA PASSION cd player.

Biddler66 posted:

CHRISSU says the CD5 is nowhere near good enough, but I only see one CD player on the NAIM website. Am I missing something ?

The CD5 will be fine with the 282. I run an "ancient" original CD5 (juiced with a spare Hicap) into my 282 and the pre in no way embarrasses it. It's a great player.

I'd demo the 282/200 vs. a 282/Hicap/250 and see which one floats your boat. If the dealer has any of these used or ex-demo, even better -- put the savings toward your turntable.

OK, first things...

Set yourself a budget and let us know what it is, this way you'll get more consistent responses, rather than us giving you  50 different random choices.

Second: be led by your ears - yes go to a dealer and audition stuff, but pay WAY more attention to what you hear from the system than what you hear from the dealer!

Third: don't discount streaming... not so much from the internet, but from a NAS drive on your network.  The way to do this is to use a computer and an application (DBPoweramp or EAC [Easy Audio Copy]) to 'rip' the CDs to the NAS drive.  This way you don't need a CD player and other options also then open up.  This may or may not be something you would consider.

Incidentally the broadband bandwidth needed for streaming music from the internet is actually tiny, it doesn't need to have a fast line speed at all (even 2mbps would do fine, perhaps even less), it just needs to be reasonably consistent and not have drop-outs in your connection

If your profile pics what you drive, Statement is where your at! haha

Huge posted:

OK, first things...

Set yourself a budget and let us know what it is, this way you'll get more consistent responses, rather than us giving you  50 different random choices.

Second: be led by your ears - yes go to a dealer and audition stuff, but pay WAY more attention to what you hear from the system than what you hear from the dealer!

Third: don't discount streaming... not so much from the internet, but from a NAS drive on your network.  The way to do this is to use a computer and an application (DBPoweramp or EAC [Easy Audio Copy]) to 'rip' the CDs to the NAS drive.  This way you don't need a CD player and other options also then open up.  This may or may not be something you would consider.

Incidentally the broadband bandwidth needed for streaming music from the internet is actually tiny, it doesn't need to have a fast line speed at all (even 2mbps would do fine, perhaps even less), it just needs to be reasonably consistent and not have drop-outs in your connection

Thanks that really helpful. At the mo I don't really want to put more than 15k and hopefully a bit less and use that to start saving for turntable. At the mo I am more trying to work out what fits in this budget and what to listen to when I go looking. I know if I go into a shop with that budget straight away I will prob get shown stuff for 20k ....

Internet is intermittent where I live and has been known to go down for a day, so the sound of a network drive is interesting.  If I rip my CD's on to my Mac with those app's, how do I connect it to my amp/system  ? I presume a humble usb cable is not up to scratch ?

Again thanks for help and sorry for constant questions.

Popeye posted:

If your profile pics what you drive, Statement is where your at! haha

Ha, yes. It is a beautiful bit of kit and even nicer in the flesh. The guy that owns it is a really lovely bloke and always happy to talk when you see him at various events. I think I need that lotto win though ......

Thanks for all inputs/suggestions on this. I went to listen to a few set ups the weekend and have plumped for 282/250DR/Hicap and put an order in. As I thought and was suggested my sources will be left wanting (demo was a Michell turntable and then my RP6 was plugged in .... not good), and now I need to find a CD player. I must admit I have ben reading threads on different versions CD5XS/CD3 etc and I am more confused than ever ! As I will be buying used I don't have the luxury of demo-ing them so thinking about buying one of each, trying them and selling the one I don't want, even if it does end up costing a bit. Am I mad ?

Buying a used CD player is always going to be a little risky, as is having one sent by courier. Maybe worth talking to some dealers about buying ex-demo or trade-in players. Try calling some local Naim dealers, or maybe Tomtom Audio. 

The recent CD hierarchy goes down from CD555, which needs its specific power supply to CDS3 which can use the same supply or an XPS2, then CDX2 which is self powered but upgradable with either of the above supplies and the later ones can feed an outboard DAC. A standalone CDX2 is as low as you should go on a 282 but it needs a good support to give of its best. Full Fraim ideally and definitely not a steel framed rack. The earlier versions of the CDX2 and CDS3 had mechanisms that are no longer available and cost more to repair when they go, if they can be repaired at all by the time you need it. Going older a CDS2 and its power supply are fondly remembered by some but again the mechs are an issue. Another alternative if you can’t be bothered usinga PC to rip is a Core and either a DAC or a streamer, the latter more versatile but I enjoyed even a humble Rega DAC-r between my core and 552 for a couple of years while I waited for Naim to release the current streamers, cable choice was important but not expensive in that instance.

Second buying used from a dealer and not all dealers are equal.

I have a 13 year old CDX2 on a 200/282 combo and it's great. A decent 2nd hand one will cost about £2 -£2,500 which is pricey but very good value compared to new. If you like your music with slam and drive this is the one IMHO.

A second hand CDS3 from a dealer would fit the bill. Lovely player but needs an offboard power supply. They are very affordable these days and was for a time, the Naim flagship player.

Interesting you went for 282/250. My first Naim amps were 282/300. Partly to avoid upgrade temptations for as long as possible.

Dave

Thank you. Could I run a CDS3 from the 250DR ? Or do I need a separate PS ? If I can't could I power it from a 300DR if I change my order ? Sorry so many questions .....