282, finally ! (and audioquest speaker cables)

Posted by: sjust on 18 April 2004

folks,
just wanted to share with you that I have been successfully infected with the upgraditis bacillus. Starting with Naim in last December - with cdx2, 112 and 150, I've added a hicap with great success in Feb/March, and now (after my dealer was talking the German distributor into borrowing his demo-282 for an extended test, I HAD to get this pre - beautifully burnt in, and just overwhelming when it comes to showing what's between the notes. I guess that's the biggest merrit of exellent gear: Making you hear the silence that makes up the "glue" of the music.
A great part of all that makes the fabulous "Mont Blanc" speaker cable: I've tried (literally) tons of cables. Nota bene: The Naim cable was always hard to beat in terms of "musicality", but the Mont Blanc did the right thing to the bass range where NACA tended to blow things up - taking away some edge, sharpness, punch - you name it...

I guess I'm only one step away from my dream set: replacing 150 with 250. I'll give it a try as soon as my wounded credit card comes back to life, again...

Thanks to sniffing around in this forum, I've tried the right things, and made the right decisions.

Best regards, freundliche Grüße

Stefan
Posted on: 19 April 2004 by sjust
Hi Henrik,
How does the combination with 150 sound ? I'll answer in a more indirect way, because I haven't heard anything than the 150 at home, yet:

- I trust my dealer 100 percent in what he says about "what will change" and "what is more important to do first" when it comes to upgrades. He convinced me to go with the higher class CDX first, and care about the amps later. We listened hours at his studio and I confirmed he was right.

- Instead of modifying the amp side, he told me to get the power supply right, first. Instead of adding flatcap, he showed the superiour performance of the hicap to me (plus, the upgrade path to better pre's). I was convinced, and had to buy the hicap...

- Instead of adding more "power" (with the 250) I was always interested in the musical quality - plus, I tend to listen at moderate volumes - so I went for the 282, first, and was overwhelmed. At the same time I decided for the speaker cable.

Now, having said this, I can again quote my dealer, who promises more "head room" when the power amps will be upgraded, i.e. less stress when it comes to the fortissimo parts, wider rooms around the orchestra, deeper black colour when it comes to bass performance, and more grip in the lower frequencies.
I have no doubt, that exactly this will happen, and - I will let you know, once financial situation has recovered (might need to sell some stocks, though...).
At the time being, I believe, the 250 will end my upgraditis for quite a long time, and all my budget goes into software (music), again.

Best regards, freundliche Grüße

Stefan