Upgradeitis question.

Sorry, I somehow managed to miss out.... Any ideas / opinions on either of these routes would be appreciated! 

It depends on what you see as the final destination. 

If I were in your position I would be considering a 272 as well. You could reasonably expect this to be at least as good as the first option,  likely better and you have an upgrade path with an XPS and a NAP250.

The 282 is a wonderful thing, I own one but it needs a better source and needs to be 'properly' powered by at least a HICAP to be worthwhile. This returns to the question of the final destination and the time it will take you to get there. 

Richard 

Thanks, considered a 272 still am, but, well...... If I have that then it's a bit like the unitiqute I'd have a nice upgrade but I think I'd keep the 282 for a very long time, if I got one, and not sure with technology moving so fast if the streamer side would keep up with it.

i'll probably end up not upgrading for ages, and leaving it as it is for a while longer.

OK..... Have to admit the 272 does look tempting, hehe. 

Richard's post is spot on. If you get a 282 you are going to want a lot more than an ND5xs up front, as well as a Hicap, which begs the question of whether you want, and can afford, to go there. I've got a 272, so am slightly biased I suppose, but that's what I'd get, as a straight swap for the Qute. No redundancy, no napsc, it's got to be worth a listen. 

Sigh, hard isn't it. Digital music is going to keep moving and changing, so I worry about an expensive all in one.

but yes, the 272 is tempting. I'm suffering upgradiit's already :-) don't listen to it that much either hehe no your right a 272 should be fine.

I'm also thinking about upgrading currently have superuniti with pmc21 speakers,which sounds great but the more I read/hear about the 272/250 combo the more intrigued I get.HH,in the past you have kindly offered other members to call by for a listen to your system.Im actually only 15mins away from you so if the offer still stands I would be very interested in hearing a system in the field so to speak before a visit to my dealers.

Simon

Digital music isn't moving THAT quickly such that it discourages my purchase of hi fi that I enjoy.  One can always wait . . .and wait . . . and keep waiting.

yeah point taken, but a 282 won't have any worries :-) then tempted with a chord dac. I guess that's the choice a 282 (second hand) and a chord dac, and a Mac mini, or a pretty 272 :-)

I've had a Qute 2, which is a brilliant device, feeding a Chord dac and changed it for a Mac Mini running Audirvana and the latter was head and shoulders better as a transport, and even more so with a usb regen added to the mix.  I did have to buy a Nat5 xs too though because I missed the Qutes excellent radio after a while

Don't use fm :-)

also so would then have the unitiqute as an awesome bedroom or second on system

That (Qute)would be a killer second system component - heck it's good for a first!

IMHO the Qute's great, but not good enough for a 282/200. It won't sound bad, but it's the constraining factor and swapping out the Qute for an ND-whatever would improve the sound. 

Your first option looks like a nice, balanced system. 

It seems likely the 272 (rather than ND5xs and 202) would sound superior, but you're very unlikely to find one second hand, so there's an extra investment there. You could also compare the 172xs. It won't sound as good as a 272, but is better than the Qute, cheaper than the 272, goes very well with the 200 and available second hand if you hunt. Could save you a couple of grand!

With a 282, you'll have options.....hold out for a nice used NDX....or a Chord DAC......or even both 

Now you see I'm thinking secondhand 202 and chord dac. Around £2200 all in, hehe i still love the old chord dac 64 and wonder if you aren't using hi def hoe much better the more modern dacs are, as these can be got for around £600 if not less.

ok cannot be stingy probably the new dac

If you want a second system, absolutely, repurpose the Qute for that.  It's the heart of a wonderful second system that I listen to a lot.

I am perfectly happy to deal, in the future, with any 'changes to digital music' that might make my expensive Naim player obsolete.  I believe that that's a LOT risk. My current music library will always work, including the 24/192 hi res files I have.  The Naim players already 'do DSD.'  I cannot fathom that we are on the verge of something so disruptive that I'll want to replace my music library with some yet-undisclosed format.

So yes you can buy a multi-box system, or a very very good all-in-one (or all-in-two with an N272 and an amp).  I am a member of the "Low Box Count Club tm" so that tells you my bias.