NAC282 vs NAC252 - Which is Best? Only One Way to Find Out. Fight!

I have for sometime now been enjoying the exuberance of my 282 which improved further a couple of years ago when I upgraded my Hicap (non DR) to a SupercapDR. I went for a SupercapDR rather than DRing the Hicap as I suspected that sometime in the future I might upgrade to a 252. As my trusty dealer has just taken in a 252 of about the same vintage as my 282 (2011), the time has now arrived to try out the 252.

I have often seen on here the 252 be described as 'grown up', indeed my dealer described it the same way. Not having a clue what this meant, I was intrigued and arranged a home loan of the 252 to find out. I approached this demo with a healthy dose of scepticism as I have read several opposing opinions on here on either side of the 282 vs 252 debate. Indeed there is a gentleman on here who's opinion I rate who has had two extended home trials of the 252 and on both occasions retuned to his 282. Anyway I needed to find out for myself. Let battle commence.

This was as close to a A/B comparison as I could get. Both the 282 and 252 were in the same Fraim rack, both were the same age and both were powered by the same SupercapDR. I created a list of 16 'Test' tracks I know well from different artists from different musical genres in the Naim app on my iPad. The rest of the system comprises of Unitiserve (feeding WAV and Flac files CD rips and hi res), NDS/XPS, NAP250DR, Monitor Audio GX 300 speakers, SL speaker cables and Sarum Tuned Aray IC. I started with my trusty 282 by letting it warm up by playing for an hour before listening to all the test tracks making brief notes of what I liked and what was less good during each track. I then swapped over to the 252 again letting it warm up for an hour and listened to the same tracks in the same order, again making notes as I went. I am not normally this anal when it comes to home demos but I thought I had better do this one properly to reveal those important differences, some of which I suspected might be subtle. So what are the differences and what does 'grown up' mean in relation to the 252?

The best place to start I guess is to read through my notes against the 282s & 252s performance on each of the 16 test tracks and try to summarise. One comment I make several times in relation to the 252 is 'smoothness' (in comparison to the 282). The 282 is slightly more exuberant but when things get busy in the mix or if a voice or instrument is particularly loud then this exuberance can tip over in to slight harshness/hardening. I have also noted how more 'controlled' the 252 is and less likely to harden up when the 282 did. I have also repeated in my notes the phrases 'less congested' and 'more separation and space around instruments' in relation to the 252. There are a couple of very demanding tracks I have listened to today that I struggle to get to the end of using the 282 but these were more engaging on the 252 because of the superior control it exerts when the going gets tough.

I already feel the need to introduce some qualification here. I am talking about degrees 'goodness' here. I have lived a long time with the 282 and have been delighted with it. The occasional hardening I refer to with the 282 only becomes apparent when compared directly to the 252. Indeed I very occasionally miss the vitality and sheer exuberance the 282 exhibits. It is just that the 282 is a bit like puppy, full of life but occasionally can get out of hand and needs to be controlled. When I describe the 252 as controlled and smooth that does not mean dull as some have described it on here. The 252 will certainly jump up and grab you when asked to do so. It is also more extended at the bottom end with a deeper and better controlled bass. Vocals are clearer and more articulate, with lyrics more intelligible. Instruments have more body, tone, timbre and depth to them. The 252 is a more sophisticated pre amp - by that I mean more cultured and provides a little more meaning to music, how instruments are being played, what a vocalist is singing about - you know, meaning. I suppose this is what people mean when they describe the 252 as grown up. I think I get it now but will need to listen some more. Let's be clear the differences are not night and day, but they are evident and worthwhile IMHO.

Will I part exchange my 282 for a 252. Maybe, probably. Who am I kidding, yes! The 282 is a superb pre amp, but the 252 is....well.....err....more grown up I guess. Maybe at the age of fifty-something I have finally grown up too!