Oh the agony of the waiting

Nick from Suffolk posted:

(And I have just bought a pair of MA5s to partner my 40+ year old P50 in a second system, which is currently without a source as I search elusively for something suitable.)

 

You could look for a pre-loved UnitiQute or ND5 XS and stream from your Unitiserve....

best

David

Back from Bucklesham Towers and 300DR installed. Lovely little new, and very discreet (and discrete), label on the back. Not too much huffing and puffing needed to install, other than the obligatory umpteen (well 2) trips of the supply whilst the capacitors fully charged.

I knew what to expect, but after just over 2 weeks since the loan 300DR went back, it was still a revelation to hear music again and with such authority. This is a completely new amplifier and from cold is doing all I had hoped for, perhaps even expected. I have read what J.N. had to say on his 500DR and in some small way the 300DR is doing the same for me in my much more modest system. If it gets even better I shall be (mostly) very happy. Currently playing a Patricia Barber live album (on CD) and it is much clearer. I have teed up Tin Pan Alley (Stevie Ray Vaughan) on vinyl, having heard a very very odd version of it at BT on a Linn Exakt system; SRV sounded like he was completely rat-arsed and was about 1/3 beat behind the rest of the band, and I am sure it wasn't a system effect.

M (my wife) accompanied to BT, with my vain hope that she might have relented and allowed me to return with 3 boxes and not just the single one. She is rightly worried that if we hear a 552 in the system that the die will have been cast. I shall have to remain satisfied with the 52. But there is still the thought that an SL loom plus PowerLines might have to be tried (my current cable loom is all Nordost).

Naim do not need to be told that they have worked a minor miracle with the DR upgrade; they will already know that they have.

Unitiqute for the retro system would be interesting, but not retro enough. I am casting around for a Systemdek and/or a suitable tuner. A Transcriptors Hydraulic Reference would be perfect, but they seem to go for silly money. M suggested a Lenco GL75, but my memory of that was of a very poor arm (I had one 40 years ago).  

I will look forward to more feedback. My new 250DR is fully at home now, leaving its slippers lying around, raiding the fridge etc or whatever the amplifier version of those things is.

Regarding retro, you could look out for a Thorens TD124 (very retro) or TD125 (quite retro and less rumble) and an SME arm. This would have been a top option about the time your P50 was made. The Goldring Lenco GL75 is not in the same league at all. And if you want an FM tuner, a personal favourite is the Quad FM4 which was about the best they ever made. They look very retro but work well. You can easily pick one up for £100 or thereabouts. I think Cambridge made a tuner to match the P50 but I don't know how good it was or how available they are.

best

David

Excellent news Nick. Another happy customer. The 300 DR upgrade is seriously good value.

By all means email me (details in my profile) if you wish, to have a more in-depth discussion. Something pertinent in your most recent post occurs to me. 

Enjoy. 

John. 

David,

You are tight, perhaps a TD125. There was a T55 tuner, but it was styled to match the P60 amplifier, i.e. black, and anyway was not regarded very highly.

Are you enjoying the 250DR?

and for me the wait goes on. :-(

Enjoy your "new" amp Nick.

Great news Nick, delighted that you are delighted (so to speak!)  

The musical pleasure will long outlive the pain of the wait.

I heard that there had been some delays with your 500DR, Michael. BT were most distraught.

Nick from Suffolk posted:

David,

You are tight, perhaps a TD125. There was a T55 tuner, but it was styled to match the P60 amplifier, i.e. black, and anyway was not regarded very highly.

Are you enjoying the 250DR?

Nick

Yes, but if you ask me to say why I don't know that I could. That's what I mean by making itself at home.  It just feels like it has always been here and when I set out to listen to it, I forget and just fall into the music. So I suppose that's a good sign.  

Mind you it's the same listening to my SuperUniti in my home office. I find even a five minute fix of music is welcome and uplifting before I get on with earning a living.

best

David

A few days into the warm-up of the 'new' amplifier and it is still impressing me (and M). Delved into the (dark) recesses of my vinyl collection last night (I really couldn't stand listening to the Moore/Butler talk show, it added little to the rugby that was being played) and enjoyed hearing them as if new and fresh; 40 year old albums were as thrilling as the day I (think) I bought them. There was a slight glassiness to some of the music, no doubt more through the age of the vinyl than the system. A couple of CDs joined the party as well; a Mogwai album almost replicated the visceral pummelling we received when we heard them at The Roundhouse last summer. Gosh, listening to music can be fun, even at my advanced years.

I am hazarding a guess that the amplifier has settled down. Indeed I am expecting the BT crew here later this afternoon to provide a home demonstration of a 552. I have only ever heard a 552 at shows or in a system that is far removed from mine. So we shall spend the intervening couple of hours playing music and watching the rugby (even though there is no Moore/Butler distraction today) and then spend the evening listening to more music.

my 300 just left to be upgraded,since i bought 300dr two months ago and activated the sistem,i'm now down to passive again

good thing i still have my old speakers;s 600 active 's not much of a use till i get the other amp back.It took time for it all to settle,reposition speakers and then i had a week of magical sound before it disappeared again.Sob!

What an interesting week or so that has been. 

With the 300DR fully bedded in I opted to have a home demonstration of a 552. From the moment the 552 was installed on Saturday there was a small improvement in the sound, but nothing like the gains the DR upgrade for the 300 had wrought. Over the next few days we played lots of music, almost willing ourselves to fall for the 552. Tuesday morning I called Alastair and said that I didn't think the 552 was delivering and was concerned that my choice of cable loom (Nordost bough 10 years ago) might be the limiting factor. Alastair had been surprised when the Nordost power cables worked so well in my system when he installed them. That was an all Olive Naim system

At the time of the Nordost power cable purchase I had my current speakers, current CDP and a lowly Xerxes (now a TMS3). Over the 10 years all the Naim boxes have however changed, bar the 52.

Over the course of 3 hours this afternoon Alastair has explored almost every combination of Naim cable loom in the system, starting with going back to standard power cables, then replacing those with PowerLines before replacing the Nordost speaker cable with NACA5. Penultimate stage was the use of SL speaker cables.

The standard power cables improved the soundstage, but at the expense of frequency extension and a loss of bass weight and authority. Each other stage wrought improvements, other than in visual terms. I had forgotten how pig ugly (especially in white) and unmanageable NACA5 is. It was almost a relief that the SL was audibly better than the NACA5 and not by a small margin.

The final stage was replacing the 552 with the now very cold 52/SCDR; in retrospect I should have left it powered up in the spare room  rather than leaving it languishing in a cold dark room . To us there seemed to be only a slight loss in sound quality compared to the 552. The much bigger improvement had come from the cable loom and we had not even tried the SL pre-power cables and do not intend to do so yet. I have the PLs and SL cables to listen to over the weekend.

The 552 clearly benefited from the PLs and SL and the system sounded really good, much better than it had done 2 hours previously. The Nordost loom had almost eliminated the difference between the 552 and 52. However, the loss in quality in going back to the 52 was far less than the improvement gained from the Naim loom. The 552 and the cable loom would be a little too expensive, so it looks like we will be getting the new cable loom (with SL pre-powersubject to a future trial). At least in the future when I get that 552 itch I know there will be very audible improvements. 

Nick,

Interested to here your views on the 552. I have never heard one and may have the opportunity to pull the trigger on a dealer ex dem for a very good price. Home dem to follow

The 300 has just returned so still coming to terms with this 

Interesting to hear your experience with the 552 Nick.  I switched from a 52 quite some time back.  I never really felt I got what it could deliver until I replaced a CDS3 (which I never really appreciated over my CDI) to a 555.