Re not knowing - I now know a little more - NAP 250DR

Posted by: Allan Milne on 18 August 2016

Wrt my previous post, I now know a little more
Have a home demo of the NAP 250DR replacing my 200 and haven't stopped smiling ...
Mainly playing the LP12 but some UnitiServ sources too.

As I said in my previous post I was happy with my setup and thought the sound was wonderful but now I know how it could have been, and is now, better:
* deeper and tighter bass;
* faster transients providing cleaner and more expressive sound;
* more seperation of instruments/voices;
* first hearing of a 3-D depth to the sound stage as opposed to 2D width;
* more detail in every respect;
* ... all the above leading to hearing music that I had not heard before.

Trouble is that it is so good it has got the director of finance sitting in her seat and listening ... this costs me money as I have just had to fork out for the Simon & Garfunkel Columbia Complete Collection vinyl boxed set!
If a system change can be heard by her then it is definitely worth the money; in fact I often use her as a test re VFM.

... and this is "just" changing a power amp - so what is going to be in store when the 202 gets upgraded and the LP12 gets its bells and whistles - well I'm back to not knowing again but what I'm hoping for is more of the 3D depth soundstage.

I don't want to start the source first argument again, in fact I agree with it (mostly) but when you "back-end" your system as I have in preparation for moving up in the future then the 803D3 speakers really allow you to hear the improvements of the front end as it is upgraded; similarly the 250DR will do the same for the pre-amp and LP12.
I'm going to enjoy this for probably 6 months and then go on to adding a Kore/Ekos SE; and then so on every 6 months or so ... and every step it will be like playing my music collection for the first time again.

Posted on: 18 August 2016 by ryder.

You are going to gain more on what you have described above when you replace the NAC 202 with the NAC 282. Particularly the 3-D effect. The 282 has a tube-like illumination when compared to the 202 which sounds flatter in comparison.

Posted on: 19 August 2016 by Allan Milne

I look forward to this

I must give credit to my dealer in Montrose whose advice thus far has been spot-on and who persuaded me not to do the planned upgrades all at once but to upgrade components one by one - he is absolutely right in that it is much more fun to hear each improvement and to enjoy these improvements, get to know them and listen to the music before moving on again.

I am really looking forward to the next couple of years ...

Allan

Posted on: 19 August 2016 by ryder.

I agree with your dealer's advice. Certainly advisable to do one upgrade at a time.

FWIW I also own the NAC 202 / NAP 200 / non-Naim PSU for a good 6 years. I just recently got the NAC 282, HCDR and NAP 250 DR into the system. The 282 reached first, the HCDR and 250 DR shipment arrived together about 1 month later. Now I am having a tough time to gauge the differences between these components, more so since all are new. As much as I want to compare the NAP 200 to the NAP 250 DR, I can't do any serious listening at the moment as I need to break in the 250 DR which will take quite a bit of time.

Enjoy the 250 DR. The B&W 803D will surely appreciate the added power, weight and refinement of the new amp. I can surely relate to the described differences, though the magnitude of difference in my system isn't as significant as I had hoped for at the moment.

Posted on: 19 August 2016 by Allan Milne

This damn burning-in is a real bore - my home demo was of a well run-in 250DR so when it goes back I will be back to the old 200 until my new 250DR arrives ... and then I will have to put up with disappointment until it runs itself in

Oh well - I suppose the end-game is worth it.

... just had another thought though - I remember being shown around a computer manufacturing facility many years ago and they had hundreds of PCs at a time going through 24-48 hour testing.

Surely Naim should test their components in the same way and this would provide the burn-in (or at least a start to it) So we get out nice new shiny boxes all ready for action from the get go.

Enjoy the 282/250DR,

Allan

Posted on: 19 August 2016 by Innocent Bystander

I belIeve Musical fidelity soak test for at least 48 hours, and some things for 10 days. Bryston apparently for 100 hours. I assumed Naim would do likewise.

Posted on: 19 August 2016 by Drewy

Allan Milne posted:

I look forward to this

I must give credit to my dealer in Montrose whose advice thus far has been spot-on and who persuaded me not to do the planned upgrades all at once but to upgrade components one by one - he is absolutely right in that it is much more fun to hear each improvement and to enjoy these improvements, get to know them and listen to the music before moving on again.

I am really looking forward to the next couple of years ...
Allan

That is exactly what I believe. You get your money's worth by enjoying each step.

Posted on: 19 August 2016 by Dave***t

Innocent Bystander posted:
I belIeve Musical fidelity soak test for at least 48 hours, and some things for 10 days. Bryston apparently for 100 hours. I assumed Naim would do likewise.

All the relevant pieces I've read say Naim do a 48 hour soak test on everything. Assume that's still the case.

Posted on: 20 August 2016 by GraemeH

Allan Milne posted:

I look forward to this

I must give credit to my dealer in Montrose whose advice thus far has been spot-on and who persuaded me not to do the planned upgrades all at once but to upgrade components one by one - he is absolutely right in that it is much more fun to hear each improvement and to enjoy these improvements, get to know them and listen to the music before moving on again.

I am really looking forward to the next couple of years ...
Allan

I think you got the 250DR straight from my home dem Allan...Robbie kept it warm I trust!

Posted on: 20 August 2016 by Allan Milne

Hello Grame,

Yes it must hav been, Robbie said it had been on demo for the week before.

It is still singing and I can't keep the smile off my face when I play every LP

Only trouble is I'll have to give it back and "put up" with the 200 until my new 250DR arrives - well I thought the old 200 was great too so it will be interesting to see what I hear when I go back to it.

Hope you enjoy your own new 250DR when it comes .. would be interesting to hear how you get on, particularly with the running-in time.

cheers,

Allan

Posted on: 20 August 2016 by GraemeH

Cheers Allan - I'll let you know how it goes. Probably run the radio through it while we're at work for a month or so just to settle it down.

I'm slumming it with the 250.2 - I actually preferred the 200 I had before it. More transparent and musical to my ears.

The 250DR is in another league altogethet though.

Posted on: 22 August 2016 by Bodger

Allan, I used to use your dealer in Montrose. So I am not surprised to see the B&W's in your profile. Robert does like their synergy with Naim. I agree.

I have to disagree with Ryder, re the 282, I found that 3D sound staging was the thing it did least well. It was great for most other things though.

Enjoy the new toys.

Dave

Posted on: 22 August 2016 by analogmusic

does the 252 do the 3d soundstage better ?

I did find though that this feature of 3d soundstage really does start from the source....

Posted on: 22 August 2016 by Huge

Yes it starts at the source, but can be completely lost at any point in the chain - DAC, Preamp, Power Amp, Speakers or Room Acoustic.

Unless all components transmit that information faithfully, you just won't hear it.

Posted on: 22 August 2016 by GraemeH

Allan Milne posted:

Hello Grame,
Yes it must hav been, Robbie said it had been on demo for the week before.
It is still singing and I can't keep the smile off my face when I play every LP
Only trouble is I'll have to give it back and "put up" with the 200 until my new 250DR arrives - well I thought the old 200 was great too so it will be interesting to see what I hear when I go back to it.
Hope you enjoy your own new 250DR when it comes .. would be interesting to hear how you get on, particularly with the running-in time.
cheers,
Allan

Up and running tonight Allan and sounding great from the off.

best

Graeme