300DR upgrade running in

Have you been running it in by continuous playing of music through it? My 300DR was certainly good enough to enjoy within a week of it's return, having been playing R3 through it the whole time.

Nick,

I've been playing about 3 hours everyday except for yesterday and today where the system is playing for the entire day.

I had a similar experience after getting my upgraded 300. At first, it sounded more airy, layered and detailed, while sweeter, in the highs, but somewhat soft and fuzzy in the lows, and not cohesive really. It took a full week before things settled suddenly and rightly, and a very few other short weeks for the system to deliver its best. More defined basses, rapidity, wondefull attacks and extinctions, deeper and darker silences, great layering and, last but not least, greater integration and cohesion. It may however sound a bit wet or shiny sometimes on violins. Just bear with us and wait a little bit longer.

Chag -

Try to keep it running all day and night, as far as is reasonably possible. I'm in my sixth week and although I sometimes miss (last night I forgot to put it on report after a power down for thunder storms) I have been averaging in well excess of 12 hours a day. It now sounds amazing.

Keith

Hi, I wouldn't  panic at this stage. I've had my upgraded 300 back for three weeks now and it's sounding amazing. Run in for me wasn't so rocky, a little harsh in the highs at times but now I feel it's properly run in. I'm running a similar system to yours into Neat Momentum 4's, you have a lot of good times ahead.

I'm very lucky, here in Sydney is was done in one morning, no wait time, thanks Chris and Harry.

Laxton Yeo posted:

Nick,

I've been playing about 3 hours everyday except for yesterday and today where the system is playing for the entire day.

Continuous playing is needed, not continual. Either a 24hr radio channel or a track/album on repeat. Doesn't need to be played at normal listening levels, although that is what I did.

When I acquired my 250 DR to me over my out going 200 even out the box it was a very significant improvement but gradually improved further - I left it playing continuously with the Radio.  Hard to objectively quantify this but I really think it started to sing at about 3 months.  Of course what you have experienced is how superb the 250DR is but fret not you have very good times ahead with your 300DR!!!

Regards,

Lindsay

I think you are getting confused, Lindsay. The OP was using a loaned 250.2 and I would really expect an upgraded 300DR to walk all over it, even straight out of the box. But run in is a strange thing and like yours, my 250DR took a good few months to really open up and perform as it can. 

To the OP I'd suggest not worrying too much for now. I wouldn't bother to play loads of music, whether continuous or continual. Just stick the radio on when you are out if you remember, and just enjoy the music without analysing it. It it's not sounding great by your birthday, have a word with your dealer. 

I'm always confused Nigel but no more than usual today!!!  However, I'm not sure whether the OP was loaned a 250 or 250 DR which are of course considerably different beasts but either way he's in for something quite excellent when it's bedded in as it surely will.

Regards,

Lindsay 

My 300DR sounded decent out of the box, then had some ups and downs that have lessened with time, it is now sounding way ahead of my old 250DR in all respects. I am nearing 4 months in and it is still improving, so stick with it, I`m sure you won`t be disappointed.

I should add I rang it as much as possible.

Hi All,

Thanks for your tips and inputs on the running in process. I guess I will keep the system playing 24/7 to speed up the run in process. I was loaned the non-DR 250.2 during the absence of my 300 which is why I'm quite surprised when the 300DR didn't walk all over it and sounded slow.

But as many had mentioned I will probably have to bear with the ups and downs for a bit longer. I recalled my original 300 had a horrible first 2 months before until it became absolutely amazing. I'm keeping my fingers crossed it will be the same for the upgraded 300DR as well.

I've also placed an order for a 552DR which should be coming in at the end of the month. Hopefully it will help mitigate the effects of the run in process with the 300DR.

Laxton Yeo posted:

 

I've also placed an order for a 552DR 

I listened to my 300dr brand new and a couple of hours out of the box and compared it to a 250.2. The 300 was miles better. The 250 sounded heavy and slow in comparison. 

And miles more $$$$. LOL!

My 300DR also sounded great from the off and then improved. The improvement over the non-DR 300 was immediately obvious.

I have the NAP 250 DR but it's a new unit, not upgraded. It's all subjective as everyone's systems and ears are different. I don't know about the NAP 300 DR but my NAP 250 DR did not sound terribly bad or wrong (shut-in and lumpy) right out from the box. It did sound rather unimpressive at first in comparison to the NAP 200 that I have. But I can safely say that the unit will improve with burn-in.

I got paranoid once and emailed Naim, asking them on the burn-in period of the new NAP 250 DR. Steve Hopkins replied by saying that it will usually take 6 to 8 weeks for ANY Naim product to settle in and perform at its best. In my system, I felt that the NAP 250 DR started to open up in about 2 months with normal use. Everything sounds more open, the treble, midrange and bass. The bass now sounds more natural and doesn't sound as "lumpy" or forced. Although the amp did improve with time, it's not exactly night and day to me, but I do hope the NAP 300 DR will open up in time and sound better than the 250.2 that was on loan. The 300 DR must surely sound better than the 250.2. Otherwise something must be truly wrong.

Hi Ryder,

I'm glad to hear that my experience mirrors some members' over here. I went through a similar run in phase for my 300 when it was new and it took 2 months to go from bad to magical. I am hoping the upgraded 300DR will evolve the same way.

Hi Drewy,

I agree the 250.2 sounded heavy and slow in comparison with my old 300. When I swapped out the 300 for a 250.2, all the bass definition that you get with the 300 is gone into a mush. The mids was also lost in the rest of the mix. I never expected the difference to be this much until the swap.

This thread is perhaps another example of how we perceive sound and electronic replay systems differently. My just-returned DR'd 500 sounded obviously better to me at switch-on than it had hitherto; thoroughly run-in and warmed up.

The sound gradually improved over the the next six months - albeit with some bumps in the roads which gradually diminished over time and I now own what sounds like a different amplifier. Maybe there is a bigger upgrade 'kick' with the 500?

John.

As JN says, we have different expectations on what sounds right. I've always found that new Naim boxes run-in with different degrees of ease or painfulness.

My 552 DR  took a few months before I was really happy, but sounded 'good' from beginning - but very shut-in and bass was thin and over-lean. Over a month it improved and by 3 months it was just better everywhere and I was happy.

My 555 DR sounded exactly as you described - I was not happy with it until a minimum of 10 days run-in, then it went off big-time and really only opened-out and sounded very special after 4 weeks. It is now into week 6 of its run-in and it is musically great - but it is still running-in and opening-out.

Give it a few weeks and you should be relaxed and happy about it by week 3 or 4 - if not there may be a problem, but I suspect from what you report it will be fine.

DB.

DB,

I certainly hope so. I think the 300DR is probably going through a rough patch at the moment. I'll wait for a bit and update what happens.

I'll be receiving a 552DR at the end of the month and i guess it's going to be another ride again from what you mentioned.

I'm happy to drop an update on the running in proccess of the 300dr upgrade. Looks like my fears were unfounded so far. It has been painful indeed over the past 2 weeks with the 300dr going from okay to unlistenable. However over the past 2 days, something happened - the music started flowing and made sense. Characteristics of the old 300 started to returns. The bass is much more controlled just like what many members have mentioned about the DR power amps.  But the biggest differences came at the mid to top end. Everything became cleaner at the top end, the mids separation is becoming truly magical. 

The next step is for it to open up some more. It's still not quite there yet with the old 300 when it comes to the portrayal of 3D soundstage. I'm just waiting for the goosebumps to happen soon.

Good to read that you are finally there Laxton. Are you however suggesting that the 300DR is less layered and 3D than the non-DR? For me the the DR'd 300 was much more layered than the 300 from day one. Soundstage depth and focus came when all settled after about two weeks.

Chag -

Hi Chag,

Initially the 300dr sounds flatter and shut in than the non-dr. It's opening up but still has not superceeded my non-dr 300 yet. But at this moment it's doing stuff in the lower registers that the old 300 that can only dream of, and plus it's recently found coherence, I'm confident that things will get better. It's just the cruel run in process that one has to undergo before achieving audio nirvana I guess.

I have DR power supplies and power amp and I have found they are very sensitive to cable dressing. A couple of times when the system sounded a bit…well…off, I have discovered that cables were either touching each other, the Fraim or the floor (or all three) and attending to this made a real difference. When you reinstalled the 300 after DRing, it might we worth checking your cabling at the rear and see if you have inadvertently messed up the dressing.

You never know, at least worth a look.

I am glad the DRing is working out for you and am sure things will continue to improve.