Hi, I am wondering what my next upgrade should be. I have a Bluesound Node 2 feeding lossless files to a Chord Mojo. I have a Naim 202/200 combination with a non Naim PSU. Speakers (after a few changes) are Dynaudio Focus 160s.
To be honest, I have the annual upgradeitis. My system, to me, sounds pretty good. It is balanced, no real weak areas. Pricewise, I think that it is well matched as a middle runner. Compared to my first hifi, it is stunning (sometimes we forget how far we have come).
What do I like? The Dynaudios were a massive improvement over the previous Excite X12, and my old Epos ES14 cannot better them. The Mojo is the latest addition; big improvement over my previous DAC.
Dislikes? Nothing obvious. I tend to upgrade and then think, wow, that is so much better.
Is anything a standout weak area? The 202 gets mixed feedback, but many people think that it partners well with the 200. Speakers are very subjective, but I think these Dynaudios punch above their weight.
I cannot afford massive groundbreaking changes, just a box a year sort of investment. A part of me says 'it is good enough' but another part says 'why stop'.
Thoughts?
Posted on: 08 April 2017 by Marksnaim
I'd be looking at hearing what a Hicap DR could do in place of your non naim psu. Or for a bit more a 282 is a big step up from the 202. I had the 202/200 and moved up to 282/250. Admittedly I put the 250 in first but it was a good deal. The 200 is good, the 282 is great. Apologies if that's just a bit predictable and I know absolutely nothing about digital front ends so not able to pontificate on that side of things.
Posted on: 08 April 2017 by Huge
If you want "wow, that is so much better", then save your money for a big upgrade in something like three years, rather than lots of single step smaller improvements.
Posted on: 08 April 2017 by ChrisSU
I suspect that if you make further amp or speaker improvements, you'll begin to expose source weaknesses. From Naim, the obvious next step would be to try an NDX, and I think I would do this before going for a 282.
Are your mains, interconnects, rack and room acoustics all sorted. Maybe do these first?
Posted on: 08 April 2017 by NJB
Thanks for the ideas. I am using Atlas interconnects, NACA5 speaker cable and some solid hardwood speaker stands that walk all over the metal open ones that I had been using. I cannot really mess too much with the room or mains.
The HiCap is an interesting idea, although if I move much further up the Naim tree then I suspect that I will run into PSU envy etc.
The good news is that nobody has pointed to one specific item and said 'that has to go'.
Posted on: 08 April 2017 by ryder.
The options are pretty endless and it gets costly once you are at it. Having said that the choices are all clearly laid out and pretty standard with Naim. Any box upgrade be it source, amplification or power supplies will yield an audible improvement. The more important question is at which level do you want to end up with.
My only suggestion is to keep the NACA5 cable. It is a good one. I will start a new thread on this later.
