NAC 552

greekspec2 posted:

Hungryhalibut posted:

I've heard the NDX/282 and owned a 252 and 552 in the past. As you know, I now have a 272. I'd ignore what your speakers may or may not have allegedly been voiced with, and what Focal recommend. If it were me, and I had the cash, I'd either stick with the 272/555 or switch to NDS/552. The 282 and 252 options may be a bit better, but I suspect the differences wouldn't be significant enough for you. If you balk at the cost of the NDS/552, just stick with what you have. All the time you are thinking of upgrading it's impossible to enjoy what you have. 

who knows I might hear the NDS/NDX with either 282/252 and say bingo since I have a 555PS and SL full loom and I can finally stop bugging members on the forum for advice..

I think because the 552 is just a pre-amp is why I have a hard time purchasing but a NAP 500 purchase would be no problem, maybe it's psychological or something or over thinking it. 

Do a search on the 552 if you haven't already. You won't find a bad comment regarding it. In my opinion it's the best product Naim make. The trouble is it's just too bloody expensive.

lol I gave up on the N372 I don't think there going to produce one...as of now a N272 with a 555PS is basically the same since the transformer is dead weight now

The trouble may be down to your speakers-led system. £15,000 speakers fronted by a 272. If you look at Drewy's setup, it has an NDS at the front with a 552, but using only £4,000 speakers. That approach will give far more musical satisfaction, in my view. You can go round and round and overthink (to use your word). As I've said, and I promise not to say it again, get a NDS and 552 or do nothing. 

Hungryhalibut posted:

The trouble may be down to your speakers-led system. £15,000 speakers fronted by a 272. If you look at Drewy's setup, it has an NDS at the front with a 552, but using only £4,000 speakers. That approach will give far more musical satisfaction, in my view. You can go round and round and overthink (to use your word). As I've said, and I promise not to say it again, get a NDS and 552 or do nothing. 

more or less your saying my speakers are asking for a higher source & pre and until I give them that I may never be content?

If you are wanting hybrids/integrateds, then I would wait to audition  the new Uniti Nova.. it's Naim's reference allin one player and is in their words the best sounding integrated component they can  produce. I also heard a prototype and it sounded blooming amazing. It also has a preamp out if you want to run a seperate amp like a 300DR.

Simon-in-Suffolk posted:

If you are wanting hybrids/integrateds, then I would wait to audition  the new Uniti Nova.. it's Naim's reference allin one player and is in their words the best sounding integrated component they can  produce. I also heard a prototype and it sounded blooming amazing. It also has a preamp out if you want to run a seperate amp like a 300DR.

Eh? We started talking 552 and now we're on about a Nova. I honestly don't think a Nova is what he's wanting. And with those speakers........

greekspec2 posted:

Hungryhalibut posted:

The trouble may be down to your speakers-led system. £15,000 speakers fronted by a 272. If you look at Drewy's setup, it has an NDS at the front with a 552, but using only £4,000 speakers. That approach will give far more musical satisfaction, in my view. You can go round and round and overthink (to use your word). As I've said, and I promise not to say it again, get a NDS and 552 or do nothing. 

more or less your saying my speakers are asking for a higher source & pre and until I give them that I may never be content?

Precisely. I may be entirely wrong though, but I've seen it many times before. 

Drewy posted:

Simon-in-Suffolk posted:

If you are wanting hybrids/integrateds, then I would wait to audition  the new Uniti Nova.. it's Naim's reference allin one player and is in their words the best sounding integrated component they can  produce. I also heard a prototype and it sounded blooming amazing. It also has a preamp out if you want to run a seperate amp like a 300DR.

Eh? We started talking 552 and now we're on about a Nova. I honestly don't think a Nova is what he's wanting. And with those speakers........

Erm.. we started talking about sticking with 272s and waiting for'372's or doing nothing unless you got a NDS/552.. to me such a move might miss out much potential musical enjoyment.. and I heard the Nova easily drive a pair of Sopra speakers at £7000 .. and this was in the official Naim demo room at Salisbury.. Have you heard the Nova?

greekspec2 posted:

Hungryhalibut posted:

The trouble may be down to your speakers-led system. £15,000 speakers fronted by a 272. If you look at Drewy's setup, it has an NDS at the front with a 552, but using only £4,000 speakers. That approach will give far more musical satisfaction, in my view. You can go round and round and overthink (to use your word). As I've said, and I promise not to say it again, get a NDS and 552 or do nothing. 

more or less your saying my speakers are asking for a higher source & pre and until I give them that I may never be content?

i would take nds and 272/supercap or 552 with nds. The preamp is the component to upgrade in your system.  For less money you can take ndac and uniticore, instead of the nds. Some members prefer ndac/555ps vs nds.... 

No but the thread is titled 552 so the thread was about the 552. The op was talking about purchasing a 552 and then you suggest a Nova. Come on, that's a bit random in the context considering he has a very nice power amp, streaming preamp, power supply and speakers. He's talking upgrading, not downsizing.

It's always worth keeping an open mind... there have been some significant architectural changes with the new Uniti components.. especially with digital front ends... so if I was looking to change and upgrade  (which I might be) then I would listen to different possibilities at this time... certainly if your primary source would otherwise be an NDS... although I am sure the possible NDS2 based on the new architectures with a 552DR will sound supreme..

greekspec2 posted:

the weird thing is there's a dealer here who had a full non-DR 500/552/NDS/555PS  SL full loom with passive S800 Ovators and now has N272/555PS-DR/500DR on Sopra 3's and he's in ah how amazing it sounds and forgotten his other system so I don't know maybe it's just me

 

a better preamp than the amp is better than the opposite. A preamp is the most important component in a system.  And a dealer is rarely honest, so be careful...  To end, nds/552/500 is better by two steps or more than 272/500 ( with 555 ps or dr on both).  Perhaps he wants to sell his nap 500 also...

I thought source first?

he's not my dealer we just made small talk

greekspec2 posted:

I thought source first?

he's not my dealer we just made small talk

source first, yes and not:  for example ndx/555ps/ 552/500 is better than nds/555ps/252/500. But the best is to hear by yourself...  All is relative, but the synergy is also very important. 

I had in the past cd5x, cdx2, cdx2 / xps and 112/150 then 202/200, 282/300...and found the upgrade in the preamp as the more significative . After was the source and finally the amp.

You can perhaps borrow an nds and 552 and try by yourself. A 272/ 555ps is 85% of nds/555ps, but a 272/555ps as preamp is 70% of the 552, perhaps less...

To end, nap 300 with sopra no3 is enough i think.

Keler Pierre posted:

source first, yes and not:  for example ndx/555ps/ 552/500 is better than nds/555ps/252/500. But the best is to hear by yourself...  

Absolutely not the case for me and most I know whose opinions on SQ I value!! ... as you say best hear for yourself so one doesn't  get duped by the ridiculous  hyperbole on the 552. Not even the mighty Statement NAC could invent this.

I guess there were those that thought or still think alchemy exists too? 

Hungryhalibut posted:

greekspec2 posted:

Hungryhalibut posted:

The trouble may be down to your speakers-led system. £15,000 speakers fronted by a 272. If you look at Drewy's setup, it has an NDS at the front with a 552, but using only £4,000 speakers. That approach will give far more musical satisfaction, in my view. You can go round and round and overthink (to use your word). As I've said, and I promise not to say it again, get a NDS and 552 or do nothing. 

more or less your saying my speakers are asking for a higher source & pre and until I give them that I may never be content?

Precisely. I may be entirely wrong though, but I've seen it many times before. 

I was thinking since I have the N272/555PS-DR which is close to a NDS let's say I figure I would use it as a streaming source only and demo a 252 or 552 and see what a seperate ' pre-amp ' brings which will allow me to have a full functioning system and a clear understanding 

Simon-in-Suffolk posted:

Keler Pierre posted:

source first, yes and not:  for example ndx/555ps/ 552/500 is better than nds/555ps/252/500. But the best is to hear by yourself...  

Absolutely not the case for me and most I know whose opinions on SQ I value!! ... as you say best hear for yourself so one doesn't  get duped by the ridiculous  hyperbole on the 552. Not even the mighty Statement NAC could invent this.

I guess there were those that thought or still think alchemy exists too? 

i wanted just to point that the gap between the 552 and 252 is bigger than between ndx/555ps and nds/555ps.  But as you said and agree with me on one point, the best is to hear by yourself.

Some prefer nap250 vs nap300, 282/supercap vs 252....or even cdx2 alone vs cdx2/xps2( as you), and why not.  For me i preferred just the cdx2/xps2 vs cds3/xps2 or 555ps.

For myself i am in the group of persons judging than the preamp is the central component of a system and even more important than a source.  But there is no undisputed truth in hifi, the unique truth is our ears.

Hi Pierre - I don't even agree with "552 and 252 is bigger than between ndx/555ps and nds/555ps." - and I think you said it its all about synergy. Don't get me wrong I love my NDX but its a long long way from a NDS - more so than a 252 is from a 552 with my humble ears. 

BTW I also agree the NAC is at the heart of a system - but ultimately performance is dependent on source components - and how they are design and constructed and what they actually deliver. Now is you were to say an NDX/555PS sounds better through a 552 as opposed to a 252 then I say that excluding any system issues then this would almost certainly be always the case

maybe you are right, maybe wrong about the gap between ndx and nds and 252 and 552. It is my thinking and feeling, but i hope Greekspec2 will hear and choose by himself...

If the price is right a non-DR 552 is so far ahead of 252 DR or 272 that you should acquire it, if you can.

The option to get it upgraded to DR at a later date when funds permit will end-up less expensive that purchasing a new 552DR IMO.

The 552 is very special and it is surprising just how critical a good Pre is to the system - if you can demo to prove it to yourself all the better.

I home-demoed the 252 then the 552 before purchase and the latter was so much better it was silly, but the new price was also a lot higher, so good SH should be seriously considered.

As to upgrading the source - well I've found that for digital sources the Pre can make a large difference in musical clarity - my Dealer has mentioned that often when customers upgraded to a 552 then their digital sourced material got a larger lift in performance than Vinyl sources did. I think digital sources present a more demanding signal that the better Pre handles better.

DB.

after DR & re-cap I was looking at over 12000£ not worth it for a 2007

Hi Grenspec

Have you searched on the net - you may find what you are looking for.

Imp

I wouldn't worry so much about year.  Recapped and Dr'd it is pretty much a new unit.  Pre's are very reliable and have very low wear and tear, especially with a dedicated dc power supply.  My 2 cents.

impy posted:

Hi Grenspec

Have you searched on the net - you may find what you are looking for.

Imp

 

 

yes there's only a single 115V available which is the one I'm refering too, not to mention it's missing the remote and no Powerline and no packaging

Hi Greenspec

Tricky with you being in the States, its not as if you could get a UK unit and have the voltage changed.

Imp