In praise of 272/250DR

I have a 272 on home demo alongside my 250DR and I too am very impressed! I'm my small room it's a mighty combo. 

Yep, loving mine

Well said Sir.

G

Finkfan posted:

I have a 272 on home demo alongside my 250DR and I too am very impressed! I'm my small room it's a mighty combo. 

Looking forward to having a listen sometime soon..

Throw an xpsdr on it,an oh my god,no more upgrades needed.!

No quarter posted:

Throw an xpsdr on it,an oh my god,no more upgrades needed.!

Or a 555.........wonderful 

Bottom end for me but the 272/100 sounds wonderful in fact the best I have owned, 272 is one hell of a pre.

If I were ever to downgrade (and I have thought about it) I'd do the 272/250DR combo.  Simple two box hi-fi solution.  

No quarter posted:

Throw an xpsdr on it,an oh my god,no more upgrades needed.!

Hi No quarter

An XPS DR is a wonderful start for 272 

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft

alanbass1 posted:

No quarter posted:

Throw an xpsdr on it,an oh my god,no more upgrades needed.!

Or a 555.........wonderful 

Hi alanbass1

And a 555PS DR is wonderful end for a 272 

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft

The 272/XPS-DR/250DR and Russell K Red 150 speakers that were playing at a Signals show a couple of years ago sounded like a beautifully balanced music system to me.  Superb.  One you could live with very happily for a long, long time.

Indeed FT, though I do find 150s  quite sensitive to rooms .. they appear to easily over power some rooms with a too dominant bass loosing some apparent speed. In a large room with plenty of space they work well.

Agree for a hybrid the N272 is very good.. certainly if you don't want or need the performance of a dedicated Naim preamp it's a very enticing option... I just wish it could let you SPDIF loop out and in to a third party DAC and DSP  if you wanted to.

My next upgrade later this year was to try the XPS2 DR on my 272/100, may try the 250DR first not sure what would be the biggest bang for buck..

Currently the 100 drives my Proac Tablette 10 with ease and sounds amazing for my room but by the reports of others the 272/250DR is a magic combo and most could easily live with this.

Yes; I'd recommend doing the 250DR first and then XPS DR from there.

Simon-in-Suffolk posted:

Agree for a hybrid the N272 is very good.. certainly if you don't want or need the performance of a dedicated Naim preamp it's a very enticing option... 

I love this damning with faint praise 'for a hybrid'. The 272 is simply very good per se. The idea of settling for it 'if you don't want or need the performance of a dedicated Naim preamp' doesn't really make sense. I've heard an NDX/282 and didn't think it was any better, and I'd take a 272 over a 252 any day. I've owned a 552/300 and while of course it's better, the 272/250 isn't actually that far behind given the size of the price difference. I certainly don't feel I'm settling for second best - the 272 is simply bloody good, and a fantastic bargain. 

Hungryhalibut posted:

Simon-in-Suffolk posted:

Agree for a hybrid the N272 is very good.. certainly if you don't want or need the performance of a dedicated Naim preamp it's a very enticing option... 

I love this damning with faint praise 'for a hybrid'. The 272 is simply very good per se. The idea of settling for it 'if you don't want or need the performance of a dedicated Naim preamp' doesn't really make sense. I've heard an NDX/282 and didn't think it was any better, and I'd take a 272 over a 252 any day. I've owned a 552/300 and while of course it's better, the 272/250 isn't actually that far behind given the size of the price difference. I certainly don't feel I'm settling for second best - the 272 is simply bloody good, and a fantastic bargain. 

Well said that man too! I'm struggling to even justify putting an XPSDR in as it is so well balanced with 250DR & S400.

G

All I'd say on that one Graeme, is that with an XPS and SL leads in place, the 'basic' 272/250 moves to a different level. It's well worth checking out at some point. My setup sounds extraordinarily good, way beyond my expectations when I bought the two boxes nearly two years ago, and I'm enjoying listening to music more than I have for years. 

That's settled then I will audition the 250Dr and go from there.

I think you are right. There can be something really special about a small sealed speaker driven by a powerful amplifier. Back in 1983 I put a 250 on my Kans, in place of a 110 and they were totally transformed. 

My local dealer has an old 250.2 for sale in good condition and will offer a good deal with a trade in for my 100, cost to upgrade to DR status is around 1200 (plus amp trade in) including service but still far cheaper then new so may start the ball rolling. 

The new Proac tablettes are a wonderful speaker and I know were you are coming from with the Kans with bigger amp, mind you just listening to Temple of the dog in a tribute to Chris Cornell and the 100 is no slouch

HiFiman posted:

My local dealer has an old 250.2 for sale in good condition and will offer a good deal with a trade in for my 100, cost to upgrade to DR status is around 1200 (plus amp trade in) including service but still far cheaper then new so may start the ball rolling. 

The new Proac tablettes are a wonderful speaker and I know were you are coming from with the Kans with bigger amp, mind you just listening to Temple of the dog in a tribute to Chris Cornell and the 100 is no slouch

The 250.2 wasn't as enjoyable to my ears as the more nimble 200.  I'd say save and go straight to 250DR as it truly is transformational.

G

My thoughts were to purchase the 250.2 and send straight to Naim to be serviced and DR'd keeping my 100 until the 250 is ready, this would save approx £1600 on a new unit.

It's a smart way to do it HiFiman; in stages with a 250DR upgrade.  It's not as quick and convenient as buying one new or ex-dem but it spreads the enjoyment of improvement and - importantly for many - the cost. Enjoy...

I took what might be looked at as a bizarre step by some but had a crazy offer for my olive 52 & cb 250 to be replaced by 272, XPS DR & 250 DR. I wasn't totally sold on the streaming option but after demo'ing & having Tidal trial I was convinced (again given the less than great Tidal comments) to take the deal. I have ripped my CD collection and this works very well with the 272. The system has been in place for about a month now and gets better day by day. The sound (the important bit) works for my ears. Yes, there is always the Naim fear of " am I missing further nuances from the 52?" but  I really don't think my ears are now tuned enough to notice any significant difference to justify spending what would be a chunk more money. A very happy man here.  

M2PW: I've had a 200 and a 250.2 and I've sold the former as I much prefer the latter.

A lot depends on the rest of the system/individual taste etc. 

Next stage: audition 250 DR when my dealer gets one.