Power Supply Upgrades to Nac n272

I have just added a brand new 555 to my 272 at at 48 hours it certainly sounds much better thane bare,  with a smoother more spacious sound and a noticeable improvement in timing. It is currently  a bit of a roller coaster ride however, as so new, but  it will continue to improve over weeks I guess.       " Mr Blue Sky" from ELO really zooms along with great gusto. I did briefly try the XPSDR brand new, right out of the box for all of 5 minutes and rather unfairly felt it was slower and more grainy, however not fair to the XPSDR. My philosophy is that if you can afford the 555 get it, as this saves money in the long term and avoids upgradeitis. It shows the 272 is really quite an excellent piece of kit.

Go figure?!

Nait2owner posted:

I had a chance to audition several power supply upgrades to the n272.  Wow what an amazing experience.  My favorite was note the 555, rather the XPS DR.  Better suited for the 272.  More balanced, better tonality, less edgy.  Oddly my dealer told me the NDX and n272 were best suited for the XPS DR and the NDS and CD 555 were best used with the 555 power supplies.  

 

Are you saying you preferred the XPSDR over the 555?,I think there was a spelling problem with your post,so it's a bit confusing.Can you clear that up,because I can't tell which one you liked better.

Another 555 or XPS DR thread/discussion to add to the collective wisdom??!!  

Yes there was a typo sorry!  I did prefer the XPS over the 555 for the n272 and NDX.  We did careful listening tests with music that was unknown to me and some microphone test.  It was a better match than the 555.  However, the 555 was much better for the NDS.  

In my comparison I did not know which power supply was being played until after the listening session.  I think people have a placebo effect or simply convince themselves that because they spent $12,000 (US) on a power supply that it simply is the better choice. 

At the same time, the n272/XPS DR sounded better than my olive 52/SuperCap, which was really amazing.  The 52 had a tad more high level detail on some recordings the pre amp in the 272 was a much bigger sound stage, had more density and a more full sound.  The bass was also much better.  It it amazing how good this product is on it's own.  Naim hit a home run with this product. 

Yes there was a typo sorry!  I did prefer the XPS over the 555 for the n272 and NDX.  We did careful listening tests with music that was unknown to me and some microphone tests.  It was a better match than the 555.  However, the 555 was much better for the NDS.  

In my comparison I did not know which power supply was being played until after the listening session.  I think people have a placebo effect or simply convince themselves that because they spent $12,000 (US) on a power supply that it simply is the better choice. 

At the same time, the n272/XPS DR sounded better than my olive 52/SuperCap, which was really amazing.  The 52 had a tad more high level detail on some recordings.  However, the pre amp in the 272 was a much bigger sound stage, had more density and a more full sound.  The bass was also much better.  It it amazing how good this product is on it's own.  Naim hit a home run with this product. 

Very good to hear,I wanted a 555 for my 272,but"settled" for an XPSDR,mind you,I was only going by what I read mainly on this forum,that the 555 was FAR superior.i had the Xps at home,but am still yet to hear a 555dr on the 272.Sounds like it might be speaker/room dependant,more so than what people think.

You are right it could be; and the amplifier you are using could also be a big part.  Best to do a blind test at your dealer and switch out the power supplies without you knowing which one is which.  Your brain will tell you that the more expensive equipment should sound better but it might not.  My dealer actually had the guts to show me that the XPS was a better option and not play the ego or the politics of hi fi.  Also, play music and tones you are not familiar with or your brain will play tricks on you. 

Unable to afford the XPSdr let alone the 555 so I acquired an ex demo XP5xs at a very good price, this has added a very nice lift in performance to my 272.

When funds allow and if I opt for the XPSdr I won't lose too much on the XP5XS on a trade in.

[@mention:8184226735374105] - Good to see a more sensible & rational approach.  IMO, the fundamentals often get lost. Any outboard Power Supply - be it Flatcap, HiCap or whatever - will significantly lift the performance of a Naim Pre. You do NOT need to max out straight away.  If you do - yes it may be cheaper in the long run - but you will miss out some of the experience. 

I used a 555 with my past beloved 272 it was really good .......... I would imagine the 555dr would be awesome.....

Be careful with the dr supplies. In my system with my ears I prefer the "old" ones. Which are very good and very sensibly priced now.

Personally I don't feel the dr is an upgrade. It changes the presentation which you may or may not prefer.

Richieroo posted:

I used a 555 with my past beloved 272 it was really good .......... I would imagine the 555dr would be awesome.....

It is 

True Blue posted:

Be careful with the dr supplies. In my system with my ears I prefer the "old" ones. Which are very good and very sensibly priced now.

 

Personally I don't feel the dr is an upgrade. It changes the presentation which you may or may not prefer.

When the DR upgrades to the power supplies became available I was running a nDAC/XPS into an SN1/HiCap and elected to have both power supplies upgraded.  To my ears, both upgrades were improvements, but, in the former case, the improvement was marginal, whereas the upgrade to the HiCap was transformative.  This was in spite of the XPS upgrade being much more expensive.  Conclusion?  The choice of power supplies really does depend on the box it's attached to as well as personal taste and auditioning, wherever possible, is highly desirable.

Roger

ianrobertm posted:

[@mention:8184226735374105] - Good to see a more sensible & rational approach.  IMO, the fundamentals often get lost. Any outboard Power Supply - be it Flatcap, HiCap or whatever - will significantly lift the performance of a Naim Pre. You do NOT need to max out straight away.  If you do - yes it may be cheaper in the long run - but you will miss out some of the experience. 

 

My main aim was to off board the power supply from the 272, looking at the output voltage between the XPSDR and XP5XS they are the same, okay within the XPSDR there is more going on with the DR bit.

I did look at the cuddly toy PSU but wanted to stay Naim. To me the XP5XS is excellent value especially the price I paid and has made a nice improvement to the overall sound and will get better as it beds in.

Excellent and level headed response.  

Moderated Post:  I've removed comments on 3rd party power supplies that contravene forum rules.

I extensively tested both the XPS DR and 555 DR and ended up buying the 555

I have heard the 272 with a 555dr, my dealer suggested it was a mismatch and the XPSdr is its natural partner.

I have also heard the 272 with the XPSdr,  in my opinion very very good,  but that said I have also herad the 272 bare, and it's actually extremely good just on its own...

You cannot go wrong with the synergistic pairing of the 272 with XPSDR, a match made in heaven. The 555 just brings more of everything to the party and gives a real taste of the high end. After all it is made from hand picked components and has a 40% larger transformer than the XPS. The 272/555/250DR must be the best Naim 3 box system extant.

The moderator censored my last opinion because I named another product that was not Naim.  This is really a cult like mentality and does not allow for freedom of expression and the written word.  Naim and Linn have communist like values of audio and claim we have to buy into their socialistic ideals or else be driven out of their club.  I am just disgusted with this suppression and I'm going to say goodbye to the forum and to this hi fi company after 40 years. 

I would not sweat it too much man,the forum rules are clearly stated,so if you start having a gray area,where does it end?

You also need to bear in mind some companies specifically ask that their products  are not mentioned on this forum, Naim have to respect those requests.

Please don't go nait2 owner! The reason 3rd party psus cannot be mentioned here is that,they can, on occasion, fry the naim electronics. This would render your naim warrenty invalid. This forum does have many threads on other manufacturers products such as dacs and Amps and speakers, that are completely unrestricted. Unlike some other manufacturer forums where this ist verboten!

Nait2owner posted:

The moderator censored my last opinion because I named another product that was not Naim.  This is really a cult like mentality and does not allow for freedom of expression and the written word.  Naim and Linn have communist like values of audio and claim we have to buy into their socialistic ideals or else be driven out of their club.  I am just disgusted with this suppression and I'm going to say goodbye to the forum and to this hi fi company after 40 years. 

Certain other suppliers of equipment have specifically asked that they should not be named or discussed on this forum.  Naim and the Forum moderators have perfectly correctly agreed to respect their wishes.

I think your piece above seems to be an overreaction to something that may not be the fault of Naim or the forum rules per se, but rather the wish of the organisation you mentioned.

Furthermore addition of third party products in the power chain not unreasonably invalidates your warranty, as faults in them could damage the Naim device being powered by or through a non-Naim product should that be faulty in manufacture or design.

If you are easily offended, then this forum is probably not for you....