Next upgrade, 300DR or...?

Get rid of those Sopras and buy some speakers. 

I had an in-store demo of 250.2 v 250DR v 300DR on Sopra 2s with 282/SC.  The 250.2 drove the Sopra 2s well, the 250DR was a bit better, but when the 300DR was plugged in the Sopra 2s leapt in performance. After a home demo, I bought the 300DR.   On that demo's basis I'd encourage you towards the 300DR.  That said, my front end for that demo was CDX2.2/XP5XS into nDAC/555PS so a fair step up on your NDX, and I was using a full loom of Super Lumina.  I'm also a big fan of the 282 and prefer it to the 252. You might hear things differently.

So while I'm pretty sure that a 300DR would deliver a bigger performance from your Sopra 2s, I'd also encourage you to think about improving your front end.  As Simon has suggested, putting an nDAC on the NDX would give you a worthwhile lift and I think the nDAC represents great VFM given its relatively modest price.

Dan.S posted:

Get rid of those Sopras and buy some speakers. 

Daft little comment - I shall only say that I have a Sopra 2s with a 300DR and am very pleased with them

Ravenswood10 posted:

Dan.S posted:

Get rid of those Sopras and buy some speakers. 

Daft little comment - I shall only say that I have a Sopra 2s with a 300DR and am very pleased with them

+1 it's a superb combination.. 

Just this past week I took possession of a preloved 300DR to replace a 250DR in my current system, consisting of a 272/XPS DR/Kudos Super 10's/Track Audio stands and this combination is shocking. Its no longer hi-fi, it just sounds and feels like live music. Largest single investment I've made in single component but well worth it. I've still not sorted out the stacking issue but even while I am slumming it with two components on top of one another on a single shelf, the transformation is rather significant.

252 

When our 252/300 arrived we were also stuck with one-box-on-another compromise because we'd gone from one box to four. The improvement was still vast. A relatively minor point but one well worth addressing. Although we did have a better front end than a bare NDX.

ChrisSU posted:

While conventional thinking says that you should be using a 252 or better with a 300, there are some users who happily run 282/300 systems,

and just to say I am one of them - 282/HCDR/300 stunning focus, seperation, grip, musicality it certainly works in my system - front end bare NDX or LP12 - speakers are B&W 805N

antony d posted:

ChrisSU posted:

While conventional thinking says that you should be using a 252 or better with a 300, there are some users who happily run 282/300 systems,

and just to say I am one of them - 282/HCDR/300 stunning focus, seperation, grip, musicality it certainly works in my system - front end bare NDX or LP12 - speakers are B&W 805N

Well, I remember back in the day, way back in 2007, Naim debut it's Reference CDP.

2007 CES Naim:

CD 555> 282 > Snaxo > 3 x 250 > DBLs

A 282 paired with an 300 DR, may not be the best combination, but I suspect it will sound great!

Allante93!