Love my speakers but will a 250?

I'd swap the 102 for an 82. It will make far more difference, and it will sound as though you have a new power amp anyway. 

They are lovely speakers and worth keeping - especially as you really love them.

The presentation of the 150 and 250 is quite different so i'm wondering why you are upgrading. If it was me, I'd be looking at replacing the 102 with an 82 or even better a 52. 

Love Minstrels and they respond just fine with a NAP250, but are very happy with a NAP150 too.  However, as others have suggested, it's not what I'd be spending money on here.  Personally, if digital is important to you then I'd be looking at a digital source upgrade.  The Mojo is a fine bit of kit for the money but it doesn't do miracles (Ok, almost, but not quite).  If you like what Chord DACs do then the Hugo is better still but can be a bit annoying to use, so a Hugo TT may be a better bet.  Or consider a Naim DAC, which can be a bit less resolving but with more drive and more "fun" sounding that the Hugo and may better match the strengths of the rest of the system.  If spinning vinyl is your primary focus then put the money there.  Try to get a listen of some options. 

Your speakers won't just sound better, they will sound different. The 250 will grip them and drive them with a fuller, more 'meaty' sound. It's possible that you will have more bass that you would like, and this could be room dependent. You may need to experiment with speaker positioning.

If you are buying a used 250, how old is it, and have you checked it's history? The seller should include the cables with it. And yes, you will want a better preamp now!

Thanks for the reply’s. My end point is 82 250 maybe supercap. I had thought about a dac upgrade to be fair but, maybe wrongly thought power then pre would be a good way to go. The 150 is very fast and I’ve  read somewhere on the forum that it works well with a 552, which to me seams crazy! If I didnt like what the 250 brought to the party I could sell it on, so nothing lost there. Could look at Hugo 1 as s/h prices are really good ATM, also so are nDAC which I’d thought about before getting the mojo. I like what the mojo does, I see both sources as primary they both get the same amount of use and equal enjoyment. I did think this would be an easy question with one answer, oh well this is why we love hifi 

In ancient times i preferred my 140 driving a friends Minstrels rather than his 250. Of course the 250 is a the 'better' amp. It just took away some of the qualities that make the Minstrel (and most Royds) special. I'd stick a 250 in front of a pair of Kans, Minstrels ??

Some of the original Royd speakers were fantastic and imo sometime a better choice than many so called high end (expensive) speakers

A pity they no longer are made even someone has adapted the brand I hardly hear they have success

The nearest performance might very well be a new pair Rega RX3 but I am just guessing here, would there be some minty Minstrels available I'd get them on a whimp even spares are impossible to source

Tbh I don't think you need a 250 for Minstrels unless you have a very large room and do play loud, not ideal for them in fact

I run my Edens & Sapphire satisfying with just about everything from small integrated to 3 box Naim

Perhaps upgrade elsewhere in chain, personally not a fan of either 102 or 82, the P6 deck is great though

I just bought a 250.2 to replace a 200 and before that I had a 150x.  For what it is worth, they all sounded great but I noticed a big change with each move. The 200 sounded more transparent and had a greater scale than the 150x while the 250.2 is a totally different beast. The bass goes deeper but, as already stated, the amplifier grips firmly so it is defined and textured. People say it has a ‘darker’ sound, as if this is a bad thing. My view is that you hear more of the bottom end, but there is a bucket load of everything else in there too. I hear stuff, in all registers, that I missed before. I sometimes think that these forums end up praising the latest and greatest and are too quick to dismiss everything that went before. For me, the 250 is a stonking amplifier. 

NJB posted:

I just bought a 250.2 to replace a 200 and before that I had a 150x.  For what it is worth, they all sounded great but I noticed a big change with each move. The 200 sounded more transparent and had a greater scale than the 150x while the 250.2 is a totally different beast. The bass goes deeper but, as already stated, the amplifier grips firmly so it is defined and textured. People say it has a ‘darker’ sound, as if this is a bad thing. My view is that you hear more of the bottom end, but there is a bucket load of everything else in there too. I hear stuff, in all registers, that I missed before. I sometimes think that these forums end up praising the latest and greatest and are too quick to dismiss everything that went before. For me, the 250 is a stonking amplifier. 

Not me, I clearly prefer the old Olive/CB 250 to 250.2 - done so since 250.2 launch

Can't comment on the DR revision

The Royds are great but I do agree with the others that a 250 isn’t really what you need right now.  I would look at 3 options.  First if vinyl is your source of choice (I’m sure it must be ) a possible upgrade to an RP8.   Second I know little of streaming/DACs but there’s loads of stuff on here for you to consider as upgrade options.  Finally, a 282/82 will just open the door on everything - the soundstage is far far larger. 

Regards,

Lindsay

Perol posted:

NJB posted:

I just bought a 250.2 to replace a 200 and before that I had a 150x.  For what it is worth, they all sounded great but I noticed a big change with each move. The 200 sounded more transparent and had a greater scale than the 150x while the 250.2 is a totally different beast. The bass goes deeper but, as already stated, the amplifier grips firmly so it is defined and textured. People say it has a ‘darker’ sound, as if this is a bad thing. My view is that you hear more of the bottom end, but there is a bucket load of everything else in there too. I hear stuff, in all registers, that I missed before. I sometimes think that these forums end up praising the latest and greatest and are too quick to dismiss everything that went before. For me, the 250 is a stonking amplifier. 

Not me, I clearly prefer the old Olive/CB 250 to 250.2 - done so since 250.2 launch

Can't comment on the DR revision

Ha, you are right, and I am right.  That is why our hobby is so interesting and spawns so many comments.  I have lived a sheltered hifi life, and so do not have a lot of experience of various systems.  The advantage is that I normally love what I have!

I know a lot  about streaming audio, moved form Sonos to unitiqute then squeezebox duet (really did not get on with that) and to my current streaming setup which I find is great and very user friendly, if your ok with flashing SD cards and have a little computer/network knowledge. As I say 82 is my stopping point with the pre, and 250 with power. Thinking about it I could sell my current pre/power and get 82 and 250 in one go with a little more saving, would that be to much all at one go, as I only added the hicap last month and that made a really big difarence once it had been running for 2 weeks! 

Forgot to say 102 has NAPSC on it  

My second set up after a Nait 2 was 102/180.  Must say I never really warmed to the separates, preferring the voicing of the Nait.  I would defo look to change the 102 were I in your position.  Re the power amp, as mentioned earlier in the thread, there is a significant difference in presentation between say a 200 and a 250, people often saying that a 300 has more in common on presentation/ voicing than the 250. I'd therefore suggest, if you wish to push ahead with the power amp change that it is very important to have an audition in case the 250 doesn't quite suit your preference.

Peter

The 102 will perform better with a HicapDR but first the screws holding the circuit board have to be torqued adequately...

Just added a pair of DR 250's to an active set up (replacing older 180's) and they are terrific. Far ahead of the older 250's that I have used in the past.  But I would go source first. The Naim DAC is very strong, but needs an XPS or better.  You have found this with adding a Hi-cap, even bigger advance with the DAC. (And yes the price reflects that)

cat345 posted:

The 102 will perform better with a HicapDR but first the screws holding the circuit board have to be torqued adequately...

I don't think going DR on hicap is the most benefit for OP

What are you trying to say ? "Screws holding the circuit" ?

Is that in preamp? - never heard of that before, I usually use Ikea cutting board below Nac preamps with small rubber dots pointed to my Quadrasphire rack, I assume this isolate preamp

Sorry for dumb Q.

Thanks for all the options, gonna rule out the nDAC as I have space for that but not an XPS which seems to be needed from what’s being said. 

What about a 180? More of a sidegrade?

Ive only just got the hicap, so selling it and getting a DR’d one is a no go.

Im looking at olive 250’s just to clear that up, most seem to be around 20 years old so I would service it or try and get a serviced one. I have a dealer where I live but he has very little in the way of pre-loved and also I feel he’s over priced! 

Im happy with buying and then selling on if it’s not to my liking, better in some ways. 

Perol posted:

cat345 posted:

The 102 will perform better with a HicapDR but first the screws holding the circuit board have to be torqued adequately...

I don't think going DR on hicap is the most benefit for OP

What are you trying to say ? "Screws holding the circuit" ?

Is that in preamp? - never heard of that before, I usually use Ikea cutting board below Nac preamps with small rubber dots pointed to my Quadrasphire rack, I assume this isolate preamp

Sorry for dumb Q.

 

 

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