HiFi Crossroads

The big question is will Nova drive scm40 speakers? Personally, I doubt you will improve upon P1 for driving your speakers so I would keep it. P1 is an excellent power amp. Keeping speakers is also a no-brainer.

If you only have digital source such as cd's then my view is a new DAC/preamp to replace CDA2 would offer a worthwhile significant improvement. Consider V1, 272 from Naim, and Hugo 2 or Hugo TT from Chord Electronics. Having listened to all of these at home Hugo TT is my favourite. Check out my profile for system details.

If Nova can handle your speakers then it might be worth an audition.  It's a stunning looking box. I would want to compare with NAP 250DR and 272. Again, will 250 be enough drive your speakers? For Naim power amps, Naim recommend you only use Naim preamps, such as preamp in 272. It's fine to use a Naim DAC/preamp with a third party power amp such as P1.

It would be interesting to compare the Naim amps with ATC amps on the ATC speakers. I have read about folks who preferred Naim amps on their ATC speakers, citing ATC amps to sound sterile and boring next to the more colourful and engaging sound of the Naim. 

Thank you both for the replies.

It would seem that I basically have two choices, either spend a lot more money or down grade speakers to accommodate Nova. My choices would seem to be: -

(i) Buy Nova, sell CDA2, P1 and SCM40. Buy new speakers like PMC Twenty5 23, Seems to a very popular combination on here.

(is) Sell CDA2 and upgrade to Naim or Chord. Not my favourite choice, I must admit having used the Naim app for control of Naim Uniti Core.

(iii) Hope that sometime soon, Naim bring out new preamp based on Uniti platform and then maybe upgrade P1 for Naim power amp.

I would have thought, that with all the recommendations on here, for the Nova and ATC SCM40, that somebody would have tried this combination.

Any thoughts ?

(iv) sell Core, buy Qnap or Synology NAS, sell ATC electronics, buy 272, sell SCM40, buy SCM40A. 

Honestly, unless you have money to burn, you should keep your P1 and SCM40 speakers. You will regret letting them go for anything else. Upgrading to SCM40A active speakers may bring a small uplift in sound quality but I'm not sure the cost to you will be worth it. Same for a 250 power amp, I don't think it will make a huge difference.

Where you can make a big step up in sound quality is in your preamp and DAC. Connect a Hugo TT or 272 (or Hugo 2 or V1 if on a budget) to your P1 and you will be laughing. Sell CDA2.

I can personally vouch for the sublime sound quality of Hugo TT > P1 > SCM40. You might get a discounted second hand TT on flea bay as it's soon to be discontinued for Hugo TT 2.

Never tried Nova > SCM40 so cannot comment. I would be surprised if it offered better sound quality than TT or 272. I'm also unsure if it is capable of driving SCM40 properly.

Have you any chance of borrowing a Nova to find out?

Any move based on supposition and hearsay seems rather hit an miss.

Thanks again for replies

As good as the Hugo might be, the aesthetics of the unit put me off considering it. As for the 272, if you compare its aesthetics to a Nova, then it looks like it is a older design. I do not think you have to be Mystic Meg, to see where Naim will go with the Uniti platform for the future after there considerable investment in the Uniti range.  Unfortunately, I do not know anyone who has a Nova and due to short supply I very much doubt if a dealer would loan me one for a home demonstration. I suppose I could talk to Naim at Bristol to try and find out future developments. However, I suspect this will be a closely guarded secret, contrary to what Naim might say publicly.

The one point I could say is that when playing from Core or Cd through CDA2, is that I can tell no discernible difference. This either points to the DAC is very good in the CDA2, or is levelling the sound quality between Core and CD replay.

I guess the real crux of the issue is how much more money to invest in system, with endless upgrades I.e. buy 272, then power supply, exotic cables. Alternatively, buy Nova, maybe downgrade speakers and just listen to the music.

Man with no Naim posted:

Unfortunately, I do not know anyone who has a Nova and due to short supply I very much doubt if a dealer would loan me one for a home demonstration.

I certainly wouldn’t buy from a dealer that expects you to hand over more than 4K for a Nova without home demo...

I agree, but at present demand outstrips supply☹️

I’m not sure where you live, but any dealer with a Nova on demonstration is pretty well certain to be willing to lend it to you. Maybe rather than downgrading your speakers to accommodate a Nova you’d be better just sticking with the current setup. I downsized from Naim SL2s about ten years ago, and then two years ago bought another pair. Good, well driven speakers are hard to replace. 

What Naim have said is that the classic components will retain their current style and will not go into uniti style boxes. I suspect that what will happen with boxes like the 272, NDX and NDS is that the replacements will have the colour glass screen on the right hand third of the front. That’s just my speculation, but is doesn’t take a genius to come to that conclusion. Or Mystic Meg come to that. 

Have a chat with the Bristol dealer, he will have a demo unit, though you'll not likely borrow it in the run up to Christmas there's no harm in asking. He can say no and you're no worse off than now, he might say OK but in the new year or maybe you could arrange a shop demo using your speakers which will at least tell you if the combination is worth further investigation.

I think your totallly right about the future development of the 272. New glass display, incorporation of Bluetooth and wireless into case I.e. no aerials and further integration into naim app. Iconic design always goes beyond form, fit and function.

What really confuses me on here, is how people can say that a Nova is not far behind a 272/250. Is the Nova really that good ?

I’ve never heard the Nova and 272/250 in a direct comparison. One Naim dealer, who did the comparison, told me that the Nova is certainly not not far behind. That was part of my thinking behind the suggestion of a 272 and SCM40A. But I can see your reticence if having the new platform 272 equivalent is important. 

I would agree with HH, as I did hear a demo in passing at a dealer when Naim were showing to the dealer the new Nova. I was just picking up a part, and hung around. Yes, the 272\250 had the edge, but it was not night and day ahead. Subsequently I decided on the Nova, and then have been adding power amps, as I am waiting for the next Naim architecture streamers, whenever that happens. However as HH has mentioned in another thread, add a power supply to the 272, it’s then a different story, much better than the Nova. But should be at the price. In the end you have to listen and make your own mind up.

Can iI ask what speakers you are using ?

Gazza’s profile says PMC 25.26. But it also mentions a 300DR...

Yes swapped my 250dr for a  coming up to 1 year old 300 dr ex demo last week. I know it’s not conventional way of going about it, but it’s a lot of fun. Waiting for the new Naim streaming series 272 replacement etc to eventually replace the Nova. Dealer seems to think the 500 series streamer is most likely the next one, who knows.

Following your lead. I suppose I could buy a Nova and feed preamp out into P1.

Yes unlike the Atom the Nova has a Din out for connection to a power amp as well as 2 rca. Atom has only rca out if I remember correctly.

But why do that when a 272 will sound better and cost less, especially if bought used? Is the functionality of the new platform that important? 

Man with no Naim posted:

The one point I could say is that when playing from Core or Cd through CDA2, is that I can tell no discernible difference. This either points to the DAC is very good in the CDA2, or is levelling the sound quality between Core and CD replay.

Both are simply digital feeds to the CDA2 DAC so I wouldn't expect to hear any difference. You will hear a big difference if you unplug your CDA2 and connect 272 or Hugo TT directly to P1.

Man with no Naim posted:

Following your lead. I suppose I could buy a Nova and feed preamp out into P1.

That would make the whole power amp section of Nova redundant, what a waste!

Exactly -- what's the point of an all-in-one box if one adds additional boxes... 

Thanks again for alll replies

I guess the most common answer here is replace ATC CDA2 with Naim 272. As I have not heard a 272, I cannot really comment on it. However, I can give three reasons why I would not buy one at present: (i) compared to the aesthetics of the new Uniti range, it looks like a 1970’s calculator, (iI) when the 272 gets updated I.e. new display etc, I believe the prices of current 272 will tumble, (iiii) when you have used Naim app, which I do for my Core, it is just a sheer joy.

The other day having sometime to oneself. I borrowed SWMBO speakers from her system, namely Acoustic Energy Reference 1, and connected them to mine. Now what I’m about to say will be classed no doubt as heresy. As I was listening, I suddenly noticed that my foot was tapping away with the music. I have owned in the past a pair of Acoustic Energy AE1 Mk2 and Reference 1, so I know the brand quite well. I’m not trying to suggest here that the Reference 1 is a better speaker than the SCM40. However, it did seem to convey a synergy with the music, which the SCM40 did not.