Naim NAC-N 272 with 555 PS DR

Was this a step from no power supply or did you have a XPS or something

Japtimscarlet posted:

Was this a step from no power supply or did you have a XPS or something

I had a XPS before.

In that case ..glad to hear it made so much difference!!

Congratulations

Congratulations [@mention:69145069645706369]

I’m sat here listening to my bare 272 and it’s sounding fantastic. I’m sure adding a 555 would blow my mind! 

It's funny...only a few days ago I tried my 272 with out its xpsdr ... for the first time!

Upon first listening I thought...so what exactly was the xpsdr doing ??? But after a while I realized what I was missing...just a fuller rounder more musical sound...but the bare 272 still sounded nice ...

It is all about more details, bigger and deeper stage, better controlled and faster bass, more natural voices etc, it is hard to define at the end but really easy to hear and feel...

its like with cars - first you buy a car, then you buy a good car, then a nice car, after a fantastic car and you end up buying Ferrari...voila

Finkfan posted:

Congratulations [@mention:69145069645706369]

I’m sat here listening to my bare 272 and it’s sounding fantastic. I’m sure adding a 555 would blow my mind! 

It would / will

Adam Zielinski posted:

Finkfan posted:

Congratulations [@mention:69145069645706369]

I’m sat here listening to my bare 272 and it’s sounding fantastic. I’m sure adding a 555 would blow my mind! 

It would / will

I’ve just been listening to Finkfans system and have to agree it’s sounding superb, the newly added GIK panels are worth their weight in gold, amazing what a difference they make, adding the 555 would certainly mean having to invite me round again....

I’ll keep saving Wenger! 

Maybe naim will bring a 555 and 272 to the Bristol show for us?!?! 

Tesilk posted:

Finally added today a 555 PS DR to 272. As it was stated by some here, it is just another level of everything. 

+ 1

I swapped my XPS DR for a pre-loved 555 PS (non DR) less than a week ago to pair with my 272. This is my first 500 series anything. At first, although I could sense and hear a difference, it took a while for me to truly appreciate just how much better it is in everything. Everything just sounds more relaxed, natural, no hint of any edge and dare I say, in strange way, more analogue. 

Almost a week in and I'm glad I went for it.  Perhaps I just got a glimpse of what a 500 series kit is all about!

Good to hear guys,although one guy that posts here(GRAEMH) went from bare 272,to adding a non DR 555,to an XPSDR...but we have not heard much from him about the XPS.The 555 is a lot of money here in Canada,and I struggle with the decision whether or not to save up for the 555,or for around the same price...a Chord Dave.I can get a demo with the Dave,but not the 555.

Good to see the cult of Blimey still attracting new members.

I added the 555Dr to my bare272/250DR 6 months ago and it continues to improve even now. I agree with the various descriptions of the music above, and would also add it makes the music more.... translucent. You can really get an appreciation of how the various instruments and voices interplay, the sound-stage is more explicit. It  is almost like you can get up and walk amongst the various performers, the various musical strands  are that clear. It is no longer hifi, it is just music, and I have difficulty walking away from it whenI go to work.

And I am still at work and not smoking any electric puha!

No quarter posted:

Good to hear guys,although one guy that posts here(GRAEMH) went from bare 272,to adding a non DR 555,to an XPSDR...but we have not heard much from him about the XPS.

That’s because I’m listening listening listening! Very happy with the new XPSDR over the (2006) 555PS I tried.

G

Nice to hear,pretty good isn’t it,GRAEMH,I just find it odd that so many people say the 555 is so much better...maybe they are trying to justify the unnecessary money they put out.Keep in mind,I have the XPSDR,but have not heard the 555,I guess it could be speaker dependant,but my special 40s really work well with just the XPS.I bought my new XPS(dealer demo) for 4K (Canadian),and my dealer wants around 14k for the 555DR,so quite a streeeetch.

That's why I got a used 555DR for my 272.  It cost me £4k from a Naim dealer (so I know it wasn't nicked!).

I also had a opportunity to purchase an older and used 555 PS at a good price otherwise, I would have not made the leap.  Yes, it is better in some ways than the XPS but adding an XPS DR to a bare 272 was a tremendous jump in performance. A very big step up.

Huge,that sounds like a really good deal,but that is still over 7 thousand Canadian dollars.Lucky for me,I was the only one to demo the XPSDR  that I have,so really,it was brand new.Over here in Canada,apparently once a year,the dealers are offered a huge discount on Naim gear,so my dealer grabbed a 250DR,and XPSDR...knowing I wanted them.

Okay, here's where I'm at.  I have a 272/250DR combo.  Sounds great.  Knowing that there's always another level of "more" with Naim products, I'm thinking of adding a power supply, either the XPSDR or 555DR.  Or, I might get a new DAC - the Chord Dave.  Which way should I go - power supply or new DAC?  I'd like to do both, but realistically, I'll have to stick with one upgrade at a time.

Getting a new Dac would presumably mean changing pre amps too unless of course you use the Dave as a pre also.  I do understand that you can use a seperate Dac with the 272 but to get the very best from that very expensive Dac I would think that a 282/HCDR would be a minimum and of course you would need to add a streamer.

Using an external DAC with N272 means it would turn into a digital transport. A separate pre-mp would be required.

So I guess the optimal solution woul be to use a PSU.

Why would a separate preamp be required?  I'd connect my Core to the Dave, then RCA output from the Dave into the 272 analogue input.  Shouldn't that work for playback from the Core?

docmark posted:

Why would a separate preamp be required?  I'd connect my Core to the Dave, then RCA output from the Dave into the 272 analogue input.  Shouldn't that work for playback from the Core?

It would work fine. I think the point is more about redundancy - or choosing the most appropriate gear for the job. Going for Core - DAC - 272 makes it nothing more than an analogue preamp, with the entire streamer - DAC section unused, so it might be logical to put your resources into a dedicated preamp instead of the 272. Of course, if you already have the 272......

docmark posted:

Okay, here's where I'm at.  I have a 272/250DR combo.  Sounds great.  Knowing that there's always another level of "more" with Naim products, I'm thinking of adding a power supply, either the XPSDR or 555DR.  Or, I might get a new DAC - the Chord Dave.  Which way should I go - power supply or new DAC?  I'd like to do both, but realistically, I'll have to stick with one upgrade at a time.

Am I right that you have the 272 sitting on the 250? If so where would the extra boxes go. I’d get the existing kit set up properly first. And if I’m wrong, please ignore that question. 

555 changes the 272 to all new hifi level...so go for it. 

if you want an external DAC - insisting on it -  change the 272 to 282 and add a source...