NAC152XS owners, your power supplies

That's great Chris, sometimes it's the vfm uprades which can take one by surprise and put a smile on your face. It doesn't always have to be an all 'singing & dancing' money no object box to reach satisfaction and when it isn't it's even better. Anyway, what am I babbling on about...err, enjoy!

Thanks Stephen. Yes I'm convinced that to get the best from the NAC152XS, both upgrades need to be performed. But great when this can be done for so little     I'm just hoping that any other owners of this pre who might want to take it a bit further will see the thread.

Allaes singing with some Lucinda Williams right now.

Nice one Christopher.  I'm using both outputs from the Flatcap XS into my 152 and without a doubt it transforms the 152 which sounds very good indeed to my ears.

A Hicap DR is on my upgrade radar but I wouldn't want to keep the Flatcap XS just to power upgrade 1 so an iSupply sounds ideal.  Presumably it outputs exactly the same voltage into upgrade 1 as the Flatcap XS?  They seem rare as hens teeth though so you're lucky to have found one.

Good to hear from another satisfied XS separates owner!  

Thanks WRC. I think we might be a bit of an endangered species

Yes, I think the i-Supply puts out the same voltage as the other supplies, only not as well as them. (The limits of my tech knowledge have now been reached).

You have a nice set and I must say that when I tried both outputs of my FCXS on my 152 it was great with the radio and with the record player, better than I have now. So if you ever go for a HC-DR on upgrade 2 and find an i-Supply for upgrade 2, I'd love to know how it sounds. I do sort of wonder if the balance would be lost though. An extended dem is obviously the answer....

C.

I’m also aware of unbalancing the setup with a hcdr. Consensus on this forum is mixed, with some strongly in favour and others not, so I agree that a demo is probably the way to go.  Every now and then I toy with the idea of upgrading but truth be told I’m in no rush.  I think I have an amazing setup which never fails to entertain me.

I like what the FCxs does. I recently tried disconnecting it just to remind myself what it contributes and couldn’t connect it up again fast enough. It adds maturity to the 152/155 especially when the volume is turned up. Good as it is though, I found the xp5 on the nd5 more of a significant upgrade...one that takes the system to another level and really shows what the 152/155/fcxs is capable of. 

Thank you. Would be great if someone had experience of running their 152XS with a HC-DR, and whatever on upgrade 1. Perhaps lost in the mists of time now ......... but would be good to hear.

I had a 152XS with HCDR and it was great. But I never owned a FC, and I had nothing on Upgrade 1. When I heard the 202 though, the 152 had to go; better bass, mid and treble. Then a NAP 200 replaced the 155XS, better again, but not as big an upgrade as the 202 was. 

tonybabawalla posted:

When I heard the 202 though, the 152 had to go; better bass, mid and treble.

Ok, but was the PRAT better?

I used to run nac152xs & nap155xs which I actually purchased new. I later added a ex demo flatcap xs to both connections on the nac152 which was a very nice improvement.

I ran this system for a few years and it worked beautifully. I replaced the nac & flatcap with an olive Nac52 & SuperCap still keeping the 155xs and the same speakers guru juniors.

That was a huge upgrade like a veil lifted revealing much more detail in the music.

I ran this for 6 months or so then bought a pre owned nap 300 non dr. To be honest I was a bit underwhelmed with this upgrade over the 155xs maybe as I am still using the guru juniors.

I have moved to a larger music room so I have to get round to auditioning larger and hopefully better speakers where I am hoping the Nap 300 will stand me in good stead.

The moral just because it costs more doesn’t necessarily mean you will get a value for money uplift in performance.

Thank you to all who have responded.

Earlier in my Naim life, I ran a NAC202, albeit in a different system. I have the feeling that my NAC152XS receiving both outputs of a FCXS runs it close.

Good to see that the NAP155XS isn't outclassed in the company of a NAC52, PremmyBoy!

And great to see brilliant value near the bottom of the range.

Just to say how good I'm finding this XS separates set. Brilliant with my Allaes too. In many ways the best Naim set that I've had. Might get a four tail Hydra for it but that's about it.

Thanks to all who responded.

C.