Thoughts on an upgrade to 552 / Source Question

ZHB, as a 552 and RP10 user (OK, and Superline too), I can assure you that they all work superbly well together.  I predict you'll be listening to a lot of vinyl LPs with this combination...

Yup-no brainer on a good deal... I went from 252/250 to 552/250 and it was and still is the largest incremental upgrade in SQ that I have experienced with Naim boxes. That was with a P-9, Superline/Supercap . You will have no problem hearing the significant differences .

Go for it!

ATB,

Mark

On the surface it seems like a no brainer.......... and that it is! ????

ATB Peter

Nice to see you posting again Doc

ATB,

Mark

My phono stage is Superline also... currently powered by an external ps... would power the stage if I make the switch directly from the 552... would sacrifice the external ps to offset the cost of the new pre :-)

Although not a vinyl user, I have recently upgraded from 252DR to 552 non-DR, with a NDS/555DR as my source, and a 250Dr power amp, and it has produced a significant uplift in SQ. From others on here it seems that your RP10 should be ideal with a 552. Certainly your 300DR and Sopra 2s will lap up what the 552 can deliver.

The only question mark I have is that, being only a year old with a 50% discount seems almost too good to be true. Check out the seller thoroughly and assure yourself everything is legit and the 552's history is authentic. If it is, go for it, that is a bargain!

ZHB

Is that the 552/555 that is on Canuck Audio Mart? I saw that ad a couple of days ago,thought it looked like a real bargain,but as NIGELB says,I would be careful with such a discount on a 2017 model.I was eyeballing a 2016 NDS on the same site,might call him tomorrow.

No quarter... it is the ad on Canuck and I’ve just put down a deposit on the units... pick up Saturday. The seller is very active with 300+ transactions and a 100 % rating. I feel confident. I’ve asked for the serial numbers and will check them out. The unit still has 4 years warranty on it. 

I’ve always wanted a 552... didn’t know that it would ever happen. In the past 2 years I’ve only seen 3 come up for sale used in Canada... given the 2017 build and the price... couldn’t let this one get away. Apparently he is selling them on behalf of a senior... I’m 52... figure between this pre and my 300 DR I’m set. Exciting!

hmmmmm... well maybe a ND555 at some point in the future :-)

Zipperheadbanjo posted:

No quarter... it is the ad on Canuck and I’ve just put down a deposit on the units... pick up Saturday. The seller is very active with 300+ transactions and a 100 % rating. I feel confident. I’ve asked for the serial numbers and will check them out. The unit still has 4 years warranty on it. 

I’ve always wanted a 552... didn’t know that it would ever happen. In the past 2 years I’ve only seen 3 come up for sale used in Canada... given the 2017 build and the price... couldn’t let this one get away. Apparently he is selling them on behalf of a senior... I’m 52... figure between this pre and my 300 DR I’m set. Exciting!

hmmmmm... well maybe a ND555 at some point in the future :-)

That's really a great price and if all works out it's a fantastic opportunity. I found that posting...was tempted myself!! Glad you snagged it.

Yes the sources are up to it. Nice deal !

but you might want to experiment changing the source from the rendu to a spdif based streamer for the chord Hugo TT

Spdif sounds better to me on a chord Hugo than usb.... even if galvanically isolated... 

I got my 552 in a similar deal and just upgraded it to DR earlier this year.    I used with with the 300 for a long time.   You will be very happy, and it will be a great addition to your holiday listening.  

Before I sacrificed my Superline Power Supply to the 5552DR gods, I would try the Superline operating off the 552 directly as well as off the Power Supply.  If you are listening to a lot of vinyl, the Power Supply may prove to be important to you.

Zipperheadbanjo posted:

No quarter... it is the ad on Canuck and I’ve just put down a deposit on the units... pick up Saturday. The seller is very active with 300+ transactions and a 100 % rating. I feel confident. I’ve asked for the serial numbers and will check them out. The unit still has 4 years warranty on it. 

I’ve always wanted a 552... didn’t know that it would ever happen. In the past 2 years I’ve only seen 3 come up for sale used in Canada... given the 2017 build and the price... couldn’t let this one get away. Apparently he is selling them on behalf of a senior... I’m 52... figure between this pre and my 300 DR I’m set. Exciting!

hmmmmm... well maybe a ND555 at some point in the future :-)

Good stuff,I notice you live in Ontario,me too (Windsor) .The seller is from Ontario too,I would drive there to be sure it’s legit.Good deal on the Superlumina interconnect he has too.

You’ll be wanting a supercap on that superline if at all possible. Your profile lists two...

Looking at your profile I can’t see mention of racking. You have an excellent set of boxes already, but these really need Fraim to deliver the amazing sound they are capable of. At minimum if you don’t have Fraim, the Naim glass, cups are balls are needed along with plenty of space around the preamp both top and bottom especially digital boxes like NDX. Once you get these sorted the 552 offers a level of refinement as Simon in Sussex will confirm. Some might suggest the NDX is the weak link, but I have no experience of that.

Phil

Sounds good ZHB. Just get those serial numbers and check them out with Naim before you part with the balance - they should hopefully show the boxes as Canadian/US exports as they are unlikely to have travelled elsewhere in a year.

Go go go.... rp10 is a very good source...

For Digital there are many choices... i listen CDs for listening and now using a Astell Kern sp1000 as a streamer for my 552, you can not Beileve the maturity of a small DAP with a cheap cable with 552

Hi [@mention:16631269487832709], you will enjoy your 552, it seems to like just about what ever source you connect to it... I notice you have a Hugo TT... well in my experience it took the 552 to make the most of what the Hugo (original) can offer.. and I suspect the Statement NAC would take it further such is the incredible performance of the original Hugo... sadly not matched or bettered in later Hugo series products..

I did the same .......go for it........the 552 ....probably won't depreciate too much more....so you have a good solid deal........ + excellent SQ.

Quick update and reply to some of the questions / comments.

Everything checked out and I picked up the 552 last night. Got it home and spent a few hours tearing down my gear, disconnecting everything and letting the 552 and PS warm up to room temp (they had been in a cold room). I'm fairly recently separated (about 12 months) so my separated guy apartment space is a little cozy, and all the gear does have to go on one rack (Quadraspire 4 Evo). Separated brawn (lower part of rack) from brains (upper rack), and made some decisions about the compromises I would have to make to accommodate cable lengths etc. In the end it all worked out fairly well, and the rack is really tall, which helped with cable dressing.

Finally fired it up around 11 pm... and yeah. Big difference. Even cold there was an obvious lift from the 252. Just more of everything. I'll have a chance to play with it more this evening and on the weekend and optimize the set up a little. People say the 552 is more sensitive than the 252, and I got a sense of that immediately. My hiline has been broken for some time... but I was using it without any real ill effects on the 252. On the 552 I got a rather loud hum from the assigned input, so I assume there is a loose ground wire or something in the hiline. Switched it out for the standard cable... problem solved. I'm running the Superline with the external power supply. 

So my weekend will be mostly playing with my new toy, and getting my old toys ready for sale. Thanks for the feedback and comments.

Once the plastic connectors that articulate the hi-line pop out or break ...it's easy for the cable ends to get twisted and this in turn means the wires can become broken or maybe short out ... allowing hum or lost signal

Great news ZHB, you got yourself a bargain there. Enjoy the 552.

Quick update... vinyl replay with the 552 in place was amazing off the hop... really really wasn't pleased with my digital replay. And my massive stack of gear was problematic... space constraints in my apartment weren't helping ... so lots of stuff to think about... and I had a long drive yesterday and opportunity to ponder.

So... while on my travels I popped into my dealer, who happened to have an NDX 2 that he was more than happy to let me home demo. Got home from my evening with relatives and completely blew up my set up (and my living space)... found a solution that allowed me to get really good distance between the gear and my speakers which has been an issue in this space since I moved in. I was up until about 4 in the morning tearing down, disconnecting everything and wiping everything down. setting my gear up in two reasonable stacks using the brawn / brains approach.... reconnected the gear carefully dressing the cables as best I could... with very few compromises.

Wow. Massive massive difference. And the NDX 2 isn't going back. So impressed with it. My digital front end sounds natural again. So now will be replacing my old NDX, Hugo TT, and the Ultra Rendu / Ultra Rendu PS.

And I've even got an empty space on my brawn rack for an 555PS DR... at some point in the very very distant future.

Will post more thoughts later.. with pics :-)

As an aside I also gave a long listen while at the dealers to a refurb Uniti Atom with a pair of Totem Signature One's on the end. Wow. That's a very very impressive combo.

Great stuff..... also it will all improve with time...enjoy..

My racking looks like this

Brains                                 Brawn

Rega RP 10                          NDX

NAC 552                              Empty

Superline                            300 DR PS

NAP 300                              Turntable / Phono Stage PS's

Oppo 105 (transport)        552 DR PS

Wow wish I had the space.....