gear question for all

An ex demo 300 dr could be an interesting item to demo, it’s a relatively safe choice as it really will open up your speakers in terms of Naim Prat. East to move on if it does not workout.

SC the 282

I would turbo-charge your nDAC with a pre-loved 555PS (non-DR version).

Buy only from reputable dealers and check the vintage - if it’s more than 10 years old, have it re-capped at the same time to save the hustle of having to do it soon.
Service intervals for 5-series gear is 15 years.

As to a SuperCap on 282 - I think I’m alone in not liking this combination. To my ears, in my room, HiCap DR sounded much better (as in - it kept 282’s raw character).

How about selling the ndac and buying an XPSDR for the NDX and then depending on your speakers and room size                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       trading in the 250DR for a 300DR.                                                                                                  

Appropriate direction - kick back and enjoy what you have. If it already sounds good to you, then why change? If you have a specific area that needs improvement then discuss them here and (maybe) get some good advice. 

Apart from looking at the amps, you may want to consider trying a Chord DAC and see how it will compare to your Naim nDAC. 

Fraim.

oferr posted:

I know that the best way to decide on the "right" system for your ears/pockets is to do deep listenings with all setups.   But I can honestly not do that.

I ended with a very nice system to my ears, and I am wondering for the appropriate  direction

My setup is ndx into ndac, 282 + 2 hcdr on 250dr

now....    

1.    should I 555ps or 555psdr the ndac ?  

or...

2.  sc the 282?

3.  any other thoughts ?

very similar set up to mine at the start of the end of 2017 NDX,282,HCDR,200

then moved to 300 Oct 2017 and DR in 2018 - the uplift is quiet awsome! so that could be another thought, I am also looking at SCDR on my 282 as it will add to the whole system

on 555 i would say this really does lift to the NDX onto another level, so if this is your main source great upgrade,

I went down another route with my LP12 as I play about 95% vinyl

In a similar system (except I didn't have the ndac, just an NDX bare) I changed to a used NDS and XPS2 DR.  I did this last week.  The 282/Hicap/250DR is more than capable of showing these differences up.

Its' absolutely fantastic and seems doable based on your other options and the value of your existing items if you source used items.

Otherwise I may be tempted to get the best out of what you already heave, a Fraim makes more of a difference than you might thing, and it stands you in good stead for future upgrades.

I used to have an identical system to you, other than my I had a 250.2 rather than 250DR, and without any hesitation I would strongly recommend you add a 555PS (prefereably non DR if you can get one) to the NDAC.. 

Adding  an additional powersupply allows the NDAC to work with split sepsrate powersupplies.. one for the digital circuitry and one for analogue... just like in using two powersupplies on the the NDS or ND555... to me this hugely opens up the ND555.. it just seems to breath more and sounds so much more enveloping.

BTW I did find my 555PS on my NDX not a great match.. to my ears it really highlighted the NDX’s DAC stage  shortcomings to the point of being irritating after a while.....

Thank you everybody!!!

? will never get the PS upgrades for nDac at this age of superb DACs costing less the PS...

SC the 282 then qutest for Ndx...

or trade the ndx/ndac for an ndx2.

I'm cautious of listening tests when you've got any knowledge about what's which (or usually and more blatantly,know how much money relatively each unit you're comparing is,  or you're adding anything which is "supposed" (£) to improve your set up, i.e. it will! - unless you're a temperamentally awkward sod).

But in your situation a home test would be pretty informative. The 555 is more expensive (imperfect proxy for better). So see / hear the two. If you're gonna buy one of them a dealer would surely facilitate a test.

Thxs again !!!

yeti42 posted:

Fraim.

+ 1 As I have just done this and heard the benefits, however I would SC first.

I wouldn’t.

blythe posted:

SC the 282

Seconded.

M.

To elaborate a little, I have had 282/HiCap/250.2. I too thought of a second HiCap, I too was told to look for a SC instead. I found the SC and found the improvement, for once, real, homogeneous, meaningful from a magnitude order point of view and not depriving the 282 of its real qualities. In all friendship to Adam Zielinski I don't think 'rawness' can be assimilated to a desirable sonic trait; the SC retained the great and good difference between my previous 202 and the 282 adding a finesse and a flow which no HiCap had been able to give me so far. And, last, I'd always go for a classic not a DR PSU. My opinion only, of course. 

As for NDXs, NDX2s, DACs and all that jazz, I insist - vox clamans in deserto (it's only Latin, Richard, don't get upset) – that all money spent on upgrading gear built around a DAC and a streaming platform is money wasted.

M.

Max does make a good point above.

Perhaps few words of explanation as to what I meant by ‘raw’...

I meant unprocessed, unaffected, clear and direct.
In pretty muych the same way I’d imagine why [@mention:1566878604017079] you like your sources without power supplies.

While I would favor source first and push on the PSU trail in general, I tend to believe that the nDAC 4.11.8 update closed a large part of the gap of adding boxes to the venerable converter. In other terms adding an XPS2 or a 555PS, DR or not, is not as justifiable as it used to be before 2016. I would therefore consider here selling both the NDX and the nDAC and opt for a NDS, a real bargain nowadays on the S/H market. ????

I would then consider a SC-DR in particular as for preparing to go to 252. Beware however that the latter has a whole different presentation than the 282’s. ????

Chag -

Adam Zielinski posted:

In pretty much the same way I’d imagine why [@mention:1566878604017079] you like your sources without power supplies.

Adam,

I think so, yes. The process has been slow and has coincided with an unpredicted shift from a taste for the rich and the detailed to one for the flowing and communicating, which must have something to do with the 20 months of therapy I am undergoing. Anyway, my CDX2.2 still has its internal PSU and also the Pro-Ject depends on a wall-wart.... 

Thanks for the clarification. After the experience with the XS2 I am more and more beginning to wonder whether less parts can mean better (rawer?) sound. But then, you are usually left with low output power, you start thinking of SETs and LS3/5As and I don't wan't to end up with an 80s system and a 21th century body...

Ciao

M