202/200 discontinued?!

As an SN3 owner there is an opportunity to add a 250 DR or 300 DR first or to add a 282 and the SN as power amp. There will be always lots of upgrade options.

not to mention DR upgrades

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surely it just means payout would be based on the model as specified, and you just wouldn’t benefit from the higher value of the higher spec model - which is fair as you hadn’t bought a higher model…

I believe you will find that all Teslas have heated seats included in the price. You certainly do not need to rent them. The only thing I think Tesla charge extra for is software (e.g. the optimistically named full self driving) and that is a (large) one off payment.

I think eventually the 300 will be the “entry level” power amp. My guess is naim may be going down the Linn route with Streaming pre amps and active (Focal) speakers. We will see eventually I guess.

On an electric car what do heated seats and steering wheels do for the range? Sorry thread diversion.

I don’t think the 250 will be going anywhere. It’s been a staple of the amplifier range for many years so whilst case style and internals may be updated, the 250 name will live on. It’s a classic Naim product.

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Yes, just a bit :slight_smile:

If Naim takes that route, they are digging their own grave…

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couldn’t the same be said of the 200??

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Unfortunately, not an unusual development when the owners who originally started the business disappear and are replaced by owners with no emotional connection to the business…

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The NAP250 was the replacement for the original (1973) NAP200. The later NAP200 was a sort of 180 replacement, but it doesn’t have the history or cachet of the 250.

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The Nap 200 DR gets praise more often than Nap 200.
Worth mention they are identical apart from preamp PSU which often isn’t used as Hicap does this job.

Not many companies would make the same product for 20 years. I reckon the 202 has had a good run. I do think the jump to the 282/250 is too far though to be a viable business model. I’ve been a very happy user of a 202(and 155xs) but a $25k amp (which is what a new 282/250 combo is here) is just not going to be a thing. So my target system is now a back-to-the-future Olive set-up. I could have sneaked in a hi-cap here, a 200 there, maybe a Highline while no one was looking, but going all in on a 282/250 in one hit, that’s university education for one of my kids. Naim is primarily a luxury brand at that point. Nothing wrong with that but the market for $50k + stereos for enthusiasts is probably smaller than the market for $50k lifestyle system spending. That’s always been the beauty of the box ladder, that you can do it over time and there is very little real obsolescence.

I think HiFi is moving on and Naim is quite sensibly thinking about the future of smaller/fewer/more aesthetically impactful boxes. The direction of travel is clear, the future is going to be app-controlled powered speakers - It’s not such a big leap to look at someone like Linn and think everything that goes into Klimax DSM could just be in the speaker cabinet (though I have serious misgivings about the obsolescence potential of such integrated solutions). I think Dynaudio are doing something along this line too. I know ‘lifestyle product’ is a dirty word to hobbyists but that’s where almost all of the market is, even at the high-value end. Enthusiasts like us are increasingly a bit of an anachronism, though I’m happy to be one.

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I think a lot of people wish they could hit fast forward 10 years and see if Naim has got back on track for traditional hifi or followed it’s current trajectory.

I wouldn’t call it a downward spiral exactly. The heavily rationalised range and lifestyle products might have done very well for the business. By that measure they may be big success and putting the business where it should be on it’s planned roadmap.

But, the next ten years of changes will reveal for many customers the answer to the question: am I still in a customer segment Naim caters for or have they outgrown me?

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They are not identical

The 200DR has the new ceramic insulated transistors.

Identical?? They are far from identical, just read Naim’s website and you will see…

I was looking at the range as a whole and from the perspective of someone looking to buy into it. With a budget of around £7k, say, to spend on an amp I don’t really see many prospective purchasers going for an SN3 and 250DR. And 282/SN3/HC makes even less sense as an initial purchase.

However, a pre-streamer to go in front of a 250DR could perhaps fill the gap. Just sayin’ ,

Roger

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Agreed. And it was the power amp of choice for the recently well-promoted tin edtion.

Roger

Gawd. Don’t tempt fate you two.