The dye has already been cast.
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@LindsayM they don’t seem to make much difference tbh. The range is not quite what it says on the tin in my experience either! I get about ½ to 2/3rds (if its a hot day)
Tesla only charge a subscription in the US I believe so you can access full self drive and enhanced autopilot functions for a cheaper price. You can dip in and out also I believe. Its just a one off payment in the UK. Owning a BMW also the difference in range is immense! One can’t compare an EV with a Diesel/Petrol range car yet.
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I see what you did there!
Roger
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I stand corrected then
Naim as a hifi brand is known and respected all over the world, not least in Sweden where I live. To reach that position takes many years and persistent work, yet it can be erased in a few years if you lose the qualities that led you there. So, for heaven’s sake, don’t do as other big hifi brands have done in recent years by letting the short-term return demands of boardroom economists take over, that’s a surefire way to kill a brand!
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Well, you learn something new every day, don’t you? 
Like many I started on the Naim journey at the bottom end of the ladder with a unitiqute along with a Nap 100, I then upgraded to a xs2. The next stage was to look at a power amp only as my streamer has a pre amp and I wanted to reduce the box count .
Now the Nap 200 has gone the next stage on the ladder is the 250 which is a mighty jump for most of us.
I always appreciated that Naim had a logical upgrade path however when so many rungs have been removed at the bottom many like myself will be forced to look elsewhere , as stated in other posts it might work in the short term but when there are no affordable entry points many will simply look elsewhere and start a different Journey with a different manufacturer
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Does all this mean that the core Naim amp ladder now goes (if I have got the prices right): -
Nait 5Si £1,400
Nait XS3 £2,500
SN3 £3,800
SN3 + HCDR £5,400
272 replacement + 250 ??
282 + HCDR + 250 £11,200
252 + HCDR + 250 £13,400
252 + SCDR + 250 £16,500
252 + SCDR + 300 £21,000
552 + SCDR + 500 £55,000
Have I got that right? If yes, the 272 replacement that many assume is imminent (which may be wishful thinking) presumably won’t be worse than ND5 XS2 or NDX2 as a streamer, so that is £3K - £4K of streamer.
It looks to me as if the hierarchy would be preserved if the theoretical new box were a bit better than ND5XS2 + 202 and cost £5K ish, or if it were nearly as good as NDX2 + 282 and cost more like £8K.
Does all that theorising and ranking look about right?
If it does, I am not sure that there would be a gap in the range if the 272-replacement existed. Without it, there is a big step up to start owning separates.
As others have pointed out, that may cost them a few sales but may save more by reducing the number of production lines. Continuing limited parts supplies means that concentrating on actually delivering a range of products may mean putting parts into 202/200 just doesn’t make sense when they can make more money using the same limited supply of bit for boxes with more attractive (to them) pricing and possibly better performance too. Failures to deliver products without vast waiting times can kill reputations, businesses and dealer networks.
To maintain Naim’s margin and the hierarchy, an updated 202/200 should probably cost £5K. Given that a Hicap really does help a SN3, they may well feel that one 2-box solution at around that price is quite enough, and they may also feel that SN3 + HCDR is genuinely a better product for the money.
If that looks right to people, then I am not sure we need to get too paranoid just yet.
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I think there will be a range of streaming pre amps not just 272 level. Whether there will be matching power amps at all levels or just active speakers remains to be seen
So would your intermediate step be 282 +SCDR + 250?
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The 552 can’t be used with a SuperCap.
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But it doesn’t need one either, the price it sells for includes the 552PS
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Thanks for the corrections.
I think that makes the list: -
Nait 5Si £1,400
Nait XS3 £2,500
SN3 £3,800
SN3 + HCDR £5,400
272 replacement + 250 ??
282 + HCDR + 250 £11,200
252 + HCDR + 250 £13,400 or 282 +SCDR + 250 £14,600
252 + SCDR + 250 £16,500
252 + SCDR + 300 £21,000
552 + 500 £50,000
Does that look right/ less wrong?
I have also left out lots of intermediate mixes - there are already plenty of other threads discussing (for example) whether a SN3 + Hicap owner should add 282 before 250 or 250 before 282.
In any event, the general point is that, in the rarefied world in which Naim now operates, dropping the 202/200 does not look incomprehensible.
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252 won’t work with a HC, it needs a SC
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Not sure that there will be a whole range of streaming pre-amps as this would compete with the existing streamers. Clare hinted pretty strongly that there would be something along the lines of one though…
Hello Bjorn
Very good words from you. I started on the Naim ladder with a humble Nait 3 and moved onwards and upwards. I ended up with a five box set up, of 200/202 , HiCap, NAPSC , and a Stageline .
Mind boggling complicated at the back, and when I started to think about objectively - was far too complex , especially with the wiring etc .
Nice sound , but when it came out for servicing - it went to be sold instead
By a long route I came back to Naim for amplification , coupled with a streamer and am a happy Nova user instead . I should have have downsized to a SN3 , and had the HiCap serviced.
My point being Naim have to adapt their products , and I wonder if they have removed a rung in the ladder between the SN3 and the 282
I would have kept the 200 and lost the 202 when I introduced the legendary and fabled 272 replacement.
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Sorry! It was pointed out but not corrected properly.
Version 3 should be right!
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There
There is definitely a significant gap between the SN3/HiCap and the 282 etc. I think of it as a rung missing on the ladder . A combo at the £7500 / £8000 price tag
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I have absolutely no inside information but I doubt the range will look like this in 2/3 years time.
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