Found it hard to let the 552DR go for less than 8k so built a new setup around a 250DR. The used market is shot at the moment for the seller its a buyers market for sure. On the back of this I managed to secure a mint 3 year old 250DR with full fat Powerline for a bargain.
Main goal was to reduce the Fraim to one stack and thats been achieved, keeps Vicki happy and that to me is well above what any HiFi can deliver.
Thanks Dan
The sound signature of the 250 is very similar to the 500, early days but I think I like what I’m hearing and at the volume levels I play I may be on a winner.
One thing I need to mention, yesterday @Yorkshireman kindly invited me to his place to listen to his wonderful system, wow what a space so much room to allow his SL2s to breathe.
Active 135s with a late NAC52 at the helm with a well thought out digital setup ending up at an nDAC, incredible.
Totaly happy with what I have achieved this year so far
The main system is as you know a quad set up.
Arteria pre plus to 2 quad arteria mono blocks feeding allChris AR10 floor standing speakers and 2 rell subs I could not be happier with the sound of the set up.
Turntable is still the lenco 75 and project ds2 tube box
The study has the naim 5i and Edwards audio floor standing speakers and project Bluetooth box .
Two very different sounding systems I prefer the quad I can listen to it all day with no fatigue or complaints .
May you all have a good and safe new year .
I’ve had two separate electricians who have rushed into the middle of the room (before I could stop them) and then they’ve frozen when they realised they’ve made a massive mistake and are in fact surrounded by expensive and fragile equipment/cables everywhere.
I’m going to pre warn people in future before they enter the room.
*Naim NAP 300DR (ex-demo)
*Kudos Titan T505 (ex-demo)
*Stack Ausio Auva 100 isolators
*Atlas EOS Superior power cable (2nd hand)
*Audio Sensibility Stament power cable x 2
*HumminGurur record cleaner
I also re-tipped my Ortofon MC A-90 cartridge.
2024?
Probably only have one big upgrade in me budget-wise. Likely a new phono stage.
As a result of my rather unconventional approach to system building, I started the year with an Atom and a mid-eighties vintage Rega Planar 3 fed through a NAP 300DR and onto Titan 606s, whilst awaiting the announcement from Naim on their new line-up. A sparkly new NSC222 and NPX300 duly followed following a fiercely fought audition with a dCS Bartok fed direct to the NAP300.
I didn’t have a rack position for the Rega, so temporarily put it on a chopping block, direct on the floor; not ideal and sounded rubbish compared to the 222, so it remained largely unused for the remainder of the year. Fast forward to a month ago, I bought a rather long interconnect, a Rega mini Fono and placed the Rega on a sturdy cupboard (in a corner of my room where the floor appears to be less bouncy!) What a transformation, so much so that I am struggling to hear the difference now with the 222. All rather difficult to fathom, but I’ve spent a quite a few hours now doing a/b with some of my favourites and the Rega is not humbled at all.
Future plans? I feel I’m at a bit of a fork in the road, I could just leave it but I think there’s a decision to either simplify and replace the 300DR with a NC250 for a simple 3 box system, or go for the 350s which will inevitable lead to further updates down the road. There will be some dealer visits coming up for sure.
A cheapish suggestion. Upgrade the Rega Planar 3 with the 24V motor and a Neo power supply, an Exact cart if you don’t have one. That will get the very best out of that turntable.
Yes, that’s a possibility, but I think I might just home audition an RP6 initially in an attempt to calibrate my thoughts and current experience with the RP3.
And Naim have provided a new set of Burndies which fit precisely as one would expect them to.
My very helpful dealer implied that Naim have reversed a ‘design change’ introduced to improve the Burndy connection - whatever they’ve done, it’s certainly working.
And, again, for anyone with the same issue with the NC NPX 300 Burndies, chase up your dealer for a replacement set.