Interesting thoughts, thanks!
Yea, “good enough” is much different than tapping into your speakers full potential. Thanks!
I feel you have never heard the best tubes amps….even if the 300 dr is very fine with the right speakers, it’s a bit far from the tubes magic. And I had it before.
Congratulations on the new 300DR and that system!
(Once I could listen to a Supernait3/Tunetot combo at a dealer. That was very good!)
Thank-you!
Actually, no. My tube experience is better than you might imagine. I had the Joule-Electra OTL tube amp VZN-100 and the related LA 150 Preamp for many years, from 2001-2013. I exited them in favor of the NAP300 and the NAC552.
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Ok , so we just disagree on the 300 dr tubes like sound. I didn’t heard OTL. Some triodes , set….like Conrad Johnson, Air Tight, Ear, Lamm or Jadis. Recently the fabulous Aries Cerat. For me the 300 dr sounds definitely solid state. But very good solid state.
Different experience, different ears……
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So, is your performance balance preference for:
1a Transformer coupled
1b Capacitor coupled
1c True direct coupled
2a Single ended output (Class A)
2b Push/pull output (Class A)
2c Push/pull output (Class AB)
3a Triodes (higher internal resolution at the expense of harmonic distortion and/or dynamics)
3b Beam tetrodes (more control & lower harmonic distortion at the expense of higher intermodulation distortion)
3c Pentodes (lower harmonic distortion at the expense of internal resolution)
All of these markedly affect the specific uncorrectable issues that remain with vacuum tube designs (and the characteristics in brackets are just a general rule on the optimisation that naturally fits with the vacuum tube type’s fundamental characteristics and so usually results in the best optimisations - they are NOT hard and fast rules!).
Very good solid state designs are usually more ‘balanced’ but very often aren’t the absolute to dog in any one specific area. All vacuum tube designs have compromises against very good solid state designs (like the 300DR), but the best can also beat even the best solid state design in one or two very specific areas… As the (English idiomatic) expression goes… “Pick your poison”.
Then again if you introduce MOSFET outputs and linear CMOS amplifiers, the picture becomes even more complicated!
My personal preference for my own designs was: low forward gain internally compensated gain block, followed diode/transistor constant current driver block, followed by a Class AB MOSFET push/pull output structure running at high bias current, and taking great care over the input and virtual earth capacitors.
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Hi @blownaway , what a wonderful set-up. If there was ever a speaker that really impressed me, it is the Sabrina. Coincidentially I heart them visiting a dealer abroad. He had the Sabina’s running at a Mark Levinson amp fed by Aurender sources. Very, very impressive. At that time I just bought my current speakers so I not a good moment to swap them already. However the Sabrina’s keep being in my mind. Some day ……. 
Iver
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Thank you Iver! So blessed to own. I felt the same way when I first heard the Sabrina’s, very very impressed. The 300DR amp takes the character of SabrinaX to a very happy place.
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Good to know as Naim are asking double the money for a 300 compared to 250
Double the boxes; double the sound!
Dollar for dollar, the 300DR is a better value, IMO.
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@frenchrooster hi there… the tube experience is magical indeed, I run a Meishu Tonmeister Siver Sig phono …but they are best with higher efficiency speakers of course 87 db won’t cut it with amps such as one.
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Yes, as you say, you need efficient speakers.
I listened to some very good solid states described as having the tubes sound. Accuphase, Grandinote, Goldnote…. They weren’t even approaching the magic of some great tubes like Audionote, Lamm, Air Tight or Conrad Johnson . The softness or delicacy is not all. There’s some rightness , realness and naturalness that solid states can’t reproduce, a bit like digital vs analog.
But some tubes can sound cold sometimes also, analytical.
@frenchrooster The Psvane 300B tubes are nice though I haven’t tried their custom top end ones in my Meishu yet… first refit c2026 unless one fails! The other big difference is the 44.1 kHz native sampling adopted in AN DACs, which also have a tube in the output stage. Compared with the oversampling NDX2 my CDT Two/II DAC 2.1 Sig sounds just that bit more realistic on stringed instruments violins in particular which can still sound a little artificial on some recordings with the NDX2 Qobuz feed. Overall though the NDX2 does perform v well in my otherwise AN system especially nicely on quality internet radio stations like Kansas Public Radio Jazz with David Basse
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I have a friend with an expensive Audio Note system and he’s had an unbelievable number of faults that have needed factory attention! He’s thinking of switching to Naim.
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Lovely speakers and system. It’s really nice to hear about some different speakers working well with Naim … and an idea of what amp level works. Typically one see’s Wilson’s with D’Agostino etc., so it’s great to have some system diversity! I have a mixed system Naim/Krell/KEF … which also works very well: perhaps its a bit of a scary world when the badges on the boxes don’t all match 
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Thank-you! Yes, sometimes you can find the right balance of performance and price regardless of tradition.
@cohen1263 All our experiences are different…I can only relate my direct experience with AN, the system, and AN the company. They have been most helpful and efficient throughout - as have the vendor.
Nothing made by mortal man is flawless my friend….!
Enjoy whatever you have at your disposal 
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