252 Sound Signature

Same here. From the top 252, NDX2, Super Cap, XPS Dr and my 250 on the bottom.

EE, so I have:

NDX2
252
SN2 (will put 250 here)
XPS DR
SC DR

then the Rega 3 will go on top when the extra shelf arrives.

My dealer recomended the NDX 2 on the top shelf, I have the 282 sitting below that or

NDX 2
NAC 282
SN 2
XPS 2 DR
HICAP DR
NAPSC

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Are you finding the 250 does the business with the Royds? Just hoping Iā€™m right to max out with the 250 over a 300ā€¦.

My Royds have never sounded better lots of detail and great bass. Iā€™m not interested in progressing to the 300. As they say in the trade, my journey has finished.

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This is my stuck with a double level quadraspire SV2T

CDX2 (NDX2 is arriving) 252
SCDR. EMPTY
250DR XPSDR

Any suggestion for any improvement?

In the future 250DR may be replaced by 300DR but I should sell CDX2 before otherwise I donā€™t have any free space to stuck it.

Is that two levels high with three columns? In which case, the power supplies on the far right, the sources on the far left.

Yes, two level in bamboo version.

Excellent, a great position to get too. Iā€™m just behind youā€¦ā€¦

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That was metaphorical of course. :rofl:

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Hi Mike, same dealer as you know. JV always recommended pre on top
Paul

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My dealer recommends the same, pre on top.

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I think JV needs a holiday, heā€™s the one who told me NDX2 on top :roll_eyes:

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Not really sure if itā€™d make that much difference.

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Yes, I doubt it makes much difference. More of an aesthetic consideration I think.

Think the moon effects my gear it definitely sounds better when thereā€™s a full moon. :grin:

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pieba,

I have looked your profile but have no idea what your current system is, nor what your taste in music is, if you prefer CD replay or streaming or vinyl.
I fear I am not the suggesting kind, it is too much of a personal matter. What I can say from my own experience is that a sensible approach to an audio system is to consider the possibility of one change for each piece of the equipment max; and that to be upwards. The possibility that one discovers he/she would have been happier with a cheaper or simpler solution exists, but true quality is addictive, and Naim is one of the very few manufacturers that actually give you some more quality for each step up the upgrade ladder.
Moreover, Naim usually excels at their entry level gear: this can turn out being a triple edged weapon, because you find yourself with three options: staying where you are, moving on to ā€˜betterā€™ equipment or decide that you can be content with a lower model in the range and save money (which is rare); I have changed a lot, gone back and forth from Nait5 to 282/SC/250; I bought SuperNait three times, CDX2 at least four times (exploring all its incarnations) and had five pairs of n-Sats (in different moments) which, at the time, earned me sort of reputation of an n-Sats connoisseur. I still think that the n-Sats are the best ā€˜best valueā€™ Naim product ever, but my enthusiastic endorsement was not enough, because Naim ceased production of them due to scarcity of sales. Now I see my audio past as the acts of a guy whoā€™s prone to drinking and is left with some money inside a liquor store. Naim is really good stuff, sometimes excellent stuff but it can have that effect.

A few days ago I was demoing a pair of small new speakers by Polk audio at my dealerā€™s, just for fun; I plugged a CD5si into a Nova and only after some time I realised how good that CDP is. So beware of listening to something cheaper once you own a superior system, because buyerā€™s remorse is always on potentially, and you may find yourself thinking ā€˜Why this complex, three boxes combo when a single, cheaper one is good enoughā€™? Then before you realise you have sold a costly amp and there you are with a smaller one which, in a few months, will leave you thirsty for a better one. I have seen this happen so many times, to me and other people here, you have no idea.

So, if I had to give just one piece of advice, mine would be: listen to gear whenever and wherever you can, try to imagine how it would sound in your place with your music, walls, ears and why not, mate if you have one; buy the best you can afford and try to think that nothing better exists for at least one year.
Last, I also believe that at the end of the day speakers are what actually sound, so you may get tired or dissatisfied with those and still believe you want a better amp or a different source; sonic taste changes with the moon, the weather, if and how our bowels work - I am not kidding you. Be sure you have chosen loudspeakers that youā€™ll really like in the long run and give them the best amp you can. Sources will change every year; CD will have a sonorous comeback, music through a telephone modem and CAT wires can be good for the ears at times but leave your inner soul unhappy; and beware of anyone suggesting cables that cost 1/3 of your amp. And when you feel an itch that something in your system is not so good after all and why not look for something else, turn it off for a week then listen again; people seem to use music in a sort of bulimic way, boasting the use of their system each day for hours: but do they attend two or three concerts a day? The risk that your costly audio system and your precious music collection become the toy to fill a temporarily arid soul is always there.

Forgive me for this sermon, I didnā€™t mean to be so verbose but itā€™s something I canā€™t help. Choose wisely, trust your ears, be content.

m.

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I would also consider bringing the XPS DR up a shelf when the 250 arrives and putting the 250 where the XPS currently is or even at the bottom.

The transformer in the XPS and SuperCap are smaller than the 250, the logic is that the largest transformers should be as far away from the NDX2 and 252.

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Thatā€™s how my guy has stacked my gear, the 250 on the bottom.

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On dealer recommendation I have:

272 PS555DR
252 SC
300 PS300

Not sure which Burndy is most sensitive but it keeps the 272/555DR burndy off the floor. The others all touch the floor.