Probably not. I think Iâve reached my limit and It may overload my room which is not that large. 250 sounds good to me
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Pre DR (>15 years ago) I tried the 252/SC and it didnât float my boat and carried on using my then 82(pots 8)/HiCap/250 fronted by the mighty CDS2/CDPS (preferred the CDPS to the XPS) anyway the 282 has made way for a new 252.
Never thought I would give the 252 another go but I now own a SCDR that I used on the 282.
Early days and the results are positive and like what I hear, maybe the Fraim is key and an excellent source, Dave.
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SCDR always takes you one way.
Still slumminâ it with a pair of HCs and a 282!
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Temptation is a killer!! my dealer offered a deal I couldnât refuse and before the price hikeâŚ
Previously Iâve knocked the 252 based on my home demo 15 years ago, for me itâs time to reverse that judgment with the SCDR even cold and barely run in its sounding pretty good 
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I wouldnât call a 282 with 2x HC slumming it, the 282 is an awesome pre!
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It is. But all this 552 and 252 chat always creates temptation. But right now Iâm real happy with the pre set up.
Playing with the TT over the next 6 months. New arm , new cartridge .
If you are really happy then stick with what you have. Donât listen to a 252 and you wonât know what you are missing.
Your wallet will thank you.
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I have listened to both 252 and 552 extensively⌠all my limited money goes in source upgrades no regrets at all. still at 282/HCDRâŚ
I have always been âsource firstâ, followed swiftly by amplification, and then speakers, all the time trying to maintain a certain degree of balance as I upgrade.
I reached a point with my source and pre-amplification where it became evident the bottleneck had shifted down the chain to my power amp, which had remained unchanged during several source and pre-amp upgrades. That now solved, the spotlight will fall on my trusty speakers, but as I have gone âall inâ on source and amplification, speakers will have to wait.
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I think youâve got a really well balanced system now.
I have heard the 252 with a 500DR and NDX2 with 555PS and Linn LP12 Klimax. It sounded very very good. Speakers were ATC SCM 40.
So I know most people on here say go 552 first, the 500 with 252 is also a good combination. I saw a 500 come up for ÂŁ6500 other day 2002 model.
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Hey Steviebee,
Love the look of your system. I, too, am one stack, six shelves (one currently empty) and turntable mounted on wall shelf just above due to floor.
Also, love your poster above the turntable. A man after my own heart.
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Indeed Steviebee! Long term Deadhead here, both in terms of seeing them live and in collecting lots of their music. You?
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Been a fan since 1969. But not really a true Deadhead in that Iâve never seen them live, and donât collect the numberless live tapes. I have the main albums up to about Shakedown Street, but stopped pretty much after Blues For Allah (great album)- never went for Shades Of Gray etc. Got a couple of the boxsets. Aoxomoxoa is just pure greatness.
Hey Steviebee, thanks for the response. I have been into Linn and Naim since 1982 and have been into the Dead since 1977. Since these are two great loves of mine I am always interested to see any reference pop up here on the Forum of other members who are into the Dead. Thus why I responded to your picture of the âAoxomoxoaâ album cover above your rack. Yes, I saw them live many, many times and love collecting all of their live releases. I have all their albums from years ago but never did get the relatively new box set that I heard was fantastic. Thanks for the responses. I have enjoyed our little connection around this.
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This box is a joyâŚwell worth getting.
Is this the one you mean?
Dead in 69. Wonderful.
Sorry for the thread drift, kids. Back to 252 soon!
I donât have that one. That was a Record Store Day one. I was actually referring to a box set from Vinyl Me Please that cost a lot of money but it was 14 discs covering 8 albums⌠4 studio albums and 4 live albums. It was recorded I believe from the original master tapes and supposedly sounded great. As for the box you pictured above, interestingly I recently ordered from the Dead a 5 LP set that is from the very next night. It is a blue box and it is from 2/28/69. I havenât received it yet.
Funny that you mentioned above the apologies for âhijackingâ the thread. I was feeling the same way and was becoming sensitive about it. Connecting around the Grateful Dead is important to me and I am not sure that there is a way with the ânewâ Forum to email other members directly.
OK, now back to your âregularly scheduled programmingâŚâ no more about this here. I suppose there is always a thread to be created in âThe Music Roomâ section of the Forum. Hmmm⌠perhaps I will go do that nowâŚ
Gary
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Last night whilst listening midway through âIn Rainbowsâ the 252DR seemed to jump into another league I had to restart the album as the level of music retrieval is incredible, the music playback from the MScaler/Dave into the 252DR is what Iâve been after for years Iâm now rediscovering hidden musical gems within my ripped CD back catalogue
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I have a stacking order question please. Hoping @steviebee or @Pete_the_painter may be able to help. The dedicated mains is going in tomorrow and I expect Iâll have to dismantle the Fraim to get the wall socket in. Currently my stacking order is (from top):
NDX2
252
555PS
250DR
SC
Aesthetically, I have preferred the NDX2 on top, but willing to put the 252 if that is the perceived wisdom. SC has been on bottom, as it is an Olive casing. Iâm not clear on the relative transformer sizes between the SC, 555 and 250 for stacking though.
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