Coming from a SU the 272/250DR sounded pretty great but I didn’t have it long before going to the 555 which makes it punch way above its weight. I’m a little nervous about the 250 now, I sure hope I get on with it. I’m sure the 555 will help immensely with the 222.
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It’s a brilliant amp. I’m sure it will be wonderful with your Ovators.
@ElMarko, you are expressing exactly what I’m wondering about: the NC250 sound and will I get on with it ? And the effect a 555 may have on the 222. I’m looking forward to your findings. I doubt you will dislike it, I’ve generally like the SQ direction Naim have gone in, preferring the black boxes to Olive, and preferring the 272 with either XPS or 555 to the nac202 I had before it. The 272 is a bit lacklustre without a power supply, but with a 555 it is a tough to argue you need more. Obvious you can have better if you want and have the cash, but I found 272/555 represented a happy place! Indeed I plan on keeping it for a second system if I do get a 222.
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Yeah, I’m a little hesitant since I had a bad experience when I went classic from the olive series. The non-dr kit was a disappointment for me. I’ve been very happy with the DR classic kit though. Hopefully the NC kit continues to impress.
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DR versions definitely brought great clarity to the sound and I’m guessing the NC range brings further improvements in this area as well. Presumably this is what people who now have the kit are reporting. Anyway you will soon find out! And I have my visit to dealer in early September so I’ll find out as well!
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@ElMarko I believe @sound-hound has the Ovator 400’s with the 222/NC250 maybe he can shed some light on the combo for you…
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Assuming no hiccups the 222/250 arrive tomorrow. It’s been a while since I’ve bought new kit, kind of exciting.
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Fingers crossed all goes to plan 
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Congrats, NC + S400 is a good match imho. Good from the off, a month in it will be singing if you leave powered on continuously for that period. I will post a few more thoughts in due course.
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Talking of exicting, I just noticed on your website that you have been to Srinagar and the Rhotang La.
I’m not sure whether we discussed this previously, but in 1986 I went up via the houseboats on Lake Srinagar by road to Leh in Ladahk, and went on a several day trek from there.
That was exciting. 
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…and a great combo it is. I do have Ovator 400s with NC set up (no NPX).
Background on acoustic environment. NC + spkrs play 15/7, mostly streaming BeebR3 am/pm and RP day time, since the kitchen is in almost constant use. (I also have Ovators in my main active system.)
Setup is in kitchen/diner, hard floor, hard surfaces, solid walls and concrete ceiling in dining area.
The speakers are at one end of the dining area, in a shallow alcove, in each corner with very heavy wooden sideboard between, on which the units sit on 8mm glass supported balls bearings - in same manner as glass on a Fraim; powerline for each, standard i/c + NACA5 + Ovator plugs (not yet changed to the NC output plugs.
Ovators originally were fed by SU, which was replaced by Nova; NC ordered unheard.
The Nova, while an excellent all-in-one, in my location, didn’t really drive the music; addition of a NAP250DR didn’t address that issue, it simply highlighted the mismatch.
Important to understand, the setup is far from ideal. Listening is off axis, except when seated.
On delivery the units were left on 24/7; about three weeks in, I had a serious listen one wet Saturday morning, running through a selection of tracks I use for set up and auditioning.
Over arching impression - NC + Ovator 400s, are made for each other, which in a sense, both from Naim, they are!
Tonally, in what I consider a “nonsense” of a position / setup, I experience a great sound.
Second impression was that I was reminded of my much earlier system sound, NDX, 252, SCDR into SBLs. The music flows; plenty of PRaT; sound stage compromised by positioning, if set up more logically I would be surprised if anyone was disappointed with S400s; other speakers ymmv!
Incidentally the dealer who I know well and supplied my units, arranged a Naim demo day, mentioned on the first NC thread. Good demo, reservation about the speakers - see the photo taken on the day.
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I recall you mentioning that. I spent a couple months retracing the silk routes through the Himalayas on a British Royal Enfield. Five passes over 5K meters and of course Kashmir, quite an experience staying with Tibetan refugees and living in tents at 4K meters. The houseboats were a real treat after all that. One of my friends had rode his bicycle on these routes ten years prior.
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Thanks for the detailed explanation. That’s helpful. I too don’t have an ideal (but not terrible) listening environment and I’m surprised at how good the 272/555/250DR/S400 sound. I too am using, Powerlines, NACA 5, and Ovator plugs (would like to find better solution).
Well the new kit is out for delivery. Hopefully will have it hooked up this afternoon.
Hope it goes well. In app, if it suits you, set standby to never, until you have it run in. Best to set it going and leave it for a few hours before your first listen - if you can contain your excitement.
With your speakers well run in, it won’t in my experience be a roller coaster. Perhaps one or other of us should start a specific thread, so avoid diversion? Have you re-torqued your Ovators incidentally, if not, now would be the opportunity to get the best from them?
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Thanks, I’ll be sure to set standby to never. I had some interest in checking the Ovators but could never find the instructions so haven’t bothered. I don’t have a torque wrench handy anyway. And they sound great as is so not too worried there.
I’ve been on the legacy platform so long I’m not sure how to use the new streaming platform. I hope I can get lossless RP and JB Radio up and running easy.
Open the Naim app, connect to your music and press play.
Pair remote first 
Well the 222/250 arrived. Not too difficult to get hooked up and playing, some minor criticisms, but overall fairly straight forward. Only running for a few hours and all I can say is WOW! Any apprehension I had wrt SQ is gone. The 222/250 on their own sound so great, major league improvement. I echo many of the comments I’ve read here. Much more information, lower noise floor, musical, musical, musical, it’s like another world. I’m sitting here wondering wth can the 555 bring to the party? Very happy camper here. Oh and Naim finally got the software nailed down. The app works so much better now. Qobuz in the Naim app is so great. No more work arounds! I’ve added my lossless radio stations and pretty much set. Again, the SQ is so good already. More to follow but just want to listen to the music.
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Fantastic! So glad it worked out for you.
It’s even going to be better with the 555PSDR.
Just wait. In about 6 weeks it will really kick into gear as the frequencies extend out.
Then as it de-stresses it will open up a even more and sound effortless.
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