Very interesting read. I have a 282 and have always wanted to demo the supercap vs hicap. Given the price of Naims bare preamps
202 - £2k
282 - £5k
252 - £7.5
552 £15k +
It’s not too surprising that the 282 and 252 could be deemed comparable on sound quality and it’s just a matter of taste, when a supercap is added to both?
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As an current 252 owner, that did run my previous 282 on my SCDR, comparable as in they both have the Naim house sound yes, but no the 282 is not on the same level as the 252, plain & simple. As many have said, their signatures are a bit different with the 282 being a bit more forward/in your face while the 252 is a bit darker. Sonically the 252 is a step above, far wider sound stage (not something I typically listen for but easily apparent), more insight into the music, better timbre, more refined sounding, more accurate, etc. Of the two, my experience is the 252 is the less coloured pre.
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If a good clean 552 came along s/h I’d definitely be tempted…
I guess it’s all relative, but the sound quality jump from a 202 to 282 is significant. As (I assume) is the jump from the 252 to a 552. Both these upgrades are over a 100% increase in cost. The jump from a 282 to 252 is only a 50% increase in cost. Obviously sound quality isn’t linear to cost, and we all know about the law of diminishing returns. I just found it interesting that some people preferred the 282 with a supercap, over a 252. I doubt few would prefer the 252 over a 552, or a 202 over a 282, though I could be wrong…
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NACA5 has gone long time ago (25 years ?) for better option, that survived everything, changes in speakers, powers since then …
To access the cost gap between A and B, you have to consider that you have C that you have to sell/swap to reach A or B, or you already have A and have to sell/swap to get B.
So the cost increase between a 282 and a 252 all depends of what you have…
So, the logical move is to swap (say) a 72+140 for a 202+200, then for a 282+250, then for a 252+300, then for a 552+500, then…
……Statement.
The logical move is to spend as much as you can afford on the best Naim system that you can. After that You then have a choice to enjoy that system and wait until you can save for the next upgrade system, say hicap/202/200; save for a sc/252/300, or you can incrementally upgrade. HC/202/200 to HC/282/200 on to HC/282/250, and so on. It is the beauty of the Naim components that they will all work well with each other, even if they are not the perfect design match. It would be an interesting exercise to cost the two paths, but I don’t think I could face my pass expenditure 
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Different people like different sounds, 282 more “rock and roll”, 252 more fine-tuned connoisseur, different likes and tastes for how you want the sound to be reproduced IMO.
From my perspective 252 (vs 282) is “shining”when paired with 300DR.
Led Zep rocks on my 252/300DR.
Just sayin’ 
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I don’t demoed Hifi with LedZep.
I simply put Judy Collins, Sade, some live concerts and feel the emotion.
If too much detail and less emotion, its a no.
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