The 252 is really source and system dependent. It can sound boring in the wrong set up
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Thanks Dunc
Just out of interest when you heard the ND555 sounding better without a 552 what amplifier were you using instead?
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Mark
Trust me, if there was ever anyone I would donate my 552 to it would most certainly be youš.
The caveat would be, I would force you to listen to every single Beatles album ever recorded, and make sure you commit to memorizing all the lyricsš¤£
Also - do not quote me as saying the 552 sucks. Never did, and never will.
When I get back Iāll have to shoot you some emails. Iāve been speaking with Ben about Furutech and Iām seriously considering making the jump for my new gear.
I heard something is winging its way up the California coast today and heading towards your direction.
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Mine was paired with a 300, CD555 and Allae speakers. Still was not a fan.
Enjoyed my 282/250 quite a bit more.
Once again- different flavors of ice cream
But I believe as a previous 252 owners yourself, the opinions were far more mixed pre DR. I donāt recall many not getting on with the 252 when paired with DR kit. As far as being system dependent, you could basically say the same for any piece though, put a 282 in the wrong system & it can be bright/forward/fatiguing, etc.
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Beatles? Arenāt they that new AI group? lol
Yes I should have a little package arriving shortly. I canāt wait!
Iāve been running Naim kit for 25 years and know how to set up my kit. Roomās not perfect but itās treated and Iāve run kit with and without a Fraim. Wrt VFM, I have disposable income to blow on hifi but the components need to compel me to spend it. With olive kit, the upgrade path was a slam dunk, there wasnāt one purchase I questioned, I always knew where my money went b/c it translated into improved SQ. It was immediate and my ears didnāt need convincing. I think the Uniti range has some great options and of course I love the streaming preamp and the 250DR is a great 250 (until I heard the 250NC). But the OC separates range is just not compelling for me generally. I wanted to get on with the 252 but it just wasnāt meant to be. I was preparing to go off brand and was looking hard at Linn and some other brands but hadnāt mostly out of laziness. Thankfully the NC line appeared and now Iām reinvigorated with Naim again. Itās been a long time since Iāve had the upgrade itch. Iām even considering putting a moto purchase on hold to go 300 series but the weather just got nice so maybe not. 
Yeah, not sure what was going on with this part of the range, it was disappointing for me and Iām glad I didnāt go down that path. I did find the 500DR series to be very good and compelling but I donāt spend enough time in front of my hifi to justify the cost and the honestly the space commitment is unappealing to me now. I love the simplicity of the NC. I have empty spaces on my rack and the music sounds remarkable!
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Correct. The worst example was the original 252/SC/250.2 combo.
Another example is the NDX2/XPSDR was great with my 282/SCDR but just plain boring with the 252DR. So much so I traded the XPSDR for the Aura
It was at a hifi show, I canāt remember which ampās but i did take a picture so need to find it.
Also i have heard the ND555 a few time at hifi lounge running through different pre ampās over the years, not all have been good, but some very good.
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No worries!
I have always considered that Naim pre and power amps are designed to work together and the whole tends to be greater than the sum of parts. Obviously Naimās own Statement preamp is going to outclass the 552 with a 500. It looks like you and Gregg have jumped ship completely (Dartzeel and Vitus) and was just wondering before you did this whether you tried any other preamps with the 500 which led to your conclusions about the 552 being the weakest link in the system.
By the way I am not doubting you and I think the hype on this forum regarding the 552 is excessive. Just interestedā¦
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Not doubting your ability to set up kit, just curious why the differing of VFM opinions. I far to often see rooms on here & often wonder if the poster has any idea how much performance is being held back from his kit/how much of what he is hearing is just the room. As you move further up the chain, the more these things matter to actually achieve the performance level their designed for. Having a properly acoustically treated (& by that I donāt mean some soft furnishings, an area rug, some curtains & bookshelves, etc) room, with dedicated mains, that Iāve been recently tweeking has been a real eye opener.
I posted this is the other thread but having heard the full 300 kit, I didnāt find one area where I thought it was an improvements vs what I have, obviously the optimization on the two setups were completely different. I will warn you, donāt buy into the 300 series without a listen first, seems they are sonically a bit different vs 200 series & from what I heard, the closest OC would be the 252 
(though I think youād be safe going with the 350ās 
)
You have heard the ND555 sounding better without the 552. Can you precise? Because I donāt remember that you have posted your impressions on ND 555 with another brand preamp.
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Each on their opinions. I havenāt heard the top pre/ power Dartzeel combo which is highly rated, specially by Michael Fremer or others.
But I once heard the Dartzeel integrated and for me it was nice but too timid sounding and far away from the 552/500 level. It was with a Kuzma reference turntable and Nagra phono.
The separates Dartzeel however cost 10 times more .
Which integrated as there are two different models. Sounds like you heard the intro one (if the separates were ten times more)
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Still trying to find the picture on my lap top as i had to download them all as it was taking up far too much space.
I do remember one pre amp as it was a very expensive passive unit that was basically just a huge volume pot and switch pot in a fancy box. But it did sound nice with whatever power Ampās it was running.
This was a few years ago now and the pre didnāt have a remote or anything so i wasnāt really interested but at the time the nd555 was being used as it was there best dac back then.
But i also got to demo the ND555 at hifi lounge years ago when i first started looking at one to replace my NDS, paul used it on a few different systems at the time against other dacās and the results where very different. But i had an active naim syat the time and was only interested in a better sounding dac plus I couldnāt afford to change Ampās, pre amp, and dac at the same time so wasnāt really that interested, but i do remember some off what i heard but the big take away was the dCS dac and that started my new adventure off. Expensive day looking back now.
Sorry if I misread your comments.
I did loose a little faith with Naim (story for another day) and tried the linn / chord equivalents. All were very good but none grabbed me like Naim.
Post a house move I have now got a sound I like but it took a lot of effort to get there (tricky room). Not sure I have the time or patience to explore more different brands. Maybe in a couple of years when I have more time and am free from corporate life!
Great to read about others experiences with different brands and from my experience the best kit is the one that works in your room the best.
Damn addictive hobby we have but Iām going for delayed gratification and will see what the new Naim 500 series brings when it arrives!
Gary
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Not sure what that could have been. Maybe a Lyra Connoisseur?
I didnāt knew that there were two. Ā« Mine Ā« was costing around 20 k, but it was 10 years ago.
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Hope you will remember which pre was better. At the 25k euros price level of course. Because I donāt doubt that there are much better pre than the 552, be it Dartzeel, Dagostino, Boulder or Soulution.
But then, again, it has to be more enjoyable.
Personally, if I had the cash, I would go with the Convergent audio technology Statement or Vac Master, both with wonderful built in phono.
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My listening room is not ideal, and I doubt many are, Iāve cleaned up my mains and have cables sorted and room treatments etc, etc. The 252 is not that high up the range that I should require a studio to enjoy it. Itās just meh for me. If it works for you, great. I find the NC to be a return to the Naim sound and excitement that I fell in love with years ago so Iām quite pleased. My current set up far outperforms the OC separates Iāve owned or demoed over the years. Iām definitely interested in the 300 series but Iām also content for the time being so weāll see how long I can resist the itch.