I guess there won’t be too many who have done the comparison? I expect 300 is a big jump on the amps they replace in Naim’s opinion, but still waiting for that ecstatic declaration that the 333/332 make the 555/552 obsolete. So far nothing much to that effect despite some pretty spectacular reports on 300 performance from dealers and users.
As a 500 owner I certainly wouldn’t even contemplate auditioning 300 series unless there was a mountain of comment on the improvements to be had. I haven’t seen that at all.
Having said that I am sure the 300 must close the gap between the 500 and the lower preamps, perhaps even to the degree that the additional spend on 500 seems excessive? But if you already have the 500 then I wouldn’t see much point in auditioning, especially as a dealer would undoubtedly want some cash for the change too. Seems like paying for a downgrade or sidestep? I suppose it might appeal to someone, I’d certainly be interested to hear their thoughts.
Maybe 332/300 would be a nice upgrade vs your 52? As some already preferred the 332 vs 252.
But as others pointed above, there is better and there is preference. Some prefer 500 non dr , 282 vs 252, olive vs OC….
Now i am doubting. I thought remembering that comparison but have tried to find it and can’t.
Or, which would be the true case if that is the position, accepting that better now costs less than you paid for yours, and willingly going for it.* After all that is not actually losing money, but fantastically paying less than you would have expected for an upgrade. Surely positive? The only loss is in the secondhand value of your existing 500, which is unfortunate but people don’t buy their systems for the resale value.
However I suspect all too many people can’t free their minds enough to see that, and as indicated in my previous post I certainly don’t anticipate a deluge of 500 owners trying.
*Something that frequently happens with high tech stuff, just that in hifi we’re not really used to it, except perhaps with DACs.
Interestingly I spoke to Jas Gould this past week and asked him if he’d tried driving his SL2´s active with 350´s. His reply was “yes and the sound was amazing”.
We’re you expecting anything else?
I really didn’t want to hear that but thanks for the info. !!!
Yes, I agree I think! As I said, I haven’t tried because all the comment out there so far on the 300 and NC threads would indicate that it’s not really worthwhile, apart from the 350s possibly, which seem to be stars of the 300 show, I haven’t seen much that indicates that 332 or 333 beat their 500 series counterparts.
I meant in relation to other options that aren’t necessarily cheaper
Not at the audition we did!
The NDS555/555PSDR (single) is still well ahead of the 333/300 - and our current NDX2/nDAC/555PSDR, obviously. But the margins are quite small in relative terms. Bearing in mind cost to change, and fact we use NDX2 as transport, I would take our nDAC/555 over the 333/300 any day. But they do sound different.
The 332/300 is very different to 252, yes NC likely offers more detail and transparency. Worth the cost to change? Well maybe in time, but no urgency. The 300 moved the 332 beyond what we have.
I would take a 552 DR at £10k first into our OC system before either 333 or 332. There seems to be a synergy between series.
Still drooling and salivating over 350s, but we’d need new speakers to justify.
This is not an OC vs NC comparison/hierarchy post.
333/300, 332/300, 350s sounded absolutely fantastic. If we had a lesser system it would be a no brainer to upgrade. naim have knocked it out of the park with this 6 boxer (at some cost).
332/300/250 didn’t float boat. Once you add a PSU to the 332 it really deserves the 350s.
(A caveat - we’ve never auditioned 552 DR, only non DR, but didn’t go for it since naim had stopped DR upgrades and boxes were due a service. But that 552 non DR was more resolving than the 252 we ended up with).
222/300/250 was not at the level of our current system. Not close in fact. Great drive from amp (yes, similar to 300DR) but not near same level of detail/resolution. Massive improvement on old 272/XPSDR though!
All impressions are as we remember from our upgrade journey and various demos, our opinions only. Your opinions may vary.
If we move on within naim:
552DR or…
- 350s
- 332/300
I don’t honestly think we’d consider 333/300, for the price we could get a used MScaler and Dave 
fed by our existing NDX2, mmmmmmmmm. Another local dealer salivates about the Weiss 502 and Lina for less or similar cash.
I think that is the essence of things.
For what it’s worth… A friend and I were on the demo of the 300 series at our dealer a few weeks ago. My friend has a 500DR system with Kudos Titan 808. After the demo he listened to his own system. The 300 series doesn’t even come close was his conclusion.
In my LP12 Based system. the 332/300 is significantly better than the 252/SCDR it replaced and the difference keeps increasing as it breaks in.
I’m pretty sure I bought my former 300DR from your friend 
So it was not my imagination. You have already posted it before. I was doubting above about a 252 vs 332/300 comparison existence.
At audition we thought 332/300 provided more detail/insight than our 252/SCDR.
It did need the 300 to make us think it would be worth the change though.
The problem is the NC sound is just so different to classic, so it’s actually quite hard to compare. You don’t know if you are hearing new things or just hearing things in a different way.
Yes the sound is different and each person would have a preference as to which they preferred. One thing is for sure, there is no need for anyone to be dissatisfied and feel that they are losing out.
I’m curious to know whether the new 350’s can deliver more current to demanding speakers. In particular compared to the 300 and 500.
Compared to our 300DR the 350s sounded in a different league, controlling large Sonus Fabers with ease.
They’re a definite want.
But a used 500DR can be had for less money….but is not so rack friendly.