Over on my other thread, “500 DR v ATC active speakers” my home demo has ended with the decision in favour of retaining my Neat MF 9’s, so I guess the gentle trundle down the path towards that 500 DR is now inevitable … “resistance is useless” 
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I posted on the old forum that I was not a massive fan of the 500 non-DR and had elected instead to upgrade my 300 to DR status and add ChordMusic Din/XLRs, which, together, were a formidable combination. That was just before the 500DR became available.
A home dem of a 500DR took, ooh, about 8 seconds before I said “YES”. Easy decision. The 300DR is a fabulous amp, one that I could happily live with again, but the 500DR has just so much more gravitas, confidence and expression.
See if you beat the 8 seconds
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8 seconds to recognise Yes?! You need to get on the Best instantly recognisable intro thread 
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My NAP500DR should arrive in a couple of weeks.
After reading the above, I guess I’ll enjoy the beast straight out of the box 
The idea was to get this extra control, details and clarity which is the distinctive mark of the 500 series, rather then just having more raw power.
Undoubtedly, it’ll also create a synergy with the rest of the system.
And finally, It’ll end my journey through the Naim upgrade path. Which is a pleasant and quite restful thought 
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Blimey 8 seconds… that’s faster than the credit card transaction it took to buy the nap500 DR
You’ll be very happy. The raw power’s there but there’s so much more to the 500 than that.
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Just received my 500 DR two days ago to replace the 300 DR… I immediately felt a substantial improvement, and that completely cold, out of the box!
The immediate improvement areas for me are:
- Immediately evident deeper sense of space, as good as the 300 DR was, the sound stage of the 500 DR is just huge
- The way the bass sounds is far superior, tighter and more natural sounding, gone is the blur in the low frequencies
- The 500 DR just demonstrates more control on my power-hungry speakers, I finally feel that the Sonus Faber Amati Futura’s have been reigned and well controlled.
It is a well felt upgrade in my book… can’t wait for it to “bed in” to its full potential… Love it!
Regards,
Tareq
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I suppose if the 500DR is what tips the scales over the 300DR then ok. I think one can be in HiFi heaven with a 300DR. It just depends on a whole load of setup things coming together that extract the most out of what you have.
@dave-marshall, a few months ago I seem to remember you were giving the boxes more air. How much improvement did you get?
Phil
Yes, I added a second tall level of Fraim to the “brains” stack, which means that the 300 power amp, the ND 555 and the 552 are well separated, whilst the 552 is now higher than it’s adjacent power supply on the other stack.
It’s never sounded better, and I do believe that having the 552 head unit isolated in clear air does make a difference.
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But now you look at that extra air and imagine it partially filled with a 500.
Oh Tom, I am sure you will eventually give in to the sirens of the second 555PS… 
Chag -
does make sense to get a 500DR vs 300DR in a smallish room 25sqm with Focal Sopra 2 ?
Or wait 3-4 years to move back home form expat duty where you have a 50sqm and change the speakers and get 500DR then…?
The 500DR provides a lot more then just raw power.
There are some interesting posts above.
Chag the temper 
The limited size of my rack will prevent me to succumb to that temptation 
The upcoming 500DR will end my upgrade spree.
I might consider new speakers, but it’s quite unlikely I’ll find something that fits my needs/tastes : small drivers, ribbon or beryllium tweeter, great mediums and realistic low frequencies. And by realistic I mean a cello that doesn’t sound like an Alpen horn when playing the C string.
The Apertura Adamante might be an option.
Just teasing Tom, just kidding. 
Chag -
I know, and that’s the real fun of it : we tease/temp each other all the time
I guess this is one of the main hidden goals of the forum. Just like kids in a schoolyard
Never talk about end, they will come with something new either this year, next year or the year after, which immediately will make your system sound broken. Like with the ND555, recently…
I loved the 300. Then I liked the 500 but missed the sweetness of the 300. The 500DR is the next level. I have never seen a Statement and may never hear one; I have no idea how much better it might sound. The 500DR is the top of the mountain for me I think.
I had the 300 (non DR) for a while, and while it was quite good it wasn’t as good as I had hoped - though my hopes might have been unrealistic.
Previously I had an active SBL/135 setup, but changed the SBLs to S600, which is what the 300 was driving.
Changed the 300 for a 500 (again, not DR) and that was much better.
Then DRd the 500.
But I think the change from 300 to 500 was bigger than from 500 to 500DR.