Then he’ll need an S1.
Needs to forget retirement
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Mike has his head screwed on……a lovely wife and daughter……but a few health scares along the way…….play a bit, save a bit, live a lot.
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I hear that!
It’s about the life you live, not the life you Could/Should have.
Health, loves, family etc are always more important…
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No time to listen to the system. Sounds like a no brainer to me🤣
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System dependent. I have been unimpressed with the CD555 AND been bowled over with it in other systems.
Hey Mr Baggins, what sounded good and what didn’t. 
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I think it has to do with the ripped CD that has less faults than a CD player that has to correct in real time.
Source first…
So, exactly how good is it? The 552 that is.
I know this. It’s convincing yourself you have to update 
It’s the truth in a black box (with GREEN logo).
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Holding all else equal it does, the preamp in the 272 is the weaker link. I’m holding steady until Naim releases the 272 replacement. I hope it’s an improvement all around esp the preamp but I’m not optimistic it will be.
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I ran my 552 through the 272 for a week or two without a 555 and have to agree that it seems like the pre is the weak spot on it.
Now I’m trying to find a 555PSDR again. Wonder how long that will take…
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I’m in the states and they show up on the s/h sites irregularly. I wasn’t planning on getting mine when I did but it was only 2 years old and I got it for ~50% of retail so I couldn’t resist. The 555PS/272/250DR is tough to beat for $$/SQ and Box count/SQ. I don’t want to go back to separates if I can avoid it, hopefully Naim will do a 500 series all in one solution some day but I doubt that will happen. I’d pay a hefty sum to get 500 series sound in 1 or two boxes but that may not be feasible.
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Not sure not being as good as a 552 quite counts as meaning the weak spot 
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Two examples:
Good (Damning with faint praise - excellent system):
CD555, PS555, 500DR amps, Focal 1028be.
Not so good:
CD555, Dual PS555, 500 amps, Wilson Benesch speakers (Can’t remember the model).
M
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The 272 preamp is pretty good the 555ps really lifts it…I was surprised how good it was…obviously the 552 is better…I used the 272/555ps with a Nap500 and it was excellent…
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As always these things are relative. I’ve been tempted to swap out the 250DR for a 300DR with the s/h prices I’m seeing. But I’m trying not to accumulate boxes again.
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Skip the 300 DR worth waiting for a non DR Nap500.
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Thanks for that @Gazza. It’s very true and has been a lifestyle focus for us since I went self employed 18 years. That was actually precipitated by attending a “futures leaders” course in Colorado and realizing that staying in the corporate world would be the road to trepidation. Off course, the family situation now has very much vindicated that decision. We’ve focused on finishing improving our home and getting some savings behind us, and getting things set up for our daughter, before I’ve taken the plunge with some high end gear. Very much a case of family first and delayed gratification for one loved hobby (and not an overlay expensive one compared to boats and cars etc).
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The only problem with that is that there aren’t many speaker options available in NZ, and even fewer dealers who are happy to home demo.
Fortunately the Naim community has been good at sharing the experience of our own systems - I know now that I like the sound of the Fact 8 speakers, but there are very few places in the country that I can buy them from if I found the money down the back of the sofa.
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Thats what I did…well worth it…
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