Was talking about the old classic design not the statement.
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I was just showing that less is not always better and that such statement is driven by manufacturers of such product design and that in reality you cannot count components in a product and say less components = better sound. I believe you many times have claimed NAC S1 being much better than 552 being much more transparent to the audio signal.
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The statement is a completely different design to the 282, 252 or 552.
The lader relay volume used in the statement and many other volume controls are much better than a pot, but more complicated and larger by design.
But having more stuff in the signal path can only do more to the original signal, that is a true givern. But a good design with lots in the way can also be better than something with very little in the way, but whatās in the way is poor quality.
Passive pre is by far the best pre for being true to the signal, but it needs a very good volume/gain control, and thatās expensive to make right. Probably the reason not many get on with them as good Passive pre amps cost a very large amount of money, and it looks like you are not getting much for your money. Plus they can sound a bit flat as they dont tend to add anything to the signal so you need a fantastic source or it will certainly show you how bad your source is over say a normal pre amp.
I talked to my dealer and a demo here in Denmark is a long way out in the future, not even known yet. Nice time to try to save up, and it will be interesting to see what happens with the second hand prices for the old classic series.
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If you look at the price the 332 should be better than the 252, at least when used with the 300 psu.
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Its not quite as simple as thatā¦a passive preamp relies on the poweramp - which is ok providing the poweramp likes that type of loading. Classically Naim amps are not that great with passive preampsā¦they lack life and energy a really good preamp can deliver. I think you will find the 332 is not just a passive pre - but is does use a ladder. The is no doubt that analogue pots can sound good - but they can be microphonic and degrade and are not as precise. There is no reason why a ladder could not be used on any Naim preampā¦to good effect. The devil is in the detailā¦to do it well is tricky and often expensive the 222 uses surface mount tech the 332 uses through holeā¦etc The Statement uses 2 ladders one for corse adjustmentā¦then a fine ladder for critical listening (I think Mr Dane will correct me if I am wrong on that one). Passive loading is frought with issuesā¦as the frequency response can vary across the pot range. I think one of the early Naits used a passive arrangement driving a power amp directlyā¦ I understand the Towsend passive preamps are allot better for amp matching
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Like one or to others, The Townshend Allegri uses transformers to try to avoid the typical problems associated with passive pre-amps.
A passive pre-amp can work well (and is very cost effective), provided you match it to a power amp that has been designed to work with it.
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I agree, and I wasnāt saying go use a passive pre with naim amps
I had an Allegri + for a while with my 250DR, hoping that it would eliminate the need for a 3 box 282/NAPSC/Hicap. It didnāt work well at all, and I soon sold it on.
I was prompted to try this after reading some comments from a well known HiFi reviewer regarding positive results using an Allegri with a 500.
I tried the Allegri with my nap 500. Source was nd555 with 2 supplies. The Allegri was not even close to what I get with the 552.
Based on the impressions Iāve read it wouldnāt surprise me if 332/300 > 252/SC. Iām looking forward to the comparison.
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I would hope so, it is slightly more expensive and 20 years newer?
Guess that depends on where youāre located, if the pricing Iāve seen posted is correct, the 332 itself is priced less then the 252 here in Canada & again the 332/300 is a bit less then the 252/SC as well. Iām rather curious on where the new combo lands.
The Uk price quoted was I think 9000 pounds, and that is without psu, but the 252 needs the superCap. Old prices are gone already so I cannot compare, but from memory 252 without supercap was not 9000 pounds.
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For reference in Canada:
252 $16379
SCDR $11179
Combo $27558
332 $13999
NPX300 $11999
Combo $25998
Uk pricing is (I think):
NAC 332 Ā£7933
NPX 300 Ā£5700
Total Ā£13633
NAC 252 Ā£7699
Supercap DR Ā£5299
Total Ā£12998
Classic prices from the September 2022 price list.
The New Classic combo is 4.9% more than the Classic combo.
Prices in Sweden.
252 = 103 000 SEK
252 + SCDR = 175 000 SEK (15 176 EUR)
332 = 109 000 SEK
332 + NPX300 = 189 000 SEK (16 390 EUR)
Not to sure about the retail prices being accurate since dealers have been discounting āClassicā gear. I picked up a new SuperCap DR for my NAC 282 that was not only discounted but got great trade in value on my HiCap DR, and a pair of spare speakers and stands. It is a good time to be buying āClassicā gear if you staying put for a few more years or soā¦ JMHO - YMMV
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For those of us that are familiar. with Porsche 911 history, this large evolutionary step in Naimās product line feels very much like the 993 to 996 transition into the modern world that Porsche made in 1998. Driven, in part, out of necessity due to increased regulation and in part out of having gone as far as possible with a set of old design principles that had run their course.
Iām a ādyed in the wool air-cooled every dayā enthusiast. I love the tweakery that comes with the old designs. I love my 552DR, 300DR system with it separate power supplies and snake oil magic improvements from backing off on tightening the DIN locking sleeves etc. Thatās why I love Naim and why I donāt think Iāll be buying the new stuff (as fantastic as Iām sure it is)
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At the 222 demo I attended we were told the 222 uses two ladders, one coarse for big volume jumps and a finer in fill one.