Hi IB, I already have active olive 250s…I couldn’t go to active 300s, too many boxes, otherwise I may have gone to 4x 135 a while back. A 500 and psu although large, would be smaller than the snaxo, supercap and 2 x 250 it would be replacing…
Hi igel, why would non dr be better? I thought that the 500 although great, is completely bested by the 500dr ?
Hi Bruce, do you mean the 2x XLR-din that goes from the snaxo to each 250? If so, I couldn’t stretch to the SL ones, but have ordered the witch hat Morgana versions…I can try them for 30 days to see how they are, I’ll let you know what I think.
I think that DR makes the sound to clinical,the non DR are more balanced and suit your Nac 52 and SL2 speakers better as they both were voiced for non DR.
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No, I mean the single cable from the pre amp Supercap to the SNAXO Supercap.
I have done the two cables from SNAXO to the 250’s too but the PS connection cable was definitely the biggest step.
Bruce
thats very interesting Igel! It would certainly be a cheaper upgrade to get a serviced non-dr 500 than a newer 500dr 
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On this topic, as an active Olive user I do wonder why we have a burndy from the pre SC to the pre, a burndy from the SNAXO SC to the SNAXO but ‘only’ a SNAIC from SC to SC. It feels like it should be Burndy all the way through. Maybe there’s a sound (sorry for the pun!) reason.
I’d forgotten that one exists Bruce - the 2 SC’s are right at the bottom of the stack so difficult to see, even more difficult to get to. Do you know what its technical name is by any chance?
Only signal in that Snaic
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I think it is called the ‘active SNAIC cable’. A dealer would help you order the right one. It is 4 pin to 4 pin I think; but check with dealer first!
Bruce
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Excellent! Thanks.
If you are using the same Snaxo that you used with your sbl you will have to adjust the balance quite significantly with SL2’s. Either you will need to turn the treble level up quite a lot or you will have to turn your bass level down. Even though the crossover frequency and slope is the same, the SL2’s need much more treble than the SBL’s. In my opinion and I have both, active 250’s with a 52 will far outperform a 300dr passive with either a 52 or 252. The 300 Dr does not work as well with a 52 in my experience as it does with a 252. I have always felt that the 252 should perform better than it does and I feel it is held back by never having its own dedicated power supply. A 52 with a serviced 52PS always outperforms the same preamp with a supercap or supercap dr and is streets ahead of a 252/ supercap dr. In my experience olive and classic do not mix well.
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Since it is the only audio signal transfer cable between these components it is maybe unsurprising that an upgrade is worthwhile.
Bruce
I didn’t change any SNAXO settings moving from SBL to SL2. Is that usual?
I’d be very careful fiddling with the settings, I believe they can be very sensitive and hard to revert perfectly to ‘factory’. That was my understanding anyway.
I don’t agree that 52/52PS is ‘streets ahead’ of a 252/Supercap DR. Different, and to my ears actually inferior. That is another discussion, and one that has been done many times!
Bruce
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“active Snaic cable” is used with the unregulated smaller amps,it´s a Nap 250 cable but with 4-4 pin instead of the ordinary Snaic 4-4. It was done for stability reasons and it also sounds better.
Thanks!
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I’m not sure now who (if anyone) I can offer this comment to but WH do a Morgana 4/4 Snaic for use between the SCs. I have one in that role.
thanks Jesfirth - I did check the pots on the Snaxo and they are set to factory defaults. I marked them when I first had it serviced by Naim, I’ll have a fiddle when I have a few spare hours, but to my ears it sounds pretty good already. I have read that about the 52PS, but it’s very odd that Naim would hobble a boxes successor…Its good to hear the ‘olive love’ on here too. I do feel like I have a bit of a “best bang for the buck” system.
Here are some pics of the old lady anyhow, you’ll have to excuse the grills, I’ve slapped the SBL ones on until tomtom get some new ones in, and the dust of course
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To the OP, you probably will not get a definitive answer. The “loyalists” will repeat the mantra that a single “higher” amp driving speakers in passive mode will always sound better than two “lessers” in active mode.
Other viewpoints are available.
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