I’m considering upgrading my phono cartridge and was wondering at what level the 252 is simply not going to be enough. Some carts I’m considering are Koetsu, Xquisite, Lyra, DV and Clear Audio all in the £6-10k region. At the same time I’m also wondering if I’m not aiming too high for my 252 and if I would not achieve better results by keeping the existing cart and upgrading to 552.
Hi,
No your 252 will be fine, of more importance will be your Phonostage and proper matching to your chosen cartridge.
Regards,
Lindsay
1 Like
Thanks Lindsay. The phono is RCM Theriaa so I’m not worried about that part.
1 Like
If you have a NAIM dealer fairly close, I’d demo the 552 against you 252. That’s the only way to answer your question.
As far as cartridges are concerned, no-one can tell you which you will like best, and I’m sure there’s no-one in Poland that can let you compare. So it’s just a matter of buying one and hoping you like it!!!
1 Like
I have a 252/SCDR/300DR.
My analog front end is: Lyra Atlas Lambda SL, Lyra Atlas Lambda Mono, Clearaudio Universal 12" arm x 2, Clearaudio Innovation turntable, Boulder 1108 phono-stage.
The 252 is definitely up to the task. I have no desire to change.
If you are going high end on a phono cartridge it’s not the line-stage preamp you need to worry about. You need to first have an arm/TT/phono-stage that are up to the task. I don’t know what you have, but I definitely wouldn’t bother with my Lyra Atlas if all I had was a Rega P3, for example.
BTW: Koetsu is out of business. The builder died and left no apprentice to take over. The family shut down operations.
4 Likes
A while ago it appeared to me from various readings that an amplifier actually does not amplify as such, it makes a copy of the source signal by modulating the mains current. An amplifier does not know in advance what kind of signal it will be fed.
So the better the source, the better the copy … that’s the way I look at it, and I haven’t really upgraded from my 282/HCDR which is fronted with a Chord Mscaler/Chord Dave and a Superlumina RCA to DIN. I realized that I am not actually listening to any “Naim sound” or “B&W or Dynaudio speaker sound” what I am listening to, is the source.
a 252/SCDR should be fronted with the best sources one can afford. Without sources at that level (which may well cost at least as much as the 252/SCDR) in my opinion the investment in such a setup is not a good allocation of money
All that being said, a 552DR is to my ears considerably better than a 252/SCDR… which itself is much better than a 282/HCDR. I would recommend a 552DR upgrade
But personally for me would I buy either? No, all my monies go on source upgrades…
Have you considered Superlumina cables? They are superb to my ears.
5 Likes
At least in the U.S. SuperLumina cables are ridiculous cost for many. I think better value for money can be had. I have some HiLine cables but am replacing them with AVO deep cryo cables from AV Options. I have a new one coming that’s a custom build: XLR-DIN5 Y cable to connect my Boulder phono-stage to my 252, without using adapters. I also plan to get some Siltech DIN-XLR phono cables (which Naim doesn’t produce anyway) for my tonearms after I get the rewired for DIN termination.
1 Like
To me, a Lyra Kleos or a Linn Krystal is good enough to show how a significant difference going from 252 (or 52 in my case) to 552. I’d therefore lean toward a 552.
S/h 552s are much less expensive than they were - as an upgrade, it still costs a lot more than an uber-cartridge but it also lasts a lot longer and can benefit multiple sources.
Otoh, this is all very good kit, so any improvement will be smaller than than going from a £2k system to a £5k system, and I can absolutely understand if you pick differently.
3 Likes