Bloody Naim 2!

Thx.

George used Audionote speakers and is loving the 250DR, but I think that this afternoon may have given him some food for thought.

Mr Underhill,
Chapeau, Sir. You have summarised the essence of the the upgrade from 250DR to 300DR that I have heard on 2 separate occasions, with a clarity of language that I wish I possessed.

Nicely done. That 300DR somehow manages to move us on from appreciating great hifi to appreciating great music.

Best regards, BF

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Not sure I can add too much more. Certainly the 300DR was more different than I thought. The sound had more scale, 3D and was more relaxed. Not the sort of thing you expect from Naim. Fortunately not at the expense of the dynamics, power and speed. It was a great day and very illustrative. Would the difference be so big with my silver Audionote Es? Dunno. Easiest way to find out is to try it at my home. But from what I heard today, there are real differences and it is more musically rewarding where the differences do not make the ‘hifi’ better but make more sense of the music and the interaction between the musicians. Dam…

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George, if your Audionote speakers will sound better with a nap 300 dr vs 250, I will send you my best Champagne :smile:

Thx BF

I think you should come over to help adjudicate!

I will let you do the listening and will believe in your results. But for now I am skeptical.

I believe you can never generalise about this. I’ve heard my humble Kudos X2s sound quite sublime with a 300DR, and subjectively much better than with a 250. How good is your best Champagne, I may even be prepared to travel to Paris to claim my prize if you make it worth my while :grin:

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I was talking only about Audionote speakers, which sound best with low wattage tube amps. 8 W is enough for them.
A nait 5 is more appropriate than nap 250 .
It’s what Audionote dealer in Paris said to me and what I have also often read.
They absolutely don’t need a nap 300 dr. And they absolutely sound best with a tube amp. I heard them a few times and with low powered tube Audionote or Shindo they were fantastic.

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The Kudo X2 has nothing common with Audionote speakers Chrissu.

Indeed, I am just a chancer!

I don’t understand Chrissu. Googled and translated, but still not understand.

My dream would be to have 2 listening rooms. One full 500 series Naim system and another room with middle Audionote full system.
I made a compromise with an ear 912 full tube preamp / phono and Naim source and amp.

I once visited a customers house in Russia who had exactly that. In one room was top end Naim and in another was an almost top end Audio Note system.

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I have to say that the EAR868 is excellent with the 300DR. George felt the 250DR might benefit from the Townshend Allegri, but by that point we were both keen to get the 300DR slotted back in.

Audio T in Reading are now carrying Audionote and are a long term Naim dealer. I met one chap at. their ND555 day who had replaced his NBLs with Es on a 282/sc/250 system and was delighted. I’m not ready to take a chance on trying a pair at home.

Chancer

  1. a person who exploits any opportunity to further their own ends.

“Prague was full of young chancers, bored with the City”

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I think it is a shame they only offer the PL Lite mains cord with the 300. The PL is worth trying although it takes 24 hours playing music to settle from new. The 300 DR has quite a large PS which will benefit as will the SuperCap.

In my case it might have stopped/delayed the move to 552/500, which having bought a preloved 552/500 without PLs definitely needs PLs.

Phil

I have been using a 252/300 with SBLs since 2004 and can confirm that it’s a safe long term purchase! Not DR though. I think the 300 will be staying Mr. U!

And which did you prefer??? :smile: