I prefered the 82 over the 282 back when I had both. Both were recently serviced. But that is just me. I seem to be particularly sensitive to some aspects of the sound making it feel not so open and free flowing. Maybe too controlled. I felt the 282 did that compared to the 82 the lets the music “breath” more. All these words might however mean something else entirely to you when you read them compared to how I meant when writing them. So I really don’t know if this is helpful at all. 
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282 a substantial upgrade over 202 when I switched. Bass in particular much tighter and deeper - altogether a more grown-up sound.
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I’m definitely with you , 202 I do not know why, has for long been voiced to be the weak product since SN appearing.
Nothing more wrong as a separate in a league of its own , as we know, no power duties just a plain preamp to be maximized with 1 or 2 hicaps , separate digital path etc.
Not to compare with the latter , please be serious if you have ears and a well set-up system to judge.
On the other hand I’m with those who claim 282 to be a better preamp, of course, easily heard, as the same can be said when switching from 282 to 252 (which I personally adore with 250.2).
I found an almost imperceptible difference between the 82 and the 282, but this was many years ago. The dealer and his sidekick were shaking their heads and rolling their eyes at this. I never came back, and he quickly went out of business.
My 102, while it trounced the Linn LK1/LK280, was like an unruly puppy. My 82 was like a well trained sheepdog which gets the job done. My 52 is like a golden retriever. Everyone likes goldens. I have avoided auditioning a 552 because I don’t know that much about dogs.
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The moral is…
Never sell a nice clean NAC72 
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Out of curiosity, were you using a NAPSC with the 202 when you made the switch?
Yes, I bought a NAPSC soon after getting the 202, then added a Hicap which I ran with the 202 for perhaps 4 or 5 yrs before trading the 202 for a 282 - which was the last Naim piece I bought new IIRC…
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I once had a 202/NAPSC/HiCap-2/250-2. Changing to a 282 didn’t trounce the 202. It smoked it. 
I was very happy for the 282. It was what I wanted where the 202 was a disappointment and I wished I had never wasted money buying it.
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Yup, I preferred it to the 102 and 202. The 282 is probably the best of the 200 OC preamps for my ears but I didn’t spend a lot of time with the 282. The OP should be looking for a 250DR next, that 200 is a weak point now.
I think the 82/282 level is something of a sweet spot in the Naim range actually which is why I seem to have settled there! You get a real taste of the high end of Naim without spending ridiculous amounts of money.
I went from 102 to 82 and felt that it made a substantial difference in terms of detail and low level resolution as well as PRAT. I changed quite a bit around that time though and it was a few years back but I recall being very impressed for the modest outlay. The 102/202 amps are though I think unfairly maligned here and as Sloop John points out are incredibly good pre-amplifiers in their own right.
Enjoy the music!
JonathanG
In a virtual square where fanboyism thrives, and hyperbole is celebrated, it’s nice to hear a well articulated voice of reason, thanks.
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my introduction to Naim, the very first Naim amp I heard in the UK was a 202/200 and resulted in this life long relationship with Naim, it can’t be that bad. I was unlike anything I ever heard before and I was mesmerized and stayed in the showroom for 4 hours playing song after song. When they told me the price tag… I took a deep breath, but I knew I had to have one.
Since I own 282 and 202 and tested them side by side many times, I find they have a different character (the 282 has much better control over the signal), but I could easily have not upgraded to 282/250/HCDR and stayed with 202/200DR. The 282/HCDR/250DR is more of a hi end sound with better 3d soundstage and bass, but the 202/200DR is a lot of fun to listen to, and that’s what it is about for me.
sources upgrades on the other hand… that’s why my money goes now.
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I’m glad the 202 makes you happy. I just wasn’t all that thrilled with it. It was OK, but the 282 was outstanding and really lifted what I had to a level I thought was truly great. I ended up sending it, my HiCap-2 and 250-2 to Naim for recap and DR upgrades, and it came back even better. After that I moved on to SCDR, then a 252 and 300DR, which is where I am now and have been for the last four years. I had the 282 for about six years. I had the 202 for about six months (maybe a little longer).
The 202 just didn’t give me the satisfaction I got with the 282 and 252 upgrades. Now with the 252/SCDR and 300DR I feel like I am at end game on Naim components.
FWIW: my introduction to Naim was with a 42.5/HiCap/140 (mid-80s chrome bumper) and then I had a break from Naim for a decade. The 282 made me feel like I returned to the Naim sound, much more so than the 202.
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thanks for posting, yes the 202 really shining once I got chord Hugo as a source, but that’s a whole other discussion…
I would say that is a case of poor matching of components rather than poor performance of the 202. I found that Naim components perform well with their natural partners, i.e. 202/200 and 282/250, but 202/250 just didn’t sound right.
System matching is important but for me the best pre in the Naim line for the money has always been the (swiss army knife) 72 superb performance when matched with a NAP140, 250, 135 and active 135.
Unlike the 102 with either a 140 or 180 but adding a 250 tipped the balance.
Anyway @rotch enjoy your new 282.
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It arrived yesterday, and as it is a brand new no hours unit I decided to give it a listen knowing it wouldn’t be on its top form yet until it was broken in. Interestingly I was trying to follow the manual to select the phono inputs for my phono stage but for some reason count get it to work so used a minty rca-din adaptor into a standard line level input. The thing sounded amazing! with no break-in the bass was super controlled and much deeper, the stereo image was a lot wider with loads of extra detail that ive never heard before with the 202, the top end and high mids have a nice extra warmth and musicality and just sounded bigger, more meat on the bone etc. Friday night was an antisocial stay at home playing tunes night, ive clear the weekend too hahahaha…I noticed someone wrote that my nap200 is now my weakest link now and should be upgraded at some point. The problem with hifi is that as soon as you upgrade one thing you see troubles in other areas etc. Right now I don’t though. I probably won’t upgrade the nap200 as it sounds great and in the future im probably going to get aticve ATC floor standers scm40A level. exciting times! great preamp purchase. Also as mentioned in other posts the nac202 is a great preamp in its own right, I loved mine for quite a few years having had a 92,102,72,32.5 over the last 20 years but the 282 is a proper step up.
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As an owner of 202/200 with PSU, to be honest Nac 202 was never worth the money new.
You get what you pay for is not valid here.
They are down to 1/3 price second hand may be the best proof of my statement.
Ir certainly need Napsc and also Hicap to perform, otherwise I’d just get an older Nac.
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Great to hear you’re enjoying the 282 so much, I was the same when I got mine last year, it’s a great pre-amp, has a lot of character 
The funny thing about the 282 is, I don’t think it once got reviewed in anything but a German publication. It survived over two decades without ever gracing the review rooms of any major English language publication.
I sat and listened to mine for the first session in over 3 years today. Mighty fine it is too.
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