I was faced with the exact same dilemma…I replaced 250dr with a 500 (at a bargain price) so I was driving this with a 272 and 555ps….it sounded great! But upgrading was…going to be a dilemma….I decided to jump past the 252….by buying a pre loved 552 which turned out to be the best choice and something I never regretted…. It was a painful financial choice but my flexible friend helped ease the pain. I then used the 272 into the 552 until I bought an NDS (not such a good move) and finally upgraded to ND555. I suggest going for a 552 and then possibly an NDX2 which I think can use your wonderful power supply….phew…. Unfortunately it’s not a cheap…route…but buying carefully s/h can help…..
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I’m sure that many of us sincerely hope not.
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If you go for a 552….it’s an eye opener….on my system there is allot more information coming through….especially high frequencies….which creates the illusion that it’s brighter…it’s not it’s all the extra information….enjoy.
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I don’t think I’ll go for a 552, but rather stay with my 252 and 300 that I have now. It’s opening up more and more, and I don’t think I can move on or justify another step up.
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Resistance is futile Peter. Go straight for the S1. No need to loose your time.
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It must be in my next life in a big castle, in heaven.
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A really big castle with an acoustically correct listening room.
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The 252 is a great preamp….don’t get me wrong….enjoy!!!
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Enjoy your 252 and take a break from here 
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It’s a trap. All good artists are in heaven, no Hifi is needed there.
you need an S1 now, not after your passing.
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Hi Dan,
May I ask, is it possible to play a non hybrid sacd when using a external dac so the digital out of the marantz? I thought that was not possible.
The 252DR (SuperCap) is a wonderful NAC, I am sure you will enjoy it. On balance I preferred it in the longer term to my later 552DR. The two are very different, but are both are hugely detailed and nuanced. The 552 is a more intense listen, where as the 252 is more relaxed. I think the 252 with more prominent mid focussed speakers in near or mid field is a truly wonderful match.
I also found the 252 more accommodating of different source qualities compared to the 552. I really enjoyed mine.. I am sure you will continue to love it.
A 252 being manufactured at the Naim factory
My only negative of the 252 is that it is very sensitive to support… certainly compared to the 552 in my experience. I used top shelf of full fat Fraim for mine.
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I had a 272 volume pot coming off. Fixed it with a bit of teflon tape on the shaft.
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I had my 252 on the top shelf of a brain/brawn Fraim. I have since changed my brain Fraim to a Harmonic Resolution Systems (HRS) EXR rack. Now the bottom shelf of it has my 300 head unit with the 252 sitting on top to share a 8” shelf (my phonos stage sits on the middle shelf above them). I have a set of four HRS Nimbus dampers between 300/252 (i.e. under the 252). The sound is improved – i.e. more focused, better inner detail, more musical – over having those components on the own Fraim shelves. Go figure.
Now we have a 2nd HRS EXR rack ordered (due any time now). It also has two 8” inner shelves and each will be shared by pairs of Naim components with HRS Nimbus dampers separating them: XPSDR + NDX2 on the bottom and 300PS + SCDR on the middle shelf.
I will sell all my Fraim and be happy to get rid of all those damn balls.
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I have been playing on my 252 for a good month now, and there are constantly new surprises in the soundscape, which are fantastic.
I have always understood that placing a 252 under all other black boxes is a no-go.
I don’t have the money or space for a rack like the one JDP is talking about. But some questions arise in relation to what is said about the 252’s vulnerability to how it is placed.
First and foremost, what is it vulnerable to?
I have placed my 252 on three composite material points on a solid shelf that is permanently mounted on a brick wall. It does not stand on its own feet.
In addition, I have placed a heavy book on top of the 252. The book is more to dampen the singing resonance that is very noticeable when you tap the chassis with your finger. But that shouldn’t matter, i.e. that the chassis has that resonance, according to several threads here on the Naim forum.
So what do I need to take into account?
Naim put a lot of thought into the feet under their boxes despite the fact that they look quite ordinary. I would do whatever it takes to put the pre on its own shelf. If Fraim doesn’t appeal, maybe Fraim type glass on ball bearings would work.
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You’d be surprised how ordinary they are if you were to try AUVA EQs.
Thank you for the advice to put the 252 on its own shelf, which is what I am doing right now. And thank you for the advice about Stack audio solutions.
But I just want to know why the 252 is so vulnerable? You don’t hear this about other devices, perhaps the 282, and if so, what do these devices have in common in terms of vulnerability?