Old non-DR one James and yes, preferred the XPSDR. The 555PSDR is a different beast all together though.
G
1 Like
Excellent news Graeme regarding the 555DR I made the move from the XP5xs straight to the 555DR and the difference is huge.
1 Like
Ah i see - enjoy 
1 Like
To be honest a few days ago I went through a moment of madness and thought about moving up the Naim ladder and listed my 555DR for sale.
Aiming towards a 252/Supercap using my existing 250DR but then I would require streamer, additional Fraim the list goes on and on.
Anyway came to my senses, a quick slap from the wife and realised that my 3x boxes are more than enough.
272/555/250 nice, neat and sounds superb.
7 Likes
A kindred spirit! For 99% of the time I am totally content, then I make the mistake of reading some of the posts on this forum. Then I remind myself of the hours and hours I spent researching and demoing (not to mention the money spent!) to get to where I am. Then I play a favourite album and that’s that - itch gone.
3 Likes
To really improve on a 272/555 you are looking at a ND555 and a 552. That’s over £30,000 if buying new. Plus the SL interconnect and more shelves. That £30k would buy a lot of holidays.
5 Likes
Timmo and HH I agree the 272/555dr takes some beating I don’t know what came over me!
1 Like
You don’t need a ND555/552 to outperform the 272/555, an NDX2/282/SC is appreciably better to my ears. Still we all tend towards hyperbole when describing what we own.
It will be interesting to hear how the rumoured 372 compares with the NDX2.
1 Like
Hi Jonn. Perhaps I should have said that I personally would not change unless it was to a 555/552. I don’t doubt there are interim steps that would be a bit different but they wouldn’t be enough to induce me to deplete the savings or rearrange the living room. The 272 is not the answer to world peace, but for its price, it performs better than perhaps it ought. Maybe that’s why it seems to be proving hard to supersede.
7 Likes
You got there in the end Sean!
Peter
1 Like
I did Peter almost pressed the self destruct button.
1 Like
Even though I’m very firmly in the low box count at the moment , there’s something very pleasing about a nice stack of Fraim mounted Naim boxes . They ooze quality and you just know they’re going to sound superb . If I lived out of town with more space i’d probably have more boxes too .
However it is pretty much inevitable that low box counts will become the norm as the tech explosion continues and things become naturally smaller , the consensus and standards of today will become history and we’ll all be better off for it . It’ll be sooner rather than later . The advances at the digital end of Hifi have been phenomenal in the last 5 years and its not going to slow down . You can now get an awful lot in a very small box, proven to me recently when I installed a Uniti Atom for my parents , what a fantastic sounding system that is . The Star and Nova must be something else .
Buy a Nova with some £3-5k speakers and you’re probably within 10-15% of reference , happy days indeed .
2 Likes
Welcome back HH. I have to agree with HH having tried 282/SuperCap DR and then 252/SuperCap DR both with 300DR. Now for the first time with unDRed 552/500 I just hear the music. You don’t even need ND555.
I’m lucky I happened to have demoed a 552 DR curtesy of Naim and was unable to stomach buying new, but found both 552 and 500 before others (the dealer had them on his site for nearly 3 weeks). I can’t say they were cheap, but it sorts me out.
I do lament that there is no other solution, but had I started with these two preloved pairs I would have saved a significant amount of money.
As for box count, I’d rather have the musical enjoyment so if this is the price to pay so be it. We can all wish for fewer boxes but at present it doesn’t seem to work that way.
Phil
I was going to say it is possible to build an outstanding system with fewer boxes after visiting Sonority to compare the various Innuos servers. In undoubtedly the best dedicated, purpose-designed room I’ve ever encountered, the system, comprising server, DAC and power amp was sensational. Realised of course that it was the 2-box Innuos Statement, 2-box Dave/Blu and amp so the box count wasn’t quite so minimal.
Looking forward to getting my 555PS even more reading that!
Roll on next weekend.
G
1 Like
I have been contemplating whether to go for the XPSDR or 555 for a few weeks now, after reading what HH plus a couple others had to say I ordered a 555 today…
2 Likes
Kerrching!! That’s another £500 commission for me. Seriously though, the difference from XPS to 555 is far greater than from bare to XPS. It seems nutty powering a sub £4K streaming preamp with a £7k power supply, but the end more than justifies the means. It’s not about hifi nonsense, but musical insight and enjoyment. When I picked up my 555 a rep from Naim was in the shop. I’d never auditioned it before ordering. ‘You’ll love it’, he said. He was right. It’s just brilliant.
1 Like
May as well join in… I’m also loving my 272/555 
1 Like
I felt on an NDX2 the XPSDr was much nearer to the 555ps. If the NDX2 was your end point…
then the XPSdr is a very good power supply for the money.
1 Like
I dont see it as 4k and 7k in its individual components but as an 11k pre amp.
Enjoy the 272/555dr its excellent.
1 Like