Many thanks for such detailed food for thought. Best wishes
My path has been similar.
I was firmly in the âlow box countâ club, with SN2. I wanted to experience better separates, so went to the 252/SCDR/300DR, and now I see (hear) the difference.
The great thing about Naim is that one can pretty much always sell off something, and especially if one buys âgently usedâ like I did, the total cost of ownership is minimized (vs. buying new everything). There is something to be said for experiencing this stuff in your home, even if you donât keep it forever.
I can foresee downsizing the hi fi at some point, but for now very happy with it!!! Im sure my trusted dealer will be happy some day to take it back and sell me something else.
I actually didnât intend to downsize but now have just a Uniti with a two small box phono stage and small LP12 psu and I have to say Iâm as happy with the system now as I have been with all my systems. To a greater or lesser degree all Naim boxes maintain that house sound and so I donât feel Iâm missing out although when finances allow Iâll move up to a Superuniti or possibly a Supernait which will no doubt lead to a Hicap as HH said just do what feels right.
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Get a Unitistar for streaming, cd ripping and turntable - connect to external speakers. If you donât want speakers, or turntable and cd - just streaming get a Muso! These boxes are superb sounding! I did this for my daughterâs system. Personally I am in too deep with my 12 boxes!!
Best Wishes,
Granted
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Whilst a Muso would be infinitely better than no music play, and better than many a âboomboxâ or similar, I for one would not be content with it as a replacement for my system. If I had to go that small I might consider Dave with headphones, though maybe not as that would mean only hearing music, with loss of feelâŚ
Oh I wouldnât be content either with just a Muso, my comments came from a frustration with looking at my HiFi system, look at my Blu Ray, Sky box and accompanying DAC and counting around eleven boxes. I just think it is a little bit OTT in terms of boxes and the 200/202 with accompanying boxes has in all 5 boxes.
If I had to go that small I would consider a shoebox solution - either UnitiQute + speakers or DAC V1, Nap 100 + speakers. Both options fed by MacMini. If a vinyl playing is required the set could be UnitiQute, Stage Line, TT and speakers.
This is my minimalistic kitchenâs system - UQ2 & n-Sats.
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I have settled on a 3 box system and have reached a point that the 272/555dr/250dr is enough especially into SL2s sound in my room is stunning and any deviation with additional boxes may ruin the balance.
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yes I did downsize to only 272 + ATC 19As ⌠just need to add 555ps 
⌠replace interconnects with SL 
⌠swap 272 for a mythical 372 
⌠and thatâs me done, kit and wallet properly downsized 
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You canât use SL cables with a 272 and the active ATCs, so thatâs one thing you wonât need to worry about.
We all reach a point where admitted benefits are not worth the additional trouble â and this threshold can move.
As my loving, patient wife tells me, âYour setup is the best I have ever heard, but I still donât care.â She worked in a decent Hi-Fi shop an age ago, and was the first person I know with a CD player, FWIW.
No shame in moving your threshold.
Nick
Hi Ian
I as thinking about your situation. Currently I have a 3 box Naim system plus a Unitiserve sitting in a 28 m2 room and it sounds justâŚlovely.
If we move, now that I am pushing 60, it would be to downsize, and it is unlikely I would have another 28m2 listening room. So what I would do if the room was much smaller would be to get a Nova. It has a great sound and is compact.
In your case , a turntable and FM are important. So that means retaining the hicap and phonostage.
The Nova has FM so that means you can now get rid of the tuner, in addition to the 202 and 200.
You could trade the CDX2 on a Naim Core or a NAS as this should sound great with the modern DAC and Streamer in the Nova, thus no CD player needed.
So you would then have
Turntable
Nova
Hicap
Server
Phonostage
And even a civilian could operate this system, and sound quality not greatly compromised.
So there you are, your thinking has been done for you.
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Shoebox systems rule!
With kids that are fairly destructive, there are times I wish I had a smaller system that didnât make me wince as much when the kids are pushing over the speakers and stuff.
I have a UQ2 in the office which is great but has shown me that I still prefer separates.
Iâm not downsizing, but I often think my short term life would be simpler with a Teac streamer into a couple of entry level Luxman monoblocks driving Qacoustics 3050i. Full separates but fits on a single midi width Quadradpire rack instead of the 3 rack sprawl I have today. Give up the entire AV processor and stuff until I have a better home for it.
Iâd do Naim shoeboxes in that imaginary scenario if I was in a country that had Naim. The crazy expense of shipping stuff to the UK for servicing is sort of justifiable for the big Naim system but if I downsized the cost ratio would make me look at domestic brands.
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But swapping the 250 for a 300 would really transform things: itâs what your speakers really need.
SL2s donât âreally needâ a NAP 300. They sound fine with a 250DR which has no problem driving them. They do however really need a better preamp than a 272 
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Reflecting on the original question, other than the physical size of individual boxes, notably speakers, system complexity can be a reason for âdownsizingâ.
Using my own system as an example, although I only have one source, with no network streaming, the fact that it is triamped into split speakers mid/top separate from bass) makes it quite complex, with triple interconnects and triple speaker cables.
Partly to minimise the risk of a catastrophic mis-connection myself I have already colour coded all the cables, plugs and sockets - the other part reason is in case anything were to happen to me, enabling my wife or sons to be able to connect correctly if it were moved. (I already have plans soetime to join the physical speaker boxes so just a plain stereo pair, so that aspect is not a consideration.)
And that leads to other thoughts, alluded to by others - the one of ageing (myself, not the hifi!). Ageing is likely to result in decreased ability to move heavy things - but another consideration is oneâs unfortunately inevitable demise, with inheritance by someone else. There is also the risk of other reduced capacity along the way, including memory loss, and hearing loss.
Whilst I would not want any diminution of sound quality, which ultimately in part dictates always having big speakers, hearing loss might be a factor that could make the quality of the system irrelevant to me. If hearing remains good, but other ability result in moving into a care home, decent speakers and sound level may be impossible, when headphones might be the only way.
Otherwise, while I would not choose lesser sound quality, I might choose less complexity: for that reason active speakers should definitely be on my audition list - perhaps I might do just that after I have moved home in a couple of years, after retiring, when I anticipate being much closer to dealers. That said, the only active transmission line speakers I know of are PMCâs pro level ones that are exceedingly expensive, so it might depend on whether I like the bass of others like the ATCsâŚ
I think thatâs right @anon37289833.
You can throw as much amplification as you want at the SL2s and theyâll improve each time you do but the thing that made the biggest difference in my system was upgrading the preamp from the 272.
Innocent _Bystander you have hit one of the nails firmly , no very firmly on the head. In terms of sound, I am very pleased -why not?
This has been a lifetime in building up and a labour of love but I suspect that very few people would have the time or understanding to rebuild a five box amplification system, throw in two silver disc players and a wonderful tuner that may be made obsolete by inept politicians .
I always try to find ways the get a better sound with less equipement. What happened is that Iâve on the Naim route for the third time. And itâs costs me lots of money. I now decided to focus on vinyl and less on streaming. Current set-up is SN2 with hi-cap, SL with hi-cap. Speakers are Altec Lansing Valencia⌠So, not really down scaling on quality, but less black boxes. Next upgrade Supercap for the SL.
I tried a Muso, but for me itâs not enough. So down scaling on black boxes, upscaling in quality. And separated amps will maybe follow in a next step. More quality after the SN2 means 282 and a 200/250/300 pwr amp. Okay, there I go again. What a hobby, isnât it? 
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Your thinking is very similar to mine, now on third or fourth Naim system ( 2 burglaries and some upgrades). I want to maximise the SQ, reduce the boxes 
. Also going down vinyl route and that brings itâs own box increase path.
The problem with the 200 is that may amplification now takes five boxes .
Where turntables are concerned I have a Clearaudio Emotion on order simply because I donât want the kerfuffle of having an LP 12
Thanks for response , yours was the response I wanted.
Best wishes