Hi out there,
beeing bitten by upgrade bug (as always), I have a NDS powered by a non-Naim PSU, a 202/200 set driving my dynaudio contour 60. (some power cables and interconnect are also present)
I’m considering whether to buy
a (full) Fraim (currently 202/200 are stacked, and on wooden shelf with the NDS)
OR
feet for the Contour - isoacoustics Gaia I
OR lastly (but in random order)
another PSU for the NDS.
I will most likely buy all three options over time,
but which option will buy me the best upgrade ?
Things I prefer are depth, imaging and foot tamping factor,
music is jazz/blues and some (a lot) Leonard Cohen, Sade
Without doubt the Full Fraim. This will bring fundamental musical and sonic benefits. Any further improvements will then be built on a really solid foundation.
Naim amps should never be stacked. The performance of the preamp in particular will suffer from this, and from the poor cable dressing that more than likely goes with it. So you should put them on a rack with a separate shelf for each box as your first priority.
On paper the amp is the weak link in your system, but the benefits of a good rack will become more evident as you upgrade it.
Not sure how or whom sold you those speakers for your system, but imo you need much better preamp and power combo for them. Non naim psu are not allowed to be discussed, but many regret buying them in time.
These speakers deserve something like 552/500. Or for less money maybe Dagostino progression integrated or eventually Gryphon Diablo 300.
The priority is here.
Then a Naim 555 dr for the Nds.
Now, as I see that they are Countour, not Evidence, it’s much better balanced. But still a bit mullet kind of system.
Go for 282/ hicap first. Then 250 dr . And Naim ps for Nds.
The first thing I’d do is edit your post to say Contour rather than Confidence. This will help gather useful responses. Touch the three dots and then the pencil to do it.
Now, the issue you have is that the Contour 60s are significantly under amplified. What you really need is a 282, Hicap DR and 250DR. Getting the amplification right will make much more of a difference than a Fraim. That said you do need to separate your pre amp power amp in order to get the best from them and do it immediately. You can get good alternatives to Fraim; Isoblue and Quadraspire SVT are both excellent. You may also be able to rearrange things to get the pre and power separated now.
With that sorted out, a Naim 555PSDR for your NDS would be a very good idea.
You may well be thinking that this guy is telling me to spend about £15,000 on electronics; that’s the problem with getting large expensive speakers - you need to feed them properly.
Hi,
wanted to edit when I saw the mistake, but cannot find the three dots, tried both chrome and firefox (and Im logged in…)
I have no problem in spending money for it, just want the right order.
I can get a cheat (350pound) townshend seismic stand with 4 shelves, considering that instead of fraim (although aestatics are in favour of Fraim).
I have seen a lot of advises against 250DR, so would rather go 300DR in time, will 282 be suitable for that, or should I upgrade to 252 on my 200DR amp and eventually buy 300DR ?
The pencil is normally at the bottom of your post, but because you are new on the forum it will probably take a while / a few posts until you receive the option.
If you want a 300, the 282 would be fine, ideally with a Supercap. The 252 is a more balanced partner for the 300. The 300 cannot power a preamp so you’d need a Hicap or Supercap with the 282 or a Supercap with the 252.
Hi @hifibo127 - given the amount of your money that we all seem to be trying to spend, it is worth bearing in mind eBay can be a big help. How about an olive 52 + Supercap + 250 (or even 2 X 135s), while selling the 202/200?
90%+ of us would probably say that a 252+SCDR+300DR would let you hear considerably more in a suitable room, but that’s an entirely different level of cost.
Would that leave room to also get a s/h Naim PS for the NDS sooner rather than later?
I’d also suggest that you spend £50-£100 on any s/h stand that you can live with and that keeps a decent distance between all the boxes. If you can live with the Townshend stand you mention and it won’t delay amp and ps changes, that’s an option too.
Like sorting out your cables (no knots or friendly gatherings please), getting the boxes apart is a very cheap upgrade.
A Fraim (or rival) and any thoughts of clever but expensive feet are well worth considering one day, as with any changes to your cables that may be needed, but will probably have to wait for a while.
(and Im logged in…)