Trying to beat the Dec 6 price increase, I can get two 500-series components. Current system is NDX2, 252 and 250DR.
Which is a somewhat better approach in your humble opinion:
ND555 + NAC 552 (with 250DR remaining)
NAC 552 + NAP 500 (with NDX 2 remaining)
I am more toward the 552+500 since it is a classic and can buy it once and done while using my digital source NDX2. Is that a good choice or is ND555 as the ultimate source going to have more impact.
I am a-bit undecided because I see many people is okay with 552+250DR and considering my speaker is Dynaudio Special 40 for now (until future) which the 250DR should be enough and thus a ND555 might be a better choice.
Any good thoughts on which two 500-series components to get first?
I would go with the first option, as the second will expose the limitations of a bare NDX2. FWIIW, I’m running NDX2/555PS into a 252/250, you could go with one new box to hit that combo and add a full Superlumina loom if you don’t have it.
Cables probably will be the last thing I do. My goal is to beat the price increase as next year my country will impose GST tax from 7% to 9% also. So is a double whammy I want to avoid.
I will take note on the bare NDX2 getting exposed by the 552+500. Nice to be reminded of that.
Definitely go for the ND555 and 552, not forgetting that you will also need a 555PS. The 250DR will be perfectly fine and is ideal for your speakers. Running a bare NDX2 into a 552/500 would ruthlessly expose it as a source and you’d then need an ND555 to restore balance anyway. Presumably you already have a good stand to put it all on.
I did 552, then 500 and ND555 last, but only because it hadn’t been released so I was vinyl and CDX2 for a while. The 552 does get the best out of a source but better to give it the best in the first place. I ended up with 555/552/250-2 for a while when a 500 Burndy got damaged disconnecting it for a move and was still very happy with my system with the 250 in its place.
Tks for the logical conclusion guys. Looks like ND555+552 that is. In order not to be exposed at the source and the 250DR is still good for my speaker.
option 1 should, of course, sound better than your current setup (so you would perceive it as a good purchase nevertheless)
option 2 in my view, however, should sound better than option 1 … in your current setup
why am I saying this? because I’ve had the 250 and S40 … but not for long as they were not a very happy couple and your speakers are probably a pair of sleeping beauties in a semi dormant state unless you go beyond 10-11 o’clock?
so, of the 2, I would definitely go for option 2 now and think about further upgrades later as the biggest imbalance I see with option 1 remains at the next stage - not feeding adequately a pair of wonderful speakers and that would not be addressed by millions in the source.
and btw considering you are also looking at it from a financial point of view ahead of the next price increase, buying a source which will inevitably be outdated soon enough (think ndx and nds), your money on the 500 might be more wise and future proof (if this matters)
You definitely hit it right on the Special 40. Not going to dispute, I feel low volume listening on my S40 is lacking and truly need to volume up. I thought my S40 is too entry of a speaker and you mention it is a sleeping beauty and wonderful speaker, that is pretty revealing to me. Perhaps I too much on my speaker.
Most people advice me to go source-first, but I do understand the out-of-date issues of the digital source also.
The exact nature of the future-proof-ness of 552+500 is exactly why I am initially undecided where to spend the two 500-series components for now.
and considering my speaker is Dynaudio Special 40 for now (until future) which the 250DR should be enough and thus a ND555 might be a better choice.
too much on my speaker.