I was not directly trying to compare the sound quality between the two companies. I was just mentioning that Auralic had managed incorporate many of the features that people seek in a upgraded 272. Personally, I thought the Vega G2 and active ATC speakers were one the standout rooms at Acoustica 2019 show.
I’m not sure what your comment means, but in the course of changing my system recently, I engaged in extensive auditioning comparing my 272/XPS DR with Vega G2 into active ATC speakers. This was first at my dealer’s and then for a couple of weeks at home. Quite frankly, to my perhaps flawed ears, the Auralic was markedly superior to the excellent 272 in all musical respects.
Just a few examples. In large-scale symphonies the exceptionally low noise floor meant I could if I wished pick out quiet details in the orchestra even in fortissimo passages without losing the overall flow. In a capella choral music, individual voices emerged without obscuring the mass effect, just as in a live performance. At the moment I’m listening to Jarrett at the Blue Note, or perhaps I should say I’m at the club, so present are the performers … and I can’t stop my foot tapping. Above all I am enjoying a real musical connection with the performers far more than at any point in over half a century of hifi ownership.
Roger
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Those Jarrett albums are great, aren’t they? Did you get them on the Qobuz promotion? My manky old 272 delivers in ‘in the club’ experience too!
No it didn’t, the 272 was largely based on the old/legacy transport platforms.
The transport in all three of the new streamers is quite different and somewhat more capable and performant and were developed after the 272.
The key thing in the 272 is it brought some of the ideas from the Statement NAC into its preamp volume control section so I understand.
To my mind an updated 272 (perhaps 272-2) with the current advanced Naim streaming transport and Naim’s new know how on LVDS and reduced noise interference would on paper be rather interesting, and I’d be surprised if it didn’t appear at some point.
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I was in the vicinity of my dealer yesterday so i popped in to say hello and walked out with an Auralic Vega G2 to try again for a few days, like you do …
First impressions are very good indeed and it looks great too . Quite amazing from one box . I’d also be amazed if Naim aren’t working on a 272 replacement as it’s been a huge success and the new streaming is absolutely excellent IMO . Here’s hoping and balanced outputs would be nice too please Naim .
I am surprised by your findings, but what sounds best is always subjective and what I heard was in a different context. I heard the top Auralic streamer as a potential source to my Chord system and was extremely disappointed with it. I compared a CD playing on Blu2 CD transport with the same CD accurately ripped and fed into Blu2 from the Auralic.
I outlined the music I use for auditioning in another thread - please tap or click.
I didn’t listen to Auralic’s DAC, so might have had a different imoression if I had.
Yes, I got them as a download from Qobuz; it’s a terrific bargain. Like your wife I could do without the grunts, but I’m learning to ignore them. One of the surprises to me are the longer tracks which need careful structuring to maintain interest over nearly half an hour. This is one area where Jarrett is particularly impressive and where I suspect his classical work has had an influence. (Apologies to the OP for thread diversion.)
BTW, no way did I say or think the 272 is “manky”. With a 555 and 300 in tow, not to mention your SL2s it must sound terrific. As a single box driving active speakers I just think the Vega G2 is one of the best DACs in its price range out there (and it costs quite a bit more than the 272).
Roger
But a NAC is made as half of a NAP.
Not as a random pairing with a speaker that has a power amp in it.
Hi Roger. No, I know you didn’t say it was manky. A lot of posts seem to suggest that the 272 is somewhat passé, because it’s not on the whizzy new platform. Hence the manky. But for something that plays from my Nas, and lets me connect my tuner and record player, it fits the bill perfectly.
I must say, the idea of a single box plus active speakers does sound rather wonderful. It’s something I may investigate one day.
While I’ve never heard a Focal speaker I’ve liked, you’d think that with Naim in tow a decent sounding speaker with active Naim amplification on board would be a real runner. So much of the cost of a Naim amplifier is the casework, and by hanging it off the back of the speaker, like ATC, is a great way of delivering performance at a good price.
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So it is sometimes said, but the 272 is distinct from the other NACs (strictly speaking it’s a NAC-N). Quite apart from the fact that it includes a streamer, all the other NACs require an external power supply and have a natural partnering NAP. As I mentioned above, the idea of combining a 272 with ATC actives, as reviewed in HiFi+, came from Salisbury itself, so the notion of using a 272 outside an all-Naim system is not without some support from the mothership.
Roger
Yep, I wondered if Focal and Naim might have got together to build an active speaker. I would have been a potential customer, at least provided the result managed to avoid reminding me of Marvin the Paranoid Android from Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.
Roger
It’s Brabantia pedal bins that come to mind for me.
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Bump
+1 for external power only and pitched at the highest credible level that works in one box. I am sure that Naim can charge a price for this that will make up for a slight loss to their separates for everything market…
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I’m sick of Tidal “drops”. I like/need low box counts. I really like the Naim interface & sound. I need to power some somewhat demanding speakers.
Naim currently cannot address all of this. I’m thinking of going outside of Naim for amplification & getting a NDX2 + my turntable for a 3 box system.
In the old days we all had a lot of sources like FM, tape deck, cd-player, vinyl-player … having a control-center in the form of a preamp with various inputs made sense.
Today not even Naim makes more than one type of source - the streamer/dac - and the iPad is the control-center. Ok, many people have a vinyl-player but then again Naims preamps doesnt include interface for this type of device, it has to be purchased as extra boxes.
I’d say the 272 is the most modern device in their lineup. Shame the software in it seem to be abandonware.
It sounds every bit as good as it was the day Naim introduced it, isn’t it?
I’m pretty confident that Naim will announce a successor in 2020; not based on any knowledge by the way …
For what it’s worth I love mine. 272/250dr/xpsdr/606s full SL loon, on Fraim. Waiting on new full fat Fraim and maybe 555PS for Christmas if I have enough money left.
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well they don’t have much choice but to be open minded and appreciate non Naim matches. They don’t make speakers anymore so an all Naim system and the whole concept of Naim as a “system builder, not a seperates maker” is long dead in my view. You want an all Naim system and you have to go with legacy products.
Thanks guys for all your likes … let’s keep it going and show Naim how loved this hifi gem is…
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