They ran out of a very special component and can’t service faulty ones with that one needing replacement. It was probably a Mosfet.
Phil
Ok, didn’t know. So not a good idea apparently.
Only a SNAIC5 is needed when running the Superline off the 552.
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IMO
the phonostage seems to be an add on accessory for a lot of people
The principal of source first very much applies here
The phonostage is by far the most important part of the amplification stage
In terms of budget I would be looking at most for the TT then the phonostage then the Pre
I certainly wouldn’t consider a Statement Pre before getting an equivalent Phonostage, I would be wasting my money
Lyndon
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What would be an equivalent phono stage to the Statement pre? Curious. I would say the the Superline/Supercap DR is probably a NAC252 level product, not,really on par with the NAC552.
Hans
Vitus MP 201, CH precision P1, Ypsilon …would be on Statement level.
Superline is definitely a 500 level product - the clue is the mass loading, which is done 500 style, very heavy with a solid brass sub-chassis.
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Its clearly a matter of opinion. I agree that the mass loading points toward the 500 series. Still, I feel compromises where made to make it compatible with Classic products, most notably in the power supply side. I would love to hear what a revised Superline, upgraded to take full advantage of the balanced power supply technology used to feed the NAC552, would sound like.
Best regards
Hans
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I also don’t agree with it being a 500 series product, its like the NDS, very good at the time and probably the best they could do at a price point, but the superline these days could do with an uplift and then it might get the 500 series badge.
I guess we must remember that this is a well over 10 years old now, still good, just not good value these days if you add it all up what it costs to max it out and can be matched or beaten for a lot less money.
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It’s the problem of borderline levels of some components. The superline is more classic than 500 , the nd555 is more statement than 500 ( from some reviews I read).
An nds with 2 555 dr and optimized network is more 500 than classic, because it’s at the same level as CD555 .
A full width phonostage would look better on the Fraim, and the cable dressing could be improved.
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That might be your setup makes it seem so, for a similar outlay for TT, arm, cartridge and superline/supercap to the cost of an ND555 and ps the 555 is still some way behind, though it does cover its tracks well. It did, however, take a lot of effort optimising the arm settings, or is this a sign that I do need a Melco?
Not sure I understood well your question. But I agree that a turntable / phono/ cart/ is still ahead of the nd555.
I have read that some think that the nd555 deserves better than the 552. Was just talking about the level range of some components…
$33,000 here in the States for ND555 and 555PS. That can buy a LOT of tt I think! (For another thread)
I can imagine. I have about $19k (at retail) into my TT. A comparable TT with two arms would approach that.
I have the original IOS which cost more new than the Aria but a lot less than the IOS reference but an internal picture of both showed very little difference (to my untrained eyes at least). Maybe there wasn’t enough difference in performance between the two than Rega decided to can the original IOS. It’s a rare thing to find used that’s for sure!
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Have you compared your IOS to the Aura? Probably not night and day ?
I have only seen 2 reviews comparing the ios and aura, both times the aura was a country mile ahead.
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Ok, so no useful to buy a second hand iOS. Better a second hand superline probably.
However I am very satisfied with my ear 912.
Nope. Not heard any Rega gear since I bought my Isis (now gone) and the P9/Atheta/IOS (that I still have).