Over the past few years of ownership of a 552DR I’ve learned how good this pre amp is, I’ve paired this with a NAP300, 500 and now 250DR this pre isn’t going anywhere. Okay the 332 may be technically better?.. but the 552 isn’t broken far from it but I do like to see progress from the lower range, if not what is the point of moving forward.
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Has anybody had 332/350 and changed to 552/500? I wonder…
complete opposite here.
Volume on 52 was very bad - only big jumps. 552 goes in micro steps when you tap on the remote - love it.
What is wrong with yours or mine 52?
I’m not going to argue with any of what you’ve said as you’ve done more combinations than me however MY favourite system was 552,135. Im now on the full 500 series dR system. I cannot say why i still regard that as my favourite. Perhaps it may have been because it was my first real top end system.
I also loved 52/135. I agree that 52 is an amazing preamp as is the 552DR. The 52 and similarly the 135s DO NOT have the full range of the audio spectrum. The treble for instance is less nuanced but somehow very sweet. The bass is not as impactful, precise or defined but is warm and rhythmic. The soundstage is more closed in as a result the midrange seems to be more forward in the stage. This is in line with a lot of vintage gear and if you ask me, it works oh so well. Altogether if all somebody wants from their system is a fun listen 52/135s is all you need.
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i agree the new gear sounds great. The 200 series demo I heard was very impressive considering it was just the streamer into nc250. It didn’t sound as good from my memory as 252/SC 250DR but that’s a 4 box system(when you consider streamer-DAC) vs a two box setup. The 300 series sounded very good too just not as good as the 500 series i have at home.
However, the most important take away is personal preference. My system is assembled by me therefore I’ve tailored it to my liking so it makes sense that the dealer setup wasn’t as impressive for me.
I mean Kudos, Focal and Dali are not my preference of speakers at all and that’s what i heard in the demos.
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this is exactly my impression. I was impressed by the quietness of it and the tone which was very tube-esq
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Exactly what I did - wasn’t even a competition for the price. £9k for a 552 that is 4 years old vs a piece of kit in the tier below. For sure the 332 was good but the 552 was the biggest shift other than a power supply on the NDX2. Simon
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552/135… really?
I thought you had a later but massive wow moment with your 500dr.
552/135 was really good… but I also think 500 is made for 552
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Yes the 552/500DR is better than the 52/135 in every way I can think of.
But the 552DR/135 system was my first system that absolutely blew me away. We often hear about the first time an audiophile has that seductive moment with a system. That was mine. Prior to that I had enjoyed the hobby and always loved good sound but was never bowled over by it. It was fronted by an Audio Note DAC 2 as well which had a very lush tube sound. It all came together very well. Once I dismantled the system I could never recreate it again even though I bought similar products. So my lesson was when something is right, leave it alone. Newer or more expensive gear doesn’t always translate to more satisfaction from your hifi.
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So well written… 
The system that blew me away as none ever have done again was:
72/hc/250/SBL with phonosophie tt. Year 1991!
My ears were s much better the day. This was my first audiophile addictive moment.
In recent times
52/sc/135/Sbl phonosophie prefix sc (the moment going back to vinyl emphasizes that)
Best system is the current one - sigma cable brought some of these moments too. But not anywhere near the 1991 moments.
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Thank you my friend.
I’ve always wanted to hear the NAC 12, 32.5, and 72. I will some day.
I finally fulfilled my desire of owning the Nait 1. I often substitute it in for the 500 system and it holds its own.
I put that down to a brilliant source as much as I do the amazing Nait 1.
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My ‘blown away’ moment was hearing an LP12/Geddon/Aro/Troika on active (six back) 135’s, 52 on Isobariks playing an acetate of Frankie goes to Hollywood. My blue pill red pill moment!
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Some of the very finest sounds I have EVER heard has been through 52/135s. But that combination is not very source tolerant. The original CDS(1) was the perfect match. The CDX or CDS2 not so much.
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@paulbysea could you expand a bit on this? What is the difference? You tested it with ATC SCM40s?
I’ll be demoing my 222/300 with 350s next week. Not sure if I’ll get the opportunity to try 333/332 at the same time to compare it to 222/300 on 250.
I would suggest that you try to hear the 333/332 if you can. It was a clear winner over the 222/300 for me at a couple of demo sessions at my dealers. I would even say that 333/332/250 was preferable to 222/300/350 for me, despite the superior power amp in the latter setup.
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Thanks for advice @ChrisSU. I’ll contact my dealer to try to arrange 333/332 demo at home as well. I agree, I just need to listen to both options.
@thirdEze When I heard the 222/300 and 350s with my speakers the sound was immediately very impressive but after a bit of listening, I felt it was slightly overblown, to hi-fi if that makes sense. Whereas the 332/333 even without the NPX into a 250 sounded much more articulated and less hi-fi.
If you do get to listen to a 332/333 I advise you to have the NPX300 on the 333, it does sound better this way I think.
You might well make the opposite choice to me and I know of a few people who have, it is all down to personal preference.
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When I did the direct comparison they were a few weeks old, as were the 332/333.
I have heard 222/300/350s a couple of times since then but have not done a direct comparison again and still thought the same. It will be interesting to read your thoughts after making the comparison.
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In a Naim system context (even outside of Naim to a certain extent) this should not really be a surprise, the system with the better preamp will always be the better one, regardless of PS used and power amp.
That comparison in OC equivalent is probably similar to 272/XPSDR/300DR against NDX2/252DR (arguably 552DR)/250DR, the latter will always be considered (by most) as the better one.
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