Then why are you posting about it if you haven’t even compared them? I’ve stated my opinion I don’t need anyone expressing it for me.
I had a similar experience. Went from 272/555DR/250DR to 272/NDX2/250DR and than upgraded to a 300DR. Yes, the 555 improved the 272 by quite a margin but swapping it for a NDX2 gave me a much better SQ.
Also tinkered with an NDS/555DR. However, I believe its qualities could only be appreciated with a far better preamp. Adding this combo to the 272, made too little difference for the outlay.
The one thing that keeps me away from an insanely priced 282/252 down under is their volume knobs. It’s hard going backwards after getting used to good digitally controlled ones. So I’ll just have to wait for a 332.
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The NDS sounded pretty good with the 252 and the NDS for SQ was/is a steal. At the time I was considering separates again the NDX2/252/SCDR were still pricey and just not worth the outlay for me. If I’m spending that kind of money I need more wow factor. And yes, the volume sucks, and nothing should suck at that price point, esp SQ. The NC is a fresh new sound and I’m thankful Naim has gone this direction, it was much needed.
Nic, I’ve followed all your new pre updates & laughed to myself as I have been experiencing the exact same changes in performance you are describing except all I’ve done is upgrade the quality of power feeding the 252! 
@ElMarko I don’t see dimensioning returns with any of the OC Naim pre’s, they are all substantial jumps in performance. But the system is only as good as the weakest link & not that its an issue anymore but it really sounds like something was holding yours back if you thought a 272 was similar in performance/already hitting diminishing returns. The higher up in performance you go, the more all the small details matter, to actually get that performance. It may not even have been the kit itself (252 does really need a SCDR & at least 300DR to potentially get the full performance out of it), could have been your listening room, power, etc.
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Trust me, it was the kit, you don’t need to make excuses for it. It’s just not that great in my view. All that matters is that you’re happy. The OC didn’t do it for me and I’ve moved on and happy now.
Unless you can ‘side by side’ it’s got to be subjective…not sure its possible to quantify as its going to sound ‘heaps’ better to some and ‘not so much’ to others…it’d also depend on what you’re coming from, your room specs, sources, speakers…all I’ve heard is that it sounds great but different so its possibly a move away from the Naim sound (which has probably been happening for a while anyway?
Lol indeed, this was almost a deal breaker for SWMBO on the 252. She had a favourite number for listening to TV on the 272!
Fortunately she didn’t take long to work out a couple of bumps either way on the volume via NDX2 remote was all it took…
We had NDX2 and NDX2/nDAC into 272 for a short spell whilst our 252 was built. The 272 pre was most definitely the limiting factor, swapping for a 252 just let so much more detail through.
Thats pretty much my system that. 252, supercap dr, nds 555dr, nap 300, Diablo utopia. and at that level over two stack with everything setup properly its bonkers good. on one stack, it loses a lot of the magic so i can see how you wouldnt get on with it
Graham, I’ve corrected you before on this. I’m not sure why you keep propagating incorrect information.
Both the NAC52 and the NAC252 used boards with the small non-critical componentry populated by the ROBIN auto-insertion machines and the rest populated by hand. Both were hand wired and hand assembled. Where the NAC252 differed most was in dispensing with the two sandwiched main boards.
The NAC252 outperformed the NAC52 - it had to, otherwise there was no point - although it was a tough one as the NAC52 was so good. That’s why the NAC252 was the last of the Classic pre-amps to appear when the range was revamped. A lot of work in the listening room went into ensuring it improved sonically on what came before.
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Not making any excuses, not sure what kit you’re referring to when you say it was the issue, if you mean specifically the 252 when paired with the non DR SC with 250.2, yes that combo is very poor & shows nothing of the 252. The fact that you don’t think there is much between a 252 & 272 rather baffles me, the 282 alone is significantly better, the 252 is in another league, the fact you didn’t see much between them suggests there were significant issues somewhere. Glad the new signature is working well for you 
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The significant issues are poor performance/$$ hence the diminishing returns comment. The NC has improved that metric considerably.
I understand the comment, just that it doesn’t fall inline with the majority of posters here, hence the questions. Have yet to hear the NC, we have our local show coming up next week, so interested to finally hear the new stuff (to be fair Focal/Naim NA demo’s haven’t really wowed in the past, other then when they brought the Statement years back, that was pretty decent 
)
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There’s a lot of confirmation bias on this forum. Listening to the majority is what led me on that fool’s errand with the CDS3/XPS2/252/SC2/250.2. The DR was an improvement but not enough for me. If you’re happy with what you have I’d just sit tight. I was curious about the NC b/c the OC upgrade path was a dead end for me. I don’t have a dealer here and got lucky that a friend I trust had listened to the NC and thought I would get on with it. I bought without listening like I did the 252 but got lucky this time.
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If that’s the case, guess the same could be said for those posting about NC now too? Think we’ve probably been off topic too long now. Though I think I’ve solved the problem, looking at your profile it appears you actually like the sound of Ovators 
Yeah, people with many thousands of dollars invested in their kit are not keen to be critical of it. Crazy!
Well that’s your problem right there. You should have listened to the equipment instead.
I’m not sure if that last statement warrants a smiley or not. It’s made in jest, but like all the best jokes, it contains more than a grain of truth.
Hi mr pot…. Meet mr kettle
I agree I should’ve demoes first and apparently I don’t learn but I got lucky this time.
I was pretty critical of that 252 system that cost much more than my NC kit. And I was quick to move it on.
At the time or after you got rid of it and discovered the magic of the 200 series?
Within 2 months. Way before the NC.