Nac 552 or 252?

Hi Dunc - when you had an earlier model of DCS - am I correct that you tried it straight into the 500 but decided it was slightly better with the 552 in partnership? IIRC you thought the two approaches were close, and while you marginally preferred the 552 approach, you wouldn’t have considered it worthwhile except that you had to accommodate your turntable. Am I about right?

Yes thats right, it was very close, but i decided i liked the 552 in, rather than out.
That was when i had a rossini non apex. The apex upgrade thats really all analogue output stage upfeade has certainly improved things, plus i now have the vivaldi apex dac, that is better again over the rossini.
So really a double improvement, and can’t say which one would bring the biggest inpovement over what i had previously

OK - thanks for being candid - to be fair to supporters of 552 then - it would be fair to say that while it’s not a perfect pre-amp in your view - and can be improved on - you’d need to go to Statement S1 / or Vivaldi Apex plus Clock - to beat it convincingly. This of course justifies the investment in these ultra-high end solutions - fair play to you - but demonstrates that the 552 still sets a relatively high bar.

Okay this is a repeat of my previous assertion but for the benefit of those that may have not seen I describe it as: the 282 is visceral, the 252 mature but neither exclusively so. The 552 combines the benefit of both and does a whole lot more.

5 Likes

@LindsayM
Never having heard a 552, I think this is probably accurate. Best of both worlds, mebbe.

Thank whatever powers there may be, financially I will have to wait for inheritances unknown to materialise before I’ll be able to know, and even then I imagine 552/555 owners may have the same feeling re Statement… it’s neverending (for the rich, at least).

Since my first 32/SNAPS/250 in the 80’s90’s, then coming back to Naim via XS2/SN3/282 I’m happy to say 252/300DR has lessened my upgraditis itch to the point it’s no longer a ‘what if’ niggle…wish I could say the same about the stress eczema!

5 Likes

On top, not sure how pricing compares in other parts of the world but here a Rossini is ~ the 552 price, while a Vivaldi is ~ 50% more expensive.

As i have already said may times before, the 552dr is a great pre amp, but these days i think its fare to say that in a naim 500 system its the week point.
A rossini apex will certainly be held back by a 552, but the problem comes when you have more than one source.

But the apex has moved all the dcs dacs along, it’s a new output board, and has changed them quite a bit. Its now so much better at driving amps direct or giving a much nicer signal to a pre amp.
Also as i said if i could, then i also just go directly into a nice amp, or mono blocks.

2 Likes

Some people might even get that with a non essential cheap stereo but I guess it depends on what they are smoking as well

The vivaldi is £36k in the uk, so its expensive here as well.
But I guess compared to a 552dr, nd555 / 555dr power supply, it starts to look cheap, well not really cheap is any off it.

1 Like

The 250.2 is the only naim amplifier I instantly regretted ‘upgrading’ to (from a nice nimble 200). Lumpy, thick and unrefined…was it batch inconsistency I wonder?

Oh, and 552 any day and twice on Sundays over a 252.

G

indeed - there are some value audio systems that really sound great. Probably not that transparent - but sound great. Car higher end hifi is a good example of this - (and some of those are not even that cheap!!!)

But you haven’t tried this yourself, so you’re assuming that to be the case without specific experience of it - you tried it with the non-apex Rossini plus clock and that wasn’t quite as good as 552. Just what I can gather so far. If 552 ain’t good enough for somebody … the solution seems to be chuck thousands at the problem - no great surprise there.

36k?! For a…er…(not even sure what a Vivaldi exactly is. DAC?).

Jeez, are we all mad.

I am flummoxed by this ‘hobby’.

1 Like

The more i read this thread, and get dizzy, the more it tells me to keep my 282 and the two HCDRs and stay happy.

7 Likes

A nd555 is held back by a 552, so a rossini apex will certainly be, but in a different way, as the nd555 needs a pre amp, and a S1 improves it, aslo i know how much better the apex conversion is, as i have heard them all, i have demoed my old rossini dac against a rossini apex, so i know.
A rossini apex direct into a 500dr will 100% sound better without a 552dr in the mix.

Plus you say the way is to chuck 1000’s at it? You do realise that getting rid off a 552dr actually gives you 1000’s back, rather than have to spend out

Yep £36k for a dac only, but it is a mighty fine dac.
How much is a nd555 with 2 x 555dr ps, and all the other bits you need ?

1 Like

This is all just your opinion, but written as fact. I’m not sure repeated dissing of the 552 is entirely appropriate, and rather disrespectful of our hosts. You’ve moved on, you prefer the DCS/Vitus solution, but that doesn’t mean it’s better, it simply means that you prefer it.

5 Likes

I have no idea :face_with_spiral_eyes:

1 Like

But who does serious listening in a car. That really is a waste unless chauffeur driven around a racing track with no one on it. I can’t understand the ideas behind Naim - Bentley or Linn - Jaguar. Not an environment for really listening to music

2 Likes

The amount of 252 dissing is also disrespectful to our host, n’est pas?

4 Likes