Hmmm, I have a 102, I have an 82. Perhaps I should now try a 72…….
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A little update on the 82 sound saga, been playing over three days now and it seems to be opening up. The bass is coming back. Although it was serviced late 2016 it’s performing like it’s just been and is just beginning to settle in.
As the song goes Things can only get better.
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I wondered how long it would take to warm up. If it’s not been used for a while I guess it could take a while.
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The shared non-Naim PSU is your first problem imho. Try to borrow a Hicap and hear that with the 82.
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There is on Hicap on the first upgrade and I’m looking for a second Hicap now to try.
Watch this space.
Micky - you may be better off sticking with the single Hicap on the 82 and looking at the front end instead. The CD5, good as it is, is outclassed by the 82 and adding another Hicap to the 82 may open the window a bit wider than you want.
If CD is your thing, then perhaps looking for a pre-loved CDX2 or CDS3 (you’ll need an XPS at the minimum for the CDS3 as it doesn’t have its own internal PSU) could be a way to go.
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Worth a try, for what is a modest outlay.
I think it was some Scottish chap who said, “If it sounds better, then it is better”.
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You should aim to match HiCap #2 to HiCap #1, in age & service state - if you go that route.
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I’m sure the same Scottish chap promoted ‘source first’ too. 
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The very same. He said a lot of things……some even made sense 
Then there was the lot who would extol “The best mains lead is the one that comes in the box”….that is, until they discovered Smirnoff!
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He also absolutely right in my option,declared the death of the CD player in -2009.”Is part of that due to the technology of CD players having reached an endpoint, I asked? That they can’t get any better, so nobody’s buying them? “Yes, there’s some of that,” said Tiefenbrun. “But the point is that you can get more by ripping a CD to a hard drive and then streaming it from a Linn DS. And the streaming player doesn’t have the moving parts, the lasers and gubbins that a CD player does.” For Linn’s audiophile audience, moving parts are noisy and have limited lives, and so are anathema.
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Oh dear. Where does that leave the LP12, the Ekos and the Linn cartridges?
Best regards, BF
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They are analogue,so they play in another stratosphere ;)in my opinion.
I had the 82 (serviced 2020), 202 and 282 at the same time while waiting to sell 2 of them. I used Olive, Hicap2, Hicap DR and later SuperCap DR on the newer boxes. Amps I used then were the Olive 250, 250-2 and 250 DR.
IMO the 82 sounds better than the 202 in every way. Compared to the 82, the 202 has a thinner and more forward sound. The 82 is warmer, has significantly more bass, body, and I even preferred it’s midrange over the 282. The sound flows so well with the 82.
Eventually I kept the 282 due to better pairing with the NAP 250 DR.
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Indeed. We live in a parallel, Vertere universe 
Best regards, BF
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I had a 102/ hi cap/180 all serviced by Darren at class A back in march 2021, he recently got a 82 and olive hicap as trade in and I bought them in 2022 serviced and updated to pots 8 on the 82. So running the 82 with two hicaps and the improvement over the 102 is significant just like all the others have said above. My hicaps are a cb one and olive, but as both have been serviced recently then sound fine. I am using the more recent serviced olive one to route the signal through to the 180 and the cb one to provide the power only to the other two rails in the 82. I also have a CD5 that Naim repaired for me back in late 2020 and love it still. I am using it with the extra PS option with another hicap which does improve things. For me it is still a good match and sounds lovely and analogue so am happy with the sound. I have neat iota alpha speakers which are well matched to the system. So for me the change to 82 was a great decision, a big improvement. Give it time to settle down and as suggested swap back, I did and was surprised at how the sound diminished, when I was happy with the 102 before. In the end go with the sound you like, not what others say you should like, there are many parts making up a system and how they interact does effect the sound, not forgetting the room you have it in as well. Remember the only person who has to like the sound of your system is you.
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Well, of course, Snow White thought that ‘seven up’ was a soft drink until she discovered Smirnoff.
So two weeks on from my original post and here’s an update so far. I’ve shuffled a few leads about, stuck with the single Hicap and things are opening up. The lows are back with a vengeance. Although it was serviced late 2016 it’s as if it was done last week and it’s starting come on song.
One happy bunny👍
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I own both the 202 and 282
Well yes the 282 is better but the 202 is fine as a preamp. I remember the day I got my 282 the soundstage expanded in all directions and the music sounded like it was better controlled
The 202 though by comparison sounded more crude but somehow was apparently more fun to listen to on certain rock songs (some like it hot - power station). Now though I don’t notice this anymore maybe the 282 got better after warm up?
Long term The 282 has been a great preamp and i continue to enjoy both naim systems daily !
But…… If I had to do it all over again maybe … I’d skip the 282 and buy a 252 instead… or maybe now a 222 ! That’s just plain old FOMO and being an audiophile
Oh and yes it was the comparison of a 282 directly to a 552 that made me realize maybe I should have skipped and gone for a 252
Instead I put all my limited monies into source upgrades and I am happy with both preamps
Yes I’m an audiophile but I use my naim to listen to songs and I always loved music
I do not use songs to listen to my naim kit so music first for me. I am enjoying the music is what my audio kit is there for and my sole criteria
Nothing wrong with a 282
Nothing wrong with a 202
They’re all great preamps
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You are saying “ maybe 222 now”. I don’t understand. What for? You have already the Dave. Has the 222 a digital out?