Nac matches with Nap 250DR

I am convinced that the perfect match for a Nap 250DR is Nac 282 which I run with Napsc and Supercap DR; reason for that being that the setting up has been made between these two. Combining NAP 250DR with Nac 552 (or Nac 252) would occur in sometimes fantastic improvements and some other times disenchantment when there would be a lack of PRaT with some sound takes /masterings.
Am I wrong?
Did anybody dig deep into that subject?
Thanks in advance for your contribution.

Jean-Michel, I run a NAC552 + Superline with a NAP250DR into SL2s and day after day it gives a riveting performance.

For sure the NAC282/Supercap and NAP250DR should work well together, but then so should 252+NAP250DR and 552+250DR, or even S1+250DR. 202+250DR is not so great and here we see the pre/power hierarchy reversed, which is not a great idea; Pre-amp always takes precedence.

What do you mean by ā€œthe setting up has been made between these twoā€?

Richard, great to know that youā€™re using a 250DR with the SL2s I personally think this is a great match and my itch upgrade to the 300 has subsided this morning :slight_smile:

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Richard, I mean the designers used the pair 282/250 to finetune 250DR as it is the ā€œnaturalā€ pair in the Classic rangeā€¦ I suppose, I don not know.

Jean-Michel, be careful of making such assumptions. I would say that the NAC282 is the minimum pre-amp you would want to partner with the NAP250DR.

As for which pre-amps were used by Naimā€™s R&D while designing and fine tuning the NAP250DR, I couldnā€™t say for sure but would imagine they would want to use as good a pre-amp as possible for much of development, and checking with the full range from NAC282 upwards to ensure no particular issues with any of the pairings.

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:slight_smile:
This is because I am careful that I am making assumptionsā€¦ In our common passion for music and hi-fi, you come across stunning observations about combinations or the effect of cables etc.
Good to know that preamps hierarchy is stable above 282!

Historically, a 250 was a natural partner for a 52 as was the 135s if you could stretch. The precursor to the 282, the 82 was more often paired with a 180 which eventually became the 200.

It is only more recently that this perception of 250=282, 300=252 and 200=202 started to come about. In my mind a 282 is a great partner for anything from 300 on down to even a NAP100 (if your amplification needs are so modest I see no problem there). But if you want to get strict about natural partners, Iā€™s say the 250 still goes with the 252 (which also goes with the 300 in place of old 135s) and the 200 more likely goes with the 282 and 202 equallyā€¦ if weā€™re being strict about these things. Which I donā€™t think we should be.

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Feeling zen, apparently I should even not be shy and too self conscious and come out for a Nac 552 that both Nap 250DR and I deserveā€¦

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Richard is also missing out on the huge benefits of using a 300. Iā€™ve tried to persuade him but he just wonā€™t listen!!

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My line up: Uniti Core- NDS-PS555DR-SL DinDin-282-NapscnonDR-SupercapDR-standard interconnect-250DR- 2*6m Chord Signature Reference - Proac K3.
Room size 20,5 sqm plus the rather delicate K3, I am convinced that Nap300DR would knock them down.
Someone reported here Nap300DR on K6 nightmarish and the happy replacement by 250DR.
I guess this is a lot of testosterone Nap 300 DR.

Proverbial can of worms here Richard. 272!!??!!

@Jean-Michel i think you some it up perfectly in your first sentance ā€œI am convincedā€ and that should be all we should be looking for is you are happy with your system

will the 250DR work well with other NACā€™s yes of course but I sometime feel we should just STOP, and enjoy, I am at the end of my journey now and apart from DR on SC my system is going to stay put for a very long time (sorry NAIM) - and for me that end is with 252/SC/300DR

having had 202,282 and now 252 with 200, 300 and 300DR they all worked for me at the time, but each step brought more music and thats all I wanted

enjoy the journey and the music

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I would echo everything Richard has said.

I have always gone for the best pre amp I could afford and have moved through 282, 252 and now 552 all used with my trusty 250DR.

Each time I listen to music I am simply amazed at how capable the 250DR is and it is certainly not embarrassed, with the 552 in control. My listening room is rather small and my speakers are relatively easy to drive which does help the 250DR out somewhat.

Yes of course the 552 would be even better with a 300DR or a 500DR, but for me, at this point in time in my modest listening room with my modest speakers, my 552/250DR combination seems beautifully balanced.

Weird but true.

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Indeed Lindsay, although I should qualify that I was referring to the range of classic pre-amps and wasnā€™t including the NAC-N272 streamer/pre-amp.

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I knowā€¦ But itā€™s a lot more money and knowing what I like, I might well be more tempted to go active with another 250DR or else putting that budget to other uses or to the front end, or the great looming 552 service (and maybe, just maybe, a DR upgrade) in the next few years.

Hi,
As I wrote in another post -
The natural partner of NAP250 is the preamplifier 52/252 plus the supercap / DR power supply.
The next step when finding the budget is to upgrade the pre-552.
The musical improvement in the upgrading will always justify the financial expense.
I agree with Richard that the significant link in creating the musical experience is upgrading the preamplifier in most cases.

Nothing weird at all. Synergy!!

Iā€™ve used 282/SCDR, 252/SCDR and 552 with my old 250DR.

I found the the 252/SCDR/250DR had the best balance with my ATCs and modest room size. I noticed a much tauter bass and smoother presentation compared to the 282.

The 552/300DR has taken everything up to the next level again. @NigelB not sure if youā€™ve considered a 300DR with your 552 but itā€™s a stunning combo.

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Hi Bongoman. I realise that my system is a massive Monkfish and will certainly benefit from not only from a power amp upgrade but a speaker upgrade too. But I have always been of the ā€˜source firstā€™ persuasion, and I feel the pre-amp is an integral part of the ā€˜sourceā€™, as it (the pre amp) has so much influence on the overall SQ IME.

At the moment I am just enjoying the music with ND555/552/250DR, and have no urge to change, as my listening room is rather bijou, and the 250DR is doing the business, in spades. If and when I move to a house with a larger listening room then it might be time to upgrade my power amp and speakers, which I would likely do together as I believe these two components are inextricably linked, like the source and pre-amp are IMHO.

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Your system is by no means a monkfish, far from it :relieved:.

I agree with source first and that the pre is also an integral part of the source, with the effect on SQ. My ā€˜monkfishā€™ in this respect is my NDX2 although with the 555PSDR itā€™s just holding itā€™s own :wink:

I have an eye on a ND555 too but will have to make do for now until funds allowā€¦ maybe next year