To my mind, it’s important to work out where your headed, so that you can make the incremental upgrades knowing that you are heading in the right direction. If you were to go for NDX2 or ND5XS2/Supernait or similar, you could get the streamer first and run it into the SU until you can get the Supernait. That gets you straight onto the new streaming platform without going for a Nova.
1 Like
That sounds like an option I should consider. Where does the 272 fall in the streamer hierarchy?
I have this kit + PMC 20.21 in my living room.
When I upgraded from 202/200 to 252/250, I decided to keep the 200DR for future use. After a while I traded a V1 + $$ in for a 272.
It’s a great 2-box kit and you could upgrade it using an external PS for the 272.
Easy to install, easy to control with Naim’s app, not many cables, excellent music enjoyment for reasonable expenditure.
I agree the 272 continues to shine as a very valid option. Also agree non-dr 200 would make sense as would a non DR 250 if you happen upon one, assuming that is you are not planning to move to separates in the future.
The 272 is a very musical box. I used it by itself with a 250DR for a while then an XPSDR & 555PSDR.
I’ve found the best value for money upgrade (scale, transparency, insight) is to run it with a little Chord Hugo 2 DAC directly into the 250DR.
G
1 Like
Horses for courses. With a 200 or 250 and good digital files the 272 will make great music. As @anon4489532 has said you can also upgrade it with a XPS or 555 and also pair it with a 300 and it will be right up there.
However, other options kick in at the NDX/SN level. Worth a demo.
Regards,
Lincsay
I have the much talked about 272 with XPS DR through a 250 DR and I certainly won’t be rushing to my dealer upgrade. It’s a pity that it’s reputation has been tarnished by all the constant chatter of its replacement. To my untrained ears it’s sounds fantastic and my friends are always impressed.
6 Likes
272 every time! The Nova is good, but, for me, comes nowhere near the 3 box system of 272, 555DR PS and 250DR. I personally have no interest in, or need of, the ‘features’ of the new platform. I’m not even sure what Chromecast or AirPlay are!
All I’m interested in is streaming good quality rips from my UnitiServe or NAS, via cabled connections, to my system. My 3 box system does this effortlessly, with no hiccoughs, gremlins or software problems, and my experiences appear to me mirrored across the forum.
I’ve found over the years that it very rarely pays to be an early adopter. Nothing I’ve read over the last year or so has changed my mind on this front.
5 Likes
As the three box system you compare to the Nova costs over three times the cost of a Nova I would be surprised and concerned if its performance wasn’t better.
You very much get what you pay for.
2 Likes
Hi there,
I’ve listened a lot to the 272 / 250DR combo.
I think in purely musical terms, you couldn’t really want for more - it’s very very good.
However, the 272 really is old streaming tech and if you want to use anything other than UPnP or Tidal it’s a pain - no native support for Chromecast (and thus Qobuz) or Roon etc .
And therefore, for that reason, it may be wise to centre your system on the NDX2 (over the air upgradeable firmware, very good, reliable connectivity and Room endpoint certified) and work up on the amp side as funds allow.
1 Like
I don’t know if this has been mentioned before but another good thing about the 272 is its flexibility. Its got loads of different inputs - you can use it as a streamer, a dac or an analogue preamp depending on the things you shove in the back of it. I think its especially useful to have both analogue and digital inputs on the back of it. I have a Chord Hugo 1 into the DIN analogue input for music and a BD player into the BNC digital input for TV. All sound great.
3 Likes
For those who’ve done it, how does the SU sound with a 250DR? I was thinking this will be my first move and I’d like to get a year or so in this setup but if it doesn’t sound balanced I’ll likely have to make the next jump sooner.
This was the exact same upgrade path expect I started with a 272 and 200. The 272 is kind of bargain right now and unless you really need seamless integration with Roon and require Chromecast, it is a great sounding pre/streamer even without the optional external supplies.
I have been on a 3-year journey with the 272, running it with the 250DR bare with both of them sat on a cabinet and driving a pair of 16-year old EPOS M12s. I haven’t had any regrets and, like others, have found the 272 very versatile and capable of fine music given a decent recording. In the interests of progress this week saw a Naim Fraim installed along with a PS 555 DR resulting in a new integrated soundstage instead of a left and right speaker. Aside from a new pair of speakers - for no particular reason - I can’t really see a need to upgrade further…
Oh, and I have also installed Chromecast for multi-room and Audirvana is streaming Qobuz HiDef and Tidal Masters direct to the 272 from my Mac so, pretty pictures on a screen aside, I don’t personally have a reason to move to one of the new streamers or Roon.
3 Likes
I had the SU / 250 DR combination for a year and to my ears it sounded better than the 272/250DR combination. It was not till I added the 555DR to the latter that the 272/250DR really sang.
4 Likes
I predict howls of protest at this comment! Perhaps we shouldn’t be that surprised, though, as the SU and 272 must share a lot of internal components, and I suspect a big part of the improvement is in the 250DR, which is a very different beast from the SU power amp. Add a PSU, and yes, all that changes.
Don’t get me wrong. The 272/250dr was very good and had more finesse than the su250dr but although less detailed the su combination had more mid range fullness. A bit akin to listening to a good track on the car radio compared with a more detailed home HiFi.
1 Like
Read the posts above yours; several have addressed!
Anybody aware of any hardware changes to the NAC-N 272 during its lifetime? I mean: do I need to look for a device above a certain serial number?
The haven’t been any changes that I’m aware of.