Naim and Dynaudio Thread

Nevermind. I just bought a ex-demo Uniti Atom. I wasn’t going to spend the money but it was too good a deal to pass on.

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Good choice. Don’t think you would have been satisfied with a Powernode.

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As an office system the Powernode would have probably been fine, but with the Atom I have something nice to repurpose when I retire in a few years and no longer need an office system.

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The Atom makes for a fine office system. Quite apart from the excellent SQ, it’s a pretty box and you can plonk it on your desk and fiddle with the knob when work gets boring.

What speakers are you using?

Roger

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I have a pair of Audience 52SE (essentially Contours in an Audience cabinet). They are mounted up on the wall pointed down towards me behind my desk, in a near field arrangement.

I have done a change to my setup by taking out the NAP200 and have my Atom drive the 3.4 S LE. I must say I am not disappointed at all by it. The main reason for doing this was another raving review on the Atom and I was curious to see what the NAP200 really added (or took out). The sound is a bit more coherent without the NAP200, but also less ‘snappy’. It’s hard to explain, but the sound signature changed only a bit, not as dramatic as I was expecting. I will leave it for now and see if I miss the NAP200 on the long term. I will keep the NAP200 anyhow as I might add a 272 (or successor) in the future and move the Atom to the Attic which is also my home office.

Hi guys!

New in the forum but have enjoyed reading a lot about naim and different combos.
Currently I have a 272/250DR driving my Contour 60. The dream-setup I am aiming for is NDX2/282/300DR, but I am curious to hear what order you would begin. I most people would start with the source and pre, but I must admit I really want to get the 300 right away. Because this is the component I really want and I think the extra power will be good on the Contours. I also have the possibility to buy i used 555PS DR, and this could be an alternative to change the whole preamp. And still I would be ready for future upgrades. So questions is, change 272 into 272/ndx2 og 250DR into 300 DR first. And as an alternative, just go for 300DR and upgrade the 272 with PSU?

Sj

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I’ll probably be the outlier here but I think you need more power for those beastly 60’s. The big Dynaudio’s love power!

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Interesting…

Dynaudios remarkably transparent if any change in a system especially at contour level but 250dr should be able to handle it

I agree with your dream system but it’s quite expensive to get there.

But knowing what I know now I would find an XPS or PS555 for the 272

Regards

@opus Do you need more than the 300 even, or just more than the 250??

@Analogmusic Is there a big difference between xps and 555 or is it much the same upgrade?

I’ve got Dynaudio Contour 60s driven by 300DR. It is a very good match, although no doubt they would probably be even better matched with the 500. Initially went from CB 250 to 300 non DR and that was already a big improvement - much more grip and control. DR upgrade was an improvement in all areas.

A very good combination which I am more than happy with. They like separation from walls, being rear ported - but I see you have addressed that. With the recent Witch Hat cable changes I also ended up taking out any remaining toe-in.

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there’s quite a difference, you get what you pay for.

If the deal/funds allow I would go for PS555…

after playing with various combinations on my Dynaudio Focus 260 speakers the one I liked the most was upgrading the source… hence the power supply upgrade for 272 does both (source and preamp)

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@Sj: Since I will never have the funds to join the discussion on this question, allow for another outlier comment: I can’t help it but I love that cabinet, and the top horizontal alignment of TV and speakers (done on purpose?)

@pbode Yes, I really like the cabinet to, its quite new. Bolia Hifi Luxe. I like more traditional TV-furniture over Hifi-Racks, but I have realized now that I have to replace it to fit any upgrade of Naim as it is full and cant even handle much more weight. But it looks really nice with just a 272 and rega on top.

The TV was actually placed in that height because of my previous cabinet. I like to have it as low as the cabinet (with components on top) allows. So it is not purposly aligned with the speakers, and actually 1-2 cm higher. But since it still looks nice I haven’t bothered to take it down the 5 cm I could have with this cabinet. :slight_smile:

This week I have been playing with my setup by removing the NAP200 and have the Atom drive my Contour S 3.4 LE directly. Even though the NAP200 sounds more powerful and in a way more refined, I think the sound with the Atom only is more coherent. It’s just good. Voices sound more forward with the Atom, which I like and the bottom end is a bit fuller (and more boomy) which is also more my taste. Probably the NAP200 sounds more ‘audiophile’ but the Atom sounds more balanced. After putting back the NAP200 and let it warm up one day I have decided to take it out again. So I continue to play with the Atom only for now and see how that works out. Maybe its about time to upgrade to a Nova and move the Atom to the attic. Not sure yet, but the Atom makes music in a uncomplicated and involving way which I really like. To be continued. :yum:

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@Dynaudio1 What do you use as pre and source. I have the impression from the forum that 272 alone will not make the 300DR shine its best. But I have not heard it and is curious if anyone uses 272 with 300 and is happy without plans to upgrade.

Sj

I use a CDS3 and 555PS as digital source, connected via SuperLumina. On the vinyl side I have an LP12 with Aro and Superline. Preamp is a 252. Both sources perform very nicely through this setup.

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I think you should try a 300 and see what you think

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On my 272+250DR, have recently auditioned the following: S40, Evoke 30, Evoke 50, Contour 20, Contour 30 and Contour 30i, all with enough hours under their belt.

S40: perfect match for this system. Lively sound, forgiving, easy to drive.
Evoke 30: wonderful speakers, a tad below S40 on details but more presence and coherence.
Evoke 50: a true performer. Could write 3 pages on how good these are!
Contour 20: less exciting than S40 but more refined. Would still get the Evoke 30 instead.
Contour 30: only marginally better than Evoke 30. Evoke 50 definitely better. (that’s why they pushed the i series so fast)
Contour 30i: a revelation. Could pair these with 500 series without any hesitation. (never heard a 500 series but I can extrapolate :smile:) An end game for most.

There you have it! I’m saving for either C30i or Evoke 50.
Never felt 250DR lacks oomph.

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