The Nac 282 is over 18 years old so some people on here will probably still have the preamp from then, would like to hear some stories of the journey till now. Any tips people have to make it sound better and what age most people would recommend that a service would bring a genuine uplift to sound quality.
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Mine is 15 years old and each year I say I should have it serviced! It still sounds fabulous but noticing a tail off in performance is difficult as it will be very gradual, especially as the system around it has been improved over the years. Moving from a bare NDX to NDS/555DR certainly improved things dramatically and I started with a NAP200 and now have a 250DR.
I was going to pull the trigger and have it done a couple of weeks but then lockdown came along again. I also need to negotiate the back of the loft to find the box and my knee has been playing up. Iām also worried about delays due to Covid so may well postpone the service until next year. With more time at home itās nice to have the system up and running although I do have an elderly Creek integrated which can be brought in for a short while as a substitute.
Iād be interested in learning peopleās experience of the improvements a service makes too.
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I ran a 282/Supercap for some years and loved it. I preferred it over the 252, too. While I eventually upgraded the SuperCap to DR, which was good, I think the best upgrade I made was putting a Powerline on the NAPSC. Counter-intuitive that it should make any difference at all, but I still remember the wet Friday night that my dealer popped round with the PL with the idea of trying it on the NAPSC. We were both stunned at the obvious improvement it made.
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I just had my 2009 282 serviced by Class A. My 200 as well. Definitely has made a huge positive difference. Great VFM.
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@trickydickie
Darran is open for business and his turnaround is very quick. With a decent courier youād only be without it for a week or thereabouts. Lockdown could be spent listening to it run in 
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My first Nac 82 was serviced after 15 years and returned comparable to new. With refurbished Hicap, the sound was devine. It was bettered by the Nac 52 but still a cracking preamp. Well worth the expense and effort.
Mine is a 12 year vintage. I can remember when I first heard it up against the 282 someone said the door just opened on the music, so true. It could probably do with a trip to Salisbury or Sheffield but in due course. I initially had it with a HC and NAP200 but now SCDR and 250DR.
I recognise that the 252 is more refined and analytical but only if I could afford a 552 would I change.
Truly a superb amp.
Regards,
Lindsay
My 282 is a 2009 too. Still sounds great but I havenāt heard a new/newly serviced one (bought mine used). A week or so turnaround with Darran is very tempting ( once weāre all back to some kind of ānormalā ).
Iāll have to visit the website for more info.
Does a Darran service include the logo? Mine is a little dim (a trivial point but it would be nice to brighten it up).
Steviebee, about the logo, mine has the bleed problem and i enquired with Darren about replacing it, this was a few months ago i think he quoted around 38 pounds to do it, so no not in the service not sure if its just a dim light that is separate issue from the logo.
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Check with Darran to see if he is receiving deliveries at the mo.
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The logo on my 282 is slightly dimmer than the rest of my systemā¦
My 282 and SC2 are the same dimness, with that ātrapped bubbleā effect, which I guess is what ābleedā means. A bleeding of what Iām not too sure, lol.
Must be air?
Google here I come 
Aha. Lifting!
Minor problem thankfully.
For what itās worth, and it has been said by me before, I really didnāt enjoy the 282 until it had been serviced. So before I got it serviced I prefered the 82 and felt the 282 was a bit closed in, in comparison. And the feeling of real instruments with the 82 I think the 282 just couldnāt get to. But itās a smoother ride the 282. At least compared to the āI-have-no-clue-if-itās-ever-been-serviced-82ā
My 282 (2007 vintage) has just been serviced by Naim. They replaced the logo, tantalum caps and a few other components. I now have deeper bass and cleaner treble and was well worth it.
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Many things in my system have changed over the years, but my 282 has remained constant. Like many others out there, I have been meaning to get it serviced as it is going on 12 yrs - but still sounds great.
If you live reasonably close then post-lockdown a day trip could work. About 3 years ago I took 82/Hicap/NAPSC/2*135 to Darran, dropped them off as he opened, wandered round Sheffield Art Gallery and had lunch in a nice cafe, he rang me about 2.30 and I collected the whole serviced set. It sounded superb.
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London Iām afraid.
But my wife has some family in Leeds. Possibilities, with some planning! Cheers @Eoink.
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Back in my yoof, an 82/HC/180 seemed so far out of reach it might as well have been on the moon.
When many years later I got to build a new system around a 282/SCdr I could scarcely conceal the pleasure it gave. It is one of the best things Naim have made and yet almost no reviews of it exist in English.
Iām currently mildly sad that my loved 282 and the whole system that went with it are in long term storage while we bunk up in a rental flat with thin walls and no mains earth. Assuming I donāt win the lottery, it will be the life of the party again one day and get serviced over and over again as my end game preamp. If money was no object I might go higher but to be honest, I have no desire to keep up with the Joneses.
Iām even totally happy with the NDX/XPSdr source that feeds it despite the original NDX also not quite getting the respect it deserves.
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I had an 82/180/HC with SBLs years ago. Loved them. Hope you manage to get your system set up soon FZ.