I have been thinking about upgrading my phonostage and superline is a contender - but where does the NVC TT fit into the range?
If I got a superline initially it would be powered by my NAC252 - but later on if i wanted to get a dedicated PSU - a supercap would be a strong possibility - but now they are EOL - can the new range powersupply connect to the supercap?
The new NPX300 power supply can’t power the Superline.
However, the Superline is still currently the top of the tree, especially when powered by a Supercap. Luckily Hicaps and Supercaps should be reasonably readily available secondhand.
Maybe… But there are still a lot out there. Why not get the Superline and then see if you can find a nice pre-loved Supercap…?
I will bet that as 252 users migrate to the NC 332 there will be plenty of Supercaps available, for quite some time I think.
Many thanks
So will be interesting to hear the NC332 - if I do that migration my own supercap will be available
Willimac, TomTom Audio in St Albans may have what you’re looking for, or would almost certainly be able to find it for you - have a word with James Allney there. (I have been a customer of his for many years, and he can find almost any Naim equipment that you’re looking for.)
I have no financial interest, of course.
I have a 252 and a Superline. I added a Supercap DR about a year after getting the Superline.
The Superline powered by the 252 is really very nice, and I can recommend doing it. The Supercap DR takes it to another level of excellence.
If you end up going to a 332 and use your Supercap for the Superline, you will also need some new cables. The SNAXO/Superline Burndy, and a DIN 4-5 IC (I have the HiLine version).
I am a happy Superline user - it is a great phono stage imho. As far as I know, few (if any) think the NVC TT phono stage is quite as good.
My SL is powered straight from my 52. Once we had the correct Z-plug in it, that was clearly better than powering it from a Hicap, and easier than trying to find room for another Supercap.
I am probably showing my ignorance here, but a Superline with its own SL has been Naim’s top phono stage for a long time. It would therefore be surprising if Naim forced New Classic buyers to (a) downgrade to a less good option or (b) to switch to non-Naim products, wouldn’t it?
Wouldn’t it make more sense to add a better phono stage than a NVC TT to the NC range, perhaps capable of being powered from 332 or from its own NPX300?
The wealth of top quality second-hand product is good for all of us of course, but forcing more discerning buyers to head in that direction instead of buying new boxes would seem to be a strange business decision.
Yep - this is more of a long term plan as opposed to something soon.
I have a NAP300R so will be interested to hear 332 with that v 252/supercap and then eventually 332 + NPX300.
Then I guess the weighup between that and 552!
Thanks for the Confirmation of Superline! I will investigate this z plug - where do you get these?
I agree on questioning Naim strategy here.
The solstice was a surprise - but maybe like CD they have now decided ( possibly correctly )Vinyl is not the future.
My daughter appreciates vinyl - but not my son.
If looking to build a future market then i can see strategy on amplification and streaming.
1 CD player still produced and no speakers.
So i would guess a new standalone streamer for the 200 then 300 then 500 series will be in the works and vinyl gradually retired.
I enjoyed my 272 - but would never get a combined streamer/preamp again because of the relative disparity in technology progress.
In the UK the Z-Plug is available from @Cymbiosis. In the U.S. it’s available from Chris West at AV Options.
The Z-foil Air-plug can be ordered from Naim via your Naim dealer. You just need to specify the required loading.
I didn’t know that. I don’t believe my Naim dealer does either.
Often they don’t it seems
SC & HC secondhand………And new if you know where to look Richard
If vinyl is ignorable, despite all the LPs many of us own, then the Solstice TT was an odd product to make, and including a good mid-range MM stage in the 222 would be strange.
Brinkmann, Passlabs, Lejonklou and others still seem to be able to sell a few phono stages (some remarkably expensive), and Linn still seem to shift a few too.
Yep the solstice was out of the blue. I hope they look at the phono stage options - at the high end most have MC so ideally a new phonostage that can be powered by the new power supply or MC options for the new preamps.
Unless something happens soon though I will prob go for the superline + zplug as you suggest.
I can get a superline + upgrade to a APHELION 2 cartrige for little more than an Aura
Note that @Richard.Dane gave the correct, non-lazy, name!
Given the costs, I’d suggest listening before you buy. With my Linn Krystal or Lyra Kleos in a LP12 and a Naim 52, I prefer SL to Rega Aura.
In that set-up, the bigger shock was that a Dynavector P74 mk4 was not far behind the SL and might be as appealing as a Rega Aura or a Trilogy 907 - for a fraction of the cost. However, the details matter here - several people here have tried all these options with their cartridges and turntables and preamps in their rooms and bought the Aura.
Thankfully, both SLs and Auras turn up second-hand or ex-dem fairly often.
This is exactly why we split our 272 into 3 separate components - streamer, DAC and pre.
Quite apart from the SQ benefits we can now, if tech change dictates, simply drop in a new streamer or DAC at any point in the future.
A great preamp is likely to outlast both those.