PROBLEM RESOLVED : it was the cable.
My dealer borrowed me a Chord signature and not the single hiss or hum, even with ear closed to the speakers.
The sound is still enough weighty, so good sign. For now it’s only 30 mn run in.
I took my day from work to resolve that problem. I feel a lot better now
Yes, my fear was that the sound may be too lean for my tastes. But fortunately, in my system, it’s not.
However an all 200 or 300 series would not be for me. I like a weighty and meaty sound. When I heard recently the full 300 series with the same speakers brand as mine, I was not enough exalted.
Now I am reassured, the new 250 works very well with my Ear 912. I have taken a risk buying blind.
Remember that the bespoke XLRs Naim used to use on the old NAP250/300/500 were often criticised for looking cheap, but actually cost rather more! It would have been cheaper to go for Neutriks or similar but the light weight and lack of metal used was all part of the design.
I’m sure @110dB can give more technical input here.
II don’t know Richard if they are bespoke. My dealer found them very basic and cheap and said several customers had problems with it, specifically encountering hum .
The Chord I have now is dead silent. As you wrote, Naim staff should know better.
Well glad it got sorted quickly FR, some of us on the forum know you have been waiting and saving for this moment. Should have been better, but glad all is well👍
That’s interesting and a contrast to my own and the experience of others. My 222/250 are quite meaty, in fact I’m now hearing the weight where it’s supposed to be instead of what previously seemed to be a more arbitrary arrangement. It’s like order has been restored and with authority. Perhaps your use of non naim and non NC components is giving you a unique sound.
I admit the OEM xlr cables look cheap but I have no complaints about the sound. There does seem like there’s a rush to judge when it comes to aesthetics.
Maybe Lavender is not the right term. I wanted to say the stock Naim cables , which are sometimes preferred vs hiline for instance.
Maybe I was not lucky, as some other customers, and maybe the cheap looking of them is not revelative of their real quality.
Time will tell.
I heard many times the 252/250 dr and 552/500 dr system at my dealer place. Recently the 222/250 and 300 series with twin ps. Each time on same speakers.
For me, the old classic gives a more organic sound, weighter.
In my system however the balance is very good now, because the Nds/ 500 dr/ PhoenixNet and Ear 912 have a lot of meat on the bones.
The 300 dr was for instance too much for me, in my room.
With the NC 250 and my other components, the mix has fused perfectly. In french we say “ la sauce a pris”. ( the sauce has settled up).
It sounded like that in my room, connected to my Ear. My speakers are also very easy to drive. In my system the 250 dr and now the NC work better.
I should have written “ fat in my system “.
I’ve spent some hours with 500 systems but always at the dealer or the homes of friends in different listening environments. Always a good a sound but never compelling enough for me but that is mostly b/c I don’t spend enough time at home to justify the expense. So my moto budget gets more $$. Maybe when I’m too old to ride and travel and more of a homebody the $$ will make sense. I might be ready for a Statement by then. But what I have now is pretty special and it’s hard to believe it’s only 3 boxes. Naim have come a long way. The 250NC is the best 250 so far for me.