All the electrics are new and only burnt in for about four days or so.
Long way to go yet, but the OP doesn’t appear to want to wait for things to settle down and then enjoy this lovely combination.
Hope that the OP finds what he’s looking for, as at the moment, it’s not Naim.
DG…
I’m no engineer and don’t know these Viade cables at all but from their website they seem to be silver in content. Now I’m pretty agnostic on the whole cable thing but as I understand it silver is a great conductor but can sound bright. Further, the OPs experience of the hiline is the exact opposite of mine, never once found the hiline aggressive.
Yes, it does appear that he has removed his profile.
I started with a ND5XS streamer years ago and did enjoy the upgrade in performance when adding a NDX and then a NDX 2 with XPSDR. I do hope he demo’s a different source and possibly speakers and/or speaker cables before moving away from the NAC 282/NAP 250DR combination.
It can be frustrating when your expectations are higher than the actual performance you are experiencing. Time and patience needed to sort things has been my experience…
Just looked up these cables, even though they are called Silver, they are made from Copper, but braided and with Gold plated banana plugs.
For interest, these are the specs from their website for comparison;
“High end speaker cables, gold plated banana connectors. Spade connectors are available upon request at no extra charge. The Silver HD 12 cable features the same components as the HD 20 including pure copper braided conductors, but with a reduced outer gauge of 12mm. The white silicone outer jacket, similar to the HD 20 offers enough flexibility for intensive use and to resist UVs as well as chemical agents.
Specifications
|MAXIMUM CURRENT CAPACITY:|25 Amps|
| — | — |
|PARALLEL CAPACITANCE:|78 pF/ m|
|SERIES INDUCTANCE:|0.6uH/m (micro Henry/ m)|
|DC LOOP RESISTANCE:|0.004Ohms/m|“
DG…
Are we really suggesting that cables are producing this?
“ the NAC282 is much too bright and steely for normal music playback. It’s extremely difficult to listen to”
This isn’t a nuanced experience, it’s EXTREMELY (my caps) difficult to listen to. I have never found this with a cable change.
Well yes I’d agree but other than run in I frankly can’t think of any other reason unless speakers don’t match room.
Which is what I think. The 282 perhaps is getting more out of the speakers than the OP’s previous set up, and they are not set up for the room.
Unfortunately, that was not my experience Richard.
I am an admirer of the NAIM brand, and I love seeing all the systems on this forum, but it got to the stage where I simply couldn’t live with the 282/250DR…
There was a time when my 282, 200 and kudos 606s sounded a little bright, for example, on symbols on some Metallica songs. I added a well run in hicap and this helped a lot. The biggest help was moving the speakers further apart to their recommended distance (2m or more). System now sounds perfect to me. I didn’t realise speakers too close together could generate “brightness”?
Seems Elvis has left the building… 
An example to us all. Of ‘Modern Internet’ behavior…?
The OP asks a question, which they have already decided they know the answer to. OP gets annoyed when Forum Members (*) don’t agree and make (logical) suggestions. OP quits in disgust.
Why bother to ask - if you already know…?
(* - I guess the OP thought that Forum Members knew nothing and their views were worthless…?)
Sort of, but not. I think its ‘Modern Internet Normal’…?
I struggle to comment further without breaking Forum guidelines.
Lets say, I am not impressed, by such behavior.
Dear @Magnolia,
Many people above have been asking what is the previous preamp that you are comparing the NAC282 against, but you had no answer? So have you just changed multiple components in one go, or did you set up an entire new system from scratch, and now you are concluding the 282 is the culprit for bad sound, based on something you heard or read somewhere?
What you are describing doesn’t resemble at all my experience of the 282. I have tried (a well run-in) 282 in a variety of configurations, with PSU variations. I have compared the sound of the 282 VS other preamps, did also a 282 VS no preamp comparison, and also tried running the 282 output into a headphone amp. The 282 should not sound bright, unless your 282 is an “Evil Bay” item that has been seriously tampered by some wildly experimental radio amateur scientist?
Your description reads more like a speaker that has been combined with a room, source component or setup which is not ideal.
I sincerely hope you can locate your problem (unless you are a troll). Maybe post a photo so we can get a better idea what is going on?
From another thread I seem to remember Magnolia had a SN2 before.
It can be hard to hear that you need to ”suffer”some extended time with a new system before a proper judgement. ( I was not happy some days during spring with my new system, it certainly can get to you.) No doubt it is a anticlimax if a lot of music you enjoy suddenly sound worse than before. Hard to be really ready for that when exited with the new stuff delivered.
That said there are many stories on the forum that tell the same thing. Hold on before final judgement and try the non committing adjustments during this time to eliminate possible problems with set up, room etc.
On the other hand, they may have just gone off line for a while or have other things to do.
Give the OP a break 
The OP has returned… 
I do hope the OP realizes that most people are only trying to help.
vvvvv
The defensive Naim hive mind can probably seem rather rabid to a newbie?
Edit: doesn’t mean we’re wrong though…
^^^^ This, in a nutshell.
While the specs of the cables are not ideal, I don’t think this is anything more than a question of run in time multiplied by several new boxes.
Although it’s true the 282/250 combo may not be to everyone’s liking, I don’t think the owner can judge until all the boxes are run in. It takes time and Naim change character more than most in this period.
That said, just not be willing to accept a long run in period is also each owner’s right. It comes with the territory of buying higher end Naim and if someone needs a more immediate gratifying experience, Naim may not be the best brand.
Fortunately, there’s more than one way to skin a cat. There are great non Naim things out there. In fact I love my non Naim system as much as my 282/250. Many only take a couple weeks to run in and the change isn’t so extreme either.
I’m not a fan of Focal speakers but, in my part of the world, the natural (in fact the official) partner for Focals is Luxman electronics. If the Naim is a studded leather jacket, the Luxman is a satin lounge coat.
What speakers are you using? I’ll either get rid of the NAC 282 or the speakers.