That is really interesting, I agree starting low and working upwards makes sense, one can hopefully get a sense of value/diminishing returns.
The idea of just £7,000 all-in is amazing, but I wonder how much better the HE edition is over my plain Atom.
The whole point of the move is for a big step up in performance.
Auditioning is of course the answer, and again start low, work up.
It doesn’t remove this FW concerns, but reduces the cost exposure to that part of the system. 
Thx, Tony
Another solid vote for Audiobarn!
Thanks, very reassuring.
Tony
Before the 222/250 I was using a Nova. The step up in quality is not nuanced - it is very significant
What do you want to stream? Not all streamers have the full menu of services? For example, Audible is only available on echo devices and Sonos. YMMV.
Tidal at present, have considered Qobuz. I could also get my ripped CD onto a NAS.
I do listen to Audible, but the quality from my iPhone is fine for that.
For what it’s worth I’m very happy with Auralic into Chord into Naim.
(Auralic Aries G2, Chord m-scaler/Hugo TT2 → 552/300.).
I wouldn’t rule out S/h, ex-dem from a dealer. You’d probably get quite a good deal on a Chord Dave and Auralic Aries G2.1 currently.
Auralic are designed to work optimally with both wireless and wired and this can save so much time, effort and energy not to mention money with super switches and Ethernet cables etc.
Most of all enjoy the process. I can heartily recommend Signals. They won’t put any pressure on you, hold a lot of brands in stock and make excellent tea and coffee.
.sjb
You have 30 k budget and you want to separate the preamp from the streamer.
Then the most elegant would be 333/332/250.
Or Innuos Pulse streamer, Chord Dave, Chord Ultima pre.
Like others, I’m happy with my single box system.
This is the Linn Selekt DSM; Edition Hub into Kudos Titan 606 loudspeakers.
Linn make a number of models, Majik, Selekt and Klimax at different price ranges. One of these would certainly fit within your budget, including loudspeakers.
It would be worth auditioning these as well, along with the new Linn loudspeakers. Only your ears will tell you what suits you.
DG…
Not accurate. If you can stream from Amazon music then you have Audible for example.
Atom and Iotas area make for a superb system. Is it improvable given the money available? Absolutely. Will you get an amount of improvement which makes it worth it? Well that’s a personal judgement but I’d say you could marginally improve the source, definitely improve the amp and, if you enjoy what the Iotas do I’d leave them be when your new source and amp is in place and see how you feel as you’re nowhere near hearing all they can do as yet.
As with others I’d opt for a non Naim source, a standalone DAC but Naim amplification.
Innuos sources have shot up in price but are always worth a listen. If I had your money I’d look at a Grimm though.
DACs are another personal thing but you’d be hard pressed to beat a Chord Hugo TT2 or Dave. There’s a growing school of thought that set in the right system you absolutely don’t need to add an M-Scaler either.
Naim amps. The choices are obvious enough. My personal preference is less boxes but YMMV.
It looks like you have many recommendations with generous possible budget. One thing you need to decide is how frequently you might want to upgrade I chose to move to a 332/333/250!system is that I did not want to get again have the desire to upgrade, except for power supplies. My second point is there really is no such thing as future proofing in the long term. What is current today may be very dated in five years. Can you live with today’s purchase for the long term? Lastly what is the long term track record of the manufacturer in supporting the equipment along with the dealer.
Lastly, regarding dealer selection, I would recommend finding one dealer that you are comfortable with, rather than several. Multiple dealers can lead to conflicting recommendations which may be difficult to resolve. Worse yet would be purchasing from multiple dealers which could lead to finger pointing when problems arise. Dealing with multiple dealers might lead to more competitive pricing but may create issues in the long term.
Again, this sounds like very good advice. Thank you.
Any manufacturer can have software difficulties. The question is really whether you believe they are committed to looking after their customers when they do. For all the grumbling on here my assessment would be that Naim do still care about looking after their customers and protecting their brand.
For me it is amplification that is more problematical with Naim these days unless you want a high cost system of many boxes. If you want to treat yourself with new, an NC332/250/NPX300 is over £20k and there is some seriously good competition once you’re spending 20 grand on amplification.
So I would be taking the opposite approach to you and getting an NS333 because Naim still do DACs really well and looking at integrated amplifiers around the £10k mark to leave your self a good budget for speakers and everything else. Unless you fancy an N50 of course!
If I was happy with loads of boxes and wanted Naim amplification I’d get a pre-loved 252/SC/300 - ridiculously good VFM at current prices.
Other streamers not yet mentioned and well worth considering are the Aqua Linq (the Aqua La Scala DAC is also very, very good) and the Antipodes KALA series. Put an Antipodes K22 and La Scala in front of a 252/300 and you might find you never leave the house!
An amplifier I would consider as an alternative to Naim, which seems to offer very good performance for the price is the Trilogy 921 - and it’s British! An NS333 with one of those would be about £15k and I’d be surprised if it did not make a very, very nice system.
Enjoy the purchasing process, what a good retirement project #1!!
I am not the sort of person who will run around trying to squeeze the last penny out of a deal. I am much more interested in service and respect, both ways, and I know that the other person needs to eat too!
I might need to talk to a few people to get a sense of things first , but the names mentioned in this thread seem obvious candidates.
I might see if I can book an initial chat with a couple of dealers, talk through my plans, objectives and timeframe. In my professional life, I usually find that the answer reveals itself after talking it through, I am sure that will be the case here too.
Then, once I have a dealer I can then start listening to alternatives and let my ears make the decisions.
The suggestions in this thread have moved me from dread to confidence, so thank you all.
Yes there have been uograde issues with differences of opinion with sound quality.
Still have original UQ2 and SU here, plus latest NC streamer, a NSC222.
Each one has updated without issue, as others have commented, important to follow the update instructions to the letter! Easy to skip a step, been there done that!
Wrote a thread about NC300 demo at HiFi Lounge. If that’s within your budget and there is much to gain by buying ex-dem or pre-used stock from a dealer, particularly when the warranty is available, great kit. For a second system I went NSC222 + NC250 to replace Nova; delighted two years on. NC300 is something else!
If you are within stricking distance of Signals, they are excellent and have supplied some of my AV kit, so first hand knowledge; good for Naim kit by all accounts. Contented customer is an important phisolophy for them (as others), so being completely candid will be rewarded with the best advice. Naim’s long track record of servcieability far exceeds those of another uk maufacturer being proposed.
Remember Naim also reverse engineered the ability for many first gen streamers to stream Tidal, at no cost to owners. Iiuc currently, more recent streamers have increased headroom, to facilitate on-line streaming beyond the design of first gen streamers aimed at local streaming!
It doesn’t appear that you have posted about upgrade issues with firmware so without knowing your specific details, perhaps be mindful that few who have updated succesully will likely post, so the forum may not accurately reflect the level of success or otherwise!
Wow, you just turned the card table over (in a good way), more to think about, more research to do, more dealers to find (maybe), but it shows there is not just one answer.
Maybe this should be a ‘project’; I’m planning to resign in March 26, post-bonus, and they might want me to work 3 months… so plenty of time!
Thanks, I really appreciate your post.
Tony
I forgot this recent addition. Does it also pick up books you’ve already added via the audible app?
Can amazon music pick up where you left off in an audiobook?
I still have a lot of Naim around the house but over the last few years I’ve moved my main system in a different direction. One of the things I did was privately buy a pre-loved amplifier of the brand I was interested in to see how I got on with it. When I knew I would be happy investing quite a lot more cash I went to a dealer and upgraded it to more recent, higher spec model.
Another thing I’ve found enormously instructive is being in a group that has given me the opportunity to go and listen to other peoples systems in their own homes. I’m over in Gloucestershire, but you’re welcome to come over and have a listen sometime.
Andy
@sound-hound I considered the 222, but opted for the 332/333/250 combination b/c my dealer strongly felt that the streamer in the 222 would be of less SQ compared to the NDX2/XPSDr that I was using at the time. Because of disability, getting to the dealer for auditions was not possible and home auditions are not available in NYC. However I know the dealer for 40 years. Long enough to trust the dealer’s wisdom. I am very satisfied with my series 300 purchase. Upgrading my speakers to Spendor D7.2 was a critical first step before considering the series 300 purchase. Had I not changed speakers, the dealer did not feel that my original speakers would justify a new system.