The 52 or 552 are the best pre-amps that you can get. Look no further if you have one of those pre-amps. Of course, the 552 is better than the 52, but a lot of people just stop at 52, it is that good.
1 Like
I always thought the 252 was an improvement over the 52 although with a different signature.
Personally, I do not think that I can get along with with the 252, its sound signature is too soft for me.
There really is not one answer for all this.
I have been lucky enough to own many naim amps and pre amps over the last 30 years, my favourite ones, 82, 52 and 552dr, they all offer slightly different things. Hell i even tried to move awzy from all my naim gear this year into that Vitus integrated, but i didnt.
There is something that works very well when you use Naim pre’s and amps together, and i feel you might as well just run with that as it just works, rather than try and make something else try and work as good with the Naim amp.
If it’s a different sound, say more detail and wider sound, then either move into something that gives you that out the box, or you can try what i have done, as i have found this gives me the best off both worlds.
Pair the Naim amps and pre amps together, for you with the 300dr, i would say 252 or 282 min, then add a great source that has more detail etc, this has kept all the good bits that Naim does, like prat, fast, etc, but added extra width, detail and transparent to it, yes you could try doing this with a different pre like the Allegri, but you will lose some of the Naim Prat and speed.
As always this is just my opinion, but it works fantastically, but then i would say that lol
3 Likes
Yep… mine is a 2000 build… It’s still a great pre-amp. The move from the 82 to 52 was milestone for me. As much as I liked the 82, it was with the 52 I felt finally my system was giving me everything that I wanted in every way, no holes, no gaps… it just sounds right. Upgrades since, including my recent upgrade from 250 to 300DR, are a build on a sound that I’m already happy with. A great place to be! Maybe one day I’ll get to try a 552, but for now I’m happy with the 52.
2 Likes
Such great commentary and points of view. Thank-you all. I’ve made my decision; based on input and personal listening experience. I plan to:
- Replace by NAC N272 with a NAC 252 with a supercap power source.
- Add an NDX 2 as a streamer source alongside my Uniti CORE.
- Deploy an existing XPS DR that on the new NDX2.
- Play an occasional SACD or Blu Ray on my OPPO UDP 205
- Power all of this thru to my current NAP 300 DR and ultimately out of my Wilson Duetts.
- Mostly with transparent cables and Naim interconnects.
Stimulate the audio economy - Sit back, get immersed in my music…since live music is out of the question for the next year as this pandemic and “lock-down” persists.
Cheers!
5 Likes
Sounds a great plan, that is sure to bring nice listening pleasure
1 Like
Thanks! I don’t know where you guys hail from…but here on the US east coast…it is dismal. What few restaurants and bars are left are at max 25% capacity. All movie theaters closed. Grocery stores are on staggered entry. Most school kids are at home in virtual academies. No live music or concerts. My heart breaks for the great number of displaced back-up musicians. And some major cities are on home lock-downs. “Winter is coming!” We will probably move into even greater lockdowns come January…I am indeed fortunate that I love music…will continue to revisit all of that great and vast musical art…but a bit louder now and with more depth! Cheers…
1 Like
On second lockdown in England, schools are still going, but struggling as once a positive result, most off the school will shut, pubs, restaurants, non essential shops shut, basically not much open, most people working from home, not great, but its better than being ill.
This was the route I took. I spent a year waiting for the right 552 to come along - early model, unserviced, but of known provenance - then had the full monty service done by AV Options in Chicago.
One interesting detail is that, in addition to the PS recap & DR upgrade, they offer a rebuild service on the head unit which includes a new display board. At the time, this seemed (maybe) excessive but, given that I plan on the 552 seeing me out, I went for it. Considering the comments on the “How many defective 552s” thread, I’m glad I did.
1 Like
@ChrisSU, I thought I’d tack on a question at the end of this thread for tidiness, rather than continue in the System Pics 2021, as the topic refers to my question. I’ve just bought a used Bryston BP26 pre as a 70th birthday present for my father (I wasn’t the only contributor!). I want to try it with my 300, hence the XLR query. 2020 was a year of trying new things re: hifi with some very good results.
So given your previous reply, I would therefore be using an RCA to XLR as the 300 is unbalanced? Which is good as I have some of these cables. As a caveat I don’t want to bugger anything up, so won’t try it if you/anyone can foresee an issue that would result in something going wrong with either.
Hi, RCA to XLR should be fine as long as they are wired to suit the pin layout of the 300, as these are specific to the 300, and L and R are also not the same.
Ah. So perhaps my existing ones aren’t suitable since these were ‘off the shelf’.
As Chris advises, go RCA to XLR. However, note that the 300 is not balanced so you will need a specifically made up cable set here paying attention to how each XLR (L & R) is wired.
The pin layout is shown in a little picture next the the socket on the back of the amp. You may need to get some made up. A cable supplier who understands Naim gear, such as Chord or WitchHat, would understand this, or for another supplier, just show them the pin layout diagrams and they should be able to make up what you need. (I guess you could ask Naim too, but I’m not sure how keen they would be to supply something non-standard like this?)
Thanks. I’m assuming you needed to do this when going from your DAVE into the 250.
Yes, exactly. A little simpler, as of course I only needed one cable.
Would members please respect and abide by forum rules. Thank you.
OK. Apologies.
This topic was automatically closed 60 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.