Going out on a limb here, the DAC-V1/NAP100 was great sounding but just so limited in it’s appeal. I tried to live with them but the lack of analogue inputs and needing an AppleTV or similar to feed them made it feel like a dead-end. Almost a solution looking for a problem to solve…
Having said that I would have them back as a bedroom system fed direct from my iMac if I could.
Very simple …
People do not like to underestimate their equipment,
When the 400 hit the market in 2009, at a fair price along with excellent performance, SL2 owners, whose production was discontinued in 2002, realized that there was a better speaker from NAIM, which gave fantastic value for the price and less than 50% of the speaker value they purchased at the time. So what makes more sense than “killing” him in forums ?!
The height of the absurdity came, when the 600 came on the market, the same owners of the SL2 expressed their opinion that it is a worse speaker than the 400.
In my personal opinion-
If we were to perform a blind test on the same people, between the two speakers, the results would be completely opposite …
(I do not intend to turn this discussion into an argument of “who has a better speaker”)
It’s funny how attitudes change with time I remember having a 250-2 and being told by quite a few then members that it was and I remember the words exactly bloated and slow and that I should get a DR.
It may have depended on the preamp used in conjunction with the 250.2, but when I had mine paired with a NAC 252, that’s exactly how I described it at the time.
The NAP90 was a key component in the brilliant CD3/FC/92/90 system in my view. Paired with undemanding speakers like Mission 752 or entry level KEF floorstanders this was a dream system for many. And it sold well.
Lardy was the other word I for one used. To me, the 250.2 was a worse amplifier than the Olive 250; something that was addressed by the 250DR, which is wonderful. Others disagree entirely. I’ve never been a fan of Ovators and much prefer the SL2. Again, others disagree but for someone to suggest that those who prefer the SL2 are spreading some sort of anti-Ovator hate is taking it far too far. It’s only opinion and it would be a sad world if we all preferred the same thing.
Ahh yes, the NAC102 - the preamp they love to hate. I’ve had mine 25 years and still don’t think I’ve heard all it can give. If there is a problem with the 102 then it’s probably just too open and matter-of-fact honest for some systems (and ears). Recently my LP 12 developed what seemed at times to be slightly iffy pitch stability but still mostly sounded fine via the 42.5 I’ve been using. However as soon as I swapped in the 102 the problem was immediately highlighted and led to the swift removal of a failing Valhalla. It takes no prisoners, but with the issue now sorted it’s a reminder of why I upgraded to the 102 in the first place - it tells it like it is!
Okay, I bought a 2nd hand 250-2 because I thought my then Dyn Contour 1.8s could do with more oomph. I was never happy, bass lumpy and most obviously slower than the 200 that fortunately I still had so I could sell it on only for loss of the courier charges. The 250 (DR) was a revelation.